Before I begin explaining all about midi keyboards I am going to define what a piano keyboard is. A piano keyboard commonly known as the electronic piano is an electronic device designed to work as a piano would do. The difference with a real piano is the way how it produces sounds.

Common pianos create sounds via string manipulation inside a resonant box. An electronic piano creates sounds via electronic components known as oscillators. Despite this new technology, an oscillator is not capable of producing sounds as a real piano does. However, they can produce a variety of sounds and rhythms converting the piano keyboard a popular instrument. Nowadays, piano keyboards have more complex features, including its own instrumental sound set system that works with real sounds and MIDI features.

The MIDI Keyboard

The MIDI keyboard is an electronic piano which has a built in MIDI system. The most common features of MIDI keyboards are:

• A full instrument range compatible with the GM (General MIDI)
• An output port for communication with other MIDI ports (i.e. a computer MIDI port)
• Storage devices such as floppy disks and USB sticks in which the use may record or play their music in MIDI file format.

In the old times, the MIDI Keyboard output port needed an exclusive cable for communication with other devices. Now, there are piano keyboards that allow communication via USB.

The Advantage of using MIDI keyboards

Music Composition

Having a midi keyboard is a great advantage in the world of composition. In my early days, I used to work using only music notation software and my own brain and creativity to write music. The day when I could acquire my MIDI keyboard all scenarios really changed for me. Recording your own music using MIDI keyboards is pretty simple, even if you do not know how to play the piano. In these days, notation software provides some awesome tools such as the step sequencer which allows recording note by note your melodies step by step without worrying about time and rhythm.

Control

Many music software applications such as Cakewalk Sonar and Cubase require MIDI input notes to speed up some tasks. For example, the RealGuitar VST Instrument plug-in allows real guitar sound playback without recording any sound, but it requires a MIDI control for switching rhythms and adding realism. For this control is usually assigned a set of notes (i.e. C0 to D2).

Entertainment

Some professional piano keyboards include an input device usually a floppy disk or a USB stick. This allows real playback directly from the keyboard opening a wide range of possibilities. For example, you can record or write a complex musical performance and save it in a MIDI file via your notation software or via your keyboard. Imagine this; the keyboard plays a complete background performance while you perform the lead instrument. This is what I call a band in a box.

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