Portable Roll Up Piano Keyboards for Practicing on the Go

A Roll up piano keyboard is basically a keyboard that rolls up and takes less space. It’s a fun way to learn and lets you stay in touch with the piano, in case you have to be away from your regular piano for some time. [easyazon_link identifier=”B06WW97GC7″ locale=”US” tag=”keytarhq04-20″ cart=”n”]Skip to the best roll-up keyboard piano on Amazon[/easyazon_link].

Introduction

Of all the musical instruments, the piano is perhaps the least portable, and that is why over the years several variants have emerged (lot of which focused on portability).

A roll-up piano that is foldable and easily transportable is one such variant available to buyers. A roll-up piano is collapsible, works well in limited spaces, can easily be taken around with you, and is also quite cheap (affordable).

Roll up piano nowadays come with almost all the features that you would expect to find on a digital piano – Built-in speaker, Midi interface, send output to external speaker, hear on headphones for silent practice, connect sustain pedal to add more expression to your piano playing and the ability to be connected to smartphones.

Roll-up piano keyboards come in 37, 49, 61 and 88 keys. However, if size and weight is not a constraint, feel free to buy a normal piano keyboard.

Checkout the best roll-up pianos on Amazon.com

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Best Roll-up Piano Keyboards

• BGJOY Roll Up Piano: 37 Keys, Built-in Speaker and Microphone, 8 instrument sounds
• PicassoTiles PT49 Kid’s Roll-Up Piano Keyboard: 49-Keys, 8 Different Tones, 6 Educational Demo Songs & Build-in Speaker, Recording Feature
• iLearnMusic Roll Up Piano (available in 40 keys, 61 keys and 88 keys): Premium Grade Silicone, Built-in Speakers, 128 tones

Buying Guide

Now you can easily impress an audience with your piano skills, while on the go, with this portable roll up piano. This roll up piano is light weight, makes a great gift idea for the traveling musician (including novices), and is perfect for setting up an impromptu piano concert.

Why Roll Up Piano Keyboard?
So why do we have Roll up Piano Keyboards in the market when there are mini-keyboards?

The primary reasons are:

• Portability (you can easily roll them up)
• Better sound quality compared to the toy keyboards
• You can plug in your headphones or connect it to external speakers, besides using the built-in speakers
• Comes with most of the features available on electronic keyboards
• Availability of features such as MIDI

USB roll up pianos are also available that makes it so easy to connect to computer or other USB storage devices

A roll-up piano keyboard can be a great tool for writing simple sheet music when you’re away from an actual piano or keyboard. You can even use it to practice sight reading when you’re away from a piano.

Construction
These keyboards are made of silicone rubber with bits of plastic, which makes it possible for you to just roll it up and easily shove it in the corner of a bag.

These have sensors behind the keys that reacts to your touch, which is then converted into sound.

It usually works best on a flat and hard surface, as opposed to a softer surface such as the carpet; so a table would be more suitable for playing.

Does it Have Advanced Features?

Most experienced musicians want to know if it has advanced features – can it be connected to a computer? What is the polyphony, and so on.

While these are handy toys, most of these roll up keyboards can only play one note at a time. While some of these have recording feature, most of these keyboards cannot be connected to a computer.

In the past, we have seen roll-up keyboards that could play multiple notes, and even came with a USB port for easy connection to computer. However, it seems they have been taken off the market.

So if you’re a musician, and are looking for a portable option to create music, a compact midi controller keyboard would be a better option.

Roll-ups vs Mini Keyboards

There are already few products in the market that are available with less than 61 keys. I’m not talking about the midi controller keyboards here, but the sort of Casio mini keyboards which have less than 61 keys but have all those voices, styles and effects.

The advantage of such products is that they are lightweight and can easily be carried around. However, they may not have good sound quality as most of them are meant for kids.

That is where a Roll Up Piano Keyboard can be a better alternative.

Also Read: Best Foot/Floor Piano Mats: Great party toy game for children

Where Can You Use it?
There are several uses of these pianos. The unique roll-up design means these are quite portable and can go anywhere you can.

• If your child wants to play it in your backyard or take it to the park to play, it is quite easy to do that.
• If you are traveling for work and want something to relax at the end of the day, this can come quite handy.
• You can connect it to your laptop and use the MIDI capability to create Music when away from home.

If your kids have recently started learning to play the piano, it is better to ensure their practice routine is not disturbed, especially when you are away from home.

These can fit the bill in such situations, and run both on batteries as well as using a power adapter.

Features of Roll Up Piano Keyboard

You will get roll-up keyboards that will give you all the features that you can find on a regular piano keyboard.

That means you get voices, styles, effects, built-in songs, digital display, adapter, midi.

Basically everything as in any electronic keyboard!

In terms of keys, you get various numbers of keys, although 61 keys is quite popular nowadays.

The keys are also even in thickness so that it gives you a better sense of playing the piano.

 

 

What You May Not Like?

So is there anything that you won’t like about a roll-up keyboard?

Well, if you expect the keys to feel like a regular piano, then you are going to be disappointed. If you hope to showoff your piano skills on this instrument, then it is not going to let you do that.

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Videos

Checkout these videos to see how it looks and sounds.

 

 

 

 

Buying Options

If you already know how to play the keyboards / piano, then it does make sense to get something with at least 61 keys.

Look for one with midi, just in case you come up with an idea, which you can then develop further on the laptop, back in your hotel room.

The more basic ones, especially for kids, are available in three octaves that run on AAA batteries. It comes with features such as volume control, start and stop controls, built-in speaker and a headphone output.

The better ones, on the other hand, come with several voices, styles, drum kits, demo songs, midi.

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Summary

Though this instrument has its limitations, its intended audience are kids who would love to take it outdoors, or adults who are going to be away from their regular piano for a considerable period of time. The main advantage of this keyboard is its flexibility, and its more likely to fascinate kids more than adults. Though some of these come with midi nowadays, those who want to create music may prefer a compact midi controller to this one. But this one can be a great tool for practicing, especially if you like keyboards and when you’re away from a piano (good for goofing around when on the road). Imagine being able to roll up a piano keyboard and pack it in your backpack, bag, or suitcase. Then whenever you want to play the piano you can just unroll the keyboard on the floor, a table or even your car’s dashboard and play to your heart’s content. If you don’t want to invest in another portable piano and just need something for fun or even for relaxing, then you could buy a Roll up piano keyboard.

Question:
What’s the difference between an USB piano keyboard and a computer piano keyboard or a roll up piano keyboard? I am looking forward to buy my first piano keyboard instrument and I am not sure what these terms means? Are these related to its capability to connect to a computer and work with various piano software programs? If yes, I want such a piano keyboard? What brand and model is recommended. I did some search on the internet but I don’t see any instrument that has Roll up Piano Keyboard feature. Also is a USB piano keyboard same as a midi keyboard? – Thrax

Answers:
Wow, so many questions…though they all seem to be genuine questions. A usb piano keyboard would be an instrument that can be connected to a computer via the USB port. It’s very easy and convenient to connect to a computer, and yes, it means that it is midi enabled. There is nothing as a computer piano keyboard. It may mean a keyboard instrument that has the ability to be connected to a computer and almost all piano keyboards have that feature nowadays. So don’t worry about that part, just ignore it. A roll up piano keyboard is a totally different thing. The keys are made of rubber so that you can just fold it (roll up) so that it becomes easier to take it along with you. Not recommended for someone who is going to begin learning to play the piano keyboard. – Eerieee

Heard about the roll up piano keyboard for the first time, didn’t realise that something like this was available in the market. What are the good brands that make it? Are those USB piano Keyboards as well? – Ior

If its piano keyboards, then Yamaha has it all. They used to make one by the name Yamaha Hand Roll Piano, which used to be a 61 Keys Roll-Up Piano keyboard. I’m not sure if they still make it. – Benny

Yamaha Roll-Up Piano keyboard does have midi functionality, its a USB piano keyboard. In fact there are many USB roll up piano keyboard, but I don’t think it is good for beginner students. You need a piano keyboard that has proper keys so that you can pick up the basics of fingering right from the beginning. A roll-up piano is ideal for someone who already knows how to play, is going on a vacation and need something portable and that will easily fit in some corner of your luggage. – Penny