Touch-sensitive (velocity-sensitive) in keyboards / pianos explained

While most high-end keyboards and pianos come with touch sensitive keys, the cheapest (entry-level) keyboards may not have touch-responsive keys, even though the keyboard may have 61 keys. Music teachers recommend that you buy a keyboard with touch sensitive (also known as velocity sensitive keys) to begin your learning. Here’s why you need a music keyboard or digital piano with Touch Sensitive (Response) Keys.

Introduction

When you talk about electronic keyboards and digital pianos, one of the features that is often mentioned is “touch-sensitive” keys (also known as velocity-sensitive keys). However, lot of people, especially parents who are looking for one for gifting, and absolute beginners who don’t want to spend much, are not sure whether they want this feature.

Its because more often than not, they are looking for something cheaper, something costing around 100 dollars. And in that range, you won’t get a keyboard with touch sensitive keys.

What Does it Mean?

So what exactly do you mean by touch-sensitive keys?

In music, dynamics refers to changes in loudness or volume, and dynamics is an important part of music.

If all the notes play at the same volume level, it will sound boring/monotonous after some time. However, if you could play certain notes softer and certain notes louder, the music will sound much more interesting.

A velocity-sensitive key action responds to how firmly or softly you play the key, allowing you to play notes at different volume levels – soft to loud. On the other hand, non-dynamic keyboards (the cheaper ones) have keys that are simple on/off switches that cause the sound to play.

Internally, the keyboard has sensors that measure how quickly the key moves from the top to the bottom and then translates that speed or value into a dynamic level. The harder you press a key, the faster the key moves downward.

While most novices use the word touch-sensitivity, experience players, salesmen and the specs on certain keyboard models may use the term velocity-sensitive. Both the terms are right and are often used interchangeably, though experience players may argue that velocity sensitivity is the more correct term for today’s electronic keyboards because that is how MIDI translates the playing force into different values.

Why you need touch sensitive keys on your piano keyboard

So why it is so important to buy a keyboard with touch-sensitive keys?

1. Music is About Dynamics
   music not played at the same volume, you play louder as well. This is referred to as dynamics in music; it means changes in loudness or volume.

   If all the notes play at the same volume level, it will sound boring/monotonous.

   As an absolute beginner you may not understand this concept, but if you ask someone who knows to play the piano and ask him to play on a keyboard without touch-sensitive keys, s/he will just stop playing after a few minutes.

   Its not expressive; in fact, its more irritating to hear all the notes sound at the same level, irrespective of how hard or soft you play.

   Read: Touch-sensitive (velocity-sensitive) in keyboards / pianos explained

2. Its Only for Novices
   Only the cheapest keyboards don’t have this feature. These keyboards are designed for novices and young children to help them appreciate music, checkout the various sounds, styles and features.

   And they indeed get impressed with all those features.

   However, such students are at least a few months away from realizing the importance of touch-sensitive keys.

   And if someone stops taking lessons or discontinues (thinking its not his cup of tea), he’s never going to understand why touch/velocity sensitive keys are important.

   Several manufacturers now make standard 61-keys (5-octaves) keyboard for around 100 dollars, but they don’t have this feature. There aim is to encourage people to buy, so that they can play around with the various features, learn for a few months. They are pretty sure that after a few months or a year, the student will most likely upgrade to a better keyboard (with touch response), assuming he continues his music learning.

3. This is Why Students Change from Keyboard to Real Piano
   So assuming, you buy a keyboard without touch-sensitive keys, and show interest and potential, in playing the keyboards, you will soon have to upgrade to one with touch sensitive keys.

   Your teacher is going to recommend you upgrade, and you yourself won’t enjoy playing on such a keyboard.

   If you see any sheet music, dynamics are mentioned (whether to play soft or loud) on top of certain passages.

   So once you know how to play simple songs, and are keen to learn further, its important to switch to a keyboard with touch keys.

Again, you should not get confused between touch-sensitive keys and weighted keys. If you’re keen to learn to play in piano style (using both the hands), you should ideally get a keyboard that also has fully weighted keys.

Most keyboard instruments that cost upwards of 200 dollars usually have touch-sensitive keys, but if you want a keyboard with fully weighted keys, you need to shell out another couple of hundred dollars (at least).

Also read: 5 Best Portable 61-Keys Keyboard Piano for the Absolute Beginners & Hobbyists

Buying a Keyboard or Digital Piano with Touch Sensitive (Response) Keys

Now that you understand what touch-sensitivity means, to all the beginners (including parents of kids) looking for their first keyboard or digital piano, here are a few things to keep in mind.

• When it comes to touch sensitive keys, they all feel more or less similar (on entry level keyboards).
• On most digital pianos and keyboards (not the cheapest ones), you also have the option to change the level of sensitivity (you can choose one from a few options).

Absolute beginners – kids & adults, may buy a music keyboard without touch sensitive keys if it makes the keyboard exceed your budget. A year or so down the line, you can upgrade to a better digital piano (assuming you’re still keen to learn/play the piano).

Multiple Touch-Sensitive Levels
A lot of keyboards nowadays have multiple touch-sensitive levels. So you choose (usually there are two or three levels) how hard you want it to be, depending on what you’re comfortable with.

On certain entry-level keyboards, the touch response can even be turned-off, if you do that the notes will play at a steady volume no matter how hard you press them.

Velocity Sensitivity in Other Keyboard Instruments

• The acoustic piano is velocity-sensitive.
• The Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos and the clav are velocity-sensitive (they have narrower dynamic range).
• Pipe organ, combo/console/theatre organs, and the harpsichord are NOT velocity-sensitive.

The earliest analog synthesizers/organ keyboards were non-dynamic too. Later, with the advent of MIDI, velocity-sensitive synthesizers and keyboards started becoming more common.

You can also create dynamics by using a foot pedal!

Lot of students get a non-dynamic keyboard initially, and that is okay if you really can’t stretch your budget. But sooner or later you will need to upgrade to a dynamic keyboard if you seriously want to play the piano/keyboard.

Read: Best electronic keyboards and digital pianos for various skills and price levels.

Touch-Sensitive vs Weighted Keys

Is touch-sensitive same as weighted keys?

Technically, they are not!

While the more expensive keyboard models will closely mimic the keys an acoustic piano, a cheaper electronic keyboard will not do that. Keyboards with weighted keys usually have 88-keys and they’re much heavier than keyboards that don’t have weighted keys; they are also more expensive.

Read more on Weighted keys vs touch sensitive keys

Final Thoughts

Ideally, you should consider buying a musical keyboard / digital piano with ‘touch response’ keys as opposed to buying a keyboard lacking this feature. It allows you to play the songs with expressions (you can play them softer or louder depending on how hard you press the key) and that’s how the keys on a real acoustic piano are also built.

Touch sensitive keys are ideal for piano students who want to learn and practice.

This is why you need a piano keyboard with Touch Sensitive (Response) Keys.