I can play a keyboard, but would love to play piano. What is the difference?
If your ultimate goal is to play piano, you would be doing yourself a good service by getting involved with an actual (acoustic) piano…
You see, there are string instruments (such as violin, viola, guitar, bass) and there are percussion instruments (drums, congas, timpani)…
Well, a piano is actually both. The strings of a piano, after vibrating and being "amplified" via the piano's soundboard, produce the sound that you hear – however, what causes those strings to vibrate is the percussive effect that occurs when a damper hits a string, initiated by your pressing a key on the piano.
Only with the real thing (an acoustic piano) can you actually participate in this overall experience – nothing can replace it. It's pure. In addition, when you play keys on a piano, the strings that are played actually cause other strings to sympathetically vibrate with them, creating harmonic overtones – in simple terms, additional beauty.
One might compare it to smelling a real bouquet of roses versus a vase full of plastic ones:)
From a technical standpoint, yes, a piano offers a weighted action which offers the player more control – the "price" to pay for this control is you need to get used to playing a weighted action and become technically oriented with it – which is the very reason that you are better off starting a piano (the earlier you start) the better off you are.
The pedals on a piano also offer you more versatility, though digitals can offer "substitutes" for these as well – again, not the real thing. For example, when you use the sustain pedal, you can "blend" one note into another – but what many people don't grasp is that this pedal releases all the dampers within the piano, which allows other sympathetic tones to come into play. It's a perfect, natural instrument!
There are digital pianos that do offer weighted actions as well, offering a couple of advantages (you don't need to tune them and you can turn down the volume), but they still cannot replace what the acoustic piano offers. For more information on this comparison between the two along with other tips on this issue, there is a free eBook, called "I Always Wanted To Play The Piano But…" that you can acquire easily by visiting:
http://www.Free-Easy-Piano-Lessons.com/learn-to-play-the-piano.html
(just scroll to the bottom of that page and send via email for it)…
I have experience playing both and my experience supports what I have suggested to you. I hope it helps you a little as you explore the awesome world of music.
Since you mentioned that you have keyboard experience, I'm sure you will find the transition to be an enlightening one.
I'm glad you asked that question, since it is one that many are curious about and I think others will value from the fact that you posted it.
Best wishes,
Dave
http://www.Free-Easy-Piano-Lessons.com
Come join me for some free piano lessons!