What’s the significance of weighted keys on a piano?
In: Engineering
Different pianos, depending on its value and quality, will also have different weights to their keys.
For most players, the keyboard on an upright may have enough weight for the player to be able to have some levels of dynamics while keeping it light enough to make a strong attack on the keys where necessary without much effort. However, lighter keyboards generally do not so perform well when it comes to softer dynamics, but that is often overlooked for the average player. In fact, the average player may not be able to fully utilise a heavier keyboard that even smaller baby-grands tend to have compared to an upright – the average player may find it difficult to produce precise and consistent dynamics with a heavier keyboard.
For a professional player, having heavier keys allows for a broader range of dynamics, and with the skill required at a professional level, the player can control dynamics precisely and consistently. Lang Lang is a pretty good example of utilising the full dynamic range of concert grands – he is able to produce tiny tinkling notes where he touches the keys just enough for it to make a sound but never so lightly that he misses any notes, and he is able to give full attacks on notes that resonate through the entire hall but never so brutally strong that the notes lose their quality timbre (although this can be contributed to the quality of the piano); then he controls the way the sound comes from the piano and either broadens or dampens the sound using his upper body.
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