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I've been an occasional visitor/reader on this site, and this conversation interested me enough to join in and add a couple of points. I know there's been some contention and I don't mean to stir any of that up, but a couple things are coming to mind that I don't think have been mentioned yet.

I think it's certainly not clear that a digital piano is a piano.

Point 1, consider the distinction between "electronic keyboard" and "digital piano." When I started playing in the early 2000's, it was clear that "digital piano" was marketing phrase. But even so, there were definitely some steps taken towards the electronic keyboard evolving into something more piano-like. But at what point does it stop being an electronic keyboard and become a piano? If it has a wooden cabinet, if it has weighted keys, realistic sound, etc? And if an electronic keyboard is something distinct from a real piano, then you'd have to ask: is a digital piano also a kind of electronic keyboard? I would say yes. And then, if an electronic keyboard is not a piano, neither is a digital piano.

Point 2: Five or six years ago I got a low-end Roland digital piano (FP10 I think). I was talking to someone and I told them that I had gotten a piano. Then I regretted saying that because I felt like it was a lie or an exaggeration. Now I'm an owner of a Kawai hybrid and I no longer feel like it would be a lie to tell someone that I have a piano. Maybe stretching the truth slightly, but not enough to waste any words in clarifying my meaning.

I think you can't deliberately change language, nor is what Merriam-Webster says anything more than a crude (and not necessarily accurate) summary of the language at a certain point in time. My intuition is that a digital piano is a kind of keyboard instrument.

    mciti19 I would put electric pianos into a separate group. They are similar to electric guitars. Both has physical vibrating elements (strings, tines) to generate their tone and pick ups to capture that vibration. Digital pianos however converts key presses into digital signal (eg: a midi number and velocity) very early then a software/firmware generates the tone. That's why actual body of electric guitar/piano affects timbre. And they feel as distinct instruments. Digital pianos does not have that character but they are much more flexible because sound is generated by software. And software is easy to change.

    For the record, I do think all of them are cool. Acoustic pianos are just majestic. Electric pianos have their own character and sound, a different instrument really. And digital pianos are convenient. I do have an entry level digital piano it's FP-10. It is great. It allows me to choose my sound depending on my mood; a concert grand, a tines electric piano or a guitar etc. Amazing time to be alive.

      mciti19 sorry after re-reading, I've realised you were talking about "electric keyboards" not electric piano. If you mean synth action keyboards then yes they're similar to digital pianos. But they do not try to imitate acoustic piano action and they're aimed to play different instruments. So they have additional methods of expression like pitch bend, after touch.

      Again I also think synth keyboards are cool 🙂 There's a whole musical world out there. I wish they had more resources on how to play though. Lots of resources on how to make a sound but not actual playing.

        mciti19 think you can't deliberately change language, nor is what Merriam-Webster says anything more than a crude (and not necessarily accurate) summary of the language at a certain point in time.

        The Oxford English dictionary is consistently adding new words and refining definitions of old words as language evolves. It currently defines a piano having stings and hammers etc but look under organs and it includes electronic organs under that definition. It is only a matter of time before the OED is updated to reflect the contemporary definition of piano in normal everyday use which of course includes both acoustic and digital pianos.

          mciti19 I've been an occasional visitor/reader on this site, and this conversation interested me enough to join in and add a couple of points. I know there's been some contention and I don't mean to stir any of that up, but a couple things are coming to mind that I don't think have been mentioned yet.

          Welcome to the piano thread. That is ok. Just need to go back in time ... to think about what the people were trying to do. They just wanted a method ... any method to control adequately and independently (or thereabouts) the soft and loud level of note (at their assigned pitches) of a polyphonic music instrument having 'workable' sound, workable attack/sustain etc for musical applications. Any which way ... as long as it is effective etc was what they wanted, by pushing keys (levers) or whatever.

          At that time, there was only the fully mechanical method. So going back to those early times, or just reading through the original post a few times, and other notes in the thread will allow everybody to understand what a piano actually is. There clearly are different types. And all of them are real if you get the adequate piano forte when using them. But ...adequate ... the word ... is subjective. So some people could even consider even inadequate piano forte if they want, and we can welcome that into the piano family (umbrella) too.

            Rubens Thought experiment. If you play a digital piano with the harpsichord sound, is it a harpsichord?

            Yes! It is a harpsi if they disable the velocity control etc. And with velocity control ... it becomes a piano and super harpsi.

            The people back then would have been stoked to have in their hands the super harpsi, which indeed is in the piano class.

              Rubens Thought experiment. If you play a digital piano with the harpsichord sound, is it a harpsichord?

              You and I are thinking largely along the same lines, Rubens! And @mciti19 made a really fine point.

              Taking the example further, there are workstations/synths are are functionally near-identical to digital pianos. They have a sound engine with piano tone, weighted keys, pedals, etc. Are they also "real" pianos if they are named "synthesizer" and not "digital piano"? If the default tone isn't a piano, are they then not real pianos? If you switch to a different tone or use it for an arranger, are you then not playing a "real piano?"

              I think it goes back to what you, @shawarma_bees, @MandM, @PianoMonk and others have said--ultimately it's a bit meaningless. Not because one designation is valued more than the other, but it kind of goes back to Obi Wan. When you deal in absolutely, all you really do is set yourself up for death by a thousand cuts from a thousand valid exceptions and edge cases. And in the end, what does it matter? Make music, find joy in life. None of that should be diminished by what label others ascribe to the instrument.

                  Wait...so does this mean that Pinocchio was a real boy all along?!

                  I've had an N3 since 2013 and various other Yamahas for decades prior.

                  I notice that I never tell anybody I have a piano. I always tell people I have an "electric keyboard" or an "electric piano" on which I practice. Not the result of any deep meditation or soul-searching, just the description that pops out.
                  But I do say "I play piano" even though I've only played an acoustic maybe 5 hours in the past 15 years 🤔

                  Make a joyful noise...
                  Jane - expert on nothing with opinions on everything.

                  I will retract my opinion about a digital piano being a harpsi after thinking about Rubens excellent thought experiment post, as I don't want to intrude or impose on the harpsi area. The harpsi appears to be truly its own unique entity. I know that acoustic piano is a type of piano. But second thoughts on harpsi is ... that it is within its own class maybe. Good one from Rubens.

                  Although - the special ability of a digital piano that allows it to give a most excellent impression or sound essence of a harpsi is a huge credit to all people that led to the realisation of digital pianos.

                  And one special feature is the achievement of a velocity-controllable harpsi-sound instrument using digital and analog means (where the analog part comes from sampling a harpsi, although it is also absolutely possible that the samples don't need to be obtained by pushing keys on a harpsi, because you can actually use a computer controlled plucking machine to pluck strings without key mechanisms for getting string-pluck samples, just as it is not necessary to get hammer-strike samples from acoustic pianos in order to get percussive string audio samples - as a harp can be encased in a enclosed or semi-enclosed cabinet without keyboard, and computer controlled hammer mechanism can do the striking for getting samples - meaning that digital pianos do not require harpsichords or acoustic pianos to become realised, where some or many people incorrectly thought or believed that digital pianos depended on acoustic pianos for getting the samples). And that is one amazing and outstanding developmental and evolutionary and revolutionary approach.

                  Also noting ... a digital piano outputting velocity sensitive harpsi sound ..... piano forte, ie. adequate soft loud independent sound level of notes control when the keys are pushed, is a piano. That is a piano class instrument. Piano forte.

                  Gombessa None of that should be diminished by what label others ascribe to the instrument.

                  Calling/labelling a digital piano a piano - a real piano - does not diminish anything. In fact, it enlightens everyone. It's excellent.

                  Very importantly - again - huge credit goes to all the people and technologies that provide(d) us our pianos - digital and acoustic etc.

                    No enlightenment is/was ever, required for me.
                    I would imagine that most people here, already know the difference between an acoustic instrument, and a digital one.
                    Applying the word 'real' to either, is irrelevant, and just pure semantics.
                    Let's all just get on with playing and enjoying either one.

                    I'm fine with applying the word 'piano' to them all, as they're automatically ..... note automatically ... real.

                    Interesting turn this discussion has taken ...

                    Is a piano type keyboard, connected to a computer (internal or external), that makes sounds historically interpreted as piano sounds, a piano? If so, what if some people think those sounds aren't very piano-like? What if the sounds are more bell-like, or clarinet-like, or (insert sound here)? Are those still a piano?

                    What about a "toy" piano where the hammers strike chimes or a xylophone? Is that still a piano?

                    What if it's a piano in the traditional sense, except that the hammers are actuated by a computer, or something like electro-mechanical means instead of pure mechanical?

                    To all these I still say "No".

                    I think it would be hard to argue that a "traditional" piano that sounds horrible is "not" a piano. The flip-side of that to me is that something that plays/sounds like a piano, but is really a digital re-creation (or uses a mechanism other than hammers, mechanically actuated by a keyboard, striking strings) is not a piano.

                      Yawn

                      BKN1964 What about a "toy" piano where the hammers strike chimes or a xylophone? Is that still a piano?

                      Yes it is - a piano - if there is 'adequate' and independent soft-loud control of the notes of the instrument -- and I quote adequate because some say that if it does not get 'adequately' loud (as some say for the case of clavichord), then it's not a piano. But I also did mention in the thread that I'm happy to have the toy pianos etc welcomed into the piano family. If you can get 'adequate' piano forte - then it's a piano. I'm fine with it even if you can't get it loud enough - as you could always add a mic/transducer etc - and get it real loud. But once again - it goes back to piano forte, which does relate to dynamic range (and some people say - even absolute audio power/volume levels to some extent). And 'adequate' is subjective. But we get the picture in general.

                      I had it all covered before - here and in my other lectures on this subject. If it has adequate soft-loud control of the independent notes (pitch set) - and you can control it by pushing the keys, and importantly it is workable for musical application(s) - then it's a piano. Piano forte - the essence is what it is all about. You, one could also say that you don't always necessarily need to use it for musical applications though, which is sometimes we can just write - in 'general' (mentioned before/above already).

                      And - obviously - if one wants a piano that has adequate substance in sound - some 'oomph' etc in the sounds - then sure, we have pianos (in the digital and acoustic categories) for handling that --- the ones we know a lot, ie. the sound of 'struck strings' of a harp structure enclosed in a cabinet or semi-enclosed cabinet. Sympathetic resonance - which is often very nice too - often making the piano music sound good/rich/interesting - with adequate substance etc.

                      BKN1964 What if it's a piano in the traditional sense, except that the hammers are actuated by a computer, or something like electro-mechanical means instead of pure mechanical?

                      If the generally-agreed-upon condition is that it is playable by pushing levers or keys etc with piano forte, then we have a piano. But if you remove the 'keyboard' levers etc for playing it ... then it's not a piano.

                      Everybody usually agrees that a piano does have the keyboard/keys. If you remove the 'keys' components, then you can't use your body to get the piano forte happening.

                      The idea is/was to have polyphonic piano forte music instrument for a person to play. This was the idea or goal back in the 'old' days. A piano could probably play itself back then too ... but that is getting into an area where we have to keep the lights on at night (and garlic etc) for a week or so ... just to be on the safe side. Probably a good idea to leave the lights on during the day too.

                          I think the Bard had something apposite to say on this topic..

                          “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet”

                          …and more recently…

                          “To be a piano or not to be, that is not the question"