The hard part about practicing piano is that you have to have one near you. Let’s face it, pianos are pretty big and bulky as far as instruments go. Even portable electric keyboards aren’t always practical to keep with you at all times. However, the roll up piano is so small that it is easily portable and can provide you with entertainment anywhere.
Product Specifications
Product specifications will vary depending on which brand and model of roll up piano you choose. I am using a simple roll up piano (see photos), so some of the more complex roll up pianos are going to have more features. My keyboard has 49 keys (4 octaves), 100 tones, and 100 rhythm accompaniments. There is a demo mode, a button to make the notes sustain (not all roll up pianos have this), a crude digital display to let you know which tone and rhythm you are using, and a volume control wheel. It runs off of 4 AA batteries or you can buy an adapter and play from an outlet. Sound is produced through an internal speaker or you could use headphones instead if you need to be silent while practicing.
So What Can You Do With a Roll Up Piano?
Using a roll up piano is very simple. You take the roll up piano out of the bag, unroll it, and voila! Now you can begin your practice session. It is best to play on a very flat surface such as a coffee table, kitchen table, or desk. You can practice silently using headphones/earbuds or you can use the internal speaker. On the model of roll up piano that I am using, it is possible to play 4 notes simultaneously (it has 4 note polyphony). Unlike a real piano, if you get bored of the sound you are using on the roll up piano, you can simply choose another tone. Tones on my roll up piano include: piano, jazz guitar, violin, harp, celesta, mandolin, sitar, viola, accordion, pipe organ, clarinet, and synth strings. If you enjoy playing some improv with a background rhythm, that’s a possibility as well. Rhythms available include: rumba, polka, march, swing, and waltz. If you don’t know how to play the piano yet and you just want to impress people and fake it, there are also some demo songs available. The demo songs may include: Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, If You’re Happy and You Know It, and Oh Susanna. You can definitely have some fun with this instrument.
The price really depends on the features. I’ve seen some roll up pianos for nearly $200 that claim to have better touch key sensitivity. I bought my roll up piano at a Black Friday sale for $30 (normally $70). So you just have to look around. I’ve never seen one for less than $30, but $30 was really a bargain for this thing.
Drawbacks
Of course, every product has some drawbacks and the roll up piano is no exception. If you’re an advanced pianist, you will probably be disappointed in the 4 note polyphony. The touch sensitivity isn’t the greatest either, as you have to press the keys slightly (and for the black keys, a little harder than slightly). For me, the biggest disappointment was how flat the piano has to be to function. You cannot play on carpet or cement. Finding a nice flat table in random places can prove difficult. This basically rules out playing outside, whereas with a portable electronic keyboard can be played anywhere. I was also disappointed at how difficult it is to fit the roll up piano back into its bag. The rubbery backing makes it difficult to slide into the tight fitting bag, so I ended up wrapping the instrument in tissue paper to ease the process. If they had made the bag slightly larger, this would not take so much time and effort to put away. I suppose if you got more frustrated with the bag than I have, you could just put it in something else. The sound quality on many of the available voices is not really up to par as well. However, most of the voices sound about as good as an electric keyboard. Overall, these drawbacks weren’t enough to make me regret my purchase.
Honestly, while this product would certainly be fun for advanced pianists as well, it would give them much quality practice time. The roll up piano is best suited for beginners, especially college students. I often see college students “practicing” on paper roll out keyboards. Practicing on something that doesn’t even make sound isn’t really all that fun or useful. If you’re taking a beginning piano course in college, the roll up piano would be a better alternative. Since it can use headphones, the roll up piano will still be silent to others as you practice. Children learning piano may also benefit for a roll up piano because it is a fun and different way to practice. However, the roll up piano is fairly delicate and rough children might quickly destroy it. Aside from students, the average piano player who just plays for fun should also enjoy this. As long as you are prepared for the limitations, this is a really fun way to play piano.
