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The makers of the ONE Smart Piano had an innovative idea: What if people could learn to play the piano without endless repetitions of scales, Chopsticks, and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star?
The ONE Smart Keyboard motivates people to learn and practice by allowing even beginners to choose from a library of over 3,000 free songs, and learn to play piano by practicing with their favorite tunes, whatever their preference.
It's a simple, step-by-step way to learn piano, and the pairing of a keyboard with a smart app keeps everyone engaged, motivated, and making music. In this The One Smart Piano review we will take a look at what makes this keyboard so special.
Overview of The ONE Smart Piano
Many digital keyboards are exploring new ways of adding digital apps and connectivity that expands the capabilities of the keyboard itself.
The ONE Smart Piano Keyboard goes further than that, creating an essential partnership between mobile devices and the piano keyboard. In fact, if you don't currently have an iOS or Android tablet, you won't be able to take full advantage of the features of this keyboard.
Video Overview of The ONE Smart Piano
Specifications of The ONE Smart Piano
Specification | Description |
|---|---|
Keys | 61 back-lit LED light up keys |
Weight | Weighs 11 lbs. |
Instrument Voices | 20 built-in instrument voices |
Sockets and Ports | |
Power | Can be powered with 6 AA batteries or included power cable |
Polyphony | 128 max levels of polyphony |
Music Stand | Built-in sheet music stand sturdy enough for tablets |
Music Library | 4,000+ song sheet music library |
Instrument Voices | Access to 128 instrument voices, 417 timbres, 9 percussion sets, 603 drum sounds, and 256 GM2 tones |
App |
Who the ONE Smart Piano 61 Key Most Suitable For?
This keyboard is designed for anyone who wants to have fun while learning to play the piano, without spending time on repetitive exercises, instead learning their favorite songs at their own pace. The lighted keys make it easy to learn any of the thousands of songs in the free online music library, and the app provides a fun and simple way to explore new challenges and learn new techniques. While it is primarily intended for kids, there's no reason that adults can't also enjoy learning to play the piano with this fun portable keyboard.
Some piano teachers will be concerned that students may pick up bad habits if they learn in this way, or won't learn finger skills and techniques that will translate correctly to acoustic pianos. However, many beginners don't aspire to someday play a concert piano, and are playing for fun and enjoyment. And, for younger kids, the primary challenge can often be to simply keep them engaged and interested in learning, and this Keyboard does an excellent job of both.
It doesn't have the best sound for a keyboard in this price range, and the keyboard function itself is very limited without the companion app; more-serious students may want a more robust keyboard. But it's a great starter instrument for a wide variety of beginners.What’s Included in the Box?
The Keyboard comes with the necessary power cable and data cables for connection to smart devices.
Features of The ONE Smart Piano
FEATURE | DESCRIPTION |
|---|---|
Lightweight and portable | The keyboard is lightweight and portable, at 11 lbs. It can be powered with the included DC cable, or with 6 AA batteries to go anywhere you want it to |
61 keys | The 61 keys are backlit and guided by the intelligent app, that works with you to help you press the correct notes at the correct time |
Built-in sheet music stand | The built-in sheet music stand is designed to comfortably hold tablets and smart devices, to make it easy to play along with the screen |
Four buttons on the device itself | It has only four buttons on the device itself, with power, volume, sustain, and tone functions. Everything else is controlled by the app. |
USB port | In the rear it has the USB, power, mic in, aux in, aux out, and pedal ports, to accommodate a wide range of accessories and devices |
20 built-in instrument voices | It has 20 built-in instrument voices, and is capable of 128 levels of polyphony |
4,000 free songs | The app has access to over 4,000 free songs, and additional songs available for purchase. Songs purchased through the app can be learned via auto-play, to learn the melody, or A/B repeats, to focus and practice specific skills or sections |
Device compatibility | The app is available for a wide range of iOS and Android devices, including tablets and smartphones |
Record and share | Record your songs and share them on Facebook |
Interactive video lessons | Video lessons interact with keyboard lights, and can be paused, rewound, or slowed down for one-on-one, interactive instructions |
Crash course | Crash Course feature lets you learn your favorite songs quickly by following section exercises and hand gesture videos and using keyboard lights |
Fun learning | Online games use a Guitar Hero-like interface to make learning and practice fun and challenging |
Access to 128 instrument voices, 417 timbres, 9 percussion sets, 603 drum sounds, and 256 GM2 tones is an incredible expansion of the innate capabilities of the keyboard itself. With the app, you unlock many of the features and capabilities that are missing in the keyboard, expanding your range of musical styles and expressions, and creating new avenues for exploration.
Pros & Cons of The ONE Smart Piano
PROS |
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cons |
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The ONE Smart Piano Manual
If you'd like to check out the nitty-gritty of the this Piano, here's a link to the model's manual:
An Alternative Product to Consider
The primary weakness of this piano is that it doesn't have many features without the app, and app updates don't always work as intended. The Android version of the app, in particular, is unpredictable, so users may find themselves with a keyboard that doesn't work as expected.
For a more reliable alternative, you may want to consider the Casio LK-265
Like the ONE Smart Piano, the Casio LK-265 has 61 lighted keys, mic, pedal, AUX in ports, and a companion app.
The Casio LK-265 keyboard has a wide range of functions, including:
However, the Casio LK-265 only has 48 levels of polyphony, and does not have USB capability.
With the companion app, the ONE Smart Piano 61 Key Lighted Keyboard has access to thousands more songs, voices, and rhythms than are stored on the Casio LK-265. However, because those functions are built in to the Casio, the keyboard will remain useful and playable even without a digital device.
The Casio LK-265 is also compatible with Casio's Chordana Play app, which has learning games, exercises, and lessons. The Chordana Play app also allows you to practice playing piano directly onto a virtual keyboard on your device's touchscreen, if the keyboard isn't around.
There's no doubt that the technological capabilities of the ONE Smart Piano are superior to almost any other portable keyboard in this price range. The app provides excellent learning and fun experiences for children and adults, with a wide variety of musical expressions and experiences.
However, if you have concerns about ongoing functionality, performance, or compatibility with the app, it's worth taking a look at the Casio LK-265.Louise Bishop's Review of The ONE Smart Piano
Conclusion
This keyboard is a result of an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign, and, as a result, suffers from problems typical of this sort of startup – the keyboard performance and support is inconsistent.
While it's always annoying when a software patch or update causes your apps to stop working as expected, in this keyboard's case, these updates often mean that people don't have access to the product features and capabilities that were advertised. Since this keyboard isn't cheap, it's an especially disappointing experience.
This keyboard has the most consistent functionality with iOS devices, and the student-driven, song-based approach to learning is excellent, but Android and Amazon device users may want to look elsewhere until service and support for the ONE Smart Piano 61 Key Lighted Keyboard have stabilized.
