Keyboard Benches

A proper seat is tantamount to achieving the heights of success in music. The right keyboard bench isn’t just important for maintaining proper posture and balance over hours of practice, it also ensures that you’ll be able to concentrate and focus on delivering your best performance. Take the worry out of staying comfortable and play your best with the perfect keyboard bench, an important keyboard accessory.

The importance of a good piano or keyboard bench

Just like any activity that involves an extended period of sitting, proper posture is a must if you wish to avoid issues with pain and discomfort. If you are a dedicated student or professional who plays regularly, you’ll want to be certain you spend those countless hours in comfort—rather than contributing to chronic or future health issues! A proper seat will make all the difference between worrying about your performance as opposed to worrying about a backache.

Even above the need for proper posture, a great bench is simply necessary in order to be able to play your best. If a player’s seat isn’t properly suited to the needs and constraints of the instrument they are playing, they will struggle to reach their full potential. A good keyboard bench will ultimately lead to greater achievement overall.

Styles of keyboard benches

There are a variety of styles of keyboard benches to suit your specific needs. Many benches feature padded cushions which provide comfort over prolonged playing sessions, and premium benches offer both function and style with leather and quality wood finishes.

Four-legged benches tend to offer the most stability, durability, and comfort—but are also the least portable. They are certainly more ideal for pianos or keyboards in fixed locations that don’t require frequent transport. Conversely, some benches feature cross-legged supports that typically fold down for easy storage and portability. These are ideal for travelling musicians, live performances, or even those who may have more limited space at home.

Storage and other features

Some keyboard benches have a folding top that opens to allow for storage in the hollow base of the bench. This feature is incredibly useful when looking for convenient space to store sheet music and study materials, as well as other potentially useful items such as a metronome, cleaning cloth, or any other small item you may wish to keep nearby.

Another useful feature in many benches—particularly those with a folding cross-legged style—is height adjustability. These benches may have a few preset height options, or even a sliding mechanism that will allow players to adjust to any custom height. This can be useful in particular when younger children begin their first adventures in piano and keyboard.

Some keyboard benches only seat one musician, while others are wide and strong enough to support two. A longer 2-person keyboard or piano bench is ideal for teachers, or simply for those who enjoy playing duets now and again.

Colours and materials

Keyboard benches typically come in a variety of colours and finishes designed to match the style of your keyboard or piano, as well as the rest of your surrounding decore. Black or white are commonly available colours, although there are also varying degrees of wood finishes that may more closely match some instruments. Wood and leather are popular materials in premium high-end benches that look great at home, while metal legs and cheaper, more durable padded seating is common in folding benches designed for portability with the travelling performer in mind.