How many notes can sound at once, including notes still ringing under the sustain pedal and every note the accompaniment plays. Forty-eight is comfortable for beginner repertoire, and most listings do not state it at all.
It is not one note per key
A single held key can use more than one voice, an accompaniment style uses several at once, and every note still decaying under the sustain pedal counts. That is why the figure runs out faster than the key count suggests.
When it matters
Sustained chords, accompaniment styles, and playing along with an arranger. It almost never matters for single-line practice.
Why we mention it so often
Because it is the clearest example of a specification that decides how an instrument behaves and is routinely left out. Where a maker publishes it, that is worth something in itself.
The questions players ask
What happens when polyphony runs out?
The instrument drops the oldest notes to make room. With sustain held down under a busy passage, notes disappear rather than fade, which is what makes an instrument sound thin.
Which keyboards publish it?
Very few in this bracket. The Yamaha PSR-E383 states 48 notes; several instruments in our catalog state nothing, and we do not fill the figure in.
Last reviewed 2026-08-18