thumb|right|The piano, a common keyboard instrument
A
keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a
musical keyboard. The most common of these is the
piano. Other
widely used keyboard instruments include various types of
organs as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and
electronic instruments. In common language, it is mostly used to refer to keyboard-style
synthesizers.
Among the earliest keyboard instruments are the
pipe organ, hurdy gurdy, clavichord, and harpsichord. The organ is doubtless the oldest of these, appearing in the 3rd century BC, although this early instrument—called
hydraulis--did not use a keyboard in the modern sense. From its invention until the 14th century, the organ remained the only keyboard instrument. Often, the organ did not feature a keyboard at all, rather buttons or large levers which were operated by a whole hand. Almost every keyboard until the 15th century had naturals to each octave.
The clavichord and the harpsichord appeared during the 14th century, the clavichord probably being the earlier. The harpsichord and the clavichord were both very common until the widespread adoption of the
piano in the 18th century, after which their popularity decreased. The piano was revolutionary because a
pianist could vary the volume (or dynamics) of the sound by varying the vigor with which each key was struck. The piano's full name is "gravicèmbalo con piano e forte" meaning "harpsichord with soft and loud" but can be shortened to "piano-forte", which means "soft-loud" in
Italian.
Keyboard instruments were further developed in the 20th century. Early electromechanical instruments, such as the
Ondes Martenot, appeared early in the century.
The piano keys were made of natural materials. The white tangents were made of
ivory, the black of
ebony, but now artificial materials like plastic are used to cover the wooden keys. Cheaper materials like oak, walnut and soft wood are used now.
Much effort has gone into finding an instrument which sounds like the piano but lacks its size and weight. The
electric piano and
electronic piano were early efforts that, while being useful instruments in their own right, were not successful in convincingly reproducing the
timbre of the piano. Electric and electronic organs were developed during the same period.
Significant development of the
synthesizer occurred in the 1960s and has continued ever since. The most notable early synthesizer is the
Moog synthesizer, which used
analog circuitry. In time, digital synthesis, using actual piano
samples, has become common.
List of keyboard instruments
Chordophones
Aerophones
Idiophones
Electrophones
Keyboard Percussion
See also
