Electric piano
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| - | + | An '''electric piano''' is an electric [[musical instrument]] which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of the [[piano]]-style [[musical keyboard]]. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations which are converted into electrical signals by [[Pick up (music technology)|magnetic pickups]], which are then connected to an [[instrument amplifier]] and [[loudspeaker]] to make a sound loud enough for the performer and audience to hear. Unlike a [[synthesizer]], the electric piano is not an [[Electronic musical instrument|electronic instrument]]. Instead, it is an electro-mechanical instrument. Some early electric pianos used lengths of wire to produce the tone, like a traditional piano. Smaller electric pianos used short slivers of steel to produce the tone. The earliest electric pianos were invented in the late 1920s; the 1929 ''Neo-[[C. Bechstein Pianofortefabrik|Bechstein]]'' [[electric grand piano]] was among the first. Probably the earliest stringless model was [[Lloyd Loar]]'s [[Vivi-Tone]] Clavier. A few other noteworthy producers of electric pianos include Baldwin Piano and Organ Company and the Wurlitzer Company. | |
| - | A '''keyboardist''' is a [[musician]] who plays [[keyboard instrument]]s. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either [[piano|pianists]] or [[organ (music)|organists]]. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, requiring a more general term for a person who plays them. These keyboards include: | + | == See also == |
| - | + | *[[DX7 Rhodes]] | |
| - | *[[electric piano]]s such as the [[Fender Rhodes]] and [[Wurlitzer electric piano]] | + | *[[Celesta]] |
| - | *[[electronic piano]]s such as the [[Roland Corporation|Roland]] Digital Piano | + | *[[Rocksichord]] |
| - | *[[Hammond organ|Hammond]] and other [[electronic organ|electric organ]] such as the [[Farfisa]] and [[Vox Continental]] | + | |
| - | *[[analog synthesizer]]s such as [[Moog synthesizer|Moog]], [[ARP Instruments, Inc.|ARP]] and units produced by a variety of other manufacturers such as [[Alesis]]. | + | |
| - | *[[Analog modeling synthesizer]]s produced by such companies as [[Alesis]], and [[Novation Digital Music Systems|Novation]] | + | |
| - | *digital keyboard workstations such as those produced today by [[Roland Corporation|Roland]], [[Yamaha Corporation|Yamaha]], [[Kurzweil Music Systems|Kurzweil]] and [[Korg]] | + | |
| - | *[[Sampler (musical instrument)|sampler]]s | + | |
| - | *[[mellotron]] | + | |
| - | *[[clavinet]] | + | |
| - | *[[Continuum (instrument)|continuum]] | + | |
| - | *[[melodica]] | + | |
| - | *[[pianet]] | + | |
| - | *[[piano]] (but see [[Pianist]] for a list of famous pianists) | + | |
| - | *[[harpsichord]] | + | |
| - | *[[reed organ]] | + | |
| - | *[[celesta]] | + | |
| - | *[[clavichord]] | + | |
| - | *[[pipe organ]] | + | |
| - | *[[Pump organ|harmonium]] | + | |
| - | *[[keytar]] | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==Notable electronic keyboardists== | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | There are many famous electronic keyboardists in rock, pop and jazz music. A complete list can be found at [[List of keyboardists]]. | + | |
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| - | The use of electronic keyboards grew in popularity throughout the 1960s, with many bands using the Hammond organ, [[Mellotron]], and electric pianos such as the [[Fender Rhodes]]. [[The Doors]] became the first group to use the [[Moog synthesizer]] on a pop record on 1967's "[[Strange Days (The Doors song)|Strange Days]]". Other bands, including [[The Moody Blues]], [[The Rolling Stones]], and [[The Beatles]] would go on to add it to their records, both to provide [[sound effects]] and as a musical instrument in its own right. In 1966, [[Billy Ritchie (musician)|Billy Ritchie]] became the first keyboard player to take a lead role in a rock band, replacing guitar, and thereby preparing the ground for others such as [[Keith Emerson]] and [[Rick Wakeman]].<ref>The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (Muze); The Illustrated History of Rock, [[Clouds (60s rock band)|Clouds]] by Ed Ward; Q magazine article 1996 by Martin Ashton; Mojo Magazine article '1-2-3 and the Birth of Prog' nov 1994</ref> In the late 1960s, a pioneer of modern electronic music [[Jean Michel Jarre]] started to experiment with synthesizers and other electronic devices. As synthesizers became more affordable and less unwieldy, many more bands and producers began using them, eventually paving the way for bands that consisted solely of synthesizers and other electronic instruments such as [[drum machine]]s by the late 1970s/early 1980s. Some of the first bands that used this set up were [[Kraftwerk]], [[Suicide (band)|Suicide]] and [[The Human League]]. Rock groups also began using synthesizers and electronic keyboards alongside the traditional line-up of guitar, bass and drums; particularly in [[Progressive Rock|progressive rock]] groups such as [[Genesis (band)|Genesis]], [[Emerson, Lake & Palmer]] and [[Pink Floyd (band)|Pink Floyd]]. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | By the 1990s, fewer bands were using synthesizers, and even former purely electronic acts such as [[Depeche Mode]] began using traditional acoustic instruments alongside the electronic instruments. Increasingly, synthesizers became more and more unpopular in rock music, and became almost exclusively used by [[electronic dance music]] producers. Some of the more famous electronic production acts include [[The Prodigy]], [[Massive Attack]] and [[Orbital (band)|Orbital]]. Producers such as [[William Orbit]] and [[Brian Eno]] would also use synthesizers and electronic effects to add colour to music by the bands they were working with. | + | |
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| - | Keyboardists are often highly sought after in [[cover band]]s, to replicate the original keyboard parts and other instrumental parts such as [[String section|strings]] or [[Brass section|horns]] where it would be logistically difficult to hire people to play the actual instruments. | + | |
| - | + | ||
| - | ==See also== | + | |
| - | *[[Pianist]] | + | |
| - | *[[Organist]] | + | |
| - | *[[List of Hammond organ players]] | + | |
| - | *[[List of harpsichordists]] | + | |
| - | *[[Classical pianists (recorded)]] | + | |
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An electric piano is an electric musical instrument which produces sounds when a performer presses the keys of the piano-style musical keyboard. Pressing keys causes mechanical hammers to strike metal strings, metal reeds or wire tines, leading to vibrations which are converted into electrical signals by magnetic pickups, which are then connected to an instrument amplifier and loudspeaker to make a sound loud enough for the performer and audience to hear. Unlike a synthesizer, the electric piano is not an electronic instrument. Instead, it is an electro-mechanical instrument. Some early electric pianos used lengths of wire to produce the tone, like a traditional piano. Smaller electric pianos used short slivers of steel to produce the tone. The earliest electric pianos were invented in the late 1920s; the 1929 Neo-Bechstein electric grand piano was among the first. Probably the earliest stringless model was Lloyd Loar's Vivi-Tone Clavier. A few other noteworthy producers of electric pianos include Baldwin Piano and Organ Company and the Wurlitzer Company.
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Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Electric piano" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.
