Electronic keyboards: their history and development
The term “electronic keyboard” refers to any instrument that produces sound by pressing or striking keys, and uses electricity, in some way, to facilitate the creation of that sound. The use of an electronic keyboard to produce music follows an inevitable evolutionary line from the earliest keyboard musical instruments, the pipe organ, the harpsichord, and the harpsichord. The pipe organ is the oldest of them, initially developed by the Romans in the 3rd century BC. C. and called hydraulis. The hydraulic system produced sound by forcing air through reed pipes and was powered by a manual water pump or a natural water source such as a waterfall.
From its first manifestation in ancient Rome until the 14th century, the organ remained the only keyboard instrument. It often did not feature a keyboard at all, but instead used large levers or buttons that were operated with the whole hand.
The later appearance of the harpsichord and harpsichord in the 1300s was accelerated by the standardization of the 12-tone keyboard of natural white keys and sharp / flat black keys found on all keyboard instruments today. The popularity of the harpsichord and harpsichord was eventually overshadowed by the development and widespread adoption of the piano in the 18th century. The piano was a revolutionary advance in acoustic musical keyboards because a pianist could vary the volume (or dynamics) of the sound the instrument produced by varying the force with which each key was played.
The emergence of electronic sound technology in the 18th century was the essential next step in the development of the modern electronic keyboard. The first electrified musical instrument was thought to be the Denis d’or (built by Vaclav Prokop Dovis), dating from around 1753. This was followed by the “electric harpsichord” invented by Jean Baptiste Thillaie de Laborde around 1760. The ancient instrument consisted of more than 700 strings temporarily electrified to enhance its sonic qualities. The latter was a keyboard instrument with plectra, or spikes, that were electrically activated.
While electrified, neither the Denis d’or nor the harpsichord used electricity as a sound source. In 1876, Elisha Gray invented an instrument called the “musical telegraph”, which was, essentially, the first analog electronic synthesizer. Gray discovered that he could control the sound of an electromagnetic circuit that vibrated automatically, so he invented a basic single-note oscillator. His musical telegraph created sounds from the electromagnetic oscillation of steel reeds and transmitted them through a telephone line. Gray went on to incorporate a simple loudspeaker in his later models that consisted of a diaphragm that vibrated in a magnetic field, making the pitch oscillator audible.
Lee De Forrest, the self-described “Father of Radio,” was the next major contributor to the development of the electronic keyboard. In 1906 he invented the electronic triode valve or “audio valve”. The audio valve was the first thermionic valve or “vacuum tube”, and De Forrest built the first vacuum tube instrument, the “Audion Piano”, in 1915. The vacuum tube became an essential component of instruments. electronics for the next 50 years until the emergence and widespread adoption of transistor technology.
The 1920s brought a host of new electronic instruments to the scene, including the Theremin, the Ondes Martenot, and the Trautonium.
The next great advance in the history of electronic keyboards came in 1935 with the introduction of the Hammond organ. The Hammond was the first electronic instrument capable of producing polyphonic sounds, and it remained so until the invention of the Chamberlin Music Maker and the Mellotron in the late 1940s and early 1950s. The Chamberlin and the Mellotron were the first keyboards with playback of samples that were designed to make music.
The electronic piano made its first appearance in the 1940s with the “Pre-Piano” by Rhodes (later Fender Rhodes). This was a three and a half octave instrument made from 1946 to 1948 that came equipped with self-amplification. In 1955, the Wurlitzer Company introduced its first electric piano, “The 100”.
The rise of music synthesizers in the 1960s gave a powerful impetus to the evolution of electronic musical keyboards that we have today. The first synthesizers were extremely large and unwieldy machines that were used only in recording studios. Technological advancements and the proliferation of miniaturized solid-state components soon allowed the production of synthesizers that were self-contained, portable instruments capable of being used in live performances.
This started in 1964 when Bob Moog produced his “Moog Synthesizer”. Lacking a keyboard, the Moog synthesizer was not really an electronic keyboard. Then, in 1970, Moog debuted their “Minimoog,” a non-modular synthesizer with a built-in keyboard, and this instrument further standardized the design of electronic musical keyboards.
Most early analog synthesizers, such as the Minimoog and the Roland SH-100, were monophonic, capable of producing only one tone at a time. Some, like the EML 101, ARP Odyssey, and the Moog Sonic Six, could produce two different tones at the same time when two keys were pressed. True polyphony – the production of multiple simultaneous tones allowing chords to be played – could only be achieved, at first, using electronic organ designs. Various electronic keyboards were produced that combined organ circuitry with synthesizer processing. These included Moog’s Polymoog, Opus 3, and ARP Omni.
By 1976, additional design advancements had allowed for the emergence of polyphonic synthesizers such as the Oberheim Four-Voice and Yamaha’s CS-50, CS-60, and CS-80 series. The first truly practical polyphonic synthesizer, introduced in 1977, was the Sequential Circuits Prophet-5. This instrument was the first to use a microprocessor as a controller, and it also allowed all knob settings to be saved to computer memory and recalled by simply pressing a button. The design of the Prophet-5 soon became the new standard in the electronic keyboard industry.
The adoption of the Musical Instrumental Digital Interface (MIDI) as the standard for transmitting digital codes (allowing electronic keyboards to connect to computers and other devices for input and programming), and the ongoing digital technological revolution have produced tremendous advancements. in all aspects of electronics. keyboard design, construction, function, sound quality, and cost. Today’s manufacturers such as Casio, Yamaha, Korg, Rolland, and Kurzweil are now producing a host of well-built, lightweight, versatile, great-sounding, and affordable electronic keyboard musical instruments and will continue to do well for the foreseeable future. .