Keyboard instruments

A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an action mechanism where hammers strike strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys—with the exception of the Bosendörfer and Stuart & Sons pianos—and tuned to a chromatic scale in equal temperament. A musician who specializes in piano is called a pianist.

wind instrument that produces sound by driving pressurized air (called wind) through pipes selected via a keyboard

thumb|right|300px|This harpsichord is the work of two celebrated makers: originally constructed by Andreas Ruckers in Antwerp (1646), it was later remodeled and expanded by Pascal Taskin in Paris (1780).

thumb|Early Minimoog by R.A. Moog Inc. ()

class of musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard

free-reed organ musical instrument

The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras. Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composition, not being loud enough for larger performances. The clavichord produces sound by striking brass or iron strings with small metal blades called tangents. Vibrations are transmitted through the bridge(s) to the soundboard.

thumb|alt=A man plays the Victorian Christmas carol "Good King Wenceslas" on a carillon's wooden keyboard with his fists, during this carillon's annual Christmas recitals during the 2016 holiday season.|A carillonist plays the 56-bell carillon of the Plummer Building, [[Rochester, Minnesota, US]] thumb|alt=A steel structure containing 56 hanging bells of various sizes and topped with a roof spire and a cross|The 56-bell carillon of Saint Joseph's Oratory, [[Montreal, Quebec, Canada]]

The celesta () or celeste (), also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box (three-octave). The keys connect to hammers that strike a graduated set of metal (usually steel) plates or bars suspended over wooden resonators. Four- or five-octave models usually have a damper pedal that sustains or damps the sound. The three-octave instruments do not have a pedal because of their small "table-top" design. One of the best-known works

musical instrument component

musical keyboard instrument

The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which causes a length of magnetic tape to contact a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. As the key is released, the tape is retracted by a spring to its initial position. Different portions of the tape can be played for different sounds.

The melodica is a handheld free reed instrument similar in sound to a pump organ or harmonica. It features a musical keyboard on top, and is played by blowing air through a mouthpiece that fits into a hole in the side of the instrument. The keyboard usually covers two or three octaves. Melodicas are small, lightweight, and portable, and many are designed for children to play. They are popular in music education programs, especially in Asia. The modern form of the instrument was invented by Hohner in the late 1950s, though similar instruments have been known in Italy since the 19th century.

electronic keyboard instrument

thumb|start=56|Virginal from 1668 at St Cecilia's Hall, Edinburgh The virginals is a keyboard instrument of the harpsichord family. It was popular in Europe during the late Renaissance and early Baroque periods.

early electronic musical instrument

alt=|thumb|400px|KORG RK-100 (1984) MIDI remote controller

conjectural musical instrument

thumb|Mid-1970s Stylophone with simulated wood panel thumb|right|Stylophone being played with stylus

small pipe organ

musical keyboard played with the feet, usually used for low-pitched notes

thumb|Lautenwerck thumb|Lautenwerck The lautenwerck (also spelled lautenwerk), alternatively called lute-harpsichord (lute-clavier) or keyboard lute, is a European keyboard instrument of the Baroque period. It is similar to a harpsichord, but with gut (sometimes nylon) rather than metal strings (except for the 4-foot register on some instruments), producing a mellow tone.

small portable organ

loudspeaker known for its rotation effect and association with the Hammond organ

thumb|Herman Willenbrock: Claviorganum (Germany 1712) The claviorgan (also known as the claviorganum, claviorgano, clavecin organisee) is a combination of a stringed instrument (usually a keyboard instrument) and an organ. Its origin is uncertain, but its history can be traced back to the fifteenth century.

musical instrument

type of piano that includes an organ-style pedalboard

musical instrument

music performance controller developed by Lippold Haken

musical keyboard on an organ played with the hands

musical instrument

piano-style keyboard that sends MIDI inputs to a computer or device lacking a sound module cannot produce sounds

manuscript

right|thumb|Chamberlin logo

thumb|Panharmonicon(L'Illustration, 25 May 1846)

portative reed organ

stringed keyboard instrument

right|thumb|An image of a claviharp from the 1891 Scientific American The claviharp, also known as the harp piano, xenorphica, or Keyboard Harp, is a 19th-century musical instrument that combined a harp with a keyboard. Despite mentions of this instrument in previous centuries (see Juan Hidalgo), Johann Christian Dietz has been recognized as the inventor of the instrument in 1813. His grandfather was one of the first upright piano manufacturers. Struck by what he saw as difficulties and defects of the harp, in 1810, he built an instrument à cordes pincées à clavier, which connected a keyboard

musical organ installed in a personal home

thumb|Orphica by Joseph Dohnal (Kunsthistorisches Museum)

aspect of history

thumb|250px|Reproduction of the archicembalo

thumb|Terpodion Johann David Buschmann (1773–1852) At 1825 Berlin Signatur „J.D. Buschmann in Berlin“ Klaviaturumfang: F1-f4 (six octaves) Restored 2006/07: Andreas Hermert / Meike Wolters, H 830 mm, B 1296 mm, T 666 mm, Inv.-Nr.: V/J 417, Städtische Museen Junge Kunst und Viadrina, 15230 Frankfurt (Oder)

Instrument consisting of a glockenspiel operated by a piano keyboard

ability of a keyboard musical instrument to respond to change tone or other qualities of the sound in response to velocity

The Vako Orchestron is a keyboard instrument made in the 1970s, that produces its sound through electronic amplification of sounds pre-recorded as an optical track on a disc. It is the professional version of the Mattel Optigan, an earlier and lower-priced model intended for amateur musicians.