Keyboard Synthesizer

A keyboard synthesizer is a piano alternative that creates sound through electrical currents. There are different types of synthesizers. The synthesizer produces sound when electric signals are pressed. Some synthesizers use a stringed instrument, which resembles a guitar, others use a wind controller, which resembles a saxophone, and others use drum pads. The most common, however, are synthesizers that use a keyboard that resembles a piano. The instrument that signals the sound from the synthesizer is known as the controller.

There are three types of keyboard synthesizers: analog, digital and software. There are also hybrid synthesizers, which use a combination of two or more of these technologies. While there are many different types of synthesizers, keyboard synthesizers are the most common type of controller, and are relatively simple to use. The sound of the synthesizer simulates the sound of real musical instruments. There is an electrical switch under each key. When the key is pressed, the switch generates a tone.

For the noise to progress from electric frequency to traditional music, it must travel through a loudspeaker or set of headphones. The noise that is produced by the electrical frequencies can mimic the sound of various instruments. Sound is adjusted up and down the scale by speeding up or slowing down the music. Speeding up the playback speed gives the effect of moving up an octave, while slowing down the sound gives the effect of lowering the music an octave. 

The first electric synthesizer was invented in 1876 by Elisha Gray, who is best known for his development of a telephone prototype.In 1920s, Arseny Avraamov developed various systems of graphic sonic art.[3] The Hammond Novachord was an early but unsuccessful harbinger of synth technology in the 1930s-40s. In 1949, Japanese composer Minao Shibata discussed the concept of "a musical instrument with very high performance" that can "synthesize any kind of sound waves" and is "operated very easily," predicting that with such an instrument, "the music scene will be changed drastically."In 1958, the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center developed the RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer, the first programmable synthesizer.Prominent composers such as Vladimir Ussachevsky, Otto Luening, Milton Babbitt, Halim El-Dabh, Bülent Arel, Charles Wuorinen and Mario Davidovsky used the RCA Synthesizer extensively in various compositions.

Robert Moog introduced the first commercially available modern synthesizer in 1964. In the 1970s the development of miniaturized solid-state components allowed synthesizers to become self-contained, portable instruments. By the early 1980s companies were selling compact, modestly priced synthesizers to the public. This, along with the development of Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI), made it easier to integrate and synchronize synthesizers and other electronic instruments for use in musical composition. In the 1990s, synthesizers began to appear as computer software, known as software synthesizers.
   
Wendy Carlos - Switched-On Bach (1968)
First Movement (Allegro) of Brandenburg Concerto Number 3 played on synthesizer.
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The synthesizer had a considerable impact on 20th century music.Micky Dolenz of The Monkees bought one of the first Moog synthesizers. The band was the first to release an album featuring a Moog with Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd. in 1967.It reached #1 on the charts. A few months later, both the Rolling Stones' 2000 Light Years From Home and the title track of the Doors' 1967 album Strange Days would also feature a Moog, played by Brian Jones and Paul Beaver respectively. Walter (later Wendy) Carlos's Switched-On Bach (1968), recorded using Moog synthesizers, also influenced numerous musicians of that era and is one of the most popular recordings of classical music ever made,alongside the records of Isao Tomita (particularly Snowflakes are Dancing in 1974), who in the early 1970s utilized synthesizers to create new artificial sounds (rather than simply mimicking real instruments)and made significant advances in analog synthesizer programming.

The sound of the Moog also reached the mass market with Simon and Garfunkel's Bookends in 1968 and The Beatles' Abbey Road the following year, and hundreds of other popular recordings subsequently used synthesizers. Electronic music albums by Beaver and Krause, Tonto's Expanding Head Band, The United States of America and White Noise reached a sizeable cult audience and progressive rock musicians such as Richard Wright of Pink Floyd and Rick Wakeman of Yes were soon using the new portable synthesizers extensively. Other early users included Emerson, Lake & Palmer's Keith Emerson, Pete Townshend and The Crazy World of Arthur Brown's Vincent Crane.
The Prophet-5 synthesizer of the late 1970s-early 1980s.

During the 1970s, Jean Michel Jarre, Larry Fast and Vangelis released successful electronic instrumental albums. The emergence of Synthpop, a sub-genre of New Wave, in the late 1970s can be largely credited to synthesizer technology. The ground-breaking work of all-electronic German bands such as Kraftwerk and Tangerine Dream, via David Bowie during his Berlin period (1976–77), as well as the pioneering work of the Japanese Yellow Magic Orchestra and British Gary Numan,were crucial in the development of the genre.Nick Rhodes, keyboardist of Duran Duran, used Roland Jupiter-4 and Jupiter-8 synthesizers.OMD's "Enola Gay" (1980) used a distinctive electronic percussion and synthesized melody. Soft Cell used a synthesized melody on their 1981 hit "Tainted Love".Other chart hits include Depeche Mode's "Just Can't Get Enough" (1981),and The Human League's "Don't You Want Me".English musician Gary Numan's 1979 hits "Are 'Friends' Electric?" and "Cars" used synthesizers heavily Other notable synthpop groups included Visage, Japan, Ultravox,Spandau Ballet, Culture Club, Eurythmics and Blancmange, and synthesizers became one of the most important instruments in the music industry.Other notable users include Giorgio Moroder, Howard Jones, Kitaro, Stevie Wonder, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush, Frank Zappa, A Flock Of Seagulls and Devo.

What is a Keytar?

There are certain vintage musical instruments which inspire nostalgic memories of a bygone era, and then there are those which painfully remind us that parachute pants and leg warmers were once considered fashionable. An instrument known as the keytar may just fall somewhere between those two trains of thought. A keytar is an electronic keyboard or synthesizer configured into roughly the same dimensions as an electric guitar. A keytar performer would strap the instrument around his or her body and play a miniaturized keyboard with the right hand while manipulating pitch bend, vibrato and other controls with the left.

The idea of a portable synthesizer suitable for live performances was not particularly new, but keyboardists during the 1970s generally improvised with smaller keyboards and standard guitar straps. By the early 1980s, however, several prominent keyboard manufacturers, including Korg, Moog and Roland, introduced the first generation keytar to the general public. These keytars featured a three octave keyboard, along with a guitar-style neck and several electronic components which controlled pitch, vibrato and voice.

The keytar player could program the instrument to switch between several different voices, such as strings, brass and distinctive electronic leads. He or she could also use the keytar to trip other events, such as electronic drums or other keyboards connected by a MIDI interface. The guitar strap allowed keyboardists to step out with the rest of the band or perform solos in front of an audience. The keytar allowed keyboardists to step out from behind banks of keyboards and actually interact with others.

Because the sounds produced by the keytar tended to have an eclectic synthesized edge, many of the first users were New Wave, dance pop or early electronica bands, notably the avant garde groups DEVO and Blondie. Keyboardists in these bands often duplicated or reinvented riffs which would have originally been created by lead guitarists. From a performer's point of view, the introduction of the keytar did give bands a wider array of sounds to choose from when looking for a song's distinctive hook or solo section.

By the end of the 1980s, however, many of the New Wave and electronica bands had fallen out of popularity and the keytar itself became more of a relic than a respected vintage instrument. Groups which embraced the keytar during the 1990s or early 2000s was often derided as retro-80s bands with little originality. Several bands have recently embraced the keytar, however, and it continues to be a popular collectible among serious musical instrument collectors.

Korg and Moog keytars from the 1980s are difficult to find, and both companies have long since gotten out of the keyboard guitar market. A keytar known as the Roland AX-7 remained in production until the mid-2000s, but it is considered to be the last of its kind.

So,A keytar is a relatively lightweight keyboard (with or without a built-in synthesizer) that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is supported by a strap. Keytars allow players a greater range of movement compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stands. The instrument has a musical keyboard for triggering musical notes and sounds. Controls for pitch bends, vibrato, portamento, and sustain are placed on the instrument's "neck". The term "keytar" is a portmanteau of the words "keyboard" and "guitar". Keytars may either contain their own synthesis engines, or simply be controllers, triggering notes on another MIDI capable synthesizer.