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Stringed Keyboard Instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument played using a keyboard, a row of levers which are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the piano, organ, and various electronic keyboards, including synthesizers and digital pianos. Other keyboard instruments include celestas, which are struck idiophones operated by a keyboard, and carillons, which are usually housed in bell towers or belfries of churches or municipal buildings. This list categorizes keyboard instruments by their designs, and thus operations. Chordophones * Bowed clavier * Clavichord * Clavinet * Harpsichord ** Archicembalo ** Clavicymbalum ** Lautenwerck ** Spinet ** Virginal ** Clavicytherium ** Ottavino * Hurdy-gurdy ** Keyed fiddle * Piano ** Fortepiano ** Tangent piano ** Orphica ** Autoharp Aerophones * Piano accordion * Calliope * Claviola * Harmonetta * Pump organ ** Harmonium * Pipe organ * Melodica * Regal Idiophones * Carillon * Celesta * Dulcitone * Electric piano ** Wurlitz ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Musical Instrument
A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who plays a musical instrument is known as an instrumentalist. The history of musical instruments dates to the beginnings of human culture. Early musical instruments may have been used for rituals, such as a horn to signal success on the hunt, or a drum in a religious ceremony. Cultures eventually developed composition and performance of melodies for entertainment. Musical instruments evolved in step with changing applications and technologies. The date and origin of the first device considered a musical instrument is disputed. The oldest object that some scholars refer to as a musical instrument, a simple flute, dates back as far as 50,000 - 60,000 years. Some consensus dates early flutes to about 40,000 years ago. However, most historians be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 ft Register on some instruments), producing a mellow tone. The instrument was favored by J. S. Bach, who owned two of the instruments at the time of his death, but no specimens from the eighteenth century have survived to the present day. It has been revived since the twentieth century by harpsichord makers Willard Martin, Keith Hill, and Steven Sorli. Two of its most prominent performers are the early music specialists Gergely Sárközy and Robert Hill. Media Performances by Gergely Sárközy Gergely Sárközy is a Hungarian musician who plays guitar, lute, lute-harpsichord, viola bastarda, and organ. He has produced numerous recordings and has helped in the creation of animated film soundtrac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Claviola
The Claviola is a musical instrument that was designed in the 1960s by Hohner technician and designer Ernst Zacharias (inventor of the Pianet and Clavinet). The instrument was produced for a few months in the late 1990s before being discontinued. Similar to a melodica (which is still in production), but worn like an accordion, the claviola has a set of piano keys on the right side that range 2½ octaves. The left side is a set of pipes that range in length depending on the corresponding pitch. In combination with the pipes, the claviola uses reeds blown from the "wrong" side compared to reeds in most Western free-reed instruments, resulting in a much mellower, less reedy tone, and pitch dependent on the pipe length. The player can use his or her left hand to shade or cover the pipe openings, to bend notes or add vibrato. The Hohner Claviola is best known for its use by the band One Ring Zero and the jazz/folk musician Misha Alperin (Moscow Art Trio). Other musicians who use the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Calliope (music)
A calliope (see below for pronunciation) is an American and Canadian musical instrument that produces sound by sending a gas, originally steam or, more recently, compressed air, through large whistles—originally locomotive whistles. A calliope is typically very loud. Even some small calliopes are audible for miles. There is no way to vary tone or loudness. Musically, the only expression possible is the pitch, rhythm, and duration of the notes. The steam calliope is also known as a steam organ (''orgue à vapeur'' in Quebec) or steam piano (''piano à vapeur'' in Quebec). The air-driven calliope is sometimes called a calliaphone, the name given to it by Norman Baker, but the "Calliaphone" name is registered by the Miner Company for instruments produced under the Tangley name. In the age of steam, the steam calliope was particularly used on riverboats and in circuses. In both cases, a steam supply was readily available for other purposes. Riverboats supplied steam from thei ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piano Accordion
A piano accordion is an accordion equipped with a right-hand keyboard similar to a piano or organ. Its acoustic mechanism is more that of an organ than a piano, as they are both aerophones, but the term "piano accordion"—coined by Guido Deiro in 1910—has remained the popular name. It may be equipped with any of the available systems for the left-hand manual. In comparison with a piano keyboard, the keys are more rounded, smaller, and lighter to the touch. These go vertically down the side, pointing inward, toward the bellows, making them accessible to only one hand while handling the accordion.Felt or rubber is placed under the piano keys to control touch and key noise: it is also used on the ''pallets'' to silence notes not sounded by preventing air flow. This material eventually wears with use, resulting in a clacking noise, so has to be replaced to quieten the mechanism. The bass piano accordion is a variation of a piano accordion without bass buttons, with the piano key ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Autoharp
An autoharp or chord zither is a string instrument belonging to the zither family. It uses a series of bars individually configured to mute all strings other than those needed for the intended chord. The term ''autoharp'' was once a trademark of the Oscar Schmidt company, but has become a generic designation for all such instruments, regardless of manufacturer. History Charles F. Zimmermann, a German immigrant in Philadelphia, was awarded a patent in 1882 for a “Harp” fitted with a mechanism that muted strings selectively during play. He called a zither-sized instrument using this mechanism an “autoharp.” Unlike later designs, the instrument shown in the patent was symmetrical, and the damping mechanism engaged with the strings laterally instead of from above. It is not known if Zimmermann ever produced such instruments commercially. Karl August Gütter of Markneukirchen, Germany, built a model that he called a ''Volkszither'', which was more clearly the prototype of the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orphica
The orphica is a portable piano invented by Carl Leopold Röllig in the late 18th century. Like a guitar, the orphica could be held on a shoulder strap, thus being an early forerunner of the modern keytar. Only a few orphicas were made in Vienna from 1795 to 1810; about 30 orphicas are still in existence today. Beethoven's compositions for orphica Among the few composers writing for the orphica was Ludwig van Beethoven. According to a letter of Beethoven's friend Franz Gerhard Wegeler from December 23, 1827, Wegeler had ''2 Stückchen für die Orphica, die Bhven für meine Frau componirte'' ('2 small pieces for the orphica which Beethoven composed for my wife').''Beethoven aus der Sicht seiner Zeitgenossen'', ed. Klaus Martin Kopitz and Rainer Cadenbach, Munich 2009, vol. 2, p. 788 This refers to the two pieces of 1798, WoO. 51, formerly erroneously titled ''Leichte Klaviersonate''. Gallery File:Orphica.JPG, An orphica at the '' Museo Nazionale degli Strumenti Musicali di R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tangent Piano
The tangent piano is a very rare keyboard instrument that resembles a harpsichord and early pianos in design. It normally features five octaves of keys and the strings are acted upon by narrow wooden or metal slips when the keys are depressed. History In 1440, Arnault de Zwolle described what is believed to be the first keyboard instrument which used a tangent action. It is speculated that this was a clavichord or harpsichord. Pantaleon Hebenstreit is credited with the creation in 1705 of the first tangent piano. Christoph Gottlieb Schröter claimed that he invented the new tangent piano by letting blank harpsichord jacks hit the strings, also incorporating dampers into the action. A famous early piano maker, Gottfried Silbermann, was making ' pantaleons' by 1727. The Germans gave another name to the pantaleon, the ''Tangentenflügel'' and the English called it the 'tangent piano.' In 1777, Mozart referred to the tangent piano as the "Spattisches Klavier," after the maker of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fortepiano
A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Most typically, however, it is used to refer to the mid-18th to early-19th century instruments for which composers of the Classical era, especially Haydn, Mozart, and the younger Beethoven wrote their piano music. Starting in Beethoven's time, the fortepiano began a period of steady evolution, culminating in the late 19th century with the modern grand. The earlier fortepiano became obsolete and was absent from the musical scene for many decades. In the 20th century the fortepiano was revived, following the rise of interest in historically informed performance. Fortepianos are built for this purpose in specialist workshops. Construction The fortepiano has leather-covered hammers and thin, harpsichord-like strings. It has a much lighter case ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboard, which is a row of keys (small levers) that the performer presses down or strikes with the fingers and thumbs of both hands to cause the hammers to strike the strings. It was invented in Italy by Bartolomeo Cristofori around the year 1700. Description The word "piano" is a shortened form of ''pianoforte'', the Italian term for the early 1700s versions of the instrument, which in turn derives from ''clavicembalo col piano e forte'' (key cimbalom with quiet and loud)Pollens (1995, 238) and ''fortepiano''. The Italian musical terms ''piano'' and ''forte'' indicate "soft" and "loud" respectively, in this context referring to the variations in volume (i.e., loudness) produced in response to a pianist's touch or pressure on the keys: the grea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Keyed Fiddle
A nyckelharpa (, "keyed fiddle", or literally "key harp", plural ) is the national musical instrument of Sweden. It is a string instrument or chordophone. Its keys are attached to tangents which, when a key is depressed, serve as frets to change the pitch of the string. The nyckelharpa is similar in appearance to a fiddle or the big Sorb geige or viol. Structurally, it is more closely related to the hurdy-gurdy, both employing key-actuated tangents to change the pitch. History A depiction of two instruments, possibly but not confirmed nyckelharpas, can be found in a relief dating from on one of the gates of Källunge Church in Gotland. Early church paintings are found in Siena, Italy, dating to 1408 and in different churches in Denmark and Sweden, such as Tolfta Church, Sweden, which dates to . Other very early pictures are to be found in Hildesheim, Germany, dating to . The (nyckelharpa) is also mentioned in , a famous work written in 1620 by the German organist Mi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hurdy-gurdy
The hurdy-gurdy is a string instrument that produces sound by a hand-crank-turned, rosined wheel rubbing against the strings. The wheel functions much like a violin bow, and single notes played on the instrument sound similar to those of a violin. Melodies are played on a keyboard that presses ''tangents''—small wedges, typically made of wood—against one or more of the strings to change their pitch. Like most other acoustic stringed instruments, it has a sound board and hollow cavity to make the vibration of the strings audible. Most hurdy-gurdies have multiple drone strings, which give a constant pitch accompaniment to the melody, resulting in a sound similar to that of bagpipes. For this reason, the hurdy-gurdy is often used interchangeably or along with bagpipes. It is mostly used in Occitan, Aragonese, Cajun French, Asturian, Cantabrian, Galician, Hungarian, and Slavic folk music. One or more of the drone strings usually passes over a loose bridge that can be made ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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