The electric grand piano is a stringed musical instrument played using a

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, in which the vibration of strings struck by hammers is converted by pickups into electrical signals, analogous to the

electric guitar An electric guitar is a guitar that requires external amplification in order to be heard at typical performance volumes, unlike a standard acoustic guitar (however combinations of the two - a semi-acoustic guitar and an electric acoustic gu ...

's electrification of the traditional guitar. Since electric amplification eliminates the need for a resonant chamber, electric grand pianos are smaller and lighter (around ), and consequently more portable, than acoustic pianos. Electric amplification also bypasses the difficulty of having to mic a conventional grand piano, and thus makes an electric grand easier to set up with a sound system.

History

Experimental efforts to electrify the grand piano began in the late 1920s with the

Neo-Bechstein Neo-Bechstein or Bechstein-Siemens-Nernst-Flügel were a set of electric grand pianos that were primarily built by Walther Nernst in the 1930s. Improvising upon an electrical prototype by Oskar Vierling, the design was executed around 1922, an ...

. In 1939, the first commercially available model, the

RCA The RCA Corporation was a major American electronics company, which was founded as the Radio Corporation of America in 1919. It was initially a patent trust owned by General Electric (GE), Westinghouse, AT&T Corporation and United Fruit Comp ...

Storytone, was introduced. These instruments featured the traditional hammered-string mechanism with pickups instead of a soundboard. In subsequent decades, other instruments now referred to as electric pianos were developed and saw wider use; these differ from electric grand pianos in that they produce sound by hammers striking metal

tuning forks A tuning fork is an acoustic resonator in the form of a two-pronged fork with the prongs (tines) formed from a U-shaped bar of elastic metal (usually steel). It resonates at a specific constant pitch when set vibrating by striking it agains ...

or reeds rather than strings. In the 1970s, hammered-string electric pianos returned to commercial production, beginning with

Yamaha Yamaha may refer to: * Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below). ** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...

's CP-70 and CP-80, followed by models by Kawai Musical Instruments and

Helpinstill {{unreferenced, date=February 2020 Helpinstill is a US-based company that produces a unique electromagnetic pickup system for amplifying grand and upright pianos on stage. During the late 1970s the company also marketed a range of portable pianos ...

. In the 1980s, with the advent of the

digital piano A digital piano is a type of electronic keyboard instrument designed to serve primarily as an alternative to the traditional acoustic piano, both in how it feels to play and in the sound it produces. Digital pianos use either synthesized emulat ...

, the electric grand piano declined in popularity, and production ultimately ceased. The electric grand sound survives as part of the official

General MIDI General MIDI (also known as GM or GM 1) is a standardized specification for electronic musical instruments that respond to MIDI messages. GM was developed by the American MIDI Manufacturers Association (MMA) and the Japan MIDI Standards Committe ...

specification, with most instrument manufacturers licensing the CP-70 and/or -80 sound from Yamaha.

Notable users

In 1939, U.S. dance band leader Shep Fields was using an

Storytone with his ensemble. Keane uses the

Yamaha CP-70 The Yamaha CP-70 is an electric piano manufactured by Yamaha Corporation between 1976 and 1985. The instrument was based on earlier electric piano technology, but took advantage of improved pickups along with the company's longstanding experience ...

, and is band member

Tim Rice-Oxley Timothy James Rice-Oxley (born 2 June 1976) is an English musician, best known for being the keyboardist, singer and songwriter of the pop rock band Keane. In 2010, he formed a side-project, Mt. Desolation, with his Keane bandmate Jesse Quin ...

's primary instrument. Lead singer

Tom Chaplin Thomas Oliver Chaplin (born 8 March 1979) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and composer, best known as the lead singer of the English pop rock band Keane. Early life Thomas Oliver Chaplin was born in Hastings, East Sussex, to Sally and ...

also used a Yamaha CP-60, a smaller and upright variant of the CP-70, during the ''

Under The Iron Sea ''Under the Iron Sea'' is the second studio album by the English rock band Keane, released on 12 June 2006. During its first week on sale in the UK, the album opened at number one, selling 222,297 copies according to figures from the Official ...

'' era of the band. Swedish soloartist Jack L. Stroem and the band

Tokyo Keys Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.468 ...

also uses the CP-70 (with guitar effects pedals and amplifiers) as an integral component of its sound. Michael Curtes of Polite Sleeper plays a CP-70B as his primary keyboard in live performances. Tony Banks of

Genesis Genesis may refer to: Bible * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...

used a Yamaha CP-70 from 1978 to the late 1980s in the band's music and his solo work, as did his bandmates Phil Collins and Peter Gabriel in their respective solo careers. Other notable users of the Yamaha CP series pianos include Billy Joel ("

My Life My Life may refer to: Autobiographies * ''Mein Leben'' (Wagner) (''My Life''), by Richard Wagner, 1870 * ''My Life'' (Clinton autobiography), by Bill Clinton, 2004 * ''My Life'' (Meir autobiography), by Golda Meir, 1973 * ''My Life'' (Mosley a ...

", " All for Leyna", "I Don't Want to Be Alone", "Sleeping with the Television On", "

Pressure Pressure (symbol: ''p'' or ''P'') is the force applied perpendicular to the surface of an object per unit area over which that force is distributed. Gauge pressure (also spelled ''gage'' pressure)The preferred spelling varies by country and e ...

", "Surprises"); Joe Zawinul, Steve Hillier of

Dubstar Dubstar are an English indie-dance duo,Note: An American indie hip hop artist has released some tracks and video via the Internet under the name "Dubstar", but is not connected to the band in any way. performing songs with hints of Britpop, dre ...

, who wrote all three of the band's albums for

EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...

on his CP-70B; Guilherme Arantes;

Split Enz Split Enz were a New Zealand rock band formed in Auckland in 1972 by Tim Finn and Phil Judd and had a variety of other members during its existence. Originally started as a folk-oriented group with quirky art rock stylings, the band built ...

keyboard player

Eddie Rayner Anthony Edward Charles Rayner (born 19 November 1952) is a New Zealand musician who spent twelve years as a keyboardist in the band Split Enz. He has also played in the groups Orb, Space Waltz, Crowded House, The Makers, The Angels in 1986-19 ...

, who played a CP-80 regularly throughout the group's most successful period in the early-mid 1980s;

Vangelis Evangelos Odysseas Papathanassiou ( el, Ευάγγελος Οδυσσέας Παπαθανασίου ; 29 March 1943 – 17 May 2022), known professionally as Vangelis ( ; el, Βαγγέλης, links=no ), was a Greek composer and arranger of ...

; George Duke;

Benny Andersson Göran Bror Benny Andersson (; born 16 December 1946) is a Swedish musician, singer, composer and producer best known as a member of the musical group ABBA and co-composer of the musicals ''Chess'', ''Kristina från Duvemåla'', and '' Mamma M ...

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group ...

;

Mick MacNeil Norman Michael MacNeil is a Scottish songwriter and keyboardist born 20 July 1958 on the Isle of Barra, Scotland. He is best known as a former member of the group Simple Minds. MacNeil joined the band in 1978 and left in 1990. He released the ...

of Simple Minds; D'Angelo;

the Edge David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...

of U2; Keith Emerson of

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

;

Keith Godchaux Keith Richard Godchaux (July 19, 1948 – July 23, 1980) was a pianist best known for his tenure in the rock group the Grateful Dead from 1971 to 1979. Biography Godchaux was born in Seattle, Washington, and grew up in Concord, California ...

and

Brent Mydland Brent Mydland (October 21, 1952 – July 26, 1990) was an American keyboardist and singer. He was a member of the rock band The Grateful Dead from 1979 to 1990, a longer tenure than any other keyboardist in the band. Growing up in Concord ...

of the Grateful Dead;

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

Kiss on My List "Kiss on My List" is a song by the American duo Hall & Oates. It was written by Daryl Hall and Janna Allen, and produced by Hall and John Oates. It was the third Single (music), single release from their ninth studio album, ''Voices (Hall & Oate ...

", " Private Eyes", "

Did It in a Minute "Did It in a Minute" is a song performed by American musical duo Hall & Oates. Written by member Daryl Hall with Sara and Janna Allen, the song was released as the third of four singles from their tenth studio album '' Private Eyes'' in March 198 ...

");

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

Since You Been Gone "Since You Been Gone" is a song written by former Argent guitarist Russ Ballard and first released on his 1976 album ''Winning''. It was covered by Rainbow in 1979 and released as a single from their album '' Down to Earth''. Rainbow version ...

");

Roxy Music Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...

(" Oh Yeah"); Toto (" Hold the Line"); Foreigner ("

Waiting for a Girl Like You "Waiting for a Girl Like You" is a 1981 power ballad by the British-American rock band Foreigner released as the second single from the album '' 4'' (1981) and was co-written by Lou Gramm and Mick Jones. The opening motif was written by Ian Mc ...

");

Kerry Livgren Kerry Allen Livgren (born September 18, 1949) is an American musician, best known as one of the founding members and primary songwriters for the American rock band Kansas. Biography Livgren was raised in Topeka, Kansas, by his father Allen ...

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...

("Lonely Wind");

Alicia Keys Alicia Augello Cook (born January 25, 1981), known professionally as Alicia Keys, is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. A classically trained pianist, Keys started composing songs when she was 12 and was signed at 15 years old by Col ...

("Girl on Fire") and Aaron Morgan of

Seabird Seabirds (also known as marine birds) are birds that are adapted to life within the marine environment. While seabirds vary greatly in lifestyle, behaviour and physiology, they often exhibit striking convergent evolution, as the same enviro ...

Models

Helpinstill

* Roadmaster 64 (64-note upright) * Roadmaster 88 (88-note upright) * Portable Grand (88-note grand)

Kawai

* EP-608 (75-note upright) * EP-705M (75-note upright with MIDI output) * EP-308 (88-note grand) * EP-308M (as EP-308 but with MIDI output)

Yamaha

* CP-60M (76-note upright with MIDI output) * CP-70 (73-note grand) * CP-70B (like CP-70 with revised action and electronics including balanced outputs) * CP-70D (like CP-70B; 73-key grand with 7-band graphic equalizer rather than Bass/Mid/Treble controls) * CP-70M (like CP-70D; 73-key grand with MIDI output) * CP-80 (like CP-70B; 88-key and balanced outputs) * CP-80D (like CP-80B; 88-key grand with 7-band graphic equalizer rather than Bass/Mid/Treble controls) * CP-80M (like CP-80D; 88-key grand with MIDI OUT) * E201/E-202 (76-key upright with built-in amplifier and speakers but no MIDI out) * E-501/E-502 (88-key upright with built-in amplifier and 3 speakers but no MIDI out)

References

External links

Information about the CP-70

{{Authority control

grand 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 keybo ...