Keyboard Instruments Through History
Keyboard instruments changed dramatically throughout music history. During the Baroque era, the harpsichord and organ were especially important, while the newly invented fortepiano began the transition toward the modern piano.
What Was the First Keyboard Instrument?
The Hydraulis
Did you know one of the earliest ancestors of the pipe organ was the hydraulis, also known as “water organ,” an ancient Greek instrument that used water pressure to supply air to its pipes? The hydraulis was created by Ctesibius of Alexandria. A late 4th century poem by a poet named Claudian tells us that this organ had balanced keys and could be played with a light touch, “let him thunder forth as he presses out mighty roarings with a light touch.” Much later, medieval organ builders replaced the water-powered system with bellows.
The Organ
The pipe organ was one of the most important keyboard instruments of the Baroque era. Although the organ had existed for centuries, it continued to develop and become more powerful and expressive.
During the Baroque period, composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach and George Frideric Handel wrote important music for the organ. Bach, in particular, became famous for his organ compositions.
The organ was sometimes called the “king of instruments” because of its enormous range of sounds and its ability to fill a large church or concert space.
Harpsichord
The harpsichord was a popular keyboard instrument in European music from the 16th through the first half of the 18th century. It has two sets of strings that produce different tones and are an octave apart in pitch. The harpsichord produces a softer sound than the modern piano because it uses quills to pluck the strings instead of hammers. The harpsichord does not have dynamic control. Eventually, the popularity of the harpsichord waned as the fortepiano became more popular.
Listening Quest
Listen for the bright, crisp sound of the strings being plucked. Unlike a modern piano, the harpsichord could not change its volume in the same way. Listen closely—can you hear how the notes stay fairly even in volume?
Fortepiano
The fortepiano helped solve one of the harpsichord’s biggest limitations: dynamics. Bartolomeo Cristofori invented the fortepiano (sometimes called a pianoforte) in Italy around 1700. The name came from the Italian words piano and forte, meaning “soft” and “loud.” The fortepiano was special because players could create both soft and loud sounds by changing how they played the keys. This new ability changed the way composers could write music.
The fortepiano used hammers and dampers and had a range of about four octaves.
Look closely! Do you notice something different in the picture of the fortepiano? The black and white keys are opposite from those on our modern piano!
How did the fortepiano compare to the modern-day piano?
Over the next century, piano makers continued to improve the fortepiano. These changes eventually led to the larger, louder, and more powerful pianos we know today. By the 19th century, piano makers were developing stronger iron frames, allowing pianos to become larger, louder, and more powerful. In the 1860s, a veneer was added to the piano, and it became machine-manufactured.
Fortepiano
- Developed: 1700
- Wooden frame
- knee levers
- Four octaves
- 30-70 pounds of tension per string = 3 to 5 tons of pressure on the frame
Grand Piano
- Developed: 1830-1860s
- Iron frame
- pedals
- Seven and a half octaves
- 160-200 pounds of tension per string = 18 to 30 tons of pressure on the frame
- Improved action
From Electric Pianos to Synthesizers
As technology changed, keyboard instruments changed too. Inventors began experimenting with electricity, electronics, and new ways to create and control sound. These experiments eventually led to electric pianos, synthesizers, and the digital keyboards we use today.
Denis D’or
Inventors have been toying with instruments that use electricity since the mid-18th century. The Denis d’or was the first musical instrument recorded to use electricity, invented by a man named Vaclav Prokop Divis from what is now the Czech Republic. The first written mention of this instrument was in 1753, although it very likely existed as much as a decade earlier. This instrument had electrically charged iron strings that could produce a variety of sounds such as harps, harpsichords, wind instruments, and lutes.
Neo-Bechstein
The first design for the Neo-Bechstein was by Oskar Vierling in 1922. Walther Nernst built the Neo-Bechstein electric grand piano in approximately 1930. The Neo-Bechstein was marketed in 1931. It did not have a soundboard. String vibrations were captured by a pickup, and a speaker amplified them.
RCA Storytone Electric Piano
The first modern specimen of an electric piano was presented at the 1939 World’s Fair. It was called the RCA Storytone electric piano and was created by Story & Clark and RCA. Like the Neo-Bechstein, it had no soundboard, but had electromagnetic pickups, electronics, and a speaker system amplifying the sound.
Moog Synthesizer
The Moog Synthesizer was created in 1964 by Robert Moog. It used a voltage-controlled oscillator to control pitch. Moog also invented the pitch wheel, an important keyboard component found in modern keyboards to bend pitch.
Yamaha GX-1
The Yamaha GX-1 was a 3-octave polyphonic synthesizer first built in 1973.
MIDI
In 1983, MIDI gave electronic instruments a way to communicate with one another. A keyboard could send information to another electronic instrument or computer, making it possible to control many different sounds from one keyboard. MIDI became an important part of modern electronic music. MIDI stands for Musical Instrument Digital Interface.
The first instruments with MIDI capabilities were the Sequential Circuits Prophet-600 synthesizer and the Roland Jupiter-6 in 1983. Today, electric keyboards use a combination of sound samples and have the capability to manipulate waveforms to produce unique sound combinations.
Why Keyboard Instruments Changed Over Time
Keyboard instruments changed because people wanted to:
- create different sounds
- play louder and softer
- make instruments larger and more powerful
- increase the range of notes
- use new technology to create and control sounds