Part Six of Eight on how to play keyboard

1. Get familiar with your instrument. Whether you want to be a concert pianist or the keyboard whiz in a rock band, the basics are the same.
2. Learn the terminology. The instrument has many names and variations that all use the same interface. Let’s take a non-comprehensive look at the history of the keyboard.
3. • Organ. This would be among the earliest keyboard instruments with some of the earliest being played with one hand while the other hand operated the bellows.
   • Harpsichord. These were some of the earliest keyboards, and made their sounds by plucking the string like a guitarist would do, only the plectrum was attached to the key. The resulting sound had little dynamic range, but the dynamics were mainly achieved using stops which added or subtracted the number (choirs) of strings on the larger instruments. When the harpsichord was played as usual, it wasn't too noticeable that the instrument wasn't capable of sustaining any note for long.
   • Piano. This refined the process of making sounds, using a hard-felt hammer rather than a pick. The hammer was activated by the keyboard, and the pianist was given control of full range of dynamics, from very soft to very loud.
   • Electric Piano. While a piano sounds incredibly rich and beautiful, it’s really hard to carry around to a gig. When musicians started plugging in back in the 50s, they wanted something at least as portable as a drum kit. The electric piano (and organ) were born.
   • Synthesizer. After 300 years of harpsichords and pianos, musicians were very familiar and comfortable with the layout of the keyboard. When electronic sound synthesizers came along, it made sense to use the same key layout, but there was a subtle shift in terminology. Until then, people who played the keyboard were generally called “pianists” or “organists.” However, for an instrument that has a keyboard like a piano, but can sound like anything from a symphony orchestra to singing kittens, the word “pianist” just didn’t fit any longer, and the keyboard player was born.
   • Now you know. It’s time to practice.