Keyboardist
 | This articlepossibly containsoriginal research.(October 2010) |
Akeyboardistorkeyboard playeris amusicianwho playskeyboard instruments.Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as eitherpianistsororganists.Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical instruments with keyboards have come into common usage, such assynthesizersanddigital piano,requiring a more general term for a person who plays them. In the 2010s, professional keyboardists in popular music often play a variety of different keyboard instruments, including piano,tonewheel organ,synthesizer, andclavinet.Some keyboardists may also play related instruments such aspiano accordion,melodica,pedal keyboard,or keyboard-layoutbass pedals.
Notable electronic keyboardists
[edit]There are many famous electronic keyboardists in metal, rock, pop and jazz music. A complete list can be found atList of keyboardists.
The use of electronic keyboards grew in popularity throughout the 1960s, with many bands using the Hammond organ,Mellotron,and electric pianos such as theFender Rhodes.The Doorsbecame the first rock group to use theMoog synthesizeron a record on 1967's "Strange Days".Other bands, includingthe Moody Blues,the Rolling Stonesandthe Beatles,would go on to add it to their records, both to providesound effectsand as a musical instrument in its own right. In 1966,Billy Ritchiebecame the first keyboard player to take a lead role in a rock band, replacing guitar, and thereby preparing the ground for others such asRay Manzarek,Keith EmersonandRick Wakeman.[1]
In the late 1960s, French musicianJean Michel Jarre,a pioneer of modern electronic music, started to experiment with synthesizers and other electronic devices. As synthesizers became more affordable and less unwieldy, many more bands and producers began using them, eventually paving the way for bands that consisted solely of synthesizers and other electronic instruments such asdrum machinesby the late 1970s/early 1980s. Some of the first bands that used this set up wereKraftwerk,Suicideandthe Human League.Rock groups also began using synthesizers and electronic keyboards alongside the traditional line-up of guitar, bass and drums; particularly inprogressive rockgroups such asYes,Genesis,Emerson, Lake & PalmerandPink Floyd.Fleetwood Mac,who had originated as a blues rock band, moved towards pop and soft rock and became known for synthesizer-infused hits in the 1980s such as "Everywhere"and"Little Lies".
Keyboardists are often hired incover bandsandtribute bands,to replicate the original keyboard parts and other instrumental parts such asstringsorhorn sectionwhere it would be logistically difficult or too expensive to hire people to play the actual instruments.
See also
[edit]- Pianist
- Organist
- List of Hammond organ players
- List of harpsichordists
- Classical pianists (recorded)
References
[edit]Further reading
[edit]- Young, Percy M.Keyboard Musicians of the World.London: Abelard-Schuman, 1967.N.B.: Concerns celebrated keyboard players and the various such instruments used over the centuries. SBN 200-71497-X
