Overview

A musical keyboard is the set of adjacent depressible levers or keys on a musical instrument. Keyboards typically contain keys for playing the twelve notes of the Western musical scale, with a combination of larger, longer keys and smaller, shorter keys that repeats at the interval of an octave. Depressing or striking a key on the keyboard makes the instrument produce sounds, either by making a hammer mechanically strike a string or metal tine (piano, electric piano, clavichord); pluck a string (harpsichord); open a valve to let air flow through a pipe (pipe organ or accordion); or strike a bell (a carillon in a church tower).

 

Categories

All-in-one: Many inexpensive and mid-priced electronic keyboards intended for amateur home use consist of a circuitry-connected keyboard with a synthesizer module or computer sound generating device, an amplifier and speakers, all incorporated into the keyboard's chassis. They typically have unweighted keys as a cost-saving measure. The least expensive models are not touch-sensitive, and only play one dynamic.

Professional keyboards: Instruments such as the Clavia NORD series and clonewheel organs like the Roland VK-7 combine a circuitry-connected keyboard with a synthesizer module or computer sound generating device, but they do not contain an amplifier or speakers within the keyboard. The manufacturers intend these professional keyboards to be plugged into an external keyboard amplifier (a wooden cabinet that contains an amplifier and a speaker).

Stage pianos: These are digital pianos with professional features such as weighted keys and a rugged chassis. They are designed for use by professional touring musicians and they are often used as the "house piano" in nightclubs and music festivals. Most stage pianos do not have an internal amp and speakers, so they have to be plugged into a keyboard amp. Unlike in-home digital pianos, stage pianos typically use an external sostenuto pedal and a separate keyboard stand (rather than a built-in stand). Stage pianos are designed this way to facilitate transport and touring use.