Classic Keys : Keyboard Sounds That Launched Rock Music / Alan S. Lenhoff and David Robertson.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Lenhoff, Alan S., 1951- author.

Robertson, David E., 1956- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Electronic musical instruments--History--20th century.

Electronic musical instruments.

Keyboard instruments--History--20th century.

Keyboard instruments.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (420 pages)

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Denton,Texas : UNT Press, [2019]

Summary:

Classic Keys is a beautifully photographed and illustrated book focusing on the signature rock keyboard sounds of the 1950s to the early 1980s. It celebrates the Hammond B-3 organ, Rhodes and Wurlitzer electric pianos, the Vox Continental and Farfisa combo organs, the Hohner Clavinet, the Mellotron, the Minimoog and other famous and collectable instruments. From the earliest days of rock music, the role of keyboards has grown dramatically. Advancements in electronics created a crescendo of musical invention. In the thirty short years between 1950 and 1980, the rock keyboard went from being whatever down-on-its-luck piano awaited a band in a bar or concert hall to a portable digital orchestra. It made keyboards a centerpiece of the sound of many top rock bands, and a handful of them became icons of both sound and design. Their sounds live on: Digitally, in the memory chips of modern keyboards, and in their original form thanks to a growing group of musicians and collectors of many ages and nationalities. Classic Keys explores the sound, lore, and technology of these iconic instruments, including their place in the historical development of keyboard instruments, music, and the international keyboard instrument industry. Twelve significant instruments are presented as the chapter foundations, together with information about and comparisons with more than thirty-six others. Included are short profiles of modern musicians, composers, and others who collect, use, and prize these instruments years after they went out of production. Both authors are avid musicians, collect and restore vintage keyboards, and are well-known and respected in the international community of web forums devoted to these instruments.

Contents:

Overture : ebony & ivory

Keys go electric : let's get loud

Electric pianos : the piano goes portable

Electronic organs : the organ loses its pipes

Hammond B-3 : the soulful sound of tonewheels

Wurlitzer piano : reeds that rock

Hohner pianet : the sound of summer in the '60s

Vox Continental : the voice of the British invasion

Farfisa compact : the classic garage band organ

Gibson G101 : the Doors' combo organ

Rhodes piano : the heavenly tine piano

Hohner clavinet : superstition is the way

Mellotron : a moody orchestra in a box

RMI electra-piano : the birth of the electronic piano

Turning Japanese : the future moves east

Yamaha CP70B : the return of the real piano

Minimoog : the mighty compact synth

Collecting keys : the value of vintage instruments.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

ISBN:

1-57441-786-X

OCLC:

1130902390