There are vintage musical instruments that evoke nostalgic memories of a bygone era, and then there are those that serve as a painful reminder that parachute pants and leg warmers were once fashionable. The keytar, a type of instrument, may fall somewhere between those two schools of thought. A keytar is an electronic keyboard or synthesizer with dimensions similar to those of an electric guitar. A keytar performer would wear the instrument around his or her body and use his or her right hand to play a miniature keyboard while using his or her left hand to control pitch bend, vibrato, and other controls.
Although the concept of a portable synthesizer for live performances was not new, keyboardists in the 1970s had to make do with smaller keyboards and standard guitar straps. The first generation keytar was introduced to the general public in the early 1980s by several prominent keyboard manufacturers, including Korg, Moog, and Roland. A three-octave keyboard, a guitar-style neck, and several electronic components that controlled pitch, vibrato, and voice were all included in these keytars.
The player of the keytar could program the instrument to switch between a variety of voices, including strings, brass, and distinctive electronic leads. He or she could also use the keytar to trigger other instruments, such as electronic drums or other keyboards connected via MIDI. The guitar strap allowed keyboardists to perform solos in front of an audience or join the rest of the band on stage. The keytar allowed keyboardists to interact with others instead of hiding behind banks of keyboards.
Many of the first users were New Wave, dance pop, or early electronica bands, particularly the avant-garde groups DEVO and Blondie, because the keytar’s sounds tended to have an eclectic synthesized edge. These bands’ keyboardists frequently duplicated or reinvented riffs that would have been created by lead guitarists. From the perspective of a performer, the keytar gave bands a wider range of sounds to choose from when searching for a song’s signature hook or solo section.
Many New Wave and electronica bands had faded from popularity by the end of the 1980s, and the keytar had become more of a relic than a revered vintage instrument. During the 1990s and early 2000s, groups that embraced the keytar were frequently mocked as retro-80s bands with little originality. However, the keytar has recently gained popularity among rock bands, and it remains a popular collectible among serious musical instrument collectors.
Keytars from Korg and Moog from the 1980s are hard to come by, and both companies have long since abandoned the keyboard guitar market. The Roland AX-7 keytar was manufactured until the mid-2000s, but it is considered to be the last of its kind.