A keyboard synthesizer is a piano alternative that uses electrical currents to produce sound. Synthesizers come in a variety of shapes and sizes. When electric signals are pressed, the synthesizer produces sound. Some synthesizers have a stringed instrument that sounds like a guitar, while others have a wind controller that sounds like a saxophone and still others have drum pads. Synthesizers with a piano-like keyboard, on the other hand, are the most common. The controller is the instrument that controls the sound produced the synthesizer.
Analog, digital, and software keyboard synthesizers are the three types of keyboard synthesizers. Hybrid synthesizers, which combine two or more of these technologies, are also available. Although there are many different types of synthesizers, keyboard synthesizers are the most common and are relatively easy to use. The synthesizer’s sound is modeled after that of real musical instruments. Each key has an electrical switch under it. The switch produces a tone when the key is pressed.
The noise must pass through a loudspeaker or headphones to progress from electric frequency to traditional music. The noise produced electrical frequencies can be used to imitate the sound of a variety of instruments. By speeding up or slowing down the music, the sound can be adjusted up and down the scale. Slowing down the sound has the effect of moving down an octave, while speeding up the sound has the effect of moving up an octave.
Electrical synthesizers have been around for a long time, but technology has only recently allowed them to be widely used. In 1876, the first electric synthesizer was accidentally discovered while inventor Elisha Gray was working on a telephone prototype. Technology had progressed to the point where keyboard synthesizers could be played in real time the 1960s. However, due to their size, they were primarily used in recording studios.
The Monkees made history in 1968 when they scored the first number one album with music generated a synthesizer. Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones, Ltd. was the title of the album. The keyboard synthesizer was used more frequently in various recordings after the success of The Monkees album. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, a James Bond film released in 1969, holds the distinction of being the first film to feature synthesized music.
The keyboard synthesizer achieved widespread popularity in the 1970s. Some musicians have made a career out of experimenting with different synthesizer sounds and mixes. Amateur synthesizer builders could use detailed plans from hobbyist magazines to build their own synthesizers.