Editing Keyboard instrument (section)

{{Short description|Musical instrument played using a keyboard}}
[[File:D274.jpg|thumb|The [[piano]], a common keyboard instrument]]
[[File:Hammond b3 con leslie 122.jpg|thumb|[[Hammond organ]] with part of a [[Leslie speaker]] shown]]
[[File:Bandoneonphoto3.jpg|thumb|[[Bandoneon]]]]
A '''keyboard instrument''' is a [[musical instrument]] played using a [[musical keyboard|keyboard]], a row of levers that are pressed by the fingers. The most common of these are the [[piano]], [[organ (music)|organ]], and various [[electronic keyboard]]s, including [[synthesizer]]s and [[digital piano]]s. Other keyboard instruments include [[celesta]]s, which are struck [[idiophone]]s operated by a keyboard, and [[carillon]]s, which are usually housed in [[bell tower]]s or belfries of churches or municipal buildings.<ref name="kelzenberg">{{cite web |last=Kelzenberg |first=David |title=What are Historical Keyboard Instruments? |url=http://www.mhks.org/whatare.htm |access-date=2012-10-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130212121344/http://www.mhks.org/whatare.htm |archive-date=2013-02-12}}</ref>

Today, the term ''keyboard'' often refers to keyboard-style [[synthesizer]]s and arrangers as well as work-stations. These keyboards typically work by translating the physical act of pressing keys into electrical signals that produce sound. Under the fingers of a sensitive performer, the keyboard may also be used to control [[Dynamics (music)|dynamics]], [[Phrase (music)|phrasing]], shading, [[Articulation (music)|articulation]], and other elements of expression—depending on the design and inherent capabilities of the instrument.<ref name="kelzenberg" /> Modern keyboards, especially digital ones, can simulate a wide range of sounds beyond traditional piano tones, thanks to advanced sound synthesis techniques and digital sampling technology.

Another important use of the word ''keyboard'' is in historical musicology, where it means an instrument whose identity cannot be firmly established. Particularly in the 18th century, the [[harpsichord]], the [[clavichord]], and the early piano competed, and the same piece might be played on more than one. Hence, in a phrase such as "Mozart excelled as a keyboard player", the word ''keyboard'' is typically all-inclusive.

The term keyboard classifies instruments based on how the performer plays the instrument, and not on how the sound is produced. Categories of keyboard instruments include the following families (of which this is only a partial list):
*'''[[aerophone]]s''' ([[pipe organ]], [[pump organ]], [[accordion]]);
*'''[[idiophone]]s''' ([[celesta]], [[carillon]], [[glasschord]]);
*'''[[String instrument|chordophones]]''':
**''[[plucked string instrument]]s'' ([[harpsichord]], [[tangent piano]], [[lautenwerck]]);
**''[[bowed string instrument]]s'' ([[hurdy-gurdy]], [[bowed clavier]]);
**''[[percussion instrument#Chordophone|struck string instruments]]'' ([[clavichord]], [[piano]]);
*'''[[Electronic musical instrument|electrophones]]''' ([[electric piano]]s, [[Electric organ|electric]] and [[Electric organ#Electronic organs (1930s–)|electronic organs]], [[synthesizer]]s, [[mellotron]]).