Editing Keytar (section)

== Overview ==
Though the term "keytar" has been used since the introduction of the instrument, it was not used by a major manufacturer until 2012,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2012-01-20 |title=The Vortex: the world's first USB/MIDI Keytar Controller |url=https://newatlas.com/alesis-vortex-usb-midi-keytar/21158/ |access-date=2024-03-11 |website=New Atlas |language=en-US}}</ref> when the Alesis company referred to the "Vortex", the company's first product of this type, as a "USB/MIDI Keytar Controller”.<ref>From the official Alesis website: http://alesis.com/vortex</ref>

Keytars allow players a greater range of movement onstage, compared to conventional keyboards, which are placed on stationary stands or which are part of heavy, floor-mounted structures. The instrument has a [[musical keyboard]] for triggering musical notes and sounds. Various controls are placed on the instrument's "neck", including those for [[Pitch (music)|pitch]] bends, [[vibrato]], [[portamento]], and [[sustain]].

Keytars may either contain their own synthesizer engines, or be MIDI controllers. In either case, a keytar needs to be connected to a [[keyboard amplifier]] or [[PA system]] to produce a sound that the performer and audience can hear. MIDI controller keytars trigger notes and other [[MIDI]] data on an external MIDI-capable synthesizer, [[sound module]] or computer with synthesizer software. While a keytar is usually used to create musical sounds, like any other MIDI controller it could also be used to trigger such devices as MIDI-enabled lighting controllers, effects devices and audio consoles.

[[File:Yamaha KX1.jpg |thumb|right|[[Herbie Hancock]]'s Yamaha KX1 MIDI controller on display at the Smithsonian [[National Museum of American History]].]]