Keyboard Music

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Joyful Sound of Piano Music

Nothing like kicking back and enjoying a good piece of keyboard music. How about playing it yourself? Hearing cascading music being played on a keyboard is a wonderful sound indeed. The keyboard is one of the most versatile of musical instruments and playing one can prove to be a challenging task.

These instruments, which include the harpsichords of the past to the modern organs and pianos of today, have evolved over the years and dictated the kinds of sounds that permeate the music.

Listening to the Greatest Musicians

Isn't it a wonderful feeling just to sit back and listen to classical keyboard music played by masters of the art such as Bach and Scarlatti? The piano can be very lyrical in the hands of Chopin and Debussy, with almost abstract melodies. In the case of Fugue in G Minor by Bach, the organ can be dramatic.

Keyboard music is superb when listening to expert jazz musicians such as pianists Oscar Peterson, Art Tatum, Dave Brubeck and Thelonius Monk. All of these accomplished musicians are still very influential today.

Keyboards and Rock N Roll Music

Rock music, which began in the 50s, was influenced by a broad field of cultures and music traditions. Ragtime was made popular by Scott Joplin playing his tunes on the piano. Jerry Lee Lewis, who was considered the finest keyboard player from that era, played with almost every part of his body, including his feet!

Rock and roll was typically played with some type of keyboard instrument. The Hammond organ, which was famous for its big sound, became more popular as rock music developed among groups than other organs.

The invention of the electronic synthesizer had a big impact on the sound of keyboard music. This new technology allowed the piano to electronically mimic a full orchestra or any other instrument within it. Jean Michel Jarre and Rick Wakeman led the way for dance and ambient music available to us today with the use of keyboard synthesizers.

The Hybrids of Music

Musical fusion has also been made possible by modern instruments adapting old ideas. The French jazz pianist Jacques Loussier is well known for interpreting the work of Bach. Organist Keith Emerson liked to give the classics the rock treatment.

He reworked Bach's Brandenburg Concertos as part of the band, The Nice into an album called Five Bridges. Then, as part of Emerson, Lake and Palmer, he reinvented Pictures at an Exhibition by the Russian composer, Mussorgsky.

Sounds of Classic Keyboard Music

Keyboard music from the past will always be an influence on each new era, even though musical instruments will continue to change with more technology developments.

Different genres go in and out of fashion. In pop music, the keyboard based bands from the 1980s such as Duran Duran dominated that decade and now guitar bands are the tour de force. What comes around, goes around.