Time travel through the development of rock culture based on the instruments used, their opportunities and limitations. The focus is on electric pianos with analog sound generation.
A look at the development of music
Keyboard instruments are often part of bands. Bands travel a lot. This also requires the musical instruments to be mobile. Whether organ, upright or grand piano, there have always been logistical challenges. The exhibition is mainly concerned with representatives of electric pianos with mechanical sound generation. This is recorded and amplified electronically. The primary aim was to reduce weight. This was achieved by eliminating the soundboard. In some cases, the range was also reduced. Only the larger stage pianos had an 88-note keyboard. Keyboards with 73 and 64 keys were common, and sometimes only 61 - 44 keys. Attempts were also made to find alternatives to the strings, hammer action and key weighting for sound production. All this inevitably led to new sounds. The first electric pianos were developed in the late 1950s. Only a few manufacturers succeeded in creating a grand piano sound and feel in the late '70s. However, instruments with little relation to the sound of a piano or grand piano were also able to assert themselves and found their place in pop music genres such as rock, blues, funk and reggae. The sounds became so established that the typical sounds of Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Yamaha, Kawai and Hohner found their place in the sound banks of today's digital keyboard instruments. The sound can be digitized, but not the feel. Whether Rhodes, Wurlitzer, Yamaha, Kawai, Hohner or Weltmeister/Vermona shaped the development of rock music.
Other visits are possible by arrangement.
