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The earliest known keyboard instrument was the Ancient Greek hydraulis, a type of pipe organ invented in the third century BC. [2] The keys were likely balanced and could be played with a light touch, as is clear from the reference in a Latin poem by Claudian (late 4th century), who says magna levi detrudens murmura tactu . . . intonet, that is "let him thunder forth as he presses out mighty ...
In music, the organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more pipe divisions or other means (generally woodwind or electric) for producing tones. The organs have usually two or three, up to five, manuals for playing with the hands and a pedalboard for playing with the feet. With the use of registers, several groups of pipes can be connected to ...
The key action is independent of the stop action, allowing an organ to combine a mechanical key action with an electric stop action. A key action in which the keys are connected to the windchests by only rods and levers is a mechanical or tracker action. When the organist depresses a key, the corresponding rod (called a tracker) pulls open its ...
A clef (from French: clef 'key') is a musical symbol used to indicate which notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff. Placing a clef on a staff assigns a particular pitch to one of the five lines or four spaces, which defines the pitches on the remaining lines and spaces.
The organ viewed from within : a practical handbook on the mechanism of the organ, with a chapter on tuning by John Broadhouse; Construction, Tuning and Care of the Piano-forte (1887) by Edward Quincy Norton; Regulation and Repair of Piano and Player Mechanism, Together with Tuning as Science and Art (1909) by William Braid White
Organ keys often require less force to depress than piano keys; however, the keys on mechanical instruments can be very heavy (St Sulpice Paris, St Ouen Rouen, St Etienne Caen, etc.). When depressed, an organ key continues to sound its note at the same volume until the organist releases the key, unlike a piano key, whose note gradually fades ...
Pressing a key on the keyboard makes the instrument produce sounds—either by mechanically striking a string or tine (acoustic and electric piano, clavichord), plucking a string (harpsichord), causing air to flow through a pipe organ, striking a bell , or activating an electronic circuit (synthesizer, digital piano, electronic keyboard).
While the Richter-tuned 10-hole chromatic is intended to play in only one key, the 12-, 14-, and 16-hole models (which are tuned to equal temperament) allow the musician to play in any key desired with only one harmonica. This harp can be used for any style, including Celtic, classical, jazz, or blues (commonly in third position).