Molly Ayala
The world of music has been revolutionized by electrically driven instruments, which have become integral to many genres, especially in popular music styles such as electronic dance music. These instruments, known as electrophones, are musical tools that produce sound through electronic circuitry and electrically driven oscillators. They include the electric guitar, electric piano, electric organ, and the synthesizer, with the first electrified musical instrument being the Denis d'or keyboard, dating back to 1753. Electric instruments rely on amplifiers and loudspeakers to produce sound, and their electronic nature allows composers to manipulate sound and create a diverse range of sonic structures.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Definition | An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. |
| Sound Production | Electronic instruments output an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that is plugged into a power amplifier which drives a loudspeaker, creating the sound heard by the performer and listener. |
| User Interface | A common user interface is the musical keyboard, which functions similarly to an acoustic piano keyboard. Other user interfaces include controllers or music controllers (input devices). |
| Sound Control | The user interface is used to control the pitch, frequency, or duration of each note. |
| Examples | Electric guitar, electric piano, electric organ, synthesizer, drum machine, bass synth, Hammond organ, Telharmonium, Mellotron, etc. |
| History | The first electrified musical instrument was the Denis d'or keyboard, dating from 1753, followed by the 1761 clavecin électrique. The largest early electric instrument was Thaddeus Cahill's Telharmonium, completed in 1906. |
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What You'll Learn
Electric guitars
There are three main types of electric guitars: solid-body, semi-hollow body, and full hollow body. Solid-body guitars are made entirely of solid wood, with no hollow areas except those required for pickups and controls. They offer increased sustain compared to other types. Popular solid-body guitars include the Gibson Les Paul, Gibson SG, Fender Stratocaster, and Fender Telecaster.
Semi-hollow body guitars have a hollow body that vibrates, and they are known for their ability to produce a sweet, plaintive, or funky tone. They are commonly used in blues, funk, '60s pop, and indie rock. Full hollow-body guitars, on the other hand, have large, deep, fully hollow bodies and can often be played at a volume similar to that of an acoustic guitar, making them suitable for unplugged performances. Both semi-hollow and full hollow-body guitars often feature f-shaped soundholes, which can be blocked off to prevent feedback.
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Electric pianos
Electronic keyboards, including electric pianos, have a different "feel" and "response" compared to a mechanically linked piano keyboard. This offers a novel experience in playing relative to operating a traditional piano keyboard. Electronic musical instruments are widely used in most styles of music, especially in popular music styles such as electronic dance music.
Digital pianos are compact, maintenance-free, and rich in features for everyday use. They blend cutting-edge technology with an authentic piano touch and tone. They are perfect for home practice, teaching studios, worship spaces, and performance venues. Some features of digital pianos include weighted keys, Bluetooth connectivity, recording functions, and silent practice capabilities with headphones.
The Roland FP-10 is a popular digital piano that offers a slim profile and is suitable for personal use, although it may not be powerful enough for big performances without an external amplifier. The FP-30X is another digital piano that offers a realistic piano-playing experience, with weighted keys and Roland’s SuperNATURAL sound engine, which recreates the feel of an acoustic piano. It also offers a variety of other instrument sounds, including electric piano, organ, and strings.
Hybrid pianos combine the features of digital and acoustic pianos, offering the best of both worlds. They provide the wooden actions and soundboards of traditional pianos with digital power and modern conveniences.
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Electric organs
Electronic musical instruments, or electrophones, are instruments that produce sound using electronic circuitry. The sound is created by outputting an electrical, electronic, or digital audio signal that is plugged into a power amplifier, which drives a loudspeaker to create the sound heard by the performer and listener.
The electric organ is one such instrument. The use of electricity in organs emerged in the first decades of the 20th century, with the advent of electrically powered reed organs. These early electric organs were slow to have a major impact, as their tonal qualities remained much the same as older, foot-pumped models. However, the substitution of an electrically driven compressor greatly improved the availability of playing time for pipe organs and made it more practical to install them in various venues.
Thaddeus Cahill's controversial instrument, the Telharmonium, predated the advent of electronics but was the first to demonstrate the use of a combination of different electrical waveforms to synthesize real-world instrument sounds. Cahill's techniques were later used by Laurens Hammond in his organ design, which could produce over 250 million tones. The Hammond organ was widely adopted in popular genres such as jazz, gospel, pop, and rock music, and its legs were sometimes cut off to make it easier to transport.
The Orgatron, developed in 1934 by Frederick Albert Hoschke, used a fan to blow air over a set of free reeds, causing them to vibrate. These vibrations were then detected by capacitive pickups, and the resulting electric signals were processed and amplified to create musical tones. The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company manufactured the Orgatron from 1945 to the early 1960s.
Frequency divider organs, which were even cheaper and more portable than the Hammond, used oscillators and frequency dividers to produce notes. These organs were built by many companies and were also offered in kit form to hobbyists. Console organs, on the other hand, are large and expensive electronic organ models that resemble pipe organ consoles and have a more traditional configuration, including full-range manuals and a two-octave pedalboard.
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Synthesizers
A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. In musicology, electronic musical instruments are known as electrophones, and are defined as instruments that produce sound initially through electricity, excluding electronically controlled acoustic instruments such as the pipe organ.
Today, synthesizers are considered one of the most important instruments in the music industry, with applications in both electronic and traditional genres. The development of new synthesizers continues to be an active and interdisciplinary field of research.
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Theremins
The theremin is an electronic musical instrument, or electrophones, that produces sound using electronic circuitry. It was invented in October 1920 by Russian physicist Lev Sergeyevich Termen, known in the West as Leon Theremin. The instrument was the product of Soviet government-sponsored research into proximity sensors.
The theremin is played by waving one's hands, arms, feet, and various inanimate objects around the pitch antenna. The instrument has been used in movie soundtracks, concert music (especially avant-garde and 20th- and 21st-century new music), and popular music genres such as rock. It has also been used in theme songs for television shows such as the ITV drama Midsomer Murders and the Disney+ series Loki.
Despite a flurry of interest in the theremin in America following the end of the Second World War, the instrument eventually fell into disuse with serious musicians due to the introduction of newer electronic instruments that were easier to play. However, a niche interest in the theremin persisted among electronics enthusiasts and kit-building hobbyists.
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Frequently asked questions
Electric guitars, electric pianos, electric organs, and electric violins are some examples of instruments that are electrically driven.
The Telharmonium, the Hammond organ, and the Electromechanical Piano are some examples of instruments that are electromechanically driven.
One of the earliest electric instruments was William Duddell's singing arc, which was controlled by a keyboard and was demonstrated in London in 1899. Another early electric instrument was the Denis d'or keyboard, dating back to 1753.
Modern electric instruments include synthesizers, drum machines, and bass synths.
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