Keyboard instrument

These keyboards typically work by translating the physical act of pressing keys into electrical signals that produce sound.

Under the fingers of a sensitive performer, the keyboard may also be used to control dynamics, phrasing, shading, articulation, and other elements of expression—depending on the design and inherent capabilities of the instrument.

Another important use of the word keyboard is in historical musicology, where it means an instrument whose identity cannot be firmly established.

[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 .

In its current form, the piano is a product of further developments made since the late nineteenth century and is distinct in both sound and appearance from the instruments known to earlier pianists, including Mozart, Haydn, and Beethoven.