Electronic piano
3503861
225445198
2008-07-13T18:59:12Z
The Realms of Gold
3859669
Had to remove the bit about telling digital and acoustic pianos apart. "These days," the best synth piano still sounds like a toy next to a Bechstein.
{{expand|date=February 2008}}
{{distinguish|Electric piano}}
[[Image:Keyboard_21.jpg|thumb|right|300px|The keys of an electronic piano]]
An '''electronic piano''' is a [[keyboard instrument]] designed to simulate the [[timbre]] of a [[piano]] (and sometimes a [[harpsichord]] or an [[Organ (music)|organ]]) using [[analog circuit|analog circuitry]].
'''Electronic Piano''' was also the trade name used for [[Wurlitzer]]'s popular line of [[electric piano]]s, which were produced from the 1950s to the 1980s, although this was not actually what is now commonly known as an electronic piano. Electronic pianos work similarly to analog [[synthesizer]]s in that they generate their tones through [[electronic oscillator|oscillators]], whereas electric pianos are mechanical, their sound being electrified by a [[pickup (music)|pickup]].
Most electronic pianos date from the 1970s and were made in [[Italy]], although similar models were made concurrently in [[Japan]]. An exception is the range of instruments made by [[Rocky_Mount_Instruments|RMI]] in the [[USA]] from [[1967]] to approximately [[1980]], which became one of the more popular electronic pianos used by professional musicians. Most electronic pianos (including the RMI) are not velocity sensitive, in that they do not vary their volume based on how hard or soft the keys are played, like an [[organ (music)|organ]].
Electronic pianos became less popular in the 1980s when the [[digital piano]] and polyphonic [[synthesizer]] became available and affordable enough for both professional and home use as an inexpensive, smaller and lighter alternative to an acoustic piano. The triumph of the synthesized piano first came in 1982, with the development of the [[Kurzweil K250]]; today, synthesized pianos have attained a remarkable level of realism.
[[Category:Electric and electronic keyboard instruments]]
[[es:Piano electrónico]]
[[he:פסנתר אלקטרוני]]
[[ja:エレクトリックピアノ]]
== External Links ==
*[http://www.yamahamusician.com Yamaha Musician] - Digital piano and keyboard enthusiast site