Electromechanical keyboards

Question 1

Electromechanical keyboards

Answer 1

Electromechanical = Mechanical input + Electric output

Instruments that create sound physically, then amplify it electrically

Not purely electronic-There’s still a physical process

Question 2

Electric Piano

Answer 2

Hammers strike tines

Sound picked up by transducers, then amplified

Smooth, mellow, warm tone

Question 3

Electric organ (Hammond organ)

Answer 3

Widely used in gospel, soul, jazz, and rock

Uses tone wheels to generate sound

Often paired with a Leslie rotary speaker = Creates moving tremolo effect as sound spins

Soft, smooth swells, with a rich, sustained sound

Question 4

Clavinet

Answer 4

Created in the 1960s to imitate guitar-like sounds

Keys pluck actual strings-Signal captured by guitar-style pickups

Used across many genres due to its sharp, funky tone

Question 5

Mellotron

Answer 5

Early sampler using tape playback

Pressing a key plays a pre-recorded tape of an instrument playing that note

Couldn’t record new sounds

Lofi, tape-like, vintage sound