Keyboard

What it means

The keyboard (German Klaviatur) is the arrangement of the keys by which a keyboard instrument is played. It consists of a continuous row of wide lower keys for the natural notes C, D, E, F, G, A, and B, and of raised, narrower upper keys that lie in groups of two and three in between and supply the chromatic notes. This grouping is the aid to orientation for the hand: from the picture of the two and three black keys, every position can be felt without looking. An octave comprises twelve keys, seven lower and five upper.

Musical use

The keyboard shapes how one thinks about music. On it all notes are equally accessible, polyphony is directly representable, and pitches lie ordered spatially — that is why it has served for centuries as a tool for composition, harmony, and ear training, even for musicians who do not play a keyboard instrument as their main instrument. At the same time it is no neutral image: the uneven distribution of the keys makes some keys more comfortable than others and shapes the playability of particular chords. Organ and harpsichord often have several keyboards one above the other, so-called manuals, plus the pedalboard for the feet.

Performance practice

Learn orientation via the groups of upper keys, not by counting keys; the gaze belongs on the score, not on the hands. Keep the hand arched, with the fingertips on the lower keys and enough room to reach the upper keys without contortion. Practise scales and chords in all keys so that the different playability becomes familiar. Watch the sitting height: forearms roughly horizontal, wrists free. On instruments with several manuals, check the height and the distance of the keyboards before playing and plan manual changes as a movement along with it.

Bear in mind that keyboards are built differently: key depth, width, and resistance differ considerably between harpsichord, historical fortepiano, modern piano, and organ. Whoever switches needs time to adjust and should check fingerings. Watch the sitting height, because it determines hand position and arm weight, and adjust it on unfamiliar instruments before playing for the first time.