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| keys | The heart of any keyboard are the keys themselves. A piano has 88 keys; however, most electronic keyboards have 61 or 76 keys. Some keyboards keys are piano sized and weighted to closely resemble the feel of an acoustic piano. Other are smaller and feel more like an organ. The choice is a matter of taste. Those players who crossover from a traditional acoustic piano usually prefer the weighted keys. | ||
| touch sensitivity | In the old days, electronic keyboards were capable of producing one volume level which was set by the master volume control. Today, many (if not most) keyboards have sensors which detect how hard the key was pressed and output the corresponding volume level. This gives the player enhanced dynamic control. | ||
| aftertouch | Available mostly on higher end keyboards, aftertouch is a function which allows the player to press harder on a key after it has been played to produce vibrato, pitch changes (pitch bend), volume swell or any of a variety of aftertouch enabled functions the player assigns. | ||
| split | Allows the keyboard to be divided onto areas, each producing different sounds. | ||
| display | Alerts the player to the status of the various functions of the instrument. | ||
| control panel | This is where sounds are selected or programed, key splits assigned, and all of the other functions are input by the player. | ||
| pitch wheel | This wheel, when rolled, changes the pitch of any notes that are being played. Usually, they have springs which automatically return them to the center (unchanged) position. Most keyboards allow the user to set the range of pitch change. | ||
| mod wheel | Mod is the abbreviation used for modulation. Modulation effects include tremolo and vibrato among other cyclic effects. Mod wheels usually are not spring loaded which allows the player to set it and resume playing (mod speed set) with both hands. | ||
| outputs | The audio outputs send the signal to the amp or p.a. system. | ||
| midi | These jacks are the data inputs and outputs. They allow the keyboard to exchange data with other midi capable devices. |