Keytar
Keytar (a portmanteau of keyboard and guitar) is a keyboard instrument similar to a synthesizer or MIDI controller that is supported by a strap around the neck and shoulders, similar to the way a guitar is held.[1]
History[edit]
Early history (18th century–1970s)[edit]
The oldest forerunner of the keytar is likely the orphica, a small portable piano invented in Vienna in 1795, which was played in a similar position as the modern keytar. The piano accordion first appeared in 1852, it was essentially a Miniature version of the Reed Organ that's worn on straps and is pumped with the player's left hand. In 1963, the East German manufacturer Weltmeister introduced the Basset, as a Keytar shaped Electric Bass Piano.
In 1966, Swedish organ manufacturer Joh Mustad AB introduced the Tubon, a tubular electric organ. This instrument was worn with a strap around the shoulder and could be played standing or sitting. The Tubon had a half-keyboard on one end accessible to the right hand, controls to be used at the "neck" on the opposite end for the left hand, and a speaker at the end of the tube. It was sold in the UK as the Livingstone. It saw use by Kraftwerk and Paul McCartney in the 1960s and early 1970s.[4]
In the early 1970s, Edgar Winter often performed with keyboards slung around his neck, but they were not technically keytars because they had no "neck"; he actually used an ARP 2600 keyboard and a lightweight Univox electronic piano with shoulder straps added.