I think yes. they are both Instruments, Samplers and workstations.

unfortunatly,
many people don't consider keyboards as "actual instruments" or even "musical instruments"

read this short article:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295636,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295636,00.html

Only the fact that this is a news item from Fox news makes it questionable by its source...

Nobody with any intelligence believes anything that is said on Fox News, although many folks find it hilarious entertainment.
Everyone needs a break from reality once in a while

Bill

Ah, then I guess I have no intelligence. Which is news to me in and of itself.

A guitar cannot play itself. Drums just sit there silently without a drummer. Basses just don't walk by themselves. But keyboards...? Press play, and off it goes.

We only have ourselves to blame!

Keyboards ARE musical instruments. But they are also music playback devices. How they are treated by the public depends on how much of the former, and how LITTLE of the latter we use them for.

Opinions seem to indicate more of the latter...

For years I was taught that there were 4 gropus of musical instruments:
Brass
Woodwind
Strings
Percussion
This caused doubt as to the validity of the electronic organ because it made no sound on it's own. The turning of the tone wheels in a Hammond organ did nothing audible until a speaker was used...hence the debate.

In today's world of electronics and techinology, it is still a debate as to the validity of "things" that exist only in cyberspace, or in computer realm.

If an electronic organ is recognized as a musical instrument because it is played by a musician, then I suppose digital media is also valid...although, they still make no sound on their own. So,a better question is:

Are there only 4 groups of ACOUSTIC instruments? AIr has to move to make sound, but why does the intrument have to move the air alone?

My head hurts already.

All the slights to FOX News by apparent liberals put aside. Yes. a keyboard is a musical instrument. It creates music. Some only a single sine wave, Others a whole orchestra.

Why do you care if someone believes that what you play every night is NOT an instrument? Let them believe, as long as they pay you to play your non-instrument.

History is FULL of people that stubborny believed in ideas that were behind the times, with consequences that ranged from hilarious to tragic.

History is also full of people with ideas ahead of their time.

Both parties left a mark in history, but what party do YOU want to join?

Never ever get in an argument with an idiot, because there is no way to argue with an idiot.

Surely not the idiot argument where the xyz classical piano/violin/oboe/conga/timpani/banjo/whatever player/teacher tells me that my Casio and my PC (or anything that can be plugged in the wall) are not "proper/real instruments" and that if I wanted to do things right I should study 14 hours a day for 14 years to get a piano diploma.

About What ??
Britney ?

read this short article:
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295636,00.html
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,295636,00.html [/B][/QUOTE]

Remember, unless you have a formidable ear, and the determination to succeed at all costs, a teacher is the shortest route to musical fluency. Sure, you can take a brute force approach to teaching yourself, but I guarantee that will take you more than the "14 hours a day for 14 years to get a piano diploma" hyperbole to achieve anything more than plonking down the basic chords on your arranger and playing some half-assed poorly timed melody line on the top.

Sure, you don't have to go the full conservatory route, but a teacher can save you YEARS of mediocrity. You just have to pick the right one. Shop around, and you can find many that specialize in teaching ADULTS to play. And you are less likely to get the purist approach...

Mind you, they still have a certain point. Looked at in a certain way, playing an arranger is NOT 'playing' music (here we go again ), it is learning how to direct the arranger to 'play' the music. And there is nothing wrong with this (before I get flamed again! ), as long as you realize that is what you are doing.

Let's face it, unless you can actually PLAY each of the arranger's parts at least as well as the arranger can (mute each one out and try for yourself), you have to admit that there is still a ways for you to go (if learning to do this has any importance to you at all - you ARE going to need those skills if you ever progress beyond playing an arranger, or wish to create your own styles), and studying and practicing are the only routes towards this.

But playing keyboards is a real challenge, because not only do you have to learn reasonably decent pianistic chops, but as soon as that is mastered, you have to throw it all away, and work on organ chops (very different, IMO), and then on learning string technique and voicings, horn techniques, emulation and voicing, and all the myriad other sounds in a keyboard (arranger or otherwise)....

Or you can simply bang out (roughly) the right chords to an old favorite and play (roughly) the right melody over the top of it. If this is all you want to do, read no further... But should you wish to progress further than this, a certain degree of accepting that you are NOT playing a real instrument, you are learning how to emulate a real instrument (or three!), and understanding a teacher's perspective might do you a lot of good!

[This message has been edited by Diki (edited 05-19-2008).]