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| Keyboard (magazine) | |
|---|---|
| Title | Keyboard |
| Frequency | Monthly (historically) |
| Category | Music magazine |
| Firstdate | 1975 |
| Finaldate | 2009 (print) |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
Keyboard (magazine) was a United States–based periodical devoted to electronic keyboard instruments, synthesizers, digital pianos, and production techniques. Launched in the mid-1970s during the rise of analog synthesis, it chronicled developments through the advent of digital synthesis, MIDI, workstation keyboards, and software instruments, serving readers interested in performance, sound design, and studio technology. The magazine bridged communities associated with instrument manufacturers, recording studios, live touring, and academic electronic music, documenting shifts tied to companies, artists, and institutions.
Keyboard began publication in 1975 amid widespread interest in modular synthesis and the proliferation of companies such as Moog Music, ARP Instruments, Oberheim Electronics, Roland Corporation, and Korg. Early coverage intersected with figures and events including Bob Moog, Don Buchla, Wendy Carlos, Giorgio Moroder, Stevie Wonder, and the influence of the Buchla and Moog Modular systems on popular recordings. As the market shifted in the 1980s with the launch of the Yamaha DX7, the introduction of MIDI at a trade gathering involving Dave Smith (engineer) and representatives from Sequential Circuits, Keyboard documented standards debates and product launches from Yamaha Corporation, Ensoniq, Kurzweil Music Systems, and Akai Professional. Through the 1990s and 2000s the magazine tracked developments at firms such as Kawai Musical Instruments, Nord Keyboards (Clavia), Roland, and software companies like Steinberg Media Technologies, Propellerhead Software, and Ableton. Ownership changes and editorial shifts reflected consolidations in the magazine industry, with print editions concluding in 2009 even as archives and brand assets persisted online.
The editorial remit combined gear reviews, synthesis tutorials, studio technique guides, and artist profiles. Technical articles addressed synthesis architectures pioneered by individuals such as Don Buchla and Robert Moog alongside digital technologies from Yamaha, Fairlight (company), and Synclavier. Coverage included performance-oriented reviews of instruments from Nord Electro, Korg M1, and Roland Jupiter-8 as well as workstation and sampler features involving Akai S1000, Ensoniq ASR-10, and Kurzweil K2000. Topics intersected with recording and production communities represented by studios like Abbey Road Studios, labels such as Atlantic Records, and producers including Quincy Jones, Trevor Horn, and Brian Eno. Regular columns explored MIDI implementation developed by engineers including Dave Smith (engineer), software sequencing centered on platforms like Steinberg Cubase and Avid Pro Tools (Digidesign), and live sound considerations relating to tours by artists like Peter Gabriel, Duran Duran, and Radiohead.
Keyboard featured bylines from journalists, engineers, and practitioners who overlapped with academic and commercial spheres. Contributors included writers with ties to conservatories such as Berklee College of Music and Royal College of Music, sound designers connected to studios like AIR Studios, and technologists from companies such as Yamaha Corporation and Roland Corporation. The magazine ran interviews with prominent performers and creators including Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Tony Banks, Trevor Rabin, Vangelis, Hans Zimmer, Brian Eno, Depeche Mode, New Order, and The Chemical Brothers, as well as producers and engineers like Alan Parsons, Steve Lillywhite, and Mutt Lange. Feature pieces also profiled innovators from academic and experimental communities including Morton Subotnick, Laurie Spiegel, and Max Mathews, illustrating links between studio practice and research institutions such as IRCAM and CCRMA.
Keyboard shaped practitioner knowledge during key technological transitions, influencing purchasing decisions and pedagogical approaches at schools like Berklee College of Music and conservatories worldwide. Its reviews and tutorials affected the market positions of manufacturers such as Yamaha, Roland, Korg, Kurzweil, and Nord and informed live and studio workflows used by touring acts tied to promoters like Live Nation and labels such as EMI and Warner Music Group. The magazine’s coverage of formats and standards—most notably MIDI and sampler technologies like Fairlight CMI—contributed to community consensus around interoperability and performance practice. Archival issues now serve researchers examining the rise of electronic music in contexts related to festivals such as Woodstock (later editions), electronic music events like Mutek, and the careers of artists who bridged pop and experimental idioms.
Published in the United States, Keyboard maintained a monthly cadence for much of its run with special issues and buyer’s guides timed to trade events such as the Winter NAMM Show and AES Convention. Distribution channels included newsstands, subscriptions, and partnerships with retailers and distributors that handled instruments from Guitar Center, Sam Ash Music Stores, and dealer networks linked to manufacturers. Advertising pages regularly featured companies such as Yamaha, Roland Corporation, Korg, Moog Music, Kurzweil, Akai Professional, and software vendors like Propellerhead Software and Native Instruments. Circulation trends mirrored changes in print media and specialist publishing, with audience segments comprising professional musicians, studio engineers, educators, and hobbyists associated with conservatories, universities, and trade schools.
As print circulation declined industrywide, Keyboard shifted assets and editorial content into online formats, aligning with digital platforms and archives. Online features aggregated product demos, video interviews, and tutorials that referenced software such as Ableton Live, Propellerhead Reason, Steinberg Cubase, and Avid Pro Tools (Digidesign), while historical back issues became valuable for museums and research centers studying electronic instruments including the Museum of Sound (museum collections), restoration projects for Moog and Fairlight units, and academic inquiries at institutions such as Stanford University and MIT Media Lab. Digital preservation efforts by libraries and private collectors have ensured that Keyboard’s reportage continues to inform scholarship on instrument design, performance practice, and the music industry’s technological evolution.
Category:Music magazines published in the United States