On Jun 18, 2009, at 8:41 AM, Horace Brock wrote:
When the keyboard was invented (anybody know when that was?)
Depends what you mean by "keyboard." The hydraulis was invented in the 3d century BC by Ctesibius of Alexandria, and must have had a "keyboard" of some sort. The only surviving specimen (2nd c. AD) activated each note with a pullout, rather like the stop knobs of modern organs. To my way of thinking this is not yet a keyboard, but there are others who differ.
The earliest depictions of mediaeval organs show the notes being activated by pull-downs or very big, clunky buttons. Take the simple step of making the buttons flat-topped and smooth (13th c.?), and voilà! a keyboard.
Andrew Stiller Kallisti Music Press http://www.kallistimusic.com/ _______________________________________________ Finale mailing list Finale@shsu.edu http://lists.shsu.edu/mailman/listinfo/finale
