A keyboard instrument is any musical instrument played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments. In common language, it is mostly used to refer to keyboard-style synthesizers.

History

Among the very earliest keyboard instruments are the pipe organ, hurdy gurdy, clavichord and harpsichord. The organ is without doubt the oldest of these, appearing in the 3rd century BC, though this early instrument—called hydraulis—did not use a keyboard in the modern sense. From its invention until the 14th century, the organ remained the only keyboard instrument. Often, the organ did not feature a keyboard at all, rather buttons or large levers which were operated by a whole hand. Almost every keyboard until the 15th century had naturals to each octave.

The clavichord and the harpsichord appeared during the 14th century, the clavichord probably being the earlier. The harpsichord and the clavichord were both very common until the widespread adoption of the piano in the 18th century, after which their popularity decreased. The piano was revolutionary because a pianist could vary the volume (or dynamics) of the sound by varying the vigor with which each key was struck. The piano's full name is "gravicèmbalo con piano e forte" meaning "harpsichord with soft and loud" but can be shortened to "piano-forte", which means "soft-loud" in Italian.

Keyboard instruments were further developed in the early 20th century. Early electromechanical instruments, such as the Ondes Martenot, appeared early in the century. This was a very important contribution to the keyboard's history. There is a now a saying "If you can play piano, you can play anything!".

Construction

The keys were traditionally made of natural materials. The white tangents were made of ivory, the black of ebony, but now artificial materials like plastic are used to cover the wooden keys. Cheaper materials like oak, walnut and soft wood are used now.

On most keyboard instruments, a "black note" is one of the smaller keys that stand above the "white notes". All the black notes found within an octave form a pentatonic scale. Black notes can be referred to as sharps of the white note below, or as flats of the white note above. In keyboard percussion instruments with a layout similar to that of the piano, the corresponding notes are often also called "the black notes" though in reality the bars producing those notes are of the same color as the rest of the instrument's bars.

These notes act as the "accidentals" to the original notes, allowing the player to play sharps or flats of a given note. However, not all notes have a sharp or flat version, and the sharp of one can be the same note as the flat for another, for example C# and Db are the same note.

The five accidentals written as sharps are: C#, D#, F#, G# and A#.

Modern keyboards

Much effort has gone into finding an instrument which sounds like the piano but lacks its size and weight. The electric piano and electronic piano were early efforts that, while being useful instruments in their own right, were not successful in convincingly reproducing the timbre of the piano. Electric and electronic organs were developed during the same period.

Significant development of the synthesizer occurred in the 1960s and has continued ever since. The most notable early synthesizer is the Moog synthesizer, which used analog circuitry. In time, digital synthesis, using actual piano samples, has become common.

List of keyboard instruments

Chordophones

Clavichord

Electric piano

* Clavinet

* Pianet

* Rhodes piano

* Wurlitzer electric piano

Harpsichord

* Spinet

* Virginal

* Lautenwerck

* Archicembalo

Piano

* Fortepiano

* Tangent piano

Bowed clavier

Hurdy gurdy

* Keyed fiddle

Aerophones

Accordion

Harmonium/Reed organ

Melodeon

Melodica

Pipe organ

Regal

Idiophones

Carillon

Celesta

Glasschord

Dulcitone

Toy piano

Electrophones

Digital piano

Electronic keyboard

Electronic organ

Electronic piano

Keytar

Mellotron

Optigan

Synthesizer

See also

Orchestrina di camera

References

External links

The general keyboard in the age of MIDI

Renaissance Keyboards on the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Pianofortes of Bartolomeo Cristofori on the Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History, The Metropolitan Museum of Art

*

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Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
name	Nick Rhodes
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Nicholas James Bates
born	June 08, 1962Moseley, Birmingham, West Midlands, England
origin	Birmingham, England
instrument	Keyboards,analog synthesizerss,digital synthesizers
genre	Pop, Electropop, New Romantic, Synthpop, New Wave
occupation	Keyboardist, producer
years active	1978-present
associated acts	Duran Duran, Arcadia, The Devils, Kajagoogoo, The Dandy Warhols
notable instruments	Roland Jupiter-4Roland Jupiter-8Fairlight CMIAlesis Andromeda A6 }}

Nick Rhodes (born Nicholas James Bates, 8 June 1962) is an English musician, best known as the keyboardist of the pop rock band Duran Duran. Rhodes and singer Simon Le Bon are the only members to have been with the band throughout its 33-year professional career. Furthermore, Rhodes is the youngest band member and the only member to have been in the band since its creation in 1978.

He has also released albums with Arcadia in 1985 (a Duran Duran side-project), as well as The Devils in 2002 with Stephen Duffy.

Early history

Bates was the only child of well-off parents, the owners of a Birmingham toyshop. In 1978, Bates left school at the age of sixteen, and founded Duran Duran with his art school friends Stephen Duffy and John Taylor. At about the same time as the name Duran Duran was chosen for the band, he decided to change his name, allegedly due to being taunted by classmates with the moniker "masterbates/Master Bates", to Rhodes after the Greek island (or after the Rhodes keyboards, according to early magazine articles and interviews). He attended Woodrush High School in Hollywood Birmingham.

While in Woodrush, he and John Taylor formed a band called 'RAF' with other classmates.

As the band coalesced into its final lineup in 1979-80, Duran Duran started playing at a local Birmingham club called "The Rum Runner". The club owners became the band's managers, and Rhodes began working at the club as a disc jockey.

Contributions to Duran Duran

The band achieved rapid success, and Rhodes was a driving force throughout. An unschooled musician, he experimented with the sounds his analogue synthesisers were capable of, but shied away from the "novelty" sounds of some other early synth bands. The distinctive warble of "Save A Prayer", the keyboard stabs of "A View to a Kill", and the string sounds of "Come Undone" and "Ordinary World" are some of his most recognizable creations. He also popularised the Crumar Performer on the early records.

Rhodes was also quick to recognise the potential of the music video, and pushed the band to put more effort into their early videos than seemed warranted at the time (before the advent of MTV). Barely twenty when the band hit major stardom, he cultivated an androgynous and sometimes flamboyant image, wore heavy makeup, and changed his hair colour at whim.

By the late 1990s, Rhodes had begun writing lyrics for Duran Duran, as well as music. His digitally altered voice is heard on the title track to the 1997 album ''Medazzaland''.

In 2001, the original five members of Duran Duran reunited to record new music; see Duran Duran for details.

Record production

Rhodes studied production techniques while in the studio with Duran Duran, eventually helping to mix several tracks on the ''Rio'' album, and was a co-producer on many of the band's later albums.

In early 1983, he discovered the band Kajagoogoo and co-produced their debut single ''Too Shy'' which became a UK no.1 (prior to any of Duran's singles reaching no.1).

Rhodes and Warren Cuccurullo wrote and produced three tracks for the Blondie reunion album in 1996; the tracks were not used, but one song called "Pop Trash Movie" was later recorded by Duran Duran for the 2000 album ''Pop Trash''.

In 2002, Rhodes co-produced and played additional synthesizers in nine tracks of the album ''Welcome to the Monkey House'' by The Dandy Warhols. In 2004 he produced British-based pop group Riviera F for their debut EP ''International Lover'', published on Pop Cult/Tape Modern (Rhodes & Stephen Duffy’s label).

Side projects

With his bandmates Simon Le Bon and Roger Taylor, Rhodes formed the side project Arcadia while Duran Duran was on hiatus in 1985. The band had a moody, keyboard-heavy sound, far more atmospheric than Duran Duran (or the hard rock of the other Duran splinter group of 1985, Power Station). The band scored a major hit with "Election Day" and the band's only album, ''So Red The Rose'', went platinum in the US but was less successful in their native UK. The band never toured and was dissolved when Duran Duran regrouped in 1986.

Throughout the 1990s, Rhodes worked on a side project called TV Mania with Duran bandmate Cuccurullo. They created a self-described "social junk culture triptych opera" composed of music, dialogue, samples, and "found sound," and hoped to make it into a Broadway play. The music and packaging have reportedly been finished, but they have not found a label to release it.

In 1999, Rhodes reunited with Duran Duran's original vocalist, Stephen Duffy, to create new music based on some of the earliest Duran music the two had written together. The result was the album ''Dark Circles,'' released under the name The Devils.

Also in 1999, Rhodes had a small guest appearance (in voice only) as a Canadian bomber pilot in South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut.

In 2006 Rhodes and John Taylor collaborated on the compilation album ''Only After Dark''.

Personal life

Rhodes met Julie Anne Friedman (heiress to the Iowa, USA Younkers Department Store fortune) at a yacht party while on an American tour in 1982, and married her on 18 August 1984. They have one daughter together, Tatjana Lee Orchid (born 23 August 1986). After a brief separation and an attempt to reconcile, they filed for divorce in 1992.

Rhodes became enamoured of the art world early in his career, making friends with Andy Warhol and The Factory crowd, and attending exhibitions worldwide. At the end of 1984, he released his own book of abstract art photographs called ''Interference''. Many of the photos were displayed at an exhibition at the Hamilton Gallery in London.

Rhodes' father, Roger Bates, to whom he was close, died in 2008. Duran Duran's 7 July 2008 concert at the Birmingham NIA was dedicated to Rhodes' father.

References

External links

DuranDuran.com Official Site of Duran Duran.

Category:1962 births Category:English keyboardists Category:Duran Duran members Category:People from Birmingham, West Midlands Category:English record producers Category:Living people Category:English vegetarians Category:Ivor Novello Award winners Category:Musicians from Birmingham, West Midlands

da:Nick Rhodes de:Nick Rhodes es:Nick Rhodes fr:Nick Rhodes it:Nick Rhodes nl:Nick Rhodes pl:Nick Rhodes pt:Nick Rhodes ru:Ник Роудс sv:Nick Rhodes

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
name	Paul Baloche
name	Paul Baloche
background	solo_singer
birth name	Paul Baloche
birth date	June 04, 1962
origin	Camden, New Jersey, USA
instruments	Vocals, Piano, Guitar
genre	WorshipContemporary Christian
occupation	Worship leader, singer-songwriter
years active	1992–present
label	Integrity
associated acts	Don Moen, Rita Baloche
website	leadworship.com
notable instruments	Acoustic guitar }}

Paul Baloche (pronounced ; born on June 4, 1962) is an American Christian music artist, worship leader, and singer-songwriter. A native of Maple Shade, New Jersey, Baloche is currently the worship pastor at Community Christian Fellowship in Lindale, Texas. Baloche composes on piano and acoustic guitar, favoring guitar when leading worship. His wife, Rita Baloche, is also a Christian songwriter. Baloche is one of the writers for Compassionart, a charity founded by Martin Smith from Delirious?.

Several Christian artists, such as Michael W. Smith and SONICFLOOd, have recorded Baloche's songs. Many of his songs are among the most performed songs in services according to CCLI, a company that handles copyright licensing of Christian songs and other resource materials for use in churches. Among them are "Open the Eyes of My Heart" (ranked number 2) and "Above All" (ranked number 22), cowritten with Lenny Leblanc. "Above All" was nominated for Song of the Year in both the 2002 and 2003 Dove Awards, and in 2002, Michael W. Smith's recording of that song won Inspirational Recorded Song of the Year. Baloche was also nominated for Songwriter of the Year in 2002. In 2009, Baloche won a Dove Award for Inspiration Recorded Song of the Year as coauthor of "A New Hallelujah" with Michael W. and Debbie Smith.

Baloche uses his position as a recording artist to provide resources for churches. His catalog of six albums is focused on providing worship music for the listener to worship along with, and for churches to use in their own services. His albums are released by Hosanna! Music, a division of Integrity Music. Through Integrity, Baloche has also written a book, ''God Songs'', and released instructional DVDs that cover a variety of issues central to contemporary worship, such as music styles, music theory, creating flow in worship, and guitar techniques (including his methods on open chord voicings). In addition to his material output, Baloche participates in several seminars for worship leaders and musicians throughout North America and Asia.

The 2006 release ''A Greater Song'' is a live recording featuring songs by Baloche, some cowritten with worship artists including Matt Redman ("A Greater Song") and former Integrity Music president Don Moen ("Thank You Lord").

The 2009 release ''Glorious'' featured the single "Just To Be With You," which Baloche explained "is simply about intimacy with God."

Discography

''He is Faithful'' (1992)

''First Love - Hosanna! Music'' (1998)

''Open the Eyes of My Heart'' (2000)

''God of Wonders - Hosanna! Music'' (2001)

''Offering of Worship'' (2003)

''A Greater Song'' (2006)

''Our God Saves'' (2007) – reached #39 on the top Christian albums charts in 2007.

''The Writer's Collection'' (2008)

''Live in Asia'' (2009) ''(Recorded live in Seoul, South Korea and labeled by Integrity Asia)''

''Glorious'' (2009)''

References

External links

leadworship.com – Official website

Instructional Resources

Paul's Myspace page

Artist's Label Page

Category:1962 births Category:Living people Category:Songwriters from New Jersey Category:American performers of Christian music Category:People from Camden, New Jersey Category:Contemporary worship music

Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
Name	Jordan Rudess
Landscape	Yes
Background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
Birth name	Jordan Charles Rudes
Alias	The Keyboard Wizard
Born	November 04, 1956
origin	Great Neck, New York, USA
Instrument	Keyboards, lap steel guitar, electric guitar, vocals, continuum, keytar, Bassoon Tablet PC
Genre	Progressive rock, progressive metal, instrumental rock, jazz fusion, New Age, electronic music
Occupation	Musician, songwriter
Years active	1981–present
Associated acts	Dream Theater, Dixie Dregs, Liquid Tension Experiment, John Petrucci, Rod Morgenstein, David Bowie, Vinnie Moore, Tom Coster, Kip Winger, Nóirín Ní Riain, Rhonda Larson, Paul Winter, Scott McGill, Steven Wilson, Prefab Sprout, Jupiter, Neal Morse, Daniel J, Neil Zaza, Annie Haslam, John-Luke Addison, Behold... The Arctopus, Liquid Trio Experiment, Mr. Fastfinger, Ricky Garcia, Frost*
Website	http://www.jordanrudess.com }}

Jordan Rudess (born Jordan Charles Rudes on November 4, 1956) is an American keyboardist best known as a member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater and the progressive rock supergroup Liquid Tension Experiment.

Biography

Rudess was born in 1956 into a Jewish family. He was recognized by his 2nd grade teacher for his piano playing and was immediately given professional tuition. At nine, he entered the Juilliard School of Music Pre-College Division for classical piano training, but by his late teens he had grown increasingly interested in synthesizers and progressive rock music. Against the counsel of his parents and tutors, he turned away from classical piano and tried his hand as a solo progressive rock keyboardist.

After performing in various projects during the 1980s, he gained international attention in 1994 when he was voted "Best New Talent" in the ''Keyboard Magazine'' readers' poll after the release of his ''Listen'' solo album. Two of the bands who took notice of Rudess were The Dixie Dregs and Dream Theater, both of whom invited him to join. Rudess chose the Dregs, primarily as being a part time member of the band would have less of an impact on his young family, a choice he was not given with Dream Theater.

During his time with the Dregs, Rudess formed a "power duo" with drummer Rod Morgenstein. The genesis of this pairing occurred when a power outage caused all of the Dregs' instruments to fail except Rudess', so he and Morgenstein improvised with each other until power was restored and the concert could continue. The chemistry between the two was so strong during this jam that they decided to perform together on a regular basis (under the name ''Rudess/Morgenstein Project'' or later ''RMP'') and have since released a studio and a live record.

Rudess encountered Dream Theater once again when he and Morgenstein secured the support slot on one of Dream Theater's North American tours.

In 1997, when Mike Portnoy was asked to form a supergroup by Magna Carta Records, Rudess was chosen to fill the keyboardist spot in the band, which also consisted of Tony Levin and Portnoy's Dream Theater colleague John Petrucci. During the recording of Liquid Tension Experiment's two albums, it became evident to Portnoy and Petrucci that Rudess was what Dream Theater needed. They asked Rudess to join the band, and when he accepted they released their then-keyboardist Derek Sherinian to make way for him.

Rudess has been the full-time keyboardist in Dream Theater since the recording of 1999's ''Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory''. He has recorded six other studio albums with the group: 2002's ''Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence'', 2003's ''Train of Thought'', 2005's ''Octavarium'', 2007's ''Systematic Chaos'', 2009's ''Black Clouds & Silver Linings'' and 2011's ''A Dramatic Turn of Events''. In addition, he has appeared on the live albums ''Live Scenes From New York'', ''Live at Budokan'', ''Score'' and ''Chaos in Motion''.

In addition to working with Dream Theater he occasionally records and performs in other contexts, such as a 2001 one-off duo performance with Petrucci (released as the CD ''An Evening With John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess''), as well as backing up Blackfield on their first short US tour in 2005 and playing a solo opening slot for them on their second in 2007.

In 2010, Rudess composed "Explorations for Keyboard and Orchestra," his first classical composition. It was premiered in Venezuela on November 19, 2010 by the Chacao Youth Symphony Orchestra and guest conductor Eren Başbuğ. Rudess played all of the keyboard and synthesizer parts.

On July 28, 2011, in a poll conducted by MusicRadar, Rudess was voted the best keyboardist of all time.

Rudess says his influences as a keyboardist are Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman and Patrick Moraz. His favorite musical artists and groups include Gentle Giant, Yes, Genesis, Pink Floyd, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, King Crimson, Jimi Hendrix, Autechre, and Aphex Twin.

Use of technology

While many keyboard players in progressive rock tend towards bringing numerous keyboards on stage, creating large racks of keyboards, Rudess took full advantage of the possibilities offered by the Kurzweil K2600xs during his live usage of the keyboard from the 1990s to 2004. Often sampling sounds from other keyboards he owned, Rudess creates a series of "setups", each of which maps different sounds to different layers and key ranges of the keyboard controller; these setups are then arranged in the order they will be required for a gig, and cycled through one at a time with a footswitch (a control pedal placed on the floor underneath his keyboard). He often maps sounds to exact notes on the keyboard to avoid playing chords on sounds that are meant to be monophonic and to create realistic percussion sounds under the pitched sounds he is playing.

While Rudess' physical method of changing live setups will more than likely remain the same, his choice of hardware to implement this changed as of 2005. Citing a need for better tour support and more current technologies (his Kurzweil K2600XS's maximum sample memory of 128 MB had become insufficient for his touring needs), Rudess switched keyboard endorsements from Kurzweil to Korg's new flagship Korg Oasys workstation (which can support up to 2 GB of sample memory), which he first used on Dream Theater's 2005-2006 20th Anniversary tour, along with a Muse Receptor hardware VST and a Haken Continuum X/Y/Z-plane MIDI Instrument triggering a Roland V-Synth XT and a Synthesizers.com Modular. Rudess is the first well known keyboardist to bring a Haken Continuum on to a live stage. Rudess still uses the Kurzweil for studio recordings and some of his most well known sounds, such as "the pig", one of his signature sounds which is often played in unison with the guitar or bass guitar, were sounds from the K2600xs.

Since 2001, Rudess uses custom made rotating keyboardstands on stage for both Dream Theater and his solo career, which are built by Patrick Slaats from the Netherlands. On Dream Theater's 2007-2008 "Chaos in Motion" world tour, Rudess expanded his live setup with the addition of a Korg RADIAS, a Manikin Memotron, and a Zen Riffer keytar. Rudess stopped using his Synthesizers.com modular after the European leg of the tour due to its size and weight. Rudess still owns the synthesizer and keeps it inactive in his home studio. During the Progressive Nation 2008 tour, he introduced on the stage a Kaoss Pad 3 for the closing medley.

For the 2009-2010 tour, in support of Black Clouds & Silver Linings, Jordan introduced the Apple iPod Touch on stage, running an application called Bebot Robot Synth. He plays it during A Rite of Passage - both studio album and live versions of the song - and frequently uses it for improvised solos, like in Hollow Years' intro and during a new instrumental section on Solitary Shell.

On September 24, 2010, Rudess released the song "Krump," which was an electronica "single" released on iTunes. It featured the use of the new Roland Gaia, Roland's more recent keyboard.

Equipment

Studio equipment

Korg Kronos (88 keys)

Korg OASYS (88 keys)

Korg Triton Extreme (88 keys)

Korg RADIAS

Haken Audio Continuum Fingerboard_{Rudess uses the upgraded half size model, which comes with inbuilt sounds as well as being used as a MIDI controller keyboard}

Eigenharp Alpha

Muse Research Receptor

Kurzweil K2600X/S (88 keys)

Kurzweil K2000VP

Kurzweil K2600R

Kurzweil PC2R

Kurzweil K2661

Roland Fantom-X8

Roland Fantom G8

Manikin Memotron

Minimoog Voyager

Roland V-Synth XT

Roland V-Synth GT

Roland VP-550

Roland SH-01 GAIA

Roland SH-201

Synthesizers.com Modular synthesizer

Dave Smith Instruments Evolver Keyboard

A custom built lap steel guitar

Harpejji by Marcodi Musical Products, LLC

Clavia Nord Wave

Dave Smith Instruments Prophet 08

Novation Supernova

Moog Little Phatty

Moogfooger Freq Box

Stylophone 350S

Yamaha Tenori-On

Apple Inc. iPod Touch

Apple Inc. iPad

PRS 6 string guitar

A bass guitar (manufacturer unknown)

A Music Man John Petrucci 6 string guitar (this particular guitar being the original prototype of Petrucci's signature model)

Steinway & Sons model D Grand Piano

Virtual instruments

MOTU MachFive

MOTU MX4 Soft Synth

Korg Legacy Collection

Spectrasonics Omnisphere

Spectrasonics Atmosphere

Spectrasonics Trilogy

Spectrasonics Stylus

Native Instruments Komplete 2

Native Instruments Absynth

Native Instruments B4 Organ

Native Instruments Guitar Rig

Native Instruments FM7

Native Instruments Pro 53

Synthogy Ivory

Bebot Robot Synth for iPhone

Korg iElectribe for iPad

Looptastic for iPad

Magic Piano for iPad

JR Hexatone Pro for iPhone/iPod Touch

ThumbJam for iPhone/iPod Touch

Sampletoy for iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad

MorphWiz for iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad

SampleWiz for iPhone/iPod Touch/iPad

Live Rig

Korg KRONOS (88 keys) _{''Dream Theater''}

Manikin Memotron _{''Dream Theater''}

Korg Triton Extreme (88 keys) _{''solo project''}

Korg KARMA _{''solo project''}

Steinway grand piano _{''solo project''}

Roland Fantom-G8 _{''Liquid Tension Experiment and occasionally for Dream Theater's studio work''}

Freehand Systems Music Pad Pro _{Often known to fans as the "scratch pad", as he uses it to write down musical ideas. The sheet music for the entire live set is displayed on the pad for Rudess to refer to as he plays.}

3x Roland V-Synth XT

Custom made rotating keyboardstands, by Patrick Slaats

Lap steel guitar

Haken Continuum Fingerboard _{controls one Roland V-Synth XT and also controlled his modular synth.}

Zen Riffer ZR2 keytar, which controls a Roland V-Synth XT like his continuum.

Apple Inc. iPod Touch

Apple Inc. iPad

Mackie 1604VLZ Pro Mixer

APS Power backup

Glyph and Iomega Hard drives

Korg Kaoss Pad 3

Muse Research Receptor

Synthesizers.com Custom Modular Synth _{''currently retired, was used to play "On the run" and was also controlled by his continuum''}

Discography

Rudess has participated in 59 albums.

Solo albums

''Arrival'' (Cassette) (1988)

''Listen'' (CD) (1993)

''Secrets of the Muse'' (CD) (1997)

''Resonance'' (CD) (1999)

''Unplugged'' (CD) (2000)

''Feeding the Wheel'' (CD) (2001)

''4NYC'' (CD) (2002)

''Christmas Sky'' (CD) (2002)

''Rhythm of Time'' (CD) (2004)

''Prime Cuts'' (CD) (2006, compilation)

''The Road Home'' (CD) (2007, covers album)

''Notes On a Dream'' (CD) (2009)

Dream Theater

''Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory'' (CD) (1999)

''Metropolis 2000: Scenes from New York'' (VHS/DVD) (2001)

''Live Scenes from New York'' (3CD) (2001)

''Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence'' (2CD) (2002)

''Train of Thought'' (CD) (2003)

''Live at Budokan'' (2DVD/3CD) (2004)

''Octavarium'' (CD) (2005)

''Score'' (2DVD/3CD) (2006)

''Systematic Chaos'' (CD) (2007)

''Chaos in Motion'' (2DVD/3CD) (2008)

''Black Clouds & Silver Linings'' (2009)

''A Dramatic Turn Of Events'' (2011)

Project albums

''Rudess/Morgenstein Project'' (CD) (1997)

''An Evening with John Petrucci and Jordan Rudess'' (CD) (2000)

Rudess/Morgenstein Project - ''The Official Bootleg'' (CD) (2001)

Liquid Tension Experiment

''Liquid Tension Experiment'' (CD) (1998)

''Liquid Tension Experiment 2'' (CD) (1999)

''Spontaneous Combustion'' (CD) (2007, as Liquid Trio Experiment)

''When the Keyboard Breaks: Live in Chicago'' (CD) (2009, as Liquid Trio Experiment 2)

''Liquid Tension Experiment Live 2008 - Limited Edition Boxset'' (6CD/2DVD/1 Blu-ray) (2009)

Guest appearances

Vinnie Moore - ''Time Odyssey'' (1988)

Tom Coster - ''Did Jah Miss Me?'' (1989)

Annie Haslam - ''Blessing in Disguise'' (1994)

Nóirín Ní Riain - ''Celtic Soul'' (1996)

Kip Winger - ''This Conversation Seems Like A Dream'' (1997)

Rhonda Larson - ''Free as a Bird'' (1999)

Jupiter - ''Jupiter Project'' (1999)

Paul Winter and The Earth Band - ''Journey With The Sun'' (2000)

Scott McGill - ''Addition by Subtraction'' (2001)

Prefab Sprout - ''The Gunman And Other Stories'' (2001)

David Bowie - ''Heathen'' (2002)

Jupiter - ''Echo and Art'' (2003)

Neal Morse - ''?'' (2005)

Daniel J - ''Losing Time'' (2005)

Neil Zaza - ''When Gravity Fails'' (2006)

John-Luke Addison - ''Multiple Valences''

Behold... the Arctopus - ''Skullgrid'' (2007)

K3 - ''Under A Spell'' (2007)

Ricky Garcia - ''Let Sleeping Dogs Lie'' (2008)

Steven Wilson - ''Insurgentes'' (2008–2009)

Mr. Fastfinger - ''The Way of the Exploding Guitar'' (2009)

Michel Lazaro - ''Vision'' (2010)

Project RnL - ''Another One'' (2011)

Project RnL - ''The Avenger'' (2011)

Other

Speedway Boulevard - ''Speedway Boulevard'' (CD) (1981)

Various Artists - ''Romscape'' (1995)

Steinway to Heaven - Chopin's "Revolutionary Etude (Op. 10, No. 12)" (1996)

References

External links

Jordan's website

Dream Theater's website

Accent Magazine (Jordan's Online Magazine)

Jordan's Online Conservatory

Jordan Rudess performing on continuum live

Jordan Rudess Liquid T Lead emulation tutorial on Progsounds.com

Jordan Rudess emulated patches for various synths on Progsounds.com

Wiki about Jordan and his equipment (French & English)

Biography, pics, reviews and bonuses

Jordan Rudess Youtube page

Category:1956 births Category:American session musicians Category:American electronic musicians Category:American Jews Category:Jewish American musicians Category:Dream Theater members Category:Dixie Dregs members Category:American heavy metal keyboardists Category:Juilliard School alumni Category:Living people Category:American multi-instrumentalists Category:Keytarists

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Coordinates	40°37′29″N73°57′8″N
name	Derek Sherinian
nationality	American
background	solo_singer
born	August 25, 1966Laguna Beach, CaliforniaUnited States
instrument	Keyboards, Guitar, backing vocals
genre	hard rock, Progressive metal, progressive rock, neo-classical metal, metal fusion, classic rock
occupation	Musician, songwriter, producer
years active	1982–present
label	Mascot Label Group, InsideOut Music.
associated acts	Dream Theater, Planet X, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Yngwie Malmsteen, Eddie Van Halen,Billy Idol, Black Country Communion
website	http://www.dereksherinian.com }}

Derek Sherinian (born August 25, 1966) is a rock keyboardist who has toured and recorded for Alice Cooper, Billy Idol, Yngwie Malmsteen, Kiss, and Alice In Chains. He was also a member of Dream Theater and is the founder of the instrumental metal-fusion band Planet X. His solo albums feature several prominent artists, including Slash, Yngwie Malmsteen, Allan Holdsworth, Steve Lukather, John Sykes, Billy Sheehan, Zakk Wylde and Al Di Meola. Sherinian is a founding member of the supergroup Black Country Communion.

Sherinian has distinguished himself by his aggressive "guitaristic" approach to his keyboard style. He has been called the "King of the Keys" by ''Guitar World'' magazine and the "Caligula of Keyboards" by Alice Cooper. His influences include Elton John, Keith Emerson, Jan Hammer, and a variety of guitarists.

Biography

1966–1999

Sherinian was born in Laguna Beach, California of Greek-Armenian descent. He began taking piano lessons at age five in Santa Cruz, California. After his junior year at Soquel High School, he received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston where he was the roommate of the later Megadeth guitarist Al Pitrelli. He has since studied with other keyboard players, including Mitchel Forman, T Lavitz and Russell Ferrante. His first professional gig after leaving Boston was with ex-Jimi Hendrix Band of Gypsies drummer Buddy Miles. Sherinian got his first big break with Alice Cooper in 1989 to tour in support of the platinum selling "Trash" album. After touring with Alice Cooper, Sherinian played offstage keyboards on the 1992 KISS Revenge tour.

In 1994, Derek replaced Kevin Moore in the progressive metal band Dream Theater, originally just for the band's promotional tour for ''Awake''. On February 1995, however, he was made a full-time member of the band. He recorded the albums ''A Change of Seasons'' (1995), ''Falling Into Infinity'' (1997), and ''Once In A LIVEtime'' (1998) with Dream Theater before being replaced in January 1999 by Jordan Rudess because of creative differences. Sherinian remained on good terms with the band, and reunited with Dream Theater for a one-off concert in 2004, which was recorded and released on When Day and Dream Reunite (2004). The band's performance of "Metropolis Pt. 1" featured an extended improvisation between Sherinian, Rudess, and guitarist John Petrucci.

During the late 1990s, Sherinian released two albums with the progressive rock supergroup Platypus, which also featured Dream Theater bassist John Myung, Dregs drummer Rod Morgenstein, and King's X guitarist Ty Tabor. The group released two albums, ''When Pus Comes to Shove'' (1998) and ''Ice Cycles'' (2000), before disbanding in 2000.

1999 – present

Since 1999, Sherinian has recorded seven solo albums, featuring performances by numerous highly acclaimed musicians.

Sherinian's first solo album, Planet X (1999), written and recorded with Australian drummer Virgil Donati, led to the formation of a band of the same name (Planet X). Guitar virtuoso Tony MacAlpine was recruited to complete the band. Sherinian has stated that his intention when forming Planet X was to create a group of musicians that "played their instruments so fiercely, that they would strike fear in the hearts of all musicians".

In 2001, Derek teamed with drummer Simon Phillips and guitarists Steve Lukather and Zakk Wylde to record ''Inertia'', followed by ''Black Utopia'' (2003). For ''Black Utopia'', three new faces joined Sherinian’s group: bassist Billy Sheehan, rock guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen, and jazz fusion guitarist Al Di Meola. With respect to this fusion-influenced lineup, Sherinian stated: Sherinian also calls the album "a lot darker and heavier than [''Inertia'']". In Japan, the cover of ''Black Utopia'' was altered to remove the cross in the title without Sherinian's consent; Sherinian has commented that the cross "meant nothing" and was added for aesthetic purposes.

Sherinian extended further into the fusion realm by collaborating with guitarist Allan Holdsworth and violinist Jerry Goodman (formerly of the Mahavishnu Orchestra) on ''Mythology'' (2004). In addition to another appearance by Phillips, other musicians appearing on this recording were Zakk Wylde, John Sykes, Steve Stevens, and Tony Franklin.

Since 2002, Sherinian has toured with several well-known artists, including Billy Idol and Yngwie Malmsteen. Derek's fifth solo album, ''Blood of the Snake'' (2006), features contributions from Idol, as well as former Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash, John Petrucci of Dream Theater, and Brian Tichy; Phillips, Franklin and Lukather make return appearances. A video for a cover version of Mungo Jerry's "In the Summertime" was released along with the album. Sherinian also worked with duduk master Djivan Gasparyan on the song "''Prelude To Battle''" on the release, written for his great grandmother who survived the Armenian genocide. In 2009, Sherinian released his sixth solo album, ''Molecular Heinosity'', again featuring Zakk Wylde, Tony Franklin and Brian Tichy. Later that year, Sherinian also performed a one-off acoustic gig with Alice In Chains to launch their ''Black Gives Way To Blue'' album.

In 2010, Sherinian became a founding member of supergroup Black Country Communion with Glenn Hughes, Jason Bonham, and Joe Bonamassa. Sherinian has completed his seventh solo album titled "Oceana" which will be released worldwide September 5th, 2011 on Mascot Records.

Influences and collaborations

In a 2000 interview, Sherinian cited his early influences as being Jan Hammer (Mahavishnu Orchestra), Keith Emerson (Emerson, Lake & Palmer and The Nice), Rick Wakeman (Yes), and Elton John. Other influences include guitarists Allan Holdsworth, Jeff Beck, and Eddie Van Halen. Sherinian enjoys co-writing material with fellow musicians, and often finds that he writes better material with drummers. Sherinian cites Van Halen's guitar playing as having a direct influence on his aggressive unique approach to keyboards in terms of technique as well as tone; his unique signature lead patch contains numerous elements of guitar sounds such as distortion, harmonics, and palm-muting, eventually leading to playing a gig with Eddie for a party at Van Halen's home in 2006, of which Sherinian said "It was the highlight of my career, it was completely surreal." Sherinian's work with noted Toto guitarist Steve Lukather on the 2001 solo CD ''Inertia'' was cited by Lukather as "probably my best recorded work in my whole career. Great record! I'm very proud of it!".

Sherinian's collaborations with top musicians were featured in a 2007 article in ''Guitar World'' magazine, where guitarist Zakk Wylde offered "People want to play with him because he’s that good. He can play everything from the easiest licks on a piano to the most complex Beethoven sonatas with ease." Dream Theater guitarist John Petrucci added "...Derek -considering the fact that he’s heavily into guitarists and rock music, his history, and the range of all the great guitarists he’s worked with —plays with a fire unheard of from most keyboardists.” Sherinian explains that he enlists a variety of guitarists because he "[does not] think there is one guitarist who can cover all the styles featured on [the] albums." Sherinian often tailors songs for specific guitarists, such as Holdsworth and Wylde for "Day of the Dead" (off ''Mythology''); in this respect, he seeks to take certain aspects of genres and make them ''"collide in an eloquent way"''.

Equipment

Derek Sherinian currently uses and endorses Clavia, Korg, Moog and Roland keyboards. Sherinian was presented the G2 Modular synth serial number 001 by Clavia representative Bengt Lilja in January 2004. As an KORG endorsee, Sherinian was one of the first artists to adopt the Korg Trinity keyboard series in 1996. In collaboration with KORG sound designer Jack Hotop, they created Sherinian's signature "guitaristic" lead sound (the "Monster Lead", made famous on the Dream Theater album "Falling Into Infinity") on the Trinity, as well as other, more "modern" and "aggressive" keyboard patches, owing to his fondness of guitar tones and technique. Derek is currently using the KORG Kronos in the studio and live. Derek also uses the Hammond B3 organ; he thinks that ''"every rock keyboardist should have a distorted Leslie and a Hammond as part of their sound."''

Derek is also known for being one of the first keyboardists to use vertical keyboard stands, influencing a new generation of keyboardists. A more detailed list of equipment can be found at Sherinian's Web site ().

Sherinian currently uses the following gear: Korg Kronos 61, Moog Voyager XL, Clavia Nord Lead 3, Clavia Nord Elerctro 3. Yamaha C9 Conservatory Series Grand Piano. His vintage gear includes: 1977 Yamaha C9 Conservatory Series Grand Piano.Moog Taurus Pedals, 1962 fruitwoodHammond B3, two Leslie 147, modified by Ken Rich Sound Services. Sherinian also owns Beachwood Manor Studios, located in Burbank, California.In the studio, Derek also has a Muse Research Receptor 2 ProMax loaded with Omnisphere,Trillian, M Tron 2, B4 2, Ivory 2, Predator, Massive, and many other soft synths.

Selected discography

:''Information courtesy of Allmusic.com.''

Solo albums

Date of release	Title	Label	Type	Allmusic rating	US Sales
1999			Studio		N/A
2001			Studio		N/A
April 22, 2003	''Black Utopia''	InsideOut	Studio		N/A
November 9, 2004		InsideOut	Studio	N/A	N/A
August 1, 2006	''Blood of the Snake''	InsideOut	Studio		N/A
March 24, 2009	''Molecular Heinosity''	InsideOut	Studio		N/A
September 5th, 2011		Mascot Label Group	Studio

With Dream Theater

Date of release	Title	Label	Type	Allmusic rating	US Sales
September 19, 1995	''A Change of Seasons''		Studio/Live EP		188,000+
September 23, 1997	''Falling into Infinity''	EastWest	Studio		160,000+
October 27, 1998	''Once in a LIVEtime''	EastWest	Live		75,000+
1998	''5 Years in a LIVEtime''	EastWest	VHS/DVD		N/A

With Planet X

Date of release	Title	Label	Type	Allmusic rating	US Sales
June 6, 2000		InsideOut	Studio		N/A
April 3, 2002	''Live from Oz''	InsideOut	Live		N/A
July 29, 2002	''MoonBabies''	InsideOut	Studio		N/A
May 18, 2007		InsideOut	Studio		N/A

With other musicians

:''A complete list of projects is at Sherinian's website and the [ Allmusic credits page].

Date of release	Artist	Title	Label	Type	Allmusic rating	US Sales
May 18, 1993		''Alive III''		Live		N/A
1994	Alice Cooper	''The Last Temptation''		Studio		N/A
August 22, 1995	Alice Cooper	''Classicks''	Epic	Compilation		N/A
August 25, 1998		''When Pus Comes to Shove''	Velvel	Studio		N/A
March 14, 2000		''Ice Cycles''	InsideOut Music	Studio		N/A
October 15, 2002	Yngwie Malmsteen	''Attack!!''	Import	Studio		N/A
March 22, 2005	Billy Idol			Studio		N/A
June 24, 2008	Billy Idol		Capitol Records	Compilation		N/A
October 14, 2008	Yngwie Malmsteen	''Perpetual Flame''		Studio		N/A
September 10, 2010	Black Country Communion		Mascot	Studio		N/A
June 14, 2011	Black Country Communion		Mascot	Studio		N/A

Movie appearances

1992 - ''Wayne's World'', as himself as part of the Alice Cooper Band

References

Multimedia

Video for Dream Theater - "Hollow Years"

Live version of "Atlantis : Apocalypse 1470 BC"

Planet X "MoonBabies"">Clavia Nord sample 1 from Planet X "MoonBabies"

Planet X "MoonBabies"">Clavia Nord sample 2 from Planet X "MoonBabies"

External links

Derek Sherinian official website

Derek Sherinian official MySpace page

Derek Sherinian Interview on Rockpages.gr

Category:1966 births Category:Alice Cooper members Category:American heavy metal keyboardists Category:American musicians of Armenian descent Category:American people of Armenian descent Category:American people of Greek descent Category:Armenian rock musicians Category:Berklee College of Music alumni Category:Dream Theater members Category:Black Country Communion members Category:Living people Category:People from Santa Cruz, California Category:Musicians from California

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