Jump to content

Rocksichord: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
BG19bot (talk | contribs)
m WP:CHECKWIKI error fix for #61. Punctuation goes before References. Do general fixes if a problem exists. -
redirect
Tag: New redirect
 
(9 intermediate revisions by 7 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
#REDIRECT [[Rocky Mount Instruments]]
The '''Rock-Si-Chord''' (sometimes incorrectly referred to as Rocksichord or Roxichord){{citation needed|date=December 2013|reason=A citation supporting the claim that "Rock-Si-Chord" is the correct spelling (proving a positive) would be preferable.}} is an [[electronic keyboard]] invented in 1967 to approximate the sound of the [[harpsichord]].<ref>{{cite magazine
| date = October 7, 1967
| title = RMI Rock-Si-Chord does the whole bit
| volume = 79
| issue = 40
| page = 16
| magazine = Billboard
| publisher = Billboard Publications, Inc.
| url = https://books.google.com/books?id=9ycEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA16#v=onepage&q&f=false
}}</ref> As its name suggests, it was intended primarily for use in [[rock music]], where a standard acoustic harpsichord would be drowned out.

The Rock-Si-Chord, manufactured by [[Rocky Mount Instruments]] (RMI), a division of Allen Organs Inc, was a solid-state instrument using one or two transistor oscillators per key, and was the first example of a type of instrument generally known as the [[electronic piano]] (contrast [[electric piano]]). Later RMI instruments also included piano sounds.

The prototype Rock-Si-Chord gave the [[Philadelphia]] [[psychedelic rock]] band The [[Mandrake Memorial]] their signature sound.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}

Composer [[George Crumb]] specifies the use of an electric harpsichord in his 1968 composition ''Songs, Drones, and Refrains of Death'';{{citation needed|date=December 2013}} however, he does not specifically call in the score for a Rock-Si-Chord, and thus it could also refer to a [[Electric piano#Other electric keyboard instruments|Baldwin Combo Harpsichord]], an electromechanical instrument dating from the same era.

Around the same time Terry Riley used a Rock-Si-Chord, among other keyboard instruments, in his piece ''[[A Rainbow in Curved Air]]''.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}

Orchestrator Jonathan Tunick used a combined Rock-Si-Chord/Electric Piano in the Stephen Sondheim musical "Company" (1970). He considers the instrument now obsolete and recommends the use of a current electric keyboard.{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}

Later notable examples include the 1990s band [[Quasi]], but it has also been used in jazz (by [[Call Cobbs, Jr.]] and [[Sun Ra]]).{{citation needed|date=December 2013}}

==Artists and groups using a Rock-Si-Chord==
{{Citation needed section|date=December 2013}}
*[[The Band]], played by [[Garth Hudson]] through a [[Telegraph key]] on [[This Wheel's on Fire (song)]]
*[[The Beach Boys]] (on ''[[Sunflower (The Beach Boys album)|Sunflower]]'')
*[[Chevy Chase]]'s [[Chamaeleon Church]]
*[[Call Cobbs, Jr.]]
*[[Sam Coomes]] with [[Quasi]]
*[[Genesis (band)|Genesis]]
*[[Dr. John]]
*[[Michael Kamen]]
*[[John Lennon]]
*[[Magic Hero vs Rock People]]
*[[Mandrake Memorial]]
*[[New York Rock and Roll Ensemble]]
*[[Terry Riley]] (on ''[[A Rainbow in Curved Air]]'')
*[[Stereolab]] (on ''[[Sound-Dust]]'')
*[[Sun Ra]]
*[[Rick Wakeman]] (solo and with [[Yes (band)|Yes]])
*[[Wilco]] (on ''[[A Ghost is Born]]'')
*[[Edgar Winter]]
*[[Steve Winwood]] with [[Blind Faith]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Electric and electronic keyboard instruments]]
[[Category:Harpsichord]]


{{Electronic-musical-instrument-stub}}

Latest revision as of 18:12, 31 March 2021