Family: Keyboard instruments
Photo: Docrobbie, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons
The Rhodes is an electric piano: the hammers strike not strings but thin metal rods (tines), and their vibrations are picked up by pickups – much like on an electric guitar. The result is a warm, round, slightly bell-like sound that cannot be mistaken for anything else.
A short history
During the Second World War Harold Rhodes taught soldiers to play the piano and began building simple instruments for them. After the war he kept developing the idea, and from the mid-1960s the instruments were made together with Fender as the Fender Rhodes.
Fun facts
- In the late 1960s Miles Davis began using electric keyboards in his band – the beginning of jazz fusion.
- Ray Manzarek of The Doors played the Rhodes on songs such as „Riders on the Storm”.
In rock and jazz
Jazz and fusion: Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Bob James. Pop, soul and rock: Stevie Wonder („You Are the Sunshine of My Life”), Billy Joel („Just the Way You Are”), Ray Manzarek.
Do you play this instrument? Share your experience in the comments below – tell others what is worth knowing.