Air instrument Air instrument In the context of musical performance, air instruments are imaginary musical instruments for which people mimic the sound-producing gestures in the air without touching a real instrument. In simple words air instruments are the musical instruments which could be played without touching the real instrument. Air instruments include: There are other air instruments as well. The playing of air instruments has been documented through the 20th century (see: Air guitar). However, no sources have been found that exclude the playing of air instruments in ancient times, during private performances, such as for air flute or air lyre (for
Electronic musical instrument with new electronic music instruments, controllers, and synthesizers. In the 18th-century, musicians and composers adapted a number of acoustic instruments to exploit the novelty of electricity. Thus, in the broadest sense, the first electrified musical instrument was the Denis d'or keyboard, dating from 1753, followed shortly by the clavecin électrique by the Frenchman Jean-Baptiste de Laborde in 1761. The Denis d'or consisted of a keyboard instrument of over 700 strings, electrified temporarily to enhance sonic qualities. The clavecin électrique was a keyboard instrument with plectra (picks) activated electrically. However, neither instrument used electricity as a sound-source. The first electric synthesizer