Any instrument that is played by pressing buttons, levers, or keys to make sound is considered a keyboard instrument. Almost all keyboard instruments, particularly those connected to Western music, have keys that run from bass on the left side of the keyboard to treble on the right, representing notes in the chromatic scale.
As one of the most versatile musical instrument families, keyboards have amassed great importance and popularity. The keyboard allows a performer to play several notes at once and in close succession to one another, a feat that few other instruments can accomplish. Because nearly any composition can be played on a keyboard, whether it’s chordal harmonies, a single melody, or a combination of the two, the keyboard has been utilized by nearly every major composer since the 16th century.