The keytar seems forever entrenched in people’s mind as a fun but perpetually silly musical instrument. Perhaps it was the deluge of children’s toys similar to the strap-on “keyboard guitar” that creates our childish propensity to make fun it. Maybe it’s the inescapable association with goofy-looking 80’s fashion. Whatever it is, the keytar seems to receive the automatic brunt of unflattering fascination.

Like any obscure piece of music gadgetry, the keytar has its own following. In fact, a number of relatively new musical performers have built a fanbase partly due to having a keytar prominently taking a spot their ensemble. In this first look at the nostalgic instrument, we’ll review some notable “keytar heroes” of yesteryears.

Spyro Gyra

One of the most prolific bands of all time with 25 albums released, Spyro Gyra brought their commercially-successful jazz fusion sound with the help of a keytar. The band’s keyboardist (keytarist, if you prefer) Tom Schuman is almost always one of the first names to pop out when discussion about the instrument ensues. According to a recent interview with Tom, he still owns the first commercially available keytar although he hasn’t played on it since 1989.

Devo

One of the strangest bands of the 80’s and likely still strange up to now, it was no surprise that they took on the equally peculiar instrument. Their utter silliness was possibly a factor in the keytar’s later reputation as a less-than-serious musician’s ware.

Herbie Hancock

Who can forget Herbie Hancock’s RockIt video complete with robots, mechanical thingamajigs and, well, an awesome keytar.

Other Notables

Enjoying immense popularity in the 80’s for the mobility it provided the keyboard player, the keytar has seen the handling of many music icons of the time including the Pet Shop Boys, Steely Dan, Asia and Weird Al Yankovic.