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54-481: The new technology and a lack of a soundboard gave it a more accurate emulation of an acoustic piano than earlier models. It was well received and used by a number of musicians in the late 1970s and early 1980s, including the Grateful Dead 's Keith Godchaux and Genesis ' Tony Banks . It continues to be used in the 21st century by a number of artists, and it is still possible to buy replacement parts. The CP-70 has

108-415: A sounding board ) is the surface of a string instrument that the strings vibrate against, usually via some sort of bridge . Pianos , guitars , banjos , and many other stringed instruments incorporate soundboards. The resonant properties of the soundboard and the interior of the instrument greatly increase the loudness of the vibrating strings. "The sound board is probably the most important element of

162-521: A world music flavour. Afterward he reconvened with Yes for their 1976 North American tour, where the band headlined several large concerts. After the 1976 tour, Yes retreated from UK tax collectors to Montreux , Switzerland, to record their next album, Going for the One (1977). Some of the material had already been worked out by the time of their arrival; this included contributions to "Awaken", " Wonderous Stories " and "Parallels" from Moraz. However, during

216-506: A CP-70 as it was easier to transport one to gigs than an acoustic grand piano. His successor Brent Mydland also briefly used it in 1982 before switching to digital synthesizers. Led Zeppelin 's John Paul Jones encased a CP-70 inside a white case to resemble an acoustic piano. Genesis ' Tony Banks used the instrument extensively, such as the hit " That's All " and " Taking It All Too Hard ", and preferred recording with it over an acoustic piano. The CP-70 achieved its commercial peak during

270-400: A benefit concert at the request of poet José Ramos-Horta . By 2001, Moraz had continued with several projects, including researching and preparing film scripts, including one for a potential film adaptation of The Story of I . He released his third piano album, the classically influenced ESP (2003), short for "Etudes, Sonatas and Preludes". In 2012, he issued a compilation of tracks from

324-544: A call from Lee Jackson , guitarist and singer of Jackson Heights , asking him if he was interested in joining Jackson Heights. Moraz had jammed with Jackson's previous band, The Nice , in 1969 when they played in Switzerland. Moraz refused, and counter-offered that they form a new band with former Nice member Brian Davison on drums. The band, Refugee , signed with Charisma Records and released Refugee (1974), written and arranged by Moraz and Jackson. The group developed

378-505: A certain 'live' tone while a poor one will have a relatively dead response", which may be tested during construction by thumping the board and listening for, "brighter, more noticeable ring[ing]", as one works the board, "to the appropriate thinness". Soundboards are traditionally made of wood (see tonewood ), though other materials are used. Skin or plastic are found on instruments in the banjo family, and harpsichord makers have experimented with metal soundboards. Wooden soundboards, with

432-558: A chef in Switzerland in one of his kitchens that he managed, with the hope of using the skill to work in England. Moraz cooked at a school for a £2.88 salary (equivalent to £100 in 2024). , calling it "one of the hardest jobs I ever had". He played the piano in a local pub and tea room for more money. However, he was kicked out of the Musicians' Union because he took up employment as a bar pianist with an incorrect type of work visa. The director of

486-747: A convention held by the Audio Engineering Society in Los Angeles, where Herbie Hancock taught him vocoder , and agreed to represent Aphex Systems in Brazil. On his way back to Brazil, Moraz stopped in Miami as he had some free time. At the hotel, he received a call asking him to join the Moody Blues after Mike Pinder left the band. Moraz proceeded to sing "Nights in White Satin" and "Tuesday Afternoon" on

540-654: A group of pianists in Los Angeles to test the instrument before manufacturing. After playing, they were "just freaking out over it". The first model had problems with tuning, and an upgraded version, the CP-70B, was introduced at the NAMM Show in 1978, along with the CP-80, which featured a full 88-note keyboard. It also introduced an effects loop . The CP-70D and CP-80D models added a graphic equaliser . The final models to be released were

594-406: A guitar in terms of its influence on the quality of the instrument's tone [ timbre ]." When the [guitar] top (or soundboard) vibrates, it generates sound waves, much like a loudspeaker. As the soundboard moves forward, the air that is in front of it is compressed and it moves away from the guitar. As the soundboard moves back, the pressure on the air in front of the guitar is reduced. This

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648-673: A jazz soloist at a music festival earned him a prize of a collection of albums and some lessons with French jazz soloist Stéphane Grappelli who taught him "all I needed to know about jazz and rock". Moraz also spent time performing in several countries in Africa. In November 1964, Moraz left Switzerland for England, a place he always wanted to visit and perform. Not knowing the English language, he arrived in Bournemouth where he stayed for six months. Prior to his travels, Moraz's father offered him work as

702-581: A new progressive rock band, Mainhorse . He wished for a drummer who could play like John Bonham , Buddy Rich , odd time signatures and the blues, and tried out "like 250 drummers" in the process. He settled with a line-up of Jean Ristori on vocals and bass, Bryson Graham on drums, and Peter Lockett on vocals and guitar. They signed with Polydor Records and recorded their only studio album, Mainhorse (1971), at De Lane Lea Studios , later purchased by Ian Gillan of Deep Purple in Kingsway , London. The album

756-481: A piano that was both portable and sounded like the acoustic grand model. Benjamin Miessner had been working on pickup and amplification techniques since the 1930s, and discovered that capturing the harmonic information and nuances of sound was difficult and changed as pickup positions and configurations were altered. Yamaha had been working on pickup technology since World War II , and took advantage of Japanese culture at

810-409: A solo career. Moraz was a member of the Moody Blues from 1978 to 1991. Since then, he has worked on various solo projects. Moraz was born on 24 June 1948 on an aeroplane, though Morges , Switzerland, has been cited as his hometown. He was born in to a musical family; his father used to work for Polish pianist and composer Ignacy Jan Paderewski . He has a sister, Patricia. As a child, Moraz played

864-569: A tight sound by practising for at least eight hours each day. Refugee supported the album with a tour. Upon his arrival from Geneva working on a film score for Gerard Depardieu , Moraz was asked to join Yes , following the departure of Rick Wakeman in May 1974. The band had begun work on Relayer (1974), their seventh album, in Virginia Water , Surrey, and sought potential replacements. Moraz had seen

918-438: A year and a half, and prepared material for his third album. He wanted to title the album "Primitivization", but the record company chose to release it as Patrick Moraz (1978). During his time in Brazil, Moraz joined a Brazilian rock band, Vimana , with Lobão and Lulu Santos and Ritchie . He also recorded the keyboards in one of the most iconic songs of Brazilian music, "Avohai" by Zé Ramalho . In May 1978, Moraz visited

972-404: Is called a "rarefaction," and air rushes in to fill the rarefied region. Through this process, an alternating series of compression and rarefaction pulses travel away from the soundboard, creating sound waves. The soundboard operates by the principle of forced vibration . The string gently vibrates the board, and despite their differences in size and composition, makes the board vibrate at exactly

1026-399: Is usually made of a softwood , often spruce . More generally, any hard surface can act as a soundboard. An example is when someone strikes a tuning fork and holds it against a table top to amplify its sound. Wood for woodworking must be specially prepared. Ideally, it should be naturally dried. The natural drying process takes at least one year, but it is the only process that preserves

1080-536: The MIDI equipped CP-70M and CP-80M, which were released at the end of 1985. The CP-70B and later models have very stable tuning, compared to other electric pianos. The lack of a soundboard means that vibration from transport and humidity is unlikely to change the sound. Because the CP-70 uses custom-made strings, sourcing new ones can be problematic. Each iteration of the instrument used a different type of string, although some of

1134-552: The Zürich jazz festival. Moraz went on to win awards at the festival, as a solo artist or in his jazz groups, for five consecutive years. In 1964, Moraz spent his summer in Cadaqués , Spain as a scuba diving instructor and spent time with Salvador Dalí at his property in Portlligat where he organised and performed at several gatherings for his guests. At seventeen, Moraz's playing as

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1188-495: The ... tour of 1976 ... I was entitled to a 20% cut from what the band was getting." In 2014, Chris Squire would suggest that a lack of a musical bond between Moraz and Steve Howe was the main artistic reason for Moraz and Yes parting company. Moraz continued with his solo career and Charisma released his second album, Out in the Sun (1977), which he wanted to sound "completely different and more liberated". He then moved to Brazil for

1242-414: The 1960s as a jazz musician, performing with his quartet and quintet, groups that performed across Europe and won several awards. He formed the short-lived progressive rock group Mainhorse in 1969, and began work scoring films. In 1974, he formed another band, Refugee , and recorded one album before he joined Yes later the same year. Moraz was a member of Yes until 1976, and during this time he also started

1296-687: The Brazilian ballet, he became interested in percussion and travelled to Colombia , Bolivia , Chile and Argentina for inspiration, and arrived in Brazil where he gathered "a very, very strong unit of 16 percussionists" to play on his album. Moraz invited synthesizer inventor Bob Moog to contribute sounds on the album; Moog accepted the task, and worked with him for several weeks. During this time Moraz also played on Steve Howe 's album Beginnings (1975) and Chris Squire 's album Fish Out of Water (1975). Moraz travelled to Brazil and incorporated Brazilian rhythms and musicians on The Story of I , giving it

1350-683: The Edge voyage in February 2017. Moraz reunited with Yes in July 2018. As part of Yes' 50th Anniversary tour, Moraz performed with Yes at two shows in Philadelphia, July 20 and 21. At each show, Moraz played keys during the band's performance of "Soon". Moraz also appeared during the Yes FanFest before the July 21 show, at first performing a 70-minute solo piano show and then appearing on stage with Yes and taking part in

1404-451: The advent of MTV and was therefore prominently featured on music videos. Keane 's Tim Rice-Oxley uses a CP-70 as his main instrument with the band. Alicia Keys has used a CP-70 as her main touring piano, which she custom-painted. During the tour for The Element of Freedom , her CP-70 featured the words "Freedom" and "Love" painted on its side. References Sources Sound board (music) A soundboard (occasionally called

1458-642: The album. After his successful audition, Moraz learned their repertoire across seven albums for the Relayer tour, which began in November 1974. When the tour ended in August 1975, Yes took an extended break so each member could produce a solo album. Charisma Records released Moraz's first album as a solo artist, which, due to its title consisting of a symbol which does not appear on standard keyboards, has since become commonly known as The Story of I (1976). Since working with

1512-480: The band perform during their tour of Switzerland in 1969. After a try-out with Greek musician Vangelis , which proved unsuccessful following musical union issues and his unwillingness to travel, music reporter Chris Welch suggested to the band's manager, Brian Lane , that they ask Moraz. Though he regretted splitting with his Refugee bandmates, Moraz accepted the position as it was an opportunity that he thought would benefit his career, though he once said, "I felt it

1566-525: The band's biggest hit, reaching No. 1 in the US. This was followed by The Present (1983), The Other Side of Life (1986), and Sur la Mer (1988). During his tenure with the Moody Blues, Moraz completed several solo projects. He toured with his group from Brazil, recorded with Chick Corea , and released two albums with drummer Bill Bruford as Moraz-Bruford. The two toured worldwide between 1983 and 1985. In May 1986, he worked on some "temporary cues" and "not

1620-463: The direction of its fibres and the lack of knots. Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and the Moody Blues . Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age and studied at the Lausanne Conservatory . He began a music career in

1674-416: The early sessions, Moraz was told to leave in order to allow Wakeman to return to the band. Moraz spoke about his departure: "Even though, at the time, the split 'was not made to appear acrimonious', I suffered extremely and extensively. To be 'asked to leave' so suddenly put me in a lot of turmoil and disturbance ... I was never compensated for anything. I never ever got paid for any of my tour participation in

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1728-452: The exclusion of those found on keyboard instruments, typically have one or more sound holes of various shapes. Round, oval, or F-holes appear on many plucked instruments, such as guitars and mandolins . F-holes are usual in violin family instruments. Lutes commonly have elaborate rosettes . The soundboard, depending on the instrument, is called a soundboard , top , top plate , resonator , table , sound-table , or belly . It

1782-562: The final scores" to the soundtrack to Predator (1987) and Wild Orchid (1989). The project gave him the opportunity to visit the filming of Predator in Mexico, and to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger and Mickey Rourke . However, Moraz could not fully complete the score for Predator because of an upcoming tour with the Moody Blues, leaving Alan Silvestri to compose the rest. He also operated Aquarius Studios in Geneva with Ristori. Moraz performed

1836-428: The harp casting that induce an electric current from vibrations, in a similar manner to pickups on an acoustic guitar . The choice of piezo-electric pickups and their mounting position avoids the problems with earlier electric pianos, where magnetic pickups carried harmonic information at a particular distance on the string. The lack of a soundboard means it is difficult for the instrument to feedback . The signal from

1890-424: The natural structure of the fibres and pores of the wood, which determine the resonance and frequency characteristics of the material. Not only is this process lengthy, but it is also expensive. It would be far quicker and cheaper to subject the wood to artificial drying, although the quality of the material would be compromised. The acoustic properties of an instrument are also influenced by the wood's cutting profile,

1944-571: The phone, and accepted an audition in London in July 1978. Before his arrival, Moraz performed at the Montreux Jazz Festival with Brazilian musicians Airto Moreira and Gilberto Gil . The audition with the Moody Blues was successful, and Moraz "Got the gig that very afternoon". Moraz toured with the Moody Blues in support of their ninth album, Octave (1978), which began in late 1978. Their next album, Long Distance Voyager (1981), became

1998-523: The pickups is sent to a preamplifier which features a stereo balanced line signal via a pair of XLR connector output jacks, in addition to the more familiar quarter-inch jack outputs. The CP-70 is designed for touring. The harp can be detached from the key assembly and the instrument's legs and can be stored in the key assembly's lid. An optional road case is available. The CP-70's flat top allows other keyboards and synthesisers to be stacked on top of it. There had been numerous attempts to manufacturer

2052-467: The same piano action as an acoustic instrument, using wooden keys to operate hammers which hit strings, but it does not contain a soundboard . It has a smaller number of specially manufactured strings, reducing the overall weight. In particular, the bass strings are very short compared to an acoustic instrument, 26 + 3 ⁄ 4 inches (67.9 cm) instead of around 7 feet (213 cm)). The strings are amplified by piezo-electric pickups mounted on

2106-414: The same frequency. This produces the same sound as the string alone, differing only in timbre . The string would produce the same amount of energy without the board present, but the greater surface area of the soundboard moves a greater volume of air, which produces a louder sound. "Generally, stiffer boards will give a brighter edge to the sound than softer, more flexible boards....A good, dry soundboard has

2160-487: The score to The Stepfather (1987). During the recording for Keys of the Kingdom (1991), Moraz was interviewed for Keyboard magazine. He expressed a feeling that The Moody Blues' music had become too confined and that the group had become stagnant, offering "no musical challenge". The other members, he thought, were unwilling to use his musical compositions and claimed his only composition during his 13 years with them

2214-481: The style of the music would suffer in a traditional concert setting. In late 1994, Moraz began a piano tour of the US and Europe with his Coming Home, America Tour (CHAT), which saw him perform at private or semi-private venues for an $ 800 flat fee, booked entirely by fans through the Internet. One show saw him perform for a couple in their home. The tour ended in November 1995 for a total of 92 performances. One of them

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2268-728: The three piano albums titled PianissiMoraz (2012). In 2011, Moraz guested on an album by Panorama Syndicate entitled Skyline , playing piano on the title track. In April 2014, Moraz took part in the annual progressive rock-themed cruise voyage Cruise to the Edge as a solo artist. In 2015, Moraz and drummer Greg Alban formed the Moraz Alban Project and released a studio album The M.A.P. Project (2015), featuring percussionist Lenny Castro, saxophonist Dave Van Such, bassists John Avila and Patrick Perrier, and Counting Crows bassist Matt Malley. Moraz and Alban met in 1983 and Alban played drums on Moraz's album Time Code (1984). The project

2322-437: The time which permitted research information to be exchanged between companies without threat of intellectual property lawsuits, as in the US. They used this knowledge to create a series of robust piezo-electric pickups, and combined it with their experience in manufacturing acoustic pianos to make an electric instrument. The CP-70 was first manufactured in 1976, and cost $ 4,000. According to Toto 's David Paich , Yamaha invited

2376-601: The treble strings can be replaced with standard ones from an acoustic piano. As of 2019, there were two companies in the US supplying the appropriate custom strings for the CP-70. The CP-70 was used by a number of prominent keyboardists, including Keith Emerson , George Duke , Charly Garcia , Little Feat 's Bill Payne , Heart 's Howard Leese , Patrick Moraz , Michael McDonald , Magne Furuholmen of A-ha and Billy Joel . During Cold Chisel 's live performances, singer Jimmy Barnes leapt onto keyboardist Don Walker 's CP-70. The Grateful Dead 's Keith Godchaux began playing

2430-626: The union then spotted him playing in a restaurant, causing Moraz to leave the country and cancel proposals to jam with a Bournemouth group, the Night People. He also worked by selling encyclopaedias in Geneva . In 1965, Moraz's quartet won an award at the Zürich jazz festival, and was soon invited to be the opening act for a European tour headlined by American saxophonist John Coltrane . Moraz returned to England in 1969 when he auditioned potential players for

2484-412: The violin, piano, and percussion and wrote compositions for the piano at the age of five. He studied jazz and classical music until his development came to an abrupt halt at thirteen after he broke four fingers in a roller skating accident. He recalled, "I was told I could never play classical music again". Following a course of therapy and a considerable amount of practice with his left hand playing, Moraz

2538-420: Was "half a song with the drummer". Before the Moody Blues toured the album, Moraz was fired from the band. In September 1991, Moraz sued the group for $ 500,000 as well as wrongful dismissal, claiming the group decided to split their profits four ways instead of five, and wished to be paid royalties he felt were owed to him as a full-time member of the band for almost 15 years. However, the group maintained Moraz

2592-571: Was able to regain his technique, becoming ambidextrous in the process. Initially, Moraz wished to be an anthropologist and learned to speak Greek and Latin . Instead he chose to pursue music and studied in Lausanne at the Lausanne Conservatory , where he studied with Clara Haskil and, while in Paris, Nadia Boulanger . At sixteen, Moraz became the youngest person to receive the Best Soloist award at

2646-483: Was an Alban solo endeavour at first, with Moraz contributing to the music, but it grew to feature numerous other musicians with the music written around the drums and keyboards. In November 2015, Moraz released a limited edition 19-CD box set of his 18 albums, including Mainhorse (1971), The Story of I (1976) and the live album Music for Piano and Drums: Live in Maryland (2012). Moraz took part in his second Cruise to

2700-520: Was not a commercial success, but the group secured work by performing at gigs in Germany. Moraz took up further work as a film composer on The Salamander (1971). After touring Japan and Hong Kong as a musical director for a Brazilian ballet, Moraz returned to Switzerland in 1973. He recorded further film music for The Invitation (1973) and The Middle of the World (1974). In the summer, Moraz received

2754-475: Was only a hired musician, despite his name being listed as a member on their albums and promotional materials and his appearing in official band photographs. On December 28, 1992, the jury in the case, aired on Court TV , awarded Moraz $ 77,175 from the defendants. Moraz had been offered $ 400,000 before the lawsuit. After his dismissal from the Moody Blues, Moraz has primarily concentrated on solo projects. His first of three piano albums, Windows of Time (1994),

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2808-505: Was recorded and released as PM in Princeton (1995) for CD and video. In 1997, Moraz started work on a new album, A Way to Freedom , featuring arrangements for a symphony orchestra, percussionists, and a jazz brass band. The project remains a work in progress. From 1998 to 2000, Moraz worked almost exclusively on his second piano album Resonance (2000), which, like Windows of Time , was cut to exactly one hour of music. He also performed at

2862-563: Was recorded in a studio at Full Sail University in Florida. A total of fourteen hours of material was recorded which was cut to exactly one hour. Moraz then spent the next four years developing "hundreds of pieces of music for all instruments, as well as orchestras and choirs", producing several artists, and completed work for the Conference on World Affairs , of which he is an official delegate. He also wished to tour Windows of Time , but thought

2916-471: Was time to leave". Moraz's audition occurred in the first week of August 1974 with Vangelis's keyboards, which were still set up in the rehearsal room. After tuning up, Moraz watched the band play the middle section of "Sound Chaser", which he said was "Absolutely unbelievable. To experience that – the truest surround experience I had ever encountered as an observer and listener". He was then asked to come up with an opening to it, and what he played ended up on

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