The music keyboard used in a MIDI system closely resembles a piano keyboard, with its black and white keys. The MIDI, however, usually has fewer than the 88 keys of a standard piano. A bank of dials and buttons above the piano-like keys enables the user to configure the sound input. This allows the synthesis of a wide variety of phonic effects (this device is also called a synthesizer keyboard). These effects range from digitizing sound to mimicking the sounds of other instruments. Other effects can be programmed into the keyboard, such as echo, reverberation, soft note attacks, and long note fadeouts. The keyboard sends these signals to the computer system, which processes and integrates them into sound effects or music.
