Begins with the inescapable moment when the keyboarder wants to finally be noticed by the audience. Memorable keyboard solos:
- 5th Brandenburg Concerto by J.S. Bach (harpsichord solo in 1st movement) This impressive and complicated-sounding, but comparably easily-played piece of harpsichord work can give us a hint at what Bach was really up to when he improvised, and seems to have served as an inspiration to many metal keyboarders for those rare moments when they're actually allowed to play something both audible and fast.
- Runaway by Del Shannon This is the first synthesizer solo in pop music -- in 1961! The instrument it is played on was a unique called the Musitron, essentially a heavily modified Clavioline.
- House of the Rising Sun by The Animals Nice little organ solo over a blues phrase. This one firmly hammered the sound of roaring blues organ into people's heads in 1965.
- Highway Star by Deep Purple (Hammond solo) Nearly no later hard rock organ or synth work does without Deep Purple influences. Hardly a Deep Purple song is complete without Jon Lord's typical ecclesiastical and pentatonic soloing on the signature distorted Hammond. This one is especially remarkable as it progresses through some interesting chords and scales, some of them oriental in sound, and all that at a truly impressive speed. It's not that hard to play, though.
- Jump by Van Halen (Oberheim synth solo) This set a standard for much heavy rock synth noodling, though it's ridiculously easy.