harpsichord
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What is a harpsichord?
The harpsichord is a keyboard musical instrument where strings are set in motion by plucking. From the 16th through the first half of the 18th century, it was a vital keyboard instrument in European music.
Harpsichords usually have two or more sets of strings that each produce different tone qualities. A soundboard amplifies the tone, and a plucking mechanism consisting of jacks plucks the strings.
The earliest harpsichords were made in Italy in the early 16th century. During the 16th–18th centuries, the instrument evolved, and national schools of construction emerged, notably in Flanders, France, England, Italy, and Germany. Most of the great Baroque composers wrote or played for the harpsichord.
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How does a harpsichord make sound?
The harpsichord is a keyboard instrument where strings are plucked to produce sound. When a key is pressed, a small part called a jack rises and forces a plectrum (made of quill, plastic, or leather) to pluck the string. As the key is released, the jack falls back down, and a damper silences the string.
Harpsichords often have multiple sets of strings to create different tone qualities, including higher or lower octaves. Though the harpsichordist can vary the pressure on the keys, they cannot create a sustained crescendo. Most harpsichords have two sets of strings and jacks per key to address this limitation.
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What does the harpsichord look like and how is it played?
The harpsichord is a keyboard instrument where strings are plucked to produce sound. The wing-shaped harpsichord, as well as its smaller relatives like the spinet and virginal, have a plucking mechanism called a jack that rests on each key. When a key is pressed, the jack lifts and a plectrum plucks the string. When the key is released, the jack falls, and a damper silences the string.
Harpsichords often have two or more sets of strings to produce different tone qualities, such as an octave higher (4-foot register) or at normal pitch (8-foot register). Though subtle changes in loudness and tone can be achieved by varying the touch on the keys, harpsichords typically cannot produce sustained crescendos through finger action alone.
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How is the harpsichord different from a piano?
The harpsichord and piano both have keyboards, but they produce sound in different ways. The harpsichord plucks strings using a plectrum when a key is pressed. The piano is considered both a string and percussion instrument because hammers strike the strings when a key is pressed. Unlike the piano, the harpsichord cannot play louder or softer based on how hard you press the keys.
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In which period of music history was the harpsichord especially popular?
The harpsichord was especially popular from the 16th through the first half of the 18th century. During this time, it was one of the most important keyboard instruments in European music, undergoing considerable evolution and giving rise to national schools of construction in Italy, Flanders, France, England, and Germany. Most of the great Baroque composers played or wrote for the harpsichord. By the mid-18th century, the harpsichord had a normal compass of five full octaves and often two keyboards. Eventually, the pianoforte's ability to play at different volumes led to its rise in popularity, and the harpsichord was overwhelmed.
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What are some famous pieces of music written for the harpsichord?
The harpsichord was a prominent keyboard instrument in European music from the 16th through the first half of the 18th century. Many composers wrote for the harpsichord during the Baroque era, including Domenico Scarlatti, J.S. Bach, Jean-Philippe Rameau, and François Couperin. Of Scarlatti’s 555 sonatas, the majority are for harpsichord. They are characterized by elaborations of thematic organization, extensions of tonal range, and innovations in keyboard virtuosity.
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harpsichord, keyboard musical instrument in which strings are set in vibration by plucking. It was one of the most important keyboard instruments in European music from the 16th through the first half of the 18th century.
A brief treatment of harpsichords follows. For full treatment, see keyboard instrument: The harpsichord.
Generally, the harpsichord has two or more sets of strings, each of which produces different tone qualities. One set may sound an octave higher than the others and is called a 4-foot register, whereas a set of strings at normal pitch is called an 8-foot register. In some 20th-century harpsichords, a 16-foot register, sounding an octave lower, is added, but this addition was extremely rare in old harpsichords. Two sets of 8-foot strings may produce distinct tone quality because they are plucked at different points or with plectra of different material.
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The tone of the harpsichord is amplified by a soundboard placed beneath the horizontal plane of the strings, which pass over a bridge that is glued to the soundboard and that transmits their vibration to it. The plucking mechanism consists of sets of jacks, thin vertical strips of wood that rest on the far ends of the keys and pass through a lower fixed guide and an upper slide, or movable guide; the slide moves a given set of jacks either slightly toward or slightly away from its set of strings, depending on whether that set is to be used or unused. A pivoted tongue at the top of each jack is pierced in its upper half to take a plectrum of quill or leather and is held upright by a spring of wire or bristle. A cloth or felt damper completes the jack; this quiets the string when the key is released and the plectrum falls beneath the string.
The earliest surviving harpsichords were built in Italy in the early 16th century. Little is known of the early history of the harpsichord, but, during the 16th–18th century, it underwent considerable evolution and became one of the most important European instruments. National schools of construction arose, notably in Italy, Flanders, France, England, and Germany; and highly decorated cases with painted lids became fashionable. Most of the great Baroque composers played or wrote for the harpsichord. By the middle of the 18th century the harpsichord had grown to a normal compass of five full octaves, three or more sets of strings and jacks, and often two keyboards. At this time it began to compete with the new pianoforte, which was capable of playing soft or loud according to the fingers’ pressure on the keys. The harpsichord is incapable of this dynamic gradation and was overwhelmed in popularity by the piano. The harpsichord was revived in the late 19th century, and it continues to evolve—but not necessarily to improve—in the hands of modern builders and composers. See also clavicytherium; spinet; virginal.