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soundboard
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Soundboard Harpsichord with soundboard by Hans Ruckers, Amsterdam, 1612
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Young girl wearing a demin jacket playing the trumpet (child, musical instruments, Asian ethnicity)
Sound Check: Musical Vocabulary Quiz
Quick Facts
Also called:
Belly
Related Topics:
stringed instrument
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Soundboard
Soundboard A portion of the soundboard of an upright piano.

soundboard

musical instrument
Also known as: belly
Written and fact-checked by
Britannica Editors
Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree....
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History

soundboard, a thin plate of wood or a stretched membrane lying directly under the strings of a stringed musical instrument. It vibrates in response to the vibrations of the strings (transmitted to it by the bridge, an elastic piece of wood held under pressure or tension between the strings and soundboard), amplifying the faint sound produced by the string alone.

The soundboard’s size, shape, and material have an effect on the instrument’s tone quality. Low notes, for example, may suffer if a soundboard is too small.