harpsichord

Also known as cembalo, clavicembalo, clavecin

thumb|right|300px|This harpsichord is the work of two celebrated makers: originally constructed by Andreas Ruckers in Antwerp (1646), it was later remodeled and expanded by Pascal Taskin in Paris (1780).

AI overview

A harpsichord is a keyboard instrument where strings are plucked by mechanical mechanisms when you press the keys, producing sound. It was an important instrument in European classical music from the Renaissance through the Baroque period, with skilled makers like the Ruckers family and Pascal Taskin creating elaborate and valued versions that were sometimes modified and improved over centuries.

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Wikidata facts

Image: Clavecin flamand.png

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Commons category: Harpsichords
inception: 1500-00-00
Hornbostel-Sachs classification: 314.122-6-8
short name: Cemb
P8168: Republic of China Armed Forces

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~29 min read

Article

25 sections

Contents

History
Mechanism
Strings, tuning, and soundboard
Multiple manuals and choirs of strings
Case
Variants
Virginals
Spinet
Clavicytherium
Ottavino
Pedal harpsichord
Other variants
Compass and pitch range
Decoration
Music
Renaissance
Baroque era
Classical period
Music of the harpsichord revival
See also
Footnotes
References
Sources
Further reading
External links

A harpsichord is a keyboard instrument that makes its sound by plucking a set of strings. In a harpsichord, depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn lifts one or more jacks, each a thin strip of wood holding a small plectrum made from quill or plastic; each plectrum plucks a single string. The strings are under tension on a soundboard, which is mounted in a wooden case; the soundboard amplifies the vibrations from the strings so that the listeners can hear them. Harpsichord often include more than one choir of strings. Various devices are used to select which choir will sound when playing; these can include simple levers, or in more elaborate instruments the deployment of more than one keyboard.