Harpsichord

The harpsichord looks like a small grand piano, but it works differently: when you press a key, a small plectrum plucks the string instead of a hammer striking it. The result is a bright, crisp, ringing sound. It was the main keyboard instrument of Europe from the Renaissance through the Baroque era, and composers such as Bach, Handel, Domenico Scarlatti and François Couperin wrote much of their keyboard music for it.

How a harpsichord makes its sound

At the far end of each key stands a thin wooden strip called a jack. A small plectrum sticks out sideways from it, traditionally cut from a bird's feather quill and today often made of plastic. Press the key and the jack rises, so the plectrum plucks the string. Release it and the jack falls back. The plectrum sits on a hinged tongue, so it slips past the string without plucking again, and a piece of felt on top of the jack (the damper) stops the sound.

A pluck is about the same strength however you press, so the harpsichord cannot make a crescendo or play one note louder than another by touch. Players create accents and shape with timing instead: articulation, tiny delays, rolled chords, ornaments and the number of notes they play at once.

Stops, choirs and two keyboards

Larger harpsichords have more than one set of strings, each called a choir. Stops (levers or knobs) choose which choirs sound. An 8-foot choir sounds at written pitch; a 4-foot choir sounds an octave higher. Many larger instruments have two keyboards (manuals) that control different choirs, and a coupler that lets one keyboard play both. A buff stop (sometimes called a harp stop) presses felt or leather pads against the strings for a muted, pizzicato-like sound. Choosing the stops for a piece is called registration.

Range

Harpsichords were made in many sizes, so the range varies. Many large eighteenth-century instruments, and modern copies of them, span about five octaves, roughly F1 to F6. Smaller and older instruments often have fewer keys.

How harpsichord music is written

Harpsichord music uses the same grand staff as piano music and does not transpose. In Baroque ensembles the harpsichord often played the basso continuo: the player read only a bass line with figured bass numbers and improvised the chords above it.

Harpsichord, piano and clavichord

The piano strikes its strings with hammers, so it responds to how hard you play. The clavichord, another early keyboard, presses small brass blades (tangents) against the strings: it is very quiet, but it does respond to touch. The harpsichord plucks, so it is louder than a clavichord but has no touch dynamics.

Tips for pianists trying the harpsichord

• Use a light touch and press only as far as you need to pluck. Pushing harder does not make it louder.
• Release keys precisely. Letting go stops the note, so the small silences between notes become a big part of your expression.
• There is no sustain pedal: legato has to come from your fingers.