A harpsichord is a keyboard instrument that creates sound by plucking strings. When a key is pressed, it moves the back part of the key, which lifts small wooden pieces called jacks. Each jack holds a tiny plectrum made of quill or plastic, and each plectrum plucks one string. The strings are stretched over a soundboard inside a wooden case. The soundboard helps make the sound louder so people can hear it. Harpsichords often have more than one set of strings, called choirs. Players use levers or multiple keyboards to choose which set of strings will play.

The word "harpsichord" refers to a group of similar plucked-keyboard instruments, such as the smaller virginals, muselar, and spinet. The harpsichord was commonly used during the Renaissance and Baroque periods for both accompaniment and as a solo instrument. In the Baroque era, it was a standard part of the continuo group, which supported other musicians. By the late 18th century, the piano became more popular, and the harpsichord gradually fell out of use, except in opera for vocal accompaniment. In the 20th century, the harpsichord returned to use in performances of older music, new compositions, and some styles of popular music.

History

The harpsichord was likely invented in the late 14th century. Early versions were small and produced sound at a high pitch. By the 16th century, Italian makers developed a design that lasted for many years: lightweight instruments with thin outer walls and low-tension brass strings arranged in two groups with one keyboard. In the Southern Netherlands, beginning in the late 16th century, the Ruckers family created harpsichords with heavier construction and a stronger, more unique sound from high-tension steel strings in the treble section. These instruments were the first to include two keyboards, which allowed for easier key changes.

Flemish-style harpsichords influenced how harpsichords were built in other countries during the 18th century. In France, double keyboards were used to control different string groups, creating more flexible and expressive instruments (called "expressive doubles"). Harpsichords made by the Blanchet family and Pascal Taskin are among the most admired and often used as models for modern instruments. In England, the Kirkman and Shudi companies built powerful and rich-sounding harpsichords. German builders, such as Hieronymus Albrecht Hass, expanded the instrument's range by adding sixteen-foot and two-foot string groups. Modern builders have recently used designs from the German maker Michael Mietke as models.

Around the year 1700, the first piano was created by Bartolomeo Cristofori. In a piano, strings are struck by hammers instead of being plucked, allowing the player to control the loudness of each note. In a harpsichord, notes always sound the same volume, no matter how hard the keys are pressed. As musical styles changed, the piano's ability to produce dynamic contrasts became more valued. By the late 18th century, the piano (often called the fortepiano at that time) had largely replaced the harpsichord. The harpsichord, now seen as outdated, became very rare during most of the 19th century. It was still used in opera for recitatives, but the piano often took its place there as well.

In the 20th century, efforts to revive the harpsichord began with instruments using piano technology, including heavy strings and metal frames. Starting in the mid-20th century, builders like Frank Hubbard, William Dowd, and Martin Skowroneck changed how harpsichords were made by returning to Baroque-era techniques. Today, harpsichords built using these historically accurate methods are most commonly used.

Mechanism

Harpsichords come in different sizes and shapes, but they all use the same basic working system. When a player presses a key, the key rocks over a pivot in the middle of its length. The other end of the key lifts a wooden piece called a jack. The jack holds a small plectrum, which is shaped like a wedge and made from materials like bird quill or plastic. The plectrum plucks a string when the key is pressed.

When the key is released, the far end of the key returns to its resting position, and the jack moves back down. The plectrum is attached to a movable part that can turn backward, allowing it to slide under the string without plucking it again. As the key reaches its resting position, a felt pad on the jack stops the string from vibrating.

The keylever is a simple pivot that rocks on a balance pin through a hole in the keylever. The jack is a thin, rectangular piece of wood that stands upright on the end of the keylever. The jacks are held in place by registers, which are two long wooden strips. The registers have holes that let the jacks move up and down. These registers keep the jacks in the correct position to pluck the strings.

Inside the jack, the plectrum extends almost horizontally and passes under the string. Historically, plectra were made of bird quill or leather. Many modern harpsichords use plastic plectra.

When the front of the key is pressed, the back of the key rises, lifting the jack and causing the plectrum to pluck the string. The jack’s movement is then stopped by the jackrail, which is covered with soft felt to reduce noise.

When the key is released, the jack falls back down due to its own weight, and the plectrum slides under the string again. This happens because the plectrum is attached to a movable part that turns backward when the jack moves. The bottom of the plectrum is angled, allowing it to push the movable part backward as it moves downward.

When the jack reaches its lowest position, the felt damper touches the string, stopping the sound of the note.

Strings, tuning, and soundboard

Each string is wrapped around a tuning pin (also called a wrest pin) at the end closest to the player. When turned with a wrench or tuning hammer, the tuning pin changes the string's tightness to make it produce the right musical note. Tuning pins are firmly held in holes inside the pinblock or wrestplank, a long, narrow hardwood piece. After passing the tuning pin, the string goes over the nut, a sharp edge made of hardwood that is usually attached to the wrestplank. The part of the string beyond the nut is the vibrating length, which is plucked to create sound.

At the other end of the vibrating length, the string crosses over the bridge, another sharp edge made of hardwood. Like the nut, the horizontal position of the string on the bridge is controlled by a vertical metal pin inside the bridge, which the string presses against. The bridge sits on the soundboard, a thin wooden panel often made of spruce, fir, or cypress in some Italian harpsichords. The soundboard sends the string's vibrations into the air, making the sound louder. At the far end, the string is attached to a hitchpin with a loop, securing it inside the instrument's case.

Multiple manuals and choirs of strings

Harpsichords often have one string for each note, but more complex models may have two or more strings per note. When multiple strings are used for a single note, these groups are called "choirs" of strings. Having multiple choirs offers two benefits: the ability to change how loud the instrument sounds and the ability to change the quality of the sound. Volume increases when the player’s mechanism is set so that pressing a key plucks more than one string. Tonal quality can be changed in two ways. First, different choirs can be designed to produce distinct sounds. For example, one set of strings may be plucked closer to the nut, emphasizing higher harmonics and creating a "nasal" tone. A system called "stops" (similar to those in pipe organs) allows the player to choose which choir sounds. Second, when a key plucks two strings at once, the sound becomes louder and richer. For instance, two strings tuned to the same pitch, when plucked together, create a louder, more complex note.

A clear example of this is when strings an octave apart are plucked together. The ear usually hears this as a single note, with the lower pitch enriched by the higher string’s harmonics.

When describing a harpsichord, its choirs of strings are often noted, referred to as its "disposition." Pitch levels are described using terms from pipe organs. Strings at eight-foot pitch (8') sound at normal pitch; strings at four-foot pitch (4') sound an octave higher. Some harpsichords may include a sixteen-foot (16') choir (one octave lower than 8') or a two-foot (2') choir (two octaves higher, which is rare). When multiple choirs exist, the player can control which ones sound. This is usually done by having separate sets of jacks for each choir and a mechanism to "turn off" sets by shifting the upper register sideways, so the plectra miss the strings. In simpler models, this is done manually, but later designs used levers, knee levers, or pedal mechanisms for easier control.

Harpsichords with multiple keyboards (usually two, stacked like those on pipe organs) allow the player to select which strings sound. Each keyboard can control a different set of strings, enabling the player to switch between pitches or tones. These instruments often include a "coupler" mechanism that links keyboards, allowing one keyboard to control both sets of strings.

The most flexible system is the French "shove coupler," where the lower keyboard slides forward or backward. When slid backward, "dogs" on the lower keyboard engage the upper keyboard’s keys, allowing the player to choose which sets of jacks (labeled A, B, or C) sound.

The English "dogleg" jack system (used also in Baroque Flanders) does not use a coupler. Jacks labeled A in Figure 5 have a bent shape that allows either keyboard to play them. If the player wants the upper 8' keyboard to play only from the upper manual, a stop handle disengages jacks labeled A and activates an alternative row of jacks called the "lute stop," which mimics the sound of a plucked lute.

Multiple keyboards were originally designed not for choosing strings but for transposing the instrument to play in different keys.

Sound quality can also be modified by selecting which strings are plucked. Some harpsichords include a "buff stop," which uses a strip of leather or similar material to mute the strings, creating a sound similar to a plucked lute. This is usually controlled by a separate lever.

Early harpsichords sometimes used a "short octave" for the lowest register. This was because notes like F♯ and G♯ were rarely used in early music, while lower C and D (common chord roots) were needed. Scholars describe these instruments as "C/E" (lowest note C played on a key normally tuned to E) or "G/B'" (lowest note B tuned to G).

Case

The wooden case holds the important parts of the harpsichord, including the pinblock, soundboard, hitchpins, keyboard, and jack action. It usually has a solid bottom and internal bracing to stay strong and prevent warping from the tension of the strings. Cases differ in weight and strength: Italian harpsichords are often lightweight, while later Flemish instruments and those based on them are heavier.

The case also shapes the harpsichord’s outside and protects the instrument. Large harpsichords look like furniture because they stand on legs and match the style of other furniture from their time. Early Italian instruments were so light they were stored in protective outer cases and played on tables. These tables were often very high, as people usually played while standing until the late 18th century. Eventually, harpsichords were built with a single case, though some had a false inner case to look like there was an inner one, as in older styles. Even after becoming self-contained, many harpsichords were placed on separate stands, and some modern ones have legs for easier movement.

Harpsichords usually have a lid that can be opened, a cover for the keyboard, and a music stand to hold sheet music.

Harpsichords have been decorated in many ways, such as with plain buff paint (as seen in some Flemish instruments), printed paper, leather or velvet coverings, chinoiserie, or detailed painted artwork.

Variants

The virginal is a smaller and simpler version of the harpsichord. It has only one string for each note, and the strings are lined up next to the keyboard, which is placed along the longer side of the instrument’s case.

A spinet is a type of harpsichord where the strings are placed at an angle (usually about 30 degrees) to the keyboard. The strings are too close together for the jacks (the parts that pluck the strings) to fit between them. Instead, the strings are grouped in pairs, and the jacks are placed in the larger spaces between the pairs. Each gap has two jacks that face opposite directions, and each jack plucks a string next to the gap.

The English writer Samuel Pepys wrote about his "tryangle" in his diary. This was not the triangle-shaped percussion instrument used today, but a name for spinets that were shaped like triangles and had octave-pitched strings.

A clavicytherium is a harpsichord where the soundboard and strings are mounted vertically, facing the player. This design saves space, like an upright piano. In a clavicytherium, the jacks move horizontally without help from gravity, making the instrument’s action (the way the keys move) more complex than in other harpsichords.

Ottavini are small spinets or virginals that are tuned to a four-foot pitch. Harpsichords with octave pitch were more common in the early Renaissance but became less popular later. Ottavini remained popular as a domestic instrument in Italy until the 19th century. In the Low Countries, an ottavino was often paired with an 8' virginal, placed in a small compartment under the larger instrument’s soundboard. The ottavino could be removed and placed on top of the virginal, creating a double manual instrument. These are sometimes called "mother-and-child" or "double" virginals.

Some harpsichords were built with an additional set of strings underneath, played by a foot-operated pedal keyboard. These pedals triggered the plucking of the lowest-pitched keys. No surviving pedal harpsichords from before the 18th century are known, but Adlung (1758) described a lower set of 8' strings built like a regular harpsichord but limited to two octaves. Before Keith Hill’s 1980 design, most pedal harpsichords were based on 19th-century pedal piano designs, which were as wide as the pedalboard. These instruments were mostly used for practice by organists, though some music was written specifically for them. Pedals could also enhance the sound of any piece played on the instrument, as shown in recordings by E. Power Biggs.

The archicembalo, built in the 16th century, had a unique keyboard layout to support different tuning systems used in music composition and theory. More common were instruments with split sharps, which also helped accommodate tuning practices of the time.

The folding harpsichord was an instrument that could be folded to make it more compact, making it easier to transport.

Compass and pitch range

Earlier harpsichords usually have smaller ranges than later ones, but there are many exceptions. The largest harpsichords have a range of more than five octaves, and the smallest have less than four. Often, the shortest keyboards included an extended range in the lower part using a "short octave." The traditional pitch range for a 5-octave instrument is F1 to F6 (FF–f‴).

Tuning pitch is often set to A4 = 415 Hz, which is about a semitone lower than the modern standard of A4 = 440 Hz. An accepted exception is French baroque music, which is sometimes performed with A = 392 Hz, roughly a semitone lower again. For details on French baroque tuning, refer to Jean-Philippe Rameau's Treatise on Harmony (1722) [Dover Publications], Book One, Chapter Five. Tuning an instrument today usually begins with setting an A, but historically, it often started with a C or an F. The harpsichord uses the bass clef (F clef).

Some modern instruments have keyboards that can move sideways, allowing the player to align the mechanism with strings tuned to either A = 415 Hz or A = 440 Hz. If a tuning other than equal temperament is used, the instrument must be retuned after shifting the keyboard.

Decoration

Throughout history, the harpsichord was often decorated in special ways. For more detailed information and pictures, see Kottick (2003). The outer cases were sometimes painted with bright colors, especially in 18th century France. In 18th century England, cases were often covered with fancy wood designs. In Italy, cases were decorated with carved shapes and knobs. The soundboards, which help produce sound, sometimes had painted images. These images included single items like flowers or animals in regions such as Flanders and France. More expensive harpsichords had full paintings, similar to those on canvas. The keyboards had keys that looked like modern piano keys, with white and black keys. However, some builders used the opposite pattern, with white keys for sharps and black keys for naturals. In the 20th century, studying harpsichord decoration became an important area of research. Sheridan Germann (2002) was a key scholar in this field. His work included identifying the names of anonymous artists who worked with specific instrument makers.

Music

The majority of the standard music written for the harpsichord was created during its most important period in history, the Renaissance and Baroque eras.

The first music written specifically for a single harpsichord player was published around the early 1600s. Many composers in Europe, including Italy, Germany, England, and France, wrote music for the harpsichord during the Baroque era. Solo harpsichord pieces included dance suites, fantasias, and fugues. Notable composers from the late Renaissance in England, such as William Byrd (c. 1540–1623), were part of the English virginal school.

In France, François Couperin (1668–1733) created and collected many unique solo harpsichord pieces into four books called ordres. Domenico Scarlatti (1685–1757) began his career in Italy but later wrote most of his harpsichord works in Spain, including 555 harpsichord sonatas. Among the most famous composers for the harpsichord were Georg Friedrich Händel (1685–1759), who wrote many harpsichord suites, and J. S. Bach (1685–1750), whose solo works, such as The Well-Tempered Clavier and the Goldberg Variations, are still performed often, usually on the piano. Bach also helped develop the harpsichord concerto, including the harpsichord part in his Fifth Brandenburg Concerto.

Two important composers from the Classical era, Joseph Haydn (1732–1809) and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (1756–1791), wrote music for the harpsichord. Both used the instrument early in their careers, but they mostly replaced it with the piano by the late 1770s.

By the 19th century, the harpsichord was nearly completely replaced by the piano. In the 20th century, composers began using the harpsichord again to explore different sounds. Influenced by Arnold Dolmetsch, harpsichordists such as Violet Gordon-Woodhouse (1872–1951) and Wanda Landowska (1879–1959) in France helped revive the instrument. Composers like Francis Poulenc (Concert champêtre, 1927–28) and Manuel de Falla wrote concertos for the harpsichord. Elliott Carter’s Double Concerto includes the harpsichord, piano, and two chamber orchestras. For more information about music written for the revived harpsichord, see Contemporary harpsichord.