How is sound produced on a clavichord?
The clavichord produces sound by striking brass or iron strings with small metal blades called tangents. Vibrations are transmitted through the bridge(s) to the soundboard.
What is the difference between harpsichord and clavichord?
Two domestic instruments were in use during the baroque period: the harpsichord and the clavichord. The basic difference between the two was that the strings on the harpsichord were plucked, whereas with the clavichord they were struck.
What is the difference between a clavichord and a piano?
The clavichord had an action similar to that of the piano, but the tone it produced was much softer and too quiet to play in a concert. The clavichord had one string per key, sometimes one for two keys, while a modern grand piano contains up to three strings per key.
What instrument family is the clavichord?
stringed keyboard
clavichord, stringed keyboard musical instrument, developed from the medieval monochord. It flourished from about 1400 to 1800 and was revived in the 20th century. It is usually rectangular in shape, and its case and lid were usually highly decorated, painted, and inlaid.
Where is the clavichord from?
The clavichord was invented in the early fourteenth century. It was popular in the 16th-18th centuries, but mainly flourished in German-speaking lands, Scandinavia and the Iberian Peninsula in the latter period; it fell out of use in the 1840s. In the late 1890s, Arnold Dolmetsch revived clavichord construction.
What came first the harpsichord or the clavichord?
The clavicymbalum, clavichord, and the harpsichord appeared during the fourteenth century—the clavichord probably being earlier. The harpsichord and clavichord were both common until the widespread adoption of the piano in the eighteenth century, after which their popularity decreased.
Who works for clavichord and harpsichord?
Bach
Bach wrote many works for harpsichord, some of which may have been played on the clavichord. Many of his keyboard works are anthologies that encompass whole theoretical systems in an encyclopedic fashion. The Well-Tempered Clavier, Books 1 and 2 (BWV 846–893).
How does a Hydraulis work?
The hydraulis is the name of a Greek instrument created by Ctesibius of Alexandria. The hydraulis has a reservoir of air which is inserted into a cistern of water. The air is pushed into the reservoir with hand pumps, and exits the reservoir as pressurized air to blow through the pipes.
What came before the clavichord?
Harpsichord
Piano Predecessors: Clavichord, Spinet and Harpsichord The lack of dynamic made it a wirier sound with less depth. Lap versions of the instrument were played on tabletops while others were built on stands varying from 3 ½ to 5 feet in width.
What does the word clavichord mean?
Definition of clavichord : an early keyboard instrument having strings struck by tangents attached directly to the key ends.
How many keys does the clavichord have?
37 keys
In concluding the instructions for laying out the clavichord, he refers to the instrument’s “35 tonos,” although his diagram clearly shows that it had 37 keys.