CLAVICORDIO: What is it, History and Sound

Today we know of hundreds of instruments of various shapes and sizes that can produce a large number of sounds. However, when we remember that musical instruments are an invention of human beings to produce sound, we can also realize that those instruments they had to start at some point in history and that, some of them, will have gone through various epochs and transformations until they became as we know them today.

Perhaps some of them, we no longer use as often, as is the case with the harpsichord. In this lesson from a TEACHER, we will learn about one of the most characteristic instruments of classical music, the harpsichord: what it is, history and sound

Index

1. What is the harpsichord
2. The sound of the harpsichord
3. Harpsichord history
4. Featured harpsichord players

His name is made up of the Latin words "Clavis" which means "key" ("key" in English, which is how each key on a piano is called) and from Greek "Chorda"Which means" rope ".

The harpsichord was one of the most popular instruments in Europe from the 16th to the 18th century, with greater use for the works for keyboard of the baroque and in the musical classicism. It is a plucked string instrument operated by keys that function as levers and is categorized as a string instrument. By its appearance and origin, we could say that the harpsichord is one of the ancestors of the piano that we know today.

In this other lesson from a TEACHER you will be able to know in detail the Composers of musical classicism, for the harpsichord was very successful among them.

Don't confuse the harpsichord with other instruments

There are instruments that can be seen as a harpsichord but whose operation and / or sound is different. Here are some instruments that tend to be confused with the harpsichord:

• The harpsichord (harpsichord, harpsichord, harpsichord, harpsichord).
• The spinet.
• The virginal.

The sound of the harpsichord is caused by the string vibration of different lengths that are taut. Unlike the piano, where its strings are grouped together, the strings are individual and the mechanism of its keys is in the form of levers, which have a metal piece at their end call "tangent" that has direct contact with the strings. The sound of the harpsichord is soft, bright and nasal.

Among its characteristics is the sensitivity to the touch of the keys, that is to say that the sound increases in intensity depending on the pressure with which the keys are touched. This allows it to have a particular effect called "Bebung”, where a key is held down and this same tension affects the sound of the keys in terms of tuning, it is an effect similar to vibrato. It is also important to mention that its overall volume is quite low.

The harpsichord is much smaller in size compared to a piano, both in general size and in the keys themselves, which are traditionally grouped into solo 4 octaves.

Impressively, the working principles of the harpsichord have their origin in ancient Greece (at the time of the years 500 a. C.), thanks to the experiments of the philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras. The act of tensioning a string and striking or plucking it to create sounds of different frequencies is a contribution of Pythagoras when studying numerical proportions. This physical principle was later used for the harpsichord first appearance at the beginning of XIV century, designated as one of the best instruments to compose and accompany melodies.

It is from century XVI that the harpsichord flourishes, mainly in German and Scandinavian countries and in the Iberian Peninsula. Many composers and musicians dedicated themselves to mastering it as their primary instrument and there were also many harpsichords in homes as an evening family fun activity at home.

Harpsichord was losing popularity in theyear 1700, superseded by the high popularity of the piano. Around the year 1850, was practically in disuse. Despite some attempts to bring it back and include it in the repertoire, the harpsichord is today a rather historical instrument than in common use.

Thus, the harpsichord has remained as a particularity in modern music. Some musicians today have used the harpsichord as part of experimentation in their songs. Among them: Stevie Wonder, Björk, Tori Amos, Oscar Peterson and The Beatles.

Since the harpsichord coexisted with other similar instruments such as the harpsichord, the works were composed for "keyboard", sometimes not exclusively for the harpsichord.

Perhaps the greatest exponent of the harpsichord was the German Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach (1714-1788), son of Johann Sebastian Bach, standing out during the time of classicism as a performer and composer of numerous works in the form of concertos and keyboard sonatas, including the harpsichord, which was his instrument Favourite. Others musicians associated with the harpsichord They were: Johann Sebastian Bach, Georg Friedrich Händel, Franz Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, among others.

Knowing the root and origin of things makes us have a greater understanding and understanding of the reason for them today. Also, bringing those characteristics back to our present day can have very interesting results.

If you want to read more articles similar to Harpsichord: what it is, history and sound, we recommend that you enter our category of Musical instruments.