Clavichord
Clavichord
The clavichord is a member of the family of musical instruments known as keyboard
chordophones. It is one of the oldest forms of stringed keyboard instrument. It was
popular during the baroque era, but the piano took its place in the 18th century, in part
because the piano could be played in conjunction with other instruments. The clavichord
was too quiet to be played in anything other than a solo performance.
Hulton-Deutsch Collection
Clavichord, the oldest form of stringed
keyboard instrument, and a predecessor of the piano. The clavichord was popular from the
1400s to the early 1800s and underwent a revival in the 20th century. It has a rectangular
case with the keyboard lengthwise to the left and the soundboard at the right end. The
strings run from tuning pins at the right end of the case, over a bridge set on the
soundboard, to hitchpins at the back and left end of the case. Each key has a small
upright brass blade, or tangent, at its rear end. When the player depresses the front of
the key, the tangent rises, striking the string, both setting it in vibration and
determining its sounding length, which is from the bridge to the tangent. To the left of
the tangent, the vibrations of the string are silenced by felt woven through the strings
near the hitchpins; when the key is released, the felt silences the entire string. By
varying finger pressure on the key, the player can produce a vibrato (German bebung), a
wavelike fluctuation in pitch. Early clavichords were fretted: Clavichord tangents for
two, three, or four keys were placed at different points along the same string, which,
when struck, caused a different series of notes to be sounded. Later clavichords were
unfretted, or built with a string or pair of strings for each key. A typical 18th-century
clavichord is about 2.5 m (5 ft) long, with a range of five octaves. Within the limits of
its faint, delicate sound, the clavichord can produce great variation in loudness and
softness. Composers, particularly German composer Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, prized its
sensitivity.
"Clavichord," Microsoft (R) Encarta. Copyright (c) 1994 Microsoft Corporation.
Copyright (c) 1994 Funk & Wagnall's Corporation.