Can anyone tell me about a harpsichord?

[homesteadmamma]

Our keyboard has a button to change the sounds and one of them is a harpsichord. Dd loves that sound and I would be interested to know a bit more about it.

Anyone?

[PrairieRose]

Wasn't it the 2nd in line of the evolution of the piano? I think it's what the great composers used to make their beautiful music on...... . It's smaller than a piano and obviously has a bit of a different sound.
Now, I may not have told you anything that you didn't already know.

[Kimberlina]

I don't know anything about them really, but I do love the sound. You just triggered a memory from my youth- for some reason we had a visitor in our elementary school gym who brought their harpsichord to play. They sound great.

[i.m.cheap]

A friend of mine in grade school had one in her home. Her dad built it. Her parents were both in the local symphony, and played several intruments. We loved playing the harpsichord. It is like a small piano, and has a "tinkling" sound.

[homesteadmamma]

I love the sound as well. When I read up on it, it said that you made the music by the plucking of the strings. Each string is plucked together by a small piece of quill or leather called a plectrum. I'm wondering how you'd do that? Would it sorta be like a pick you use for a guitar?

[Strawberry]

I don't know much about it but my dad used to play the harpsichord. I loved the sound.

[forestdale]

My mother was a concert pianist and studied at the Sydney Conservatorium. She played the piano and occasionally played around on the harpsichord.

Have you seen inside a piano, CJ? A harpsichord is like a piano but unlike a piano with the sounds made by the hammers hitting the wires inside, a harpsichord has more elaborate workings. I don't know exactly how they work.

I like the sound too. Mozart learnt to play on a harpsichord and composed many of his works for harpsichord. If you do a search for his work online, they may have some harpsichord that your DD could listen to.

[hollyhill]

Yes, it was what Mozart composed on......It is much quieter than the piano too.

A piano is actually a piano forte which means soft and loud. It can be both. Harpsichord could never fill a concert hall with sound. It was used in baroque music. It does have a lovely sound, harp like.