Harp & Keyboards · Keyboard instruments
Harpsichord
A keyboard instrument whose strings are plucked by small plectra (quills). Bright and precise, it was the main keyboard instrument of the Baroque.
- Section
- Harp & Keyboards
- Family
- Keyboard instruments
- Classification
- Chordophone · plucked strings
- Transposition
- None (concert pitch)
- Clefs
- Grand staff (treble and bass)
- Sounding range
- F1 – F6
Parts of the harpsichord
A harpsichord in the Flemish style, with two manuals. Photo: Ratigan, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Labels added by Musicians Tools.
Range
A typical five-octave instrument; historical harpsichords vary. Playback uses a neutral tone, not the instrument's own sound.
Writing for the harpsichord
- Written on a grand staff at concert pitch.
- Touch hardly changes the volume; dynamics come from registration and the density of the texture.
- In Baroque music it often plays continuo, realising chords from a figured bass.
- Easily covered by a modern orchestra; keep the accompaniment light.
History
Harpsichords existed by the 15th century. Flemish (Ruckers), French and Italian makers set the classic styles. The piano displaced it around 1800; it returned in the 20th century with the early-music revival, and Falla and Poulenc wrote concertos for it.
Listen
Key works featuring the harpsichord. Each link opens a YouTube search, so you can pick the recording you like.
- Bach – Goldberg Variations
- Scarlatti – Sonata in D minor, K. 141
- Rameau – Pièces de clavecin
- Poulenc – Concert champêtre