Keyboard instruments  (Page 2/3)

The typical piano has only one string per note for the lowest-sounding keys, two strings per note in the middle register , and three strings for each high note. Because there is such a large number of strings, which must be tuned in equal temperament , the piano is the only instrument which is typically tuned by a professional rather than by the player. (Even harpsichords are usually tuned by the player, who may in fact be quite knowledgeable about various historically-accurate tunings that might be used).

Pianos are very common in many genres and styles of music, including Western art music, jazz, and stage and popular musics.

Another group of chordophone keyboards uses a quill or plectrum to pluck the appropriate string when a key is pressed. The most important instrument in this group is the harpsichord , which during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries (basically, the Baroque and Classical periods) enjoyed the kind of popularity that the piano enjoys today. The harpsichord was very widely used in performances, both as a solo instrument and in a wide variety of ensembles. In many genres of music of this era, it was simply assumed that a harpsichord would be included to reinforce the harmonies. In orchestras, the ensemble leader typically played the harpsichord, rather than conducting with a baton as modern ensemble leaders do.

The harpsichord is smaller than the piano, with a smaller but brighter sound. Like the pipe organ , a harpsichord may have more than one keyboard (or manual ), with stops that allow one to select a different tone quality for each keyboard.

Virginals and spinets are close relatives of the harpsichord. They were also tremendously popular in Europe in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and were also left behind when the piano gained its popularity. Both virginals and spinets use a harpsichord-like plucked-string action; both generally are smaller and have shorter keyboards than the harpsichord. They were mostly used for playing in the home. The difference between a virginal and a spinet lies in how the strings are placed inside the instrument and does not affect the player or the sound.

The clavichord was also very popular during the Baroque period. It gets its sound when a small upright brass wedge strikes a pair of strings. This wedge, called the tangent , stays in contact with the strings after falling, giving the clavichord a unique ability that no other keyboard instrument has.

As mentioned above , the piano can vary the loudness of the beginning of each note. After that attack , however, the pianist is limited to either stopping the sound or allowing it to die away as the string gradually stops vibrating. An organist, similarly, once a note is played, is limited to stopping it or allowing it to continue. All other keyboard instruments, in fact, except for the clavichord, allow the player little chance to change the note once it has begun. In contrast, singers, and string and wind players can make all kinds of changes to a note once it has begun, including adding vibrato, making the note swell up or die down, or even changing its pitch . A clavichord player can use finger pressure on the keys to get these kinds of effects, and this ability to shape and alter notes gives this instrument an even greater ability than the piano to play with sensitivity and nuance. Unfortunately, its very small, intimate sound is too quiet for concert situations, and is rarely seen or heard today.