Harpsichord

A harpsichord is the general term for a family of European keyboard instruments, including the large instrument nowadays called a harpsichord, but also the smaller virginals, the muselar virginals and the spinet. All these instruments generate sound by plucking a string rather than striking one, as in a piano or clavichord. The harpsichord family is thought to have originated when a keyboard was affixed to the end of a psaltery, providing a mechanical means to pluck the strings.

External links

• A brief history of the harpsichord
• A harpsichord site with images
• Hear the sound of various harpsichords
• Latin mottoes painted on harpsichords
• Extensive source of harpsichord information