Talk:Clavichord

Untitled
The article Tangent (clavichord) should be merged into this article as it does not contain enough information to stand alone and references material unique to this article only. +Fenevad 18:53, 1 January 2007 (UTC)

There is an error in the text under fretting: which is larger, unfretted (more likely) or fretted clavichords? It says unfretted ones are bigger than unfretted ones.

It would be nice to have some audio examples of the instrument.
 * There are some in the link to Wikimedia Commons. Graham 87 13:23, 14 April 2008 (UTC)

As far as I know the Clavichord builder Thomas Steiner lives in Basel, Switzerland, but appears as Austrian in the Text! I live in Basel and actually know where he has his atelier. Prysswerckh (talk) 12:32, 25 January 2009 (UTC)

I'm confused by a sentence in the wording underneath the picture of the clavichord's action. It reads, "Note that the key levers are perpendicular to the strings", but it appears to me that the key levers are parallel to the strings. Am I misunderstanding this diagram, or is there a mistake in the text? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 129.123.96.51 (talk) 19:18, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

The clavichord action diagram is a bit confusing, but can be understood. It does, however, contain actual errors: in stating that point 5 is "bridge pin next to hitch pin" and in point 6 "Damping felt, next to tuning peg." As the text description to the left of the picture makes clear, the tuning peg is next to the bridge pin (on the right-hand side of the instrument), while the felt damper is next to the hitch pin (on the left-hand side of the instrument). Maybe the contributor of the diagram (Berndt Mayer) could come up with a clearer picture with these points corrected? 

New image
I've recently uploaded a 17th century engraving of a woman playing a clavichord (right) by Wenceslas Hollar. Feel free to use or not use. Dcoetzee 00:34, 20 March 2009 (UTC)

It doe not say what materials the instrument is made of. Is the frame of wood or metal? Xxanthippe (talk) 09:25, 16 February 2010 (UTC).

Please explain...
... how the dampers do not damp the string until the tangent loses contact. I cannot see a mechanism that lifts the dampers while the string is vibrating and then replaces them. --2001:44B8:3102:BB00:1C13:7597:BAAC:3566 (talk) 06:27, 4 July 2021 (UTC)


 * Yes, I'm also confused about the dampening mechanism and how that works. If you take the analogy of the guitar, the note is determined by the finger at the fret/neck to the distance to the bridge - on the clavichord the tangent is apparently equivalent to both the pick and the fret and the damper is equivalent to the bridge. The wikipedia article uses the helpful analogy of the "hammer-on" on guitar, but it's still a bit counterintuitive how it works. Any elaboration from someone more knowledgeable would be helpful. However, the action of a piano is much more confusing, so I don't know what I'm complaining about really. Thanks. 24.185.171.142 (talk) 01:00, 17 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Have you tried reading Brauchi's 1998 CUP book? There's also a recording of BWV 989 by Michael Thomas that might help. The commentary says, "The clavichord uses quite a different principle. The depression of the key strikes the string directly thus permitting variation of touch, as well as a form of vibrato." Mathsci (talk) 01:59, 17 March 2022 (UTC)
 * Thank you for your reply, but I don't think that specific quote answers my question. 24.185.171.142 (talk) 09:08, 19 March 2022 (UTC)

Confusion about the dates
The year of the German poem--1404--was in the early 15th century, not the 14th. 2601:241:8C00:8BD0:28C6:BC86:A0F2:1877 (talk) 13:45, 10 December 2023 (UTC)