Baroque Keyboard Instruments

Why This Matters

Understanding Baroque keyboard instruments is essential because they reveal how sound production mechanisms directly shaped compositional choices and performance contexts during this era. You're being tested on your ability to connect instrument design, tonal characteristics, and musical function—not just identify which composer wrote for which instrument. The differences between plucked, struck, and wind-produced sound explain why certain instruments dominated sacred spaces while others remained in private chambers.

These instruments also demonstrate the Baroque principle of affekt (emotional expression through musical means) and how performers and composers worked within—or pushed against—technological limitations. When you encounter exam questions about Baroque keyboard music, don't just memorize names and dates. Know why a clavichord couldn't perform in a cathedral, how a harpsichord's mechanism influenced ornamentation practices, and what made the organ the ultimate vehicle for Baroque counterpoint.

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Plucked String Instruments

The harpsichord family produces sound by plucking strings with quills or plectra, creating a bright, immediate attack with minimal dynamic variation. This mechanism made these instruments ideal for articulating complex polyphonic textures but required composers to create contrast through registration changes, ornamentation, and texture rather than volume.

Harpsichord

• Plucked-string mechanism—quills or plectra strike strings when keys are pressed, producing the instrument's characteristic bright, resonant tone
• Primary continuo instrument of the Baroque era, serving as the harmonic foundation in orchestras, chamber ensembles, and opera
• Major repertoire includes works by J.S. Bach (Goldberg Variations), François Couperin (ordres), and Domenico Scarlatti (555 sonatas)

Virginal

• Rectangular plucked keyboard—strings run parallel to the keyboard rather than perpendicular, creating a more delicate, intimate sound than the harpsichord
• English domestic tradition made it central to amateur music-making, with composers like William Byrd and John Bull writing virtuosic works
• Fitzwilliam Virginal Book—this major manuscript collection preserves the English keyboard tradition and demonstrates variation technique

Spinet

• Compact harpsichord variant—angled string arrangement allowed for smaller size while maintaining the plucked-string sound production
• Softer dynamic range than full harpsichords made it suitable for home use and intimate chamber settings
• Bridge instrument historically, connecting domestic keyboard practice to larger performance contexts

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Struck String Instruments

The clavichord produces sound through a fundamentally different mechanism: metal tangents strike and remain in contact with strings, allowing the performer to control dynamics and even create vibrato (called Bebung). This made it uniquely expressive but severely limited its volume.

Clavichord

• Tangent mechanism—metal blades strike strings and stay in contact, giving performers direct control over dynamics and enabling Bebung (vibrato effect)
• Quietest keyboard instrument of the era, making it unsuitable for public performance but ideal for private practice and composition
• Pedagogical importance—its sensitivity to touch made it essential for developing keyboard technique and influenced later piano expression

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Wind Instruments

The pipe organ operates on an entirely different principle: pressurized air flows through pipes of varying materials and lengths, producing sustained tones with extraordinary timbral variety. This mechanism enabled the organ to fill vast architectural spaces and sustain notes indefinitely—capabilities no string keyboard could match.

Organ

• Wind-produced sound—bellows force air through metal and wooden pipes, allowing indefinite sustain and massive dynamic range through registration
• Sacred music centerpiece—its ability to fill cathedrals made it essential for Lutheran chorales, Catholic liturgy, and accompanying choirs
• J.S. Bach's organ works—including the Toccata and Fugue in D minor and chorale preludes—represent the pinnacle of Baroque contrapuntal writing for the instrument

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Quick Reference Table

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Self-Check Questions

1. Which two keyboard instruments share a plucked-string mechanism but differ in size and typical performance context? What explains their different uses?

2. Why was the clavichord considered essential for developing keyboard technique despite being unsuitable for public performance?

3. Compare and contrast the harpsichord and organ as continuo instruments—what acoustic properties made each better suited to different musical contexts?

4. If an exam question asks you to identify which Baroque keyboard instrument allowed performers to create vibrato effects, which instrument would you choose and what mechanism made this possible?

5. A composer wants to write a piece featuring dramatic dynamic contrasts performed by a single player. Which Baroque keyboard instruments could accommodate this, and which could not? Explain the mechanical reasons.