It is my understanding that Bach’s keyboard works were written for the harpsichord, and thus no (damper) pedal is used while playing Bach on the harpsichord.

Most of the harpsichord is made of wood including the case and the soundboard. Even the keys of most of these instruments are wooden. Another traditional material for keys is ivory, which has now been replaced by plastic like celluloid. The soundboard is often made of spruce, cypruss or cedar.

A harpsichord is predecessor to the piano and a keyboard instrument that produces its sound by plucking strings with quills when the keys are pressed. Harpsichords do not respond to velocity and they are not equipped with a sustain pedal.

” ”Bach was familiar with the piano, you know. It was invented during his lifetime, and he not only played the piano, but actually composed at least two of his pieces specifically for the instrument,” Mr.

Further, by using the word clavier, Bach indicated that his music could be played on any keyboard instrument, including harpsichord, clavichord, and organ. (The piano, newly invented in Italy, was unknown in Bach’s native Germany when the first book was published.)

Half of the pieces are on diploma syllabuses, and all the others are grade 6-8.

If music does have a Bible, it is Book I of the Well Tempered Clavier, which Johann Se bastian Bach composed to demonstrate the feasibility of equal temperament, and also as a teaching aid for his stu dents (among whom were included his five great sons).

As used in the 17th century, the term “well tempered” meant that the twelve notes per octave of the standard keyboard were tuned in such a way that it was possible to play music in all major or minor keys that were commonly in use, without sounding perceptibly out of tune.

“Temperament refers to the various tuning systems for the subdivision of the octave,” the four principal tuning systems being Pythagorean tuning, just intonation, mean-tone temperament, and equal temperament.

In classical music and Western music in general, the most common tuning system since the 18th century has been twelve-tone equal temperament (also known as 12 equal temperament, 12-TET or 12-ET; informally abbreviated to twelve equal), which divides the octave into 12 parts, all of which are equal on a logarithmic …

Clavier, German Klavier, any stringed keyboard musical instrument in Germany from the late 17th century. The harpsichord, the clavichord, and, later, the piano bore the name. Clavier.

any musical instrument having a keyboard, especially a stringed keyboard instrument, as a harpsichord, clavichord, or piano.

Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to composition, not being loud enough for larger performances. The clavichord produces sound by striking brass or iron strings with small metal blades called tangents. Vibrations are transmitted through the bridge(s) to the soundboard.

The basic difference between the two was that the strings on the harpsichord were plucked, whereas with the clavichord they were struck. As soon as the key was released, the damped end of the string came into play and the sound was deadened.