Comparison of the Harpsichord and the
Piano
Professor Errede
Physic of Music 193
By: Aleksandar Surjancev
Surjancev 1 The piano is one of, if not the most, recognizable instrument in modern times. It comes in
many variants, all of which have different voices to be played. There is the standing piano, a
humble yet elegant instrument, perched up against a wall so as not to take up space. It is the most
common and easiest of the three to play on, but when played it speaks in a voice that says “I may
be in this corner so as not to be in the way, but you will notice me when I am played.” Then there
is the baby grand piano, the proverbial little brother of the grand piano. The baby grand becomes
a little more difficult to play in the way that now the pedals shift the keys and the keys resist the
pressure from your fingers a little bit more, but when played it says “I am hear, listen and behold
what will come from me.” Finally there is the grand piano, an instrument that demands your
attention and respect. The keys require force to be played, and precision to master its dynamics.
Larger than the baby grand, eyes will be drawn to its beauty and solemn silence, but when played
it speaks in a voice that resonates through the head, saying “Lo and behold the music which I
bring, bask in my voice and let it soothe you.”
Bartolomeo Cristofori would assemble the first piano in Florence during approximately
1709. He would have refined and created a piano with the all essentials that we find in a modern
piano by 1726. Mind blowing that the piano is around 300 years old, yet still it can be found in
modern music and has been a part of many musical movements throughout history. After being
popularized by Mozart and Clementi, the piano had come to replace its predecessors in salon
music, chamber music, and concerti. Later, composers such as Chopin, Beethoven, Liszt, and
Rachmaninoff would immortalize this instrument through their sonatas, concertos, preludes, and
nocturnes. The piano was a staple in African American Jazz and Ragtime music, as well as swing
music. Today, the Piano can be found in country, rock, rap, hip hop, folk, gospel, and a plethora
of different genres. The question here is what has made the piano so popular? Why is it better
than its ancestors, what set it apart from those that came before it? Just as we humans study the
1 Surjancev 2 ancestors of our current race, so should we appreciate and educate ourselves on the predecessor
of the piano; the harpsichord.
Much like our research with Neanderthals and other common ancestors of Homo sapiens,
we need to find the point of origin and the significance of the structure before we analyze the
differences between the two instruments. The oldest harpsichords are estimated to be from Italy
during the early 16th Century. During the rest of the 16th Century and the 17th and 18th Centuries,
the harpsichord would be changed and modified until it became an important part of the Baroque
movement. Many composers during this period would play and write pieces for the harpsichord
and notable composers of the time were Bach, Vivaldi, and Handel. By the mid-18th century, the
harpsichord would begin to compete with the piano, but would ultimately be overthrown by the
piano’s popularity.
2 Surjan
ncev 3 While
W
same in
n shape, the key differen
nce lies in thhe mechanism
m of which tthe two
instrumen
nts propagatte their string
gs. The harp
psichord reliees on a plecttrum, which is created byy
using a sy
ystem of jaccks, pivoted tongues,
t
plectrums and ddampers to aactivate and silence the
strings. The
T jack is used to pluck
k the string after the harppsichordist sttrikes the keey, but it is thhe
plectrum
m that does th
he actual pluccking. The jack containss the pivotedd tongue to w
which the
plectrum
m is attached, so when thee key is strucck the mechaanism rises aand plucks thhe string. W
When
it is allow
wed to fall, th
he tongue piivots away from
fr
the strinng so as not to pluck it oon the way ddown
and the damper
d
comees down to silence the sttrings. The pplectrum is nnot affected bby how fast oor
how quicckly the notee is played siince it will have
h
the sam
me effect on tthe strings duue to the
mechanissm of propag
gation, whilee a piano can
n shift its dyynamics accoording to thee amount of
pressure applied to th
he keys when
n the pianistt plays. 3 Surjancev 4 The piano relies on a hammer mechanism to strike the strings with the correct amount of
force depending on how much pressure is applied by the pianist when they press the keys. The
modern piano contains a system of felt lined hammers attached to mechanism at their far ends.
These mechanism are used to accelerate the hammers when they are played upon and then catch
them on the rebound so that they are ready to strike the strings again. A key note here is that the
hammer must be allowed to fly freely when activated, or else there is a risk of having the
hammer dampen the strings after striking. Therefore, there must be a large enough distance so
when the hammer is activated by the mechanism, it can hit the string and not dampen its sound
while also being able to rebound and not strike the string again since it is in free motion after
play. Therefore there is a limit to the sound produced by a piano, but it is not as limiting as the
harpsichord.
Clearly, the two instruments
have different methods of
propagation. The similarities we see
between these instruments are mainly
aesthetic, and even these can vary to a
degree. Both instruments contain a
keyboard, although a harpsichord may
contain two. Both have a frame that
houses a soundboard, but the piano is
usually wider since it can contain
more keys and more octaves than a harpsichord can. The number of strings that they contain can
also be the same, whether it be a one or sets of two or three strings in each.
4 Surjancev 5 So, upon conclusion of this lesson in piano and harpsichord propagation, we see that the
two instruments are almost nothing alike in method. While they may look similar and they
appear to have the same concept, mechanical evolution has done its job in differentiating the
inner workings of these two fine instruments. That does not mean we should not analyze the
fundamental differences between the two and figure out how different they truly are. Just as we
look at our ancestors and try to understand how our actions are similar and how they are
different, we can also do the same for the piano and the harpsichord.
The experiment conducted in this paper was using the program MATLAB with a wavanalysis code to identify harmonics, amplitudes, and frequencies amongst various notes played
on a piano and three separate harpsichords. The piano that was analyzed was a baby grand piano
that Professor Errede has in his home and was generous enough to bring in some recordings for
the project. The three harpsichords analyzed were 17th Century Italian, 18th Century Flemish and
18th Century French Harpsichords. The sound files were recorded and sent to us by Dr. Sonia
Lee, who was generous enough to take time out of her schedule and help out with the process.
5 Surjancev 6 E2 Harmonic Ranges 17th Century Italian Harpsichord
Baby Grand Piano 18th Century French Harpsichord 18th Century Flemish Harpsichord 6 Surjancev 7 These graphs indicate the harmonic ranges of the note E2 on all three harpsichords and
the baby grand piano. As you can see, the harpsichord is richer in harmonics than the baby grand
piano in every instance, but what cannot be ascertained from these graphs is the amplitude scale.
For the baby grand piano, the highest peak of the harmonic reaches an amplitude of 10^-2, while
the highest of the harpsichord harmonics only reaches an amplitude of approximately half way to
10^-4. So what we see here is that a harpsichord is much richer in harmonics than the piano, but
the piano is able to obtain a larger amplitude as a tradeoff. These graphs demonstrate the
difference that we hear when comparing the noises of the instruments. The piano contains
harmonics at higher amplitudes since it
is able to directly control the dynamic
of the sound it produces according to
the pressure of the pianist’s finger. The
Baby Grand Piano harpsichord cannot do this due to the
plectrum, but what the harpsichord
lacks in dynamics, it makes up in
harmonics.
The next set of graphs show the
differences in Mean Normalized
17th Century Italian Harpsichord Amplitude (dB) of the different
harmonics. We observe that the
piano has the largest mean
normalized amplitude with its
7 Surjancev 8 fundamental being at 16 dBs, then
the Italian Harpsichord comes in
18th Century Flemish Harpsichord second with a mean normalized
amplitude for the fundamental at 15
dBs, with the Flemish Harpsichord’s
fundamental coming third with 13
dBs, and finally the French
Harpsichord comes in last with a
fundamental at 7dBs.
Some interesting points can be made from these graphs, such as both the 17th
Century Italian and 18th Century French harpsichords both have their second harmonics having
higher mean normalized amplitudes
than their first harmonic. We can also
observe that for the 18th Century
18th Century French Harpsichord Flemish Harpsichord, the 9th
harmonic appears to dwindle down
while for the 18th Century French
Harpsichord, there appears to be a
drop only for the 8th harmonic, and
then the 9th harmonic appears on par
with the 5th, 6th, and 7th harmonic. These occurrences reflect the fact that each of these
harpsichords is unique in its construction and the sound that they produce. These observations
are not very useful when comparing the two instruments, but they serve as a good reminder that
8 Surjancev 9 this experiment contains many variables that could result in skewed data as well as human error
on the part of the choosing harmonics.
Amplitude vs. Time of A3 18th Century French Harpsichord 18th Century Flemish Harpsichord 17th Century Italian Harpsichord Baby Grand Piano 9 Surjancev 10 The graphs on page 9 are graphs of amplitude vs. time of the note A3 and represent the
differences in the mechanism through the graphs created. Both the 17th Century Italian and 18th
Century Flemish Harpsichords appear to have negative correlations between the two, while also
having some oscillation in some of their harmonics. The 18th Century French Harpsichord has
much more oscillation than either of the other two harpsichords, but that may be caused by the
program having difficulty identifying the harmonics due to the stringing of the French
Harpsichord. The French Harpsichord is triple strung, and the wav analysis program used was
put under quite a bit of duress seeking the correct harmonics to use. The resonance between the
strings may have caused the program to identify multiple harmonics on the different strings, and
therefore we see that amplitude occasionally increase as time goes on, but even with these
differences, the general trend we see is still a negative correlation between amplitude and time.
The Baby Grand Piano appears to have a constant amplitude on the other hand, which is a result
of the freedom associated with the hammer striking mechanism we had mentioned earlier. The
strings are therefore allowed to vibrate without being dampened. Again, as mentioned earlier, we
know that the Harpsichord has a mechanism of dampening the strings after being struck, so we
see the amplitude decrease after the initial pluck of the plectrum for when the jack returns to its
resting position.
In conclusion, we see what the difference in the method of propagation does to the
instrument and the way it sounds. The piano had traded off the plethora of harmonics present
within the harpsichord for the ability to convey its songs with more expression and a greater
dynamic range by adapting to using the hammer mechanism over the plectrum. We see that the
hammer mechanism can result in greater amplitudes for the harmonics, meaning that the sounds
will be louder or softer depending on how hard the pianist plays the keys. The harpsichord is still
10 Surjancev 11 rich in its harmonics due to the sensitivity with which the jack mechanism works and how it
plucks the strings. We also observe the effects of the dampening mechanism of the jacks versus
the free hitting method of the hammers in the last group of graphs as time progresses. We see
now what effect it has on the sound produced and the dynamic of the sound produced as well.
Errors that may have occurred throughout my project are that I had not selected
concurrent harmonics for the Baby Grand Piano as I was not sure if they would be strong enough
and I was still getting used to the MATLAB wav analysis program. Another possibility is that
the strings may have had some resonance when being recorded in the instruments, and the wav
analysis program has trouble when analyzing more than one note, so it could have caused some
interference or crashes within the program, preventing me from obtaining all the data. Another
thing to note is that these are all correlations rather than conclusions, and would require more
testing before I would be able to conclude that the mechanism of instruments causes the shifts in
amplitude.
I would like to personally thank Dr. Sonia Lee for helping with this project. Her
assistance was crucial to the project, and without it I would not have been able to come to the
analyses that I did. Dr. Lee was generous enough to send over not one, but three separate
recording from her three harpsichords and include various details about each harpsichord and
which recording equipment she used. She also gave me so many notes to use, which could take
weeks to analyze and compare properly so sadly I did not put them all into the final project. Dr.
Lee’s willingness to assist me and Professor Errede with the recordings of the harpsichords was
an act of kindness I will not soon forget. A big thank you once again to Dr. Sonia Lee.
11 Surjancev 12 Bibliography:
"harpsichord". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/255802/harpsichord>.
"piano". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Britannica Online.
Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2014. Web. 11 Dec. 2014
<http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/459119/piano>.
Development of the keyboard, the clavichord, and the harpsichord
FRANK HUBBARD, Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making (1965, reissued 1976), clarifies the
history of the instrument and the techniques of earlier harpsichord makers; RAYMOND
RUSSELL, The Harpsichord and Clavichord, 2nd ed. (1973), offers a general history, less
technical than Hubbard’s, illustrated with excellent photographs; DONALD H. BOALCH, Makers of
the Harpsichord and Clavichord, 1440–1840, 2nd ed. (1974), presents known data on all makers
whose names have survived as well as the locations of their extant instruments; EDWIN M.
RIPIN (ed.), Keyboard Instruments: Studies in Keyboard Organology, 1500–1800, 2nd rev. ed.
(1977), collects articles on specialized topics, including Italian, Flemish, and English
harpsichords, 15th-century instruments, and the Geigenwerck; FRANZ J. HIRT, Stringed Keyboard
Instruments, 1440–1880 (1968; originally published in German, 1955; reissued with parallel
English and German text, 1981), is a splendid picture book with interesting but not always
reliable supporting text;WOLFGANG ZUCKERMANN, The Modern Harpsichord: Twentieth Century
Instruments and Their Makers (1969), remains a standard work, though it is unreliable for
historical information and technical aspects of instrument design and building; WILLI APEL,
“Early History of the Organ,” Speculum, 23(2):191–216 (April 1945), gives an excellent account,
especially useful for the details on the evolution of the keyboard;EDWIN M. RIPIN et al., The New
Grove Early Keyboard Instruments (1989; also published as Early Keyboard Instruments), is a
collection of previously published materials. See also HOWARD SCHOTT, Playing the
Harpsichord (1971); and JOHN PAUL, Modern Harpsichord Makers (1981).
Backus, J. The Acoustical Foundations of Music. N.p.: Norton, 1977. Print.
12 Surjancev 13 http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AHarpsichord_jack_action.svg By Original by
Njohan, English captions and other edits by Jeff Dahl (Own work) [GFDL
(http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
http://www.user00.com/my2iu/workshop/piano/piano.html A Mathematical Force Model for a
Piano Action Ming-Yee Iu Cooperative Education Work Report: May 1997
13