Keyboard instrument

What it means

Keyboard instruments are played via a keyboard, that is, via a row of keys each of which triggers a particular note. How the note is produced varies entirely: on the piano hammers strike strings, on the harpsichord they are plucked, on the clavichord touched by a tangent, on the organ the keys open valves to pipes, on the harmonium to free reeds. Electronic instruments take over the keyboard as an operating surface for entirely different sound production. What all of them share is only the manner of operation.

Musical use

From the keyboard follows a particular musical possibility: polyphony can be represented directly, a single player can execute melody, bass, and middle voices at once. This is why keyboard instruments have for centuries been the tool for composition, harmonic theory, and rehearsal work, and carry an enormous repertoire. The differences between them are nonetheless musically decisive: an instrument with touch dynamics demands a different way of writing than one without, and an instrument with an endlessly sustainable tone a different one than one with natural decay. Whoever plays music written for harpsichord on the grand piano must consciously translate this difference.

Performance practice

Set your seat height and distance so that the forearms lie roughly horizontal and the shoulders stay free. Orient yourself by the pattern of the black keys in twos and threes, rather than looking at your hands. Adapt your touch to the instrument: what produces fullness on the modern grand produces harshness on the historical instrument. On instruments with several manuals, plan changes as part of the movement. With all keyboard instruments, pay attention to even room temperature and humidity, and have them serviced regularly, since mechanism and tuning react sensitively.

Bear in mind that transferring a work to a different keyboard instrument demands conscious decisions: what is shaped through articulation on the harpsichord must be solved differently on the grand piano, and conversely the use of the pedal does not replace voice leading. Check which instrument a piece is conceived for, and consider which means are available to you. With historical instruments the tuning is often unequal, which makes key characters audible. When working on unfamiliar instruments, allow time to get to know them.