Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The upper portion of a harpsichord jack holding a plectrum. In a harpsichord, there is a separate plectrum for each string. These plectra are very small, often only about 10 millimeters long, about 1.5 millimeters wide, and half a millimeter thick. The plectrum is gently tapered, being narrowest at the plucking end.
The bottom surface of the plectrum is cut at a slant; thus when the descending plectrum touches the string from above, the angled lower surface provides enough force to push the tongue backward. [5] When the jack arrives in fully lowered position, the felt damper touches the string, causing the note to cease.
The arched harp is probably an evolution of the musical bow, distinguished by the addition of strings and the fusion of the string holder and the soundbox. [1] Arched harps are found in Southeast Asia, East Africa, and elsewhere, and are historically strongly associated with Ancient Egypt and India.
The harpsichord does not fit any of these categories but is also a plucked string instrument, as its strings are struck with a plectrum when the keys are depressed. Bowed string instruments, such as the violin , can also be plucked in the technique known as pizzicato ; however, as they are usually played with a bow , they are not included in ...
Even though the piano strikes the strings, the use of felt hammers means that the sound that is produced can nevertheless be mellow and rounded, in contrast to the sharp attack produced when a very hard hammer strikes the strings. Violin family string instrument players are occasionally instructed to strike the string with the stick of the bow ...
The keyboard is placed left of centre, and the strings are plucked at one end, although farther from the bridge than in the harpsichord. This is the more common arrangement for modern instruments, and an instrument described simply as a "virginal" is likely to be a spinet virginals.
As in all harpsichords, the strings in the oval spinet are plucked by plectra suspended in jacks, thin vertical strips of wood. Each jack rises from the far end of its key, passes through a guiding register in the soundboard, and terminates adjacent to its assigned string, close enough for the bit of quill held by the jack - the plectrum - to pluck the string.
Musical symbols are marks and symbols in musical notation that indicate various aspects of how a piece of music is to be performed. There are symbols to communicate information about many musical elements, including pitch, duration, dynamics, or articulation of musical notes; tempo, metre, form (e.g., whether sections are repeated), and details about specific playing techniques (e.g., which ...