ACTION STRINGS LIMITED OCTAVES MANUALS

The plucking point of the quill on the string in relation to the bridge differs between registers the jacks of the upper keyboard are closer to the bridge, while the jacks of the lower keyboard are further away.

ACTION STRINGS LIMITED OCTAVES MANUALS

Harpsichords built in France in the second half of the 18th century, such as the instrument considered in this paper, typically have two 8-foot registers (i.e., two complete sets of jacks) which are controlled by the player via two manuals (keyboards). Although precise details of the different velocity levels or definition of touch used to produce them are not directly stated, the recorded tones are reported to have been achieved on a harpsichord built in 2000 with characteristics adapted from harpsichords built in Italy and southern Germany. PenttinenвЂ™s (2006) results show small, measurable and perceivable differences between tones produced with three different striking velocities referred to in the article as pianissimo, mezzo forte, and fortissimo.

Studies investigating the production and perception of dynamics in harpsichords are rare, with the exception of PenttinenвЂ™s (2006) study. GriffelвЂ™s (1994) model also supports this, claiming that the amplitude of string motion is related to jack velocity, however, Giordano and Winans (1999) refute GriffelвЂ™s (1994) claims based on measurements of a small model of the plucking mechanism made with a plastic jack and plectrum. Hall (1993) agrees with Benade (1990) that changes in loudness are possible based on simulations of the plectrum-string interaction and an informal test on an unspecified harpsichord. However, harpsichords are not a homogenous instrument group and have different characteristics of construction, depending on their provenance and date, which are seldom explored rarely are the capabilities of historical instruments documented (with the exception of studies by Beurmann and Schneider, 2003). Measurements taken on unspecified harpsichords or small plectrum-string models provide much of the evidence for both sides of this argument. With such a plucking system, dynamic variation has been reported to be mechanically impossible on the harpsichord ( Fletcher, 1977), although Benade (1990) writes вЂњThe tone color and (to a slight extent) the loudness are both altered when a key is struck more or less hardвЂќ (p. When the front of a key on the harpsichord is pressed, the back of the key rises, lifting a jack (a long strip of wood) that holds a piece of quill (the plectrum), which plucks the string. Accuracies were influenced by pitch and register, the PDB providing the strongest accuracies over the four registers tested. Participants were able to perform significantly better than chance in correctly identifying whether pairs of single tones were same or different with respect to loudness. Participants performed a discrimination task using pairs of single tones. A listening experiment was conducted to test whether these differences are perceivable. The strongest difference is measured in the first harmonic of note F2 on the PDB. Acoustic measurements show varied differences of up to 11 dB for the two types of touch over different pitches in each register. These two touches (loud/struck and soft/pressed) were used to perform single tones on the lower, upper, peau de buп¬„e (PDB) registers (the last of which Taskin is credited with having invented) and the coupled 8-foot registers to investigate differences in dynamics. A historical review reports on the descriptions of two different types of touch found in treatises of the 18th century. This article investigates the extent of production and perception of dynamic differences on a French historical harpsichord, extensively revised in 1788 by Pascal Taskin. 2Conservatorio della Svizzera Italiana, University of Applied Sciences and Arts of Southern Switzerland, Lugano, Switzerland.1The MARCS Institute, University of Western Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia.Jennifer MacRitchie 1,2* and Giulia Nuti 2

Action strings limited octaves