cimbalos

A harpsichord (Italian: clavicembalo; French: clavecin; German: Cembalo; Spanish: clavecín; Portuguese: cravo; Dutch: klavecimbel; Polish: klawesyn; Ukrainian: клавесин) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard.

A harpsichord is the English name of cembalo in German, and also called clavecin in French, and clavicembalo in Italian. The origin of harpsichords is not clear.

Translation of Cembalo – German-English dictionary harpsichord [noun] a type of early keyboard musical instrument.

Demand for the harpsichord remained steady until the 18th century, when it was gradually replaced by the fortepiano and then by the modern piano. The transition was largely complete by the early 19th century. In the 20th century, the growing interest in historical instruments sparked a revival for the harpsichord.

Beethoven is associated with the harpsichord as early as 1783, when at the age of 12, he was appointed Cembalist (Harpsichordist) of the Theatre Orchestra in Bonn. The child prodigy had published his first work a year earlier, Variations for Harpsichord on a March by Mr Dresler.

Though both are classed as keyboard instruments, the strings of the harpsichord are plucked while those of a piano are struck.

While hammers are used to strike the strings of a piano, the strings are plucked in a harpsichord. For this reason, the piano falls under the percussion instrument category, while the harpsichord is a string instrument.

Beautifully simple, right? Well, there's a drawback to this simplicity. It's difficult to convey the expressive passions that come with sudden or gradual changes in volume. No matter how hard you press down on a harpsichord key, it's going to sound the same.

The piano The piano was always Beethoven's favourite instrument. He wrote thirty-two sonatas for the instrument as a solo, and his composing for piano accompaniment in sonatas for other instruments, such as the violin and cello, is considered as masterly as in the solo works.

In 1787, when Beethoven was 16, he traveled to Vienna to meet and study with Mozart.

It is possible for pianists to thrash out pieces on the harpsichord, but it's a huge mistake to assume that piano playing and harpsichord playing are the same thing. An easy way to spot a pianist vs someone trained in harpsichord is the hand shape and use of the arm.

Some musicians find harpsichord's slightly easier to play due to the lack of volume control, since they don't have to worry about how hard they press the keys.