Baylie+Pritchard-+Keyboard+instruments

=Keyboard Instruments of the Baroque period: = The baroque period refers to a type or genre of music, which originated around 1600 and was most popular between 1700 and 1750. This period is known as high baroque.There were 2 main geographical influences. In northern Germany and Holland composers concentrated on the fugue and the art of counter point with the organ and voice as major elements. Meanwhile in Rome the instrumental forms of sonata and concerto were the main focus. These two forces of music intermingled to produce a shared baroque vocabulary.Vivaldi and Handel influenced each other for example and Bach traveled a lot and owned or copied the music of many of his contemporaries. A number of instruments peaked in development at the height of the baroque era. German organs at that period are still regarded as some of the finest ever made.

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The keyboards of that era went through a process of disappearance, replacement and rediscovery. The harpsichord was a favoured instrument in this period. Its strings were plucked but the player could not control tone variance so it lacked dynamics. After 1750 however, the piano took over as the main instrument because they offered more sensitivity through touch. An organ builder worked with Bach to create the piano. In this way, all three of these keyboard instruments played a role in music development during the baroque period.======

__The Clavichord:__
The clavichord is a European stringed key board instrument created in the early 14th century but became popular in the 16th-18th century.. The clavichord made a sound by having a metal blade (called tangents) strike against a brass or iron string which created a quiet, yet dynamic sound. The vibrations from striking the string went from the bridge to the sound board creating a noise. this keyboard instrument was used a lot in Germany for solo's or small ensembles. Since the noise it created was suttle and quiet, it was used a lot as a practice piano because it wasn't loud enough for large performances. Some people believed that it was an intimate instrument because the keys are very close to the place where the sound was created. This is the only keyboard instrument in the baroque period which had the ability to change the tone by touching the keys at a different pressure. This instrument was best for accompanying melodies. The clavichord got more advanced in the 1700s. before the 1700 the clavichord could only do 4 octaves and was only 4 feet long but later on they could go 6 octaves and were 7 feet long.

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__The Organ:__
The Baroque Organ has a very strong and powerful noise. Organs were mainly used in church or for a solo piece. Organ's they had large pipes usually made out of metal or wood which the air would pass through to create sound like a whistle. the length of the pipe changed the pitch of the tone where as the material and shape influenced the color and quality of the tone. When using reed pipes the air is pressed against a metal shallot to make it vibrate and created a noise. When reed pipes are short the sound is high and when they are tall the sound is low. Most organs have an air supply called a wind chest which releases air into the pipes that are being played. later in this era small organs became popular, the player could hold the organ around their neck. Many different designs of organs started between the 1500 and the 1800. Bach usually used the German organ because it had a distinct sound and amazing quality.

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__The Harpsichord:__
The Harpsichord, also known as many different names depending on the place your in. for example in England its called the Virginal. The harpsichord usually has 2 keyboards but looks quite similar to a grand piano. The noise was made by plucking metal strings when the keys were played. The nose it makes is strong but did not create dynamics. When the keys were played it would stay at a constant volume even if the keys were played with more force. Many different experiments were tried to change this, for example they added more than one string to each key or they usually used 2 key boards to change the tone and have more variation. It was the main instrument in a basso continuo. The harpsichord was the most favored and common sound used in the baroque era. It was also used in counterpoint music (two or more melodies played at the same time e.g. Bach).

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The Baroque period was very important to the development of keyboard instruments. In particular, the piano came of age because it was influenced by the harpsichord and the organ but gave more control to the player in terms of tone and sound because it was more sensitive to touch.======