How to play harpsichord

1. Is harpsichord hard to play?
2. Is harpsichord the same thing as piano?
3. How does a harpsichord sound?
4. Can a pianist play the harpsichord?

Is harpsichord hard to play?

It's not difficult to play harpsichord physically (though it does take different physical awareness and technique), but it is a completely different instrument that uses a musical "language" that is very different from the way we are accustomed to play on a modern piano.

Is harpsichord the same thing as piano?

They maybe look alike, but in many ways, they are two different instruments in every sense. While the piano is a struck, the harpsichord is a plucked string instrument. Both make the sounds when the strings vibrate, but the ways of activating the vibration are different.

How does a harpsichord sound?

The strings are mechanically plucked and then muted, making the sound brittle, rattling and clipped, with no variation in dynamics, that makes the harpsichord sound more "formal" and precise than the more sonorous, romantic and ponderous piano.

Can a pianist play the harpsichord?

For pianists, the chance to play a harpsichord can be critical to understanding works written originally for that instrument. But even those who do not have access to a harpsichord can learn a few techniques that can help capture its magic on a modern piano.