Triple-Fretted Clavichord

Of all the keyboard instruments, the clavichord is perhaps the oldest, and certainly the most expressive.

The mechanism of the clavichord is simple in the extreme: the strings are struck by tiny blades of brass called tangents, fixed near the far end of each key. At rest, each tangent lies only a few millimetres below the strings. When the musician plays a note, the rear of the key rises and the tangent taps the pair of strings, exciting them into vibration and determining their speaking length at the same moment.

This small clavichord is said to be triple-fretted because for most of its compass, three notes share one pair of brass strings. Such instruments are much more compact, easier to tune, and in fact have a louder voice than unfretted clavichords. It has the traditional short octave C/E–c´´´, where three of the expected notes in the extreme bass sound the more useful notes a third lower: The apparent E key plays C; the F♯ plays D; and the G♯ plays E. The first true chromatic note is B♭.

Clavichords are touch sensitive. There is a direct mechanical connection between the finger and the string as long as the note is sounding. As soon as the key is released, the vibrations travel backwards along the strings to the left, where they are promptly stopped by the listing cloth—this material woven between the pairs of strings also affects the stiffness of touch, but has nothing to do with muting the tone of the instrument.

Deriving from the popular “King of Sweden” kit manufactured by Zuckermann Harpsichords Inc, this clavichord was originally commissioned from Sydney maker Carey Beebe by Megan Scott, a music graduate of Melbourne University in the late 1950s who taught piano in Cooma for many years.

The case is made from Honduran mahogany, and the keyboard has boxwood naturals and ebony accidentals. Unlike other keyboard instruments, the rear of the clavichord keylevers are visible, so they are traditionally carved.

In 2024, this clavichord was donated to the ANU Keyboard Institute.

Pitch: A493