Jill Schmid

A 21st Century Clavichord:

Exploring Clavichords as Precedent Studies for the Design of a Modern Portable Keyboard Instrument

Designing a modern, non-digital keyboard instrument that meets current user needs including portability, possibilities for both practice & performance volumes and a modern aesthetic

Why use the Clavichord as a Precedent?

Almost all modern keyboard instruments are derived from the piano. While researching the modern keyboard industry, I found there were no widely available portable acoustic keyboard instruments, and also none quiet enough to use as a practice instrument. The clavichord is already designed for a very similar product niche, and with several updates such as eclectic pickups and a more modern casing, could be made to fit this currently unaddressed niche perfectly.

What is a Clavichord?

A clavichord is unique keyboard instrument popular in the 16th through 18th centuries. Like a piano, it is a keyboard chordophone, which means it produces sound using vibrating strings. However, the action (the mechanism that translates a pressed key into a sound) is completely different.

The clavichord’s action is at its core very simple and can be described as struck. The key is a simple lever, which pivots on a balance pin, causing a tangent (the piece of brass used to strike the string) to strike the string . The note sustains for the duration of the keypress, and the tangent is in contact with the string for the duration of the note. This is unusual for a keyboard instrument and allows for much more precise control of both volume and pitch. This gave the clavichord a niche as a delicate and emotive keyboard, in a time when many keyboard chordophones were much almost percussive (before the piano, most keyboard chordophones were not capable of dynamic variation). Another artifact of this mechanism is a relatively low output volume, which made it popular as a practice instrument and in domestic settings.

Process Phase I: Research

The research phase of this project consisted of initial book research on the histories and types of keyboard instruments. Because this project is so focused on mechanical and construction accepts, I then moved to replicating and modeling as a form of research.

Action Study Models

Models made to study the action system of a clavichord and virginal.

Octave Replica

Replica of one octave of the fretted Italian clavichord at the Museum of Fine Art (accession no. 17.1796). This was done by drafting a 1:1 top-down sketch using the measurements described in Musical Instruments of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (Koster, Kirk, and Germann 1994, 22), and building the instrument out on top of it.

Process Phase II: Design

Summarized version coming soon. Some detailed pages are here:

Design Intro
Keyboard P1
Keyboard P2
Finalizing the Shape

Process Phase III: Build

This build was two sections that came together in the end: the keyboard, and the case.

The Case:

Wood!
Cutting rough shapes
Cutting less rough shapes
Gluing up the base
Fitting the sides with the base
Adding details
Fitting the finger joints and joining the sides
Creating the structure (this is likely overkill, my initial octave prototype imploded, and I was not going to let that happen again)
Adding the top faces
Adding the bridge and rack. They are located with pins so I can confirm fit later before permanently attaching.
Locating the bridge using a laser-cut template
Fitting the keyboard
Adding finish

The Keyboard

Gluing up the basswood keyboard blank (this had to be redone when I realized the grain should be going the other direction but this is the only photo)
Making sharps for later. This photo also shows the laser-etching I used to mark the wood.
Cutting the slip slots in both the rack and the keys using a mill. This was a ridiculous method of doing this, but the best possible way I could think of for ensuring the rack and key slots were 100% aligned.
The keys after doing all possible bandsaw cuts. The rest are done on the scroll saw.
Fitting the keys onto the bridge pins. This was done using a file in the drill press as a broach, and then refining it with a file with the sides and tip ground off to avoid taking off material in unwanted places.
All of the keys fit into the frame.
The laser cut tangents. All 135 exposed edges had to be filed and sanded down.
Inserting the tangents.