Wednesday, October 22, 2008

Wordful/less Wednesday

What musical instrument am I?
Answer to last Wordful/less Wednesday: Harpsichord

Harpsichords have been around since the 1500's and are used in Baroque music. The harpsichord became less popular when the piano was invented. The harpsichord is similar to a piano because when a key is pressed, a long strip of wood is lifted which is attached to a pick that plucks the string.





Below is an example of what a harpsichord sounds like:


14 comments:

Weeksie50 said...

I have no idea.. but I love its sound..

Claremont First Ward said...

What's the difference between a harpsicord and a pianoforte?

Kaci said...

Soprano Sax? Crap I don't know how to spell it though! :) XOXO

MamaGeek @ Works For Us said...

Ah yes, music to my ears.

Susie said...

Cool and educational post! Awesome:-)

Munchkins and Music said...

A fortepiano is an early version of the piano. A fortepiano is larger and lighter than a modern piano because it doesn't have a metal frame. The fortepiano was actually invented by a harpischord maker in the 18th century. You can go to: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMUb9nqnk8o
to hear an example of a fortepiano.

Anonymous said...

Very educational. Good post. Thanks!

nopinkhere said...

Cool! You picked a great video to illustrate it. Twinkle is one of my son's favorite songs, so he was willing to sit through a surprisingly large amount of the video.

This week's instrument is a soprano sax. (You should change the name of the picture file. ;-) I could have inadvertently cheated this time, but I already knew what it was.)

debi9kids said...

I just LOVE that sound! Just beautiful!
Happy WW!

Laurie said...

THANK YOU for that YouTube video!! I've been working on that piece for a long time, and seeing someone actually play the whole thing makes me want to master it! I keep skipping the difficult left-hand parts, but next time I get discouraged, I'll watch this and remember how cool those parts sound! Thanks!!

Wendelyn DeMoss said...

I do love the sax but the oboe is my fav.

Susan said...

I am almost positive it is the soprano saxophone.

CompleteLee Blogger said...

My mother has a really cool piano with a homemade harpsichord feature. (Sorry, shoulda posted this last week.) We used to like to lift the lid and check it out. It is an upright piano and under the lid you can see a row of regular ole snaps dangling from a stretch of felt that runs the length of the piano. When you push the harpsichord lever, it just makes the coolest sound! Very similar to your youtube video above. Wish I had a picture to share! Fun posts--I like the what instrument am I day.

Unknown said...

It looks like a soprano sax to me.