Plectrum
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A plectrum is a small flat tool used for plucking or strumming of a stringed instrument. For hand-held instruments such as guitars and mandolins, the plectrum is often called a pick and is held as a s
Three plectra for use with guitar
Assorted plectra for use with guitar
Don Wayne Reno wearing fingerpicks while playing a banjo
'Biwa Concert' by Shibata Suiha, painted screen, c. 1930, in the Honolulu Museum of Art
Harpsichord
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A harpsichord is a keyboard instrument that makes its sound by plucking a set of strings. In a harpsichord, depressing a key raises its back end within the instrument, which in turn lifts one or more
Plectrum
…guitar and bluegrass style banjo music often wear a fingerpick, a style of plectrum that clips onto or wraps around the end of the fingers and thumb. In harpsichords, the plectra (traditionally made of crow quill) are attached to the jack mechanism. A plectrum for electric guitars, acoustic guitars, bass guitars and…
This harpsichord is the work of two celebrated makers: originally constructed by Andreas Ruckers in Antwerp (1646), it was later remodeled and expanded in a process called grand ravalement by Pascal Taskin in Paris (1780).
An early diagram of a vertical harpsichord (clavicytherium) by Arnault de Zwolle, c. 1430
Harpsichord by Christian Zell, at Museu de la Música de Barcelona. From upper left to lower right: a bridge (supporting the far ends of the strings), the jack rail with the action (jacks) underneath, two nuts (supporting the closer ends of the strings), interleaved with two rows of tuning pins, and finally the keyboard. As with all harpsichords, the action itself is mostly hidden by the jack rail when the instrument is being played; only by removing the jack rail (or indeed, by extracting a jack) can the details of the action be observed.
Sound board of a harpsichord with Chladni patterns