A spinet is a smaller type of harpsichord or other keyboard instrument, such as a piano or organ.
Spinet built in 1765 by Johann Heinrich Silbermann. Bachhaus, Eisenach, Germany. Click for a more detailed view, revealing the use of bookmatched veneering.
Spinet by Zenti from 1637, now in the Musical Instrument Museum in Brussels
Girl at a Spinet, 1871 painting by Gabriel von Max
A sumptuously decorated pentagonal spinet from 1577 by Annibale dei Rossi; 49 keys
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism that plucks one or more strings with a small plectrum made from quill or plastic. The strings are under tension on a soundboard, which is mounted in a wooden case; the soundboard amplifies the vibrations from the strings so that the listeners can hear it. Like a pipe organ, a harpsichord may have more than one keyboard manual, and even a pedal board. Harpsichords may also have stop buttons which add or remove additional octaves. Some harpsichords may have a buff stop, which brings a strip of buff leather or other material in contact with the strings, muting their sound to simulate the sound of a plucked lute.
Harpsichord with double keyboard. The inside of the lid is decorated with two original paintings depicting the battle between Apollo and Pan based on The Judgment of Midas by Hendrick Goltzius (1590). The front cover shows Apollo and the Muses on Mount Helicon. The exterior was repainted with red chinoiserie decoration in the 18th century.
An early diagram of a vertical harpsichord (clavicytherium) by Arnault de Zwolle, c. 1430
Detail of the mechanism of the Harpsichord by Christian Zell, at Museu de la Música de Barcelona
Sound board of a harpsichord with Chladni patterns
