instruments of the baroque period
Time Period: 1600 - 1750
harpsichord vs piano
One of the most prominent instruments in the baroque period was the harpsichord. The earliest harpsichords dates back to the 16th century whereas the earliest piano was created in the 18th century creating a two-hundred-year gap between the creation of both instruments. Being the pianos older brother, it shares some characteristics with its newer counterpart.
There are three common characteristics that are shared between the piano and the harpsichord are sets of strings, a keyboard and a sound board. However, this is where the similarities end. The piano consists of a single keyboard whereas the harpsichord has one to two rows of keys and very rarely three. Another major difference between the modern piano and the harpsichord is the number of keys each instrument has. The piano has a set of 88 keys and the harpsichord has a set of 60 keys. The keys of a piano alternate from white to black while the harpsichords keys alternate from black to white. The strings on a piano are struck with a hammer to create sound and the strings of the harpsichord a plucked with a plectrum. These two methods of sound production create a vast difference in sound and dynamics. The piano has a vast dynamic range from loud to soft due to the hammers, the harpsichord with its plucked strings can only produce one dynamic level.
Stringed instruments
Stringed instruments were also incredibly popular during the baroque period. Violin, viola, viola d’amore, viola de gamba, cello, and double bass were all prominent in the baroque orchestra. Baroque stringed instruments are made from wood, although different, all these stringed instruments have much in common and share many intricate facets. These stringed instruments have many of the same characteristics including the scroll, tuning pegs, a finger board, belly, waist, a sound post bridge and tail piece. The Violin, viola, cello, and double bass all have four strings, whereas the viola d’amore has six to seven strings, and a viola de gamba has six strings. All six of the instruments use a horse hair bow to create sound.