The Nuts and Bolts of Tuning a Harpsichord

Nothing is so discouraging to a person learning how to tune his harpsichord than to have it drift out of tune almost before he has finished. Stable tuning is a bit of an art, and there are tricks to the trade.

Do not expect your instrument to stand well in tune the first time you put tension on the strings. The strings may look straight, but they still retain a memory of when they were in the coil. It will take several days at least for them to become truly straight. The loops will stretch a little until they take their final shape. The case itself must get used to the tension.

When we adjust the tension on a string we listen to its sounding length, that portion between the bridge and nut pins. But there is more wire between the nut pins and the tuning pins, and another length of wire between the bridge pins and the hitchpin rail. The wire meets with friction at the bridge and nut pins, and the 'tails' may be slacker than the sounding length. If you will get in the habit of bringing the pitch very slightly above where you want it, and thump the string several times with the quill, then let the tension back down slightly, you will brings the tails to equal tension with the sounding length - otherwise those slack tails will gradually accommodate themselves to the tension after you think you are done tuning.

The string must be brought up to tension by turning the tuning pin, not by pulling the tuning pin out of its normal position with the tuning wrench. If you pull or push the tuning pin, it will sneak back to where it wants to be when you start to play. You must feel where the pin wants to stand - and leave it standing there.

Be gentle with the tuning wrench. Sawing the pitch up and down a quarter tone scrubs the string against the nut pin.

Your tuning pins might be set in a pattern to match the keyboard, to help you find the right tuning pin quickly. But if your keyboard is in the transposed position, remember to move the wrench to the correct pin! If you turn a tuning pin and nothing happens to the pitch, stop and consider that you may be on the wrong one.

A harpsichord left untuned for long periods will usually sag down in pitch, but in some parts of North America, a harpsichord left untuned in the summer will some-times become sharper by a minor third. If you shut your harpsichord up for the summer in a room that is both hot and damp, do not be surprised If you find a dozen broken strings (schools and churches take note).

Properly voiced quills almost never break. Strings put on properly almost never break. A harpsichord played frequently, and kept in tune, will be a constant joy.