1. Setting Up the Instrument
If you have ordered your instrument with detachable legs, straddle the instrument across the corner of a suitable table such that the legs can be screwed on from underneath. They are specifically marked for each corner. Insert the leg bolt into the hole, place your finger in the dimple on the underside of the leg, and spin the leg along its axis. Screw in until snug. If less than than 1/8 turn is still required for the corners to match, do so. Otherwise, unscrew to the previous corner position. The slight looseness won't be noticed.
Position the instrument, ideally, so that its back right corner coincides with the corner of a small quiet room with many hard surfaces and no carpet. If such a room cannot be found for the clavichord . . . move. Slight unevenness of the floor, plus the design of the clavichord to flex a little under tension, may cause the front right (or left rear) leg to seem a little short. Wedge the shim, provided, under the appropriate leg and snap it off so that it won't be noticed.
If your clavichord was forwarded to you, it may have been detuned a bit to avoid serious damage during shipment and require a few tunings before it stabilizes in its new location. It is normal for some strings to break during this period while the clavichord is adjusting to its surroundings and you are learning how to tune it.
If you have ordered a two-piece lid with folding music desk, open the lid pieces in the usual manner and unhook the desk. Draw the bottom edge of the desk forward and place the little positioning pins very, very carefully into their holes in the top of the nameboard without marring anything. Whether your instrument has a music desk or a music ledge, clavichords are not designed to accommodate those large editions of music, so you may need to copy pieces occasionally.
2. Playing:
In playing the clavichord you are literally in contact with the strings via the keyboard. You can feel the strings and their tension. Tone quality is entirely the result of how positively the strings are contacted by your fingers through the keylevers. There is nothing automatic about the clavichord's action as there is with other keyboard instruments. An attitude of very positive contact must be maintained throughout the duration of the note. The keys may be played quite firmly, and in this regard you may be surprisingly more aggressive than the instrument's delicate appearance would ever lead you to imagine. (If a tangent pops up through the strings however, that's too much aggression!) It's nearly unbelievable but you'll probably never break a string at the tangent, right where you'd expect it most. So go ahead and lay into it; you may need to, and, you may find it very tiring at first. It will help a lot if you sit as high as possible. You will find it easier to contact the strings correctly by playing towards the front of the keys where you have more leverage over the tangent's tendency to rebound on the string ('spitting'), especially in the treble. Initially playing simpler pieces with fewer sharps and flats will facilitate this. Further, you will have more strength and therefore better tone quality if you concentrate the energy of each hand on one line or part. Notice the difference in tone quality between a simple two-part invention and a four-part fugue. Since your clavichord is fretted, you must pick up your fingers to avoid 'blocking' between certain 1/2 steps which share the same string. The fretting system has been designed in such a way that this consideration generally applies only to music of an uncharacteristically later date or music with a lot of sharps or flats. The clavichord's unique expressive device, the 'bebung', may be accessed through an immediate up and down motion on the key and never from side to side as people always try at first. You are actually stretching the string and thereby changing its pitch. Miraculously, the overall tuning of the instrument is not affected. Bebung gives one the expressive capabilities of a violin. The effect may also be used to momentarily alter tuning as you play, for example, at a cadence.
3. Tuning your fretted clavichord:
The temperament of the clavichord has been set to Van Bizen, an 18th century tuning which is easy to tune and versatile to use. The clavichord is strung in pairs which means that each note, or note group, has two strings which sound in unison. Generally, one of the strings of the pair is tuned and then the other is tuned to it. This is done by silencing, or 'muting', one of the strings with the wedge-shaped mute and tuning the remaining one. The mute is removed from the first string which is then tuned to match the other. As with tuning any keyboard instrument, the temperament is first set in the middle octave. The remaining notes of the instrument are then tuned in octaves to it. Once practiced, the tuning process miight require about 30 minutes. Fortunately the clavichord is a relatively stable instrument which does not require frequent tuning. Overall good listening, and therefore ease of tuning, may be obtained if the instrument is in that small quiet room with hard surfaces. Absolute silence is necessary.
To prepare for tuning, allow the lid to fall back with the lid strap or against the wall. The over-ring function of the instrument must be silenced by placing the over-ring mute cloth across the non-speaking lengths of the strings (between the bridge and tuning pins). Place this terry cloth strip roughly parallel to the bridge with a light weight on it (a letter opener?) such that it bears gently down upon the strings, especially in the treble. You will need a pitch reference to begin the tuning process such as a standard pitch pipe into which you can gently blow while leaving your hands free to tune. The tuning hammer fits on the tops of the pins. Always turn the hammer along the axis of the pin so as not to rock the pin to and fro. Be sure to rest the weight of your hand on the hammer a bit which helps keep the unthreaded pins in their holes. You should always arrive at the correct pitch from below (flat) and play the note somewhat more percussively than you would in normal playing. These tips will help the instrument stay in tune longer. And now, so many words to explain something which you will come to realize is so simple.
a) Setting the Temperament
Begin by tucking the red felt mute strip in between the four pairs of marked strings near the bridge (tuck the strip between the close pairs of black marks). Only the 7 tuning pins with blackened tops are to be used at this point. Place the tuning hammer on the marked tuning pin labeled f. To set this note at f at old pitch, play f just below middle c and match this note to e at modern pitch (440) OR, f at old pitch (415). Using the marked pin for b-flat (b), tune it a pure fourth above f. Likewise, tune the marked pin for e-flat' (e) a pure fourth above b-flat, g# a pure fifth below e-flat', and c#' a pure fourth above g#. Because f# was tuned back when you tuned f, check that f# - c#' are pure. Now tune d' a little narrower (flatter) than a pure fifth above g, which is already in tune. Tune a a little wider than a pure fourth below d'. Test and see if the interval a - e' is a little narrow. If not, go back and adjust d' and a. Do not alter g or e'. In other words, the intervals g - d' - a - e' should be equally out of tune, or tempered. Remove the red mute strip and tune the unmarked pins for these 7 notes to pure unisons.
b) Tuning the Bass
Play e below middle c. Touch the tangent and follow this string pair to the bridge. Place the wedge mute between the string pairs such that only the farthest string from you in the pair for note e may sound. During this process, keep the mute quite near the bridge. Place the hammer on the right pin of the pair marked e (just to the left of f). Tune this string an octave below e'. Move the mute towards the bass, towards YOU, skipping a space as you go such that, again, only the farthest string from you in the pair for the note e-flat may sound when played. Now place the hammer on the left pin of the pair marked e and tune the string to a perfect unison.
Continue this pattern by placing the hammer on the right pin of the pair marked e-flat and tune it an octave below e-flat' just as you did before. Repeat this pattern down through the bass, tuning successive strings as you go along according to the labeling on wrestplank. When you tune the last C# in the bass, leave the mute in place and tune C using the left pin instead of the right, as you would otherwise have nothing to hold the mute in place here. The same exception will be necessary for the last string in the treble. If your clavichord has been provided with wound strings in the bass, you may notice that they do not tune as cleanly as the plain strings. Their copper covering makes them very complex such that all their partials cannot be precisely reconciled. In the context of playing they sound great but isolated you can expect some strange fuzziness. Just tune for the best tone.
c) Tuning the Treble
With the bass tuned, follow the reverse procedure in the treble beginning with f'. In the treble the progress of your tuning will be in the opposite direction and so you must leave the closest string of the pair sounding and mute the farthest one. This means, of course, that you tune the left pin of each pair first and then the right pin, matching the pair in unison.
4. Maintenance:
Generally, the clavichord will require little maintenance if it is kept in tune, played, and kept in a place which you would find comfortable. Under no circumstances should the instrument be placed in direct sunlight, drafts, or in the path of heating, humidifying, or air-conditioning units, etc. If you live in an area which experiences extremes of relative humidity, you may want to get a humidity regulating device in an attempt to even things out.
With only one moving part per note, not much can go wrong with a clavichord. Should a key become stuck, it is generally due to the balance pin mortises (the oblong hole through which the balance pin protrudes and the key rocks) or the leathered tail of the key which rides between the oval brass guide pins. Either problem can be fixed by 'easing' the key in place much like a new piano. Press your finger on the balance pin behind the keyboard. Now, with your other hand, grasp the head of the key and press it firmly from side to side while moving it up and down; first one side, then the other. Never push or pull the key. If the key still seems sluggish, it may need to be removed for service. First remove the nameboard which slides straight up and out of the instrument. Lift the key up off the balance pin and maneuver it forward a bit. Pop the tangent up through the strings, turn the key on its side, and extract from the instrument. Press the fuzzy leathered keytail with a hard flat object. Notice how the leather stays flattened. If the balance mortise was inhibiting the key's motion, place the key on a tabletop and insert the pin of the easing tool, provided. Rock the tool back and forth, pressing the pin firmly against the sides as you go. Take special care not to distort the hole in the bottom of the mortise. Replace both the key and the nameboard noting the nameboard positioning post, if present, and its corresponding hole.
The balance mortises in the keylevers, and especially the very angled ones, have been treated to prevent audible creaking. Should a bothersome squeak occur, dust the hole, key in place, with finely powdered bicarbonate of soda (precipitated calcium carbonate) or chalk. Persistently creaking keys can be fixed by packing a little paste wax (Trewax) in the balance hole from the underside.
The listing cloth has a tendency to wiggle its way towards the tangents, thus fouling their operation. Simply brush the cloth back to its position with a sweep of your left hand.
Protect the pristine quality of the inner case by keeping the lid closed when not in use. Never blow dust from the inner case; use a clean blowing/vacuuming device, very sparingly. Dust the keyboard occasionally with a drafting brush, available from a stationary or art supply. The strings and components of the inner case are completely unprotected. Your hands must be completely clean and dry should it become necessary to handle any of these components.
5. Replacing Strings:
When a string breaks, do not immediately remove it from the instrument. Determine the correct wire size from the string schedulewhich has been written lightly in pencil on the wrestplank. Replacement wire has been provided for the most commonly needed sizes. For your convenience, hitch pin loops have been wound into the ends of the replacement wire. When these go, new loops may wound into the remaining wire as follows. Uncoil much more wire than needed. Have someone hold the coil and take the free end, taut, in your left hand. With your right hand, Lay the winding hook on the wire about 6" from your left hand and pull the wire into a right angle (90°). Now rotate the shank of the tool. The wire will wind itself into a double helix. When the helix is about 3/4" long, let go with your left hand, pull the wire straight with the tool and rotate in the opposite direction. Now grasp the tail again with your left hand and pull it perpendicular to the taut length of the wire. Rotate the tool 2 or 3 times, whipping the tail around the wire in close winds. Clip off the tail.
Use the old wire to weave the new string through the listing cloth. Pass the tip of the new string through the old string's hitch pin loop. Bend the tip over so it won't snag anything. Pull the old string out of the instrument thereby threading the new string through the cloth. Place the new loop on the hitchpin and clip the wire to length about 9" past the tuning pin hole.
Loosen and remove the tuning pin with the help of a pair of smooth jaw pliers and your tuning hammer. Stick the end of the wire in the hole of the tuning pin tool and jam the tuning pin in there after it to clamp it in place. Now wrap the wire in a single turn towards the top of the pin. Make sure that the wire leaves the pin from the same side as the others; that the wire is wrapped around the pin in the correct direction. From this point until the wire is safely in the hole you must not let the wire go slack and you must keep the taut wire as low as possible to the plane of the instrument. With the wire in your right hand, stop the wire about 3/8" from the top of the pin by catching it with your thumbnail. Turn the dowel/pin assembly perpendicular (90°) to the length of the wire and rotate it at least one revolution. The wire, caught by your fingernail, should wrap over itself. As it does, give a tug to snug things up and wrap a couple more close winds over the tail of the wire. Tug again. Your fingernail is no longer required. Continue winding a few more close winds to match the other pins. Pull the pin from the dowel, maintaining constant tautness, and crank the tail until it breaks off. Continue winding the wire in a spiral down the pin until you are directly over the hole. Stick the pin in the hole and tap it down with your tuning hammer (hence the name) to match the other pins and to clear the top of the case. Match the string's downbearing to its neighbors.
If your instrument has been fitted with wound strings, you will have to call for a replacement when they break. These may also be replaced with plain strings which are easier to tune, last indefinitely, and are much less expensive.
Fretted Clavichord String Schedule:
string pair # note name guage size
1 - 11 C - B-flat (special wound)
12 B .014
15 d .013
22 c' .012
25 f' .011
32 f" .010
36 c"' .009
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