Final Project Draft

From Harpsichord to Hyper-Instrument

How Instrument Technology Reshaped Musical Style

This digital exhibit explores how changes in keyboard instrument technology, from the early eighteenth century to the present, influenced compositional style, expressive possibilities, and listening practices. Rather than treating style as something that changes on its own, this project argues that composers wrote in relation to the physical possibilities and limitations of the instruments available to them.

Project Argument

My central argument is that musical style does not develop independently. It is shaped by the physical design of instruments, including how they produce sound, how much dynamic control they allow, and how they respond to a performer’s touch. James Parakilas helps me frame this idea most clearly because he argues that instruments can function almost like co-authors of musical style, guiding what composers imagine and what performers can realistically do.

The project moves chronologically from the harpsichord to the fortepiano, then to the nineteenth-century piano, and finally to twentieth- and twenty-first-century technologies such as recording, prepared piano, MIDI, and digital instruments. In each section, I want to connect a specific technological change to specific stylistic consequences.

Main framing source: James Parakilas, “The Instrument as Author: Pianos and Musical Style.”

1. Harpsichord

The project begins with the harpsichord. Because its strings are plucked rather than struck, the instrument does not support gradual crescendos or strong dynamic contrast in the way later keyboard instruments do. Donald Boalch’s discussion of the harpsichord’s plucking mechanism is especially useful here because it connects the instrument’s physical design to its characteristic clarity of articulation.

I also want to use Ralph Kirkpatrick’s observations about tone production and key action to explain why texture, rhythmic drive, and ornamentation become so important in eighteenth-century harpsichord writing. This section will likely use Domenico Scarlatti as a case study, since his keyboard music often depends on articulation and surface energy rather than dynamic shaping.

On the page, I plan to include a short explanation of the plucking mechanism, a simple diagram of how the instrument works, and an audio example or placeholder showing the more limited dynamic range of the instrument.

Main sources: Donald H. Boalch, “The Harpsichord: Its Present and Its Future”; Ralph Kirkpatrick, “The Present State of Harpsichord Making.”

2. Fortepiano

The next section focuses on the fortepiano and the shift from plucked to hammered action. Stewart Pollens helps explain the mechanics of the early pianoforte, especially how hammer action allowed performers to control dynamics through touch in ways the harpsichord could not. Because of that change, composers could write with a different sense of phrase shape, accent, and expressive contrast.

I also want to use Michael Cole’s work to show that this transition was not only mechanical but social. His discussion of domestic music-making and the role of women in spreading the pianoforte helps me explain why the instrument gained cultural ground so quickly. In this section, I plan to connect those changes to Mozart and Haydn, whose keyboard writing makes much more sense when read against the new expressive possibilities of the fortepiano.

On the website, this section will probably include a comparison diagram between harpsichord and fortepiano action, plus an audio toggle where the same phrase can be heard with two different instrument models or recordings.

Main sources: Stewart Pollens, The Early Pianoforte; Michael Cole, “Transition from Harpsichord to Pianoforte – The Important Role of Women.”

3. Nineteenth-Century Piano

This section will look at the industrial development of the piano, especially stronger frames, heavier strings, expanded keyboard range, and greater sound projection. Edwin Good’s explanation of how iron framing, increased string tension, and larger soundboards affected volume and sustain gives me the technical basis for this part of the project.

I also want to use James Parakilas’ discussion of the nineteenth- century “piano revolution” to connect those mechanical changes to broader musical culture, including public concert life and the rise of the virtuoso pianist. This is where Franz Liszt becomes especially important for me, since his music depends on a much more powerful and expansive instrument than the earlier fortepiano.

On the page, I plan to show a visual comparison of keyboard range and possibly a short explanation of how projection and sustain changed the kind of writing the instrument could support. I want this section to make a direct link between industrial technology and Romantic style.

Main sources: Edwin M. Good, “The Invention and Evolution of the Piano”; James Parakilas, “The Piano Revolution in the Nineteenth Century.”

4. Twentieth Century to Present

The final historical section moves beyond the acoustic piano alone and into broader technological mediation. John Cage’s prepared piano will serve as one turning point, because it shows that changing the instrument’s material setup can radically alter its sound world without abandoning the keyboard entirely.

I also want to bring in Mark Katz here because his discussion of recording technology shows that the relationship between technology and style continues even when the instrument itself stays the same. Recording changes how performers play, how listeners evaluate detail, and what kinds of musical precision start to matter. Cornel Tăranu’s article will help me extend that argument further into electronic and digital instruments, where expression becomes increasingly shaped by programmability, interface design, and technological systems rather than by mechanics alone.

On the website, I imagine this section including a shorter written explanation, a visual shift in design, and ideally one example that shows how the keyboard becomes less a fixed acoustic object and more a flexible sound-control system.

Main sources: Mark Katz, “Capturing Sound: Recording Practice and Musical Performance”; Cornel Tăranu, “Technological Influences on Musical Style.”

5. Broader Historical Context

Even though my project focuses on keyboard instruments, I also want a brief section or embedded note that situates this history within a longer pattern of instrument development. Curt Sachs is useful here because he reminds me that the piano is only one part of a much larger history in which instrument design and musical practice evolve together.

I may also draw on Runciman for a broader chronological frame, especially because he presents keyboard development as gradual rather than sudden. That helps me avoid making the transition from harpsichord to piano seem too neat or too immediate.

Supporting context: Curt Sachs, The History of Musical Instruments; W. A. Runciman, “The Evolution of Keyboard Instruments.”

Current Draft Status

This is a working draft of the project website. At this stage, my main priorities are to refine the written analysis in each section, make the connection to my sources more explicit, and begin adding visual and audio materials that support the argument rather than just decorate the page.

My next steps are to add at least one audio comparison, create or insert diagrams of instrument mechanisms, and decide on a few specific musical examples for Scarlatti, Mozart or Haydn, Liszt, and the twentieth-century section. I also want to make the chronology feel smoother so the site reads as one continuous argument rather than a set of separate mini-essays.

Sources Guiding This Draft