Voicing the plectra: The art of giving the harpsichord its voice
While tuning ensures pitch accuracy, voicing is the crucial step that defines the sonic personality and playing comfort of a harpsichord or spinet. It is a work of surgical precision, transforming raw mechanics into an expressive instrument.
What is voicing?
Voicing consists of individually adjusting each plectrum (the small tongue that plucks the string) to achieve perfect evenness across the entire range of the keyboard. This work focuses on three fundamental pillars :
- Volume : Ensuring that no note is louder or softer than its neighbor.
- Tone (Timbre) : Balancing the brightness and depth of the sound.
- The touch (the "point of resistance") : Ensuring that the pressure required to make the string sing is identical for every key.
The technical process: A work of precision :
1. Tapering the thickness : By thinning the underside of the plectrum, its flexibility is modified. A thinner plectrum will be softer and produce a more discreet sound. Conversely, a thicker plectrum will offer a crisper attack and a more powerful volume.
2. Shaping the width : The width of the plectrum influences the richness of the harmonics. The sides of the tip are worked to adjust the contact surface with the string, allowing the color of the sound to be sculpted.
3. Adjusting the "click" : This is the tactile sensation at the exact moment the plectrum releases the string. Successful voicing offers a crisp yet fluid and consistent resistance, providing the harpsichordist with great precision in articulation.
Why entrust this task to a professional ?
Voicing is a fragile balance. A plectrum that has been thinned too much is irrecoverable and must be replaced. Furthermore, on a harpsichord with multiple registers (8-foot, 4-foot), each rank of strings must be voiced to balance with the others, while still offering interesting tonal contrasts when combined.
Did you know?
Changes in humidity can affect the registers and the wood of the jacks. A voicing service is often necessary to restore the instrument's original consistency.
A tailored service for your instrument :
Whether you play on a study spinet or a large concert harpsichord, I put my technical expertise at your service for:
- Complete register replacement to replace broken or worn plectra.
- Full equalization of touch and tone.
- General regulation: guides, jacks, keyboard leveling...