Glossary: D

Select a Letter: D E F G

- D -

Dado: A groove cut across the grain of a piece of wood.
Damper: Normally a piece of felt, action cloth, or leather mounted to a jack which damps the string when the key is released. Occasionally the overhead dampers of the sort found in grand pianos are used.
Degamè: African lemon wood. Has the appearance of boxwood.
Disposition: The list and arrangement of the stops available on a given harpsichord.
Dogleg jack: A jack cut out in such a way that it can be operated from either manual, or, in modern instruments, a lower manual jack cut away to avoid interference with the upper manual.
Downdraft: The downward turn of the string at the nut and bridge.
Double bentside: An S-shaped bentside.
Double harpsichord: A harpsichord with two manuals.
Double virginal: A virginal with an ottavino inserted in the side next to the keyboard.
Draw stop: A type of handstop which moves the register when it is pushed in or drawn out.
Drill gauge: A plate of steel drilled and marked to fit all the drills in a series and used to identify a particular drill or to specify the size drill appropriate to a given screw.

- E -

Eight-foot choir: One string per note at eight-foot pitch.
Eight-foot hitchpin rail: The molding on the soundboard at bentside and tail into which are driven the pins that hold the eight-foot strings.
Eight foot pitch: The pitch of a choir of strings which is at unison with the piano. The note a' sounds 440 cycles per second; the note c'' sounds 523.3 cycles per second. A stop of open organ pipes at eight foot pitch would require a pipe eight feet long at C.
Eight foot stop: A rank of jacks which pluck a choir of strings at eight foot pitch. It could have various timbres depending on the plucking point and the plectrum material.
Endblock: The block at either end of the keyboard.
End motion (of registers): The motion of the register required to bring the plectrum into plucking position under the string or to retire it from the string so that the stop is mute.
End stop mechanism: The mechanism which regulates the motion of the registers.
Endpin: The screw mounted vertically at the lower end of the jack and used to regulate the total length of the jacks. Often the endpin forms the lower bearing of the jack by working in the lower guide.
Ensemble: All of the stops of a harpsichord which are designed to be played together. The peau de buffle, the lute stop, and the buff stop are usually excluded from the ensemble.
Epinette: Literally spinet. Often used in France as a general word to refer to any jack-action instrument including at times the harpsichord.
Epinetteá l'italienne: Literally, "Italian-style spinet." Used in France during the 17th and 18th centuries to refer to bentside spinets.
Eschequier: An early keyboard stringed instrument.
Expressive double harpsichord: A two-manual harpsichord in which the extra manual is used to vary the dynamic level or timbre rather than for transposition.

- F -

False inner-outer: That style of Italian instrument in which the case and the instrument are integral but in which the details of decor are contrived to produce the appearance of a separate instrument in an outer case.
Forstner bit: A type of machine wood bit which drills holes with a flat bottom.
Four-foot choir: One string per note at four-foot pitch.
Four-foot hitchpin rail: The curved member glued to the underside of the soundboard into which the four-foot hitchpins are driven.
Four-foot pitch: The pitch of a choir of strings which is tuned an octave higher than those of a piano. a' sounds 880 cycles per second. A stop of organ pipes at four foot pitch would require a pipe four feet long at C.
Four foot stop: A rank of jacks which pluck a choir of strings at four foot pitch.
Frame: The structural members in the interior of an instrument (under the soundboard) which strengthen the case.
Frame, lower level: A reinforcing member fastened to the bottom of a harpsichord.
Frame, upper level: A reinforcing member crossing the harpsichord from side to side which is not fastened to the bottom.
Frame support block: A small block glued to the inside of the rim at the intersection of the rim and a frame member. It serves to reinforce the joint.
Front batten: See Key batten
Front eight foot: The rank of eight foot jacks which is nearest the player (unless there is a lute stop which is then between the player and the front eight foot. Since they pluck the strings near their ends the tone is somewhat nasal, but not so much so as the lute stop.
Front-plucked: A string plucked close to the nut thus producing a nasal tone.
Front rail: The cross member of a key bed which is at the front, under the keyheads. It is lacking in two-rail key beds.
Front rail pin: The guide pin under the key head, driven into the front rail. It maintains the key in proper lateral position.
Full harpsichord: The fullest combination of stops found on a given harpsichord. Normally it would consist of two eight foot stops and a four foot stop. If the instrument has a sixteen foot stop, full harpsichord would be 1 x 16', 2 x 8', 1 x 4'. Full harpsichord never includes both ranks of jacks plucking the same string nor would it include the buff stop.

- G -

Gap: The space between the wrest plank and upper belly rail into which the registers are fitted.
Geigenwerk: A keyboard instrument with strings ordinarily of gut which are sounded by rosined wheels producing a tone like that of a bowed instrument.
Ghosting: The faint sound produced by a plectrum brushing the string when the register is in its off position. The register should be adjusted to withdraw the plectrum or the pluctrum should be adjusted or trimmed.
Gluing blocks: The blocks temporarily glued to the rim pieces near the corner joints to make it possible to clamp corners together.