Editing Harpsichord (section)

==Mechanism==
[[File:MDMB 418, detall de clavicèmbal, Christian Zell, Museu de la Música de Barcelona.jpg|thumb|Detail of the mechanism of the Harpsichord by Christian Zell, at [[Museu de la Música de Barcelona]]]]
Harpsichords vary in size and shape, but all have the same basic mechanism. The player depresses a key that rocks over a pivot in the middle of its length. The other end of the key lifts a jack (a long strip of wood) that holds a small [[plectrum]] (a wedge-shaped piece of [[quill]], often made of plastic in the 21st century), which plucks the string. When the player releases the key, the far end returns to its rest position, and the jack falls back; the plectrum, mounted on a tongue mechanism that can swivel backwards away from the string, passes the string without plucking it again. As the key reaches its rest position, a felt damper atop the jack stops the string's vibrations. These basic principles are explained in detail below. 

[[File:HarpsichordMechanism-EN.svg|center|thumb|800px|Figure 1: schematic view of a 2 × 8<nowiki>'</nowiki> single manual harpsichord]]
* The ''keylever'' is a simple pivot, which rocks on a ''balance pin'' that passes through a hole drilled through the keylever.
* The ''jack'' is a thin, rectangular piece of wood that sits upright on the end of the keylever. The jacks are held in place by the ''registers''. These are two long strips of wood (the upper movable, the lower fixed), which run in the gap between pinblock and bellyrail. The registers have rectangular mortises (holes) through which the jacks pass as they can move up and down. The registers hold the jacks in the precise location needed to pluck the string.<br />[[File:Jack diagram-EN.svg|center|thumb|300px|Figure 2: upper part of a jack]]
* In the jack, a ''[[plectrum]]'' juts out almost horizontally (normally the plectrum is angled upwards a tiny amount) and passes just under the string. Historically, plectra were made of bird quill or leather; many modern harpsichords have plastic ([[delrin]] or [[celcon]]) plectra.
* When the front of the key is pressed, the back of the key rises, the jack is lifted, and the plectrum plucks the string.
* The vertical motion of the jack is then stopped by the ''jackrail'' (also called the ''upper rail''), which is covered with soft felt to muffle the impact.<br />[[File:Harpsichord jack action.svg|center|thumb|700px|Figure 3: how the harpsichord action works]]
* When the key is released, the jack falls back down under its own weight, and the plectrum passes back under the string. This is made possible by having the plectrum held in a tongue attached with a pivot and a spring to the body of the jack. The bottom surface of the plectrum is cut at a slant; thus when the descending plectrum touches the string from above, the angled lower surface provides enough force to push the tongue backward.{{sfn|Kottick|1987|p=19}}
* When the jack arrives in fully lowered position, the felt damper touches the string, causing the note to cease.