A harpsichord is a keyboard instrument that looks like a small piano but creates sound in a completely different way. When you press a key on a harpsichord, it doesn't hammer a string like a piano does. Instead, it plucks the string with a tiny piece of quill or plastic, producing a bright, twangy sound that some describe as elegant or even slightly metallic.

Harpsichords were extremely popular in Europe from about 1500 to 1800, especially during what we call the Baroque period. Composers like Johann Sebastian Bach wrote magnificent music specifically for the harpsichord. If you've ever heard very formal, ornate classical music with a distinctive plink-plink-plink sound, you were probably listening to a harpsichord.

Unlike a piano, a harpsichord can't play louder or softer based on how hard you press the keys. Each note comes out at basically the same volume. This limitation actually shaped how composers wrote music for it, creating intricate, dancing melodies rather than the dramatic crescendos you hear in piano music.

Today, harpsichords are less common than pianos, but musicians still perform Baroque music on them to hear the sounds composers originally imagined. Some harpsichords are beautifully decorated with paintings and intricate designs, making them works of art as well as musical instruments.