The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument[1] that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras.

[2] The clavichord produces sound by striking brass or iron strings with small metal blades called tangents.

One of the earliest references to the clavichord in England occurs in the privy-purse expenses of Elizabeth of York, queen of Henry VII, in an entry dated August 1502: Item.

In the late 1890s, Arnold Dolmetsch revived clavichord construction and Violet Gordon-Woodhouse, among others, helped to popularize the instrument.

Due to its lower cost compared to other instruments, the clavichord was accessible, making it the first choice for individuals who wanted to learn the keyboard.

In a letter to his friend, Leopold Mozart (1719–1787) described it as "A pretty little keyboard instrument, which does us good service for practicing on during our travels.

"[8][page needed] Until electronic amplification in the twentieth century, it was impossible to use the quiet clavichord in anything but a small room.

However, during the clavichord's heyday, evenings of music-making in the home formed the largest part of people's musical experiences.

Guy Sigsworth has played clavichord in a modern setting with Björk, notably on the studio recording of "All Is Full of Love".

Amos also featured her use of the Clavinet on her 2004 recording "Not David Bowie", released as part of her 2006 box set, A Piano: The Collection.

In 1976 Oscar Peterson played (with Joe Pass on acoustic guitar) songs from Porgy And Bess on the clavichord.

Keith Jarrett also recorded an album titled Book of Ways (1986) in which he plays a series of clavichord improvisations.

When the key is pressed, the tangent strikes the strings above, causing them to sound in a similar fashion to the hammering technique on a guitar.

The volume of the note can be changed by striking harder or softer, and the pitch can also be affected by varying the force of the tangent against the string (known as Bebung).

Among the disadvantages: temperament could not be re-set without bending the tangents; and playing required a further refinement of touch, since notes sharing a single string played in quick succession had to be slightly separated to avoid a disagreeable deadening of the sound, potentially disturbing a legato line.

Among the advantages to unfretted instruments are flexibility in tuning (the temperament can be easily altered) and the ability to play any music exactly as written without concern for "bad" notes.

Unfretted instruments tend to have a sweeter, less incisive tone due to the greater load on the bridge resulting from the greater number of strings, though the large, late (early 19th century) Swedish clavichords tend to be the loudest of any of the historic clavichords.

As Speerstra and Williams (2003) also note, the compass of the keyboard parts of Bach's six trio sonatas for organ (BWV 525–530) rarely go below the tenor C, so they could have been played on a single manual pedal clavichord, by moving the left hand down an octave, a customary practice in the 18th century.

With its unique sound, touch sensitivity, and ability to convey the most delicate nuances, the clavichord became C. P. E. Bach's most preferred instrument.

He mentioned this in his book (Versuch über die wahre, Art das Clavier zu spielen, Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, Berlin, 1759.

Yet, I hold that a good clavichord, except for its weaker tone, shares equally in the attractiveness of the pianoforte and in addition features the vibrato (Bebung) and portato (Tragen der Töne) which I produce by means of added pressure after each stroke.