Profession harpsichord maker

Harpsichord makers create and assemble parts to make harpsichords according to specified instructions or diagrams. They sand wood, tune, test and inspect the finished instrument.

Personality Type

• Enterprising / Conventional
• Realistic / Artistic

Knowledge

• Musical instruments

  The different musical instruments, their ranges, timbre, and possible combinations.

• Tuning techniques

  Tuning pitches and techniques and musical temperaments for the various instruments.

• Woodturning

  Process of shaping wood on a lathe and its types, namely spindle turning and faceplate turning.

• Metalworking

  The process of working with metals to create individual parts, assemblies, or large-scale structures.

• Musical instruments materials

  The characteristics of composite materials, felts, glues, leathers and skins, metals and precious metals, woods and wood derivatives to create musical instruments.

Skills

• Join wood elements

  Bind wooden materials together using a variety of techniques and materials. Determine the optimal technique to join the elements, like stapling, nail, gluing or screwing. Determine the correct work order and make the joint.

• Assemble musical instrument parts

  Assemble parts together such as the body, strings, buttons, keys, and others to create the final musical instrument.

• Repair musical instruments

  Attach new strings, fix frames or replace broken parts of musical instruments.

• Create smooth wood surface

  Shave, plane and sand wood manually or automatically to produce a smooth surface.

• Tune keyboard music instruments

  Tune any parts of keyboard musical instruments that are off-key, by using various tuning techniques.

• Manipulate wood

  Manipulate the properties, shape and size of wood.

• Decorate musical instruments

  Create designs on musical instruments by using methods such as embossing, piercing, painting, woodworking, weaving, and other methods.

• Apply a protective layer

  Apply a layer of protective solutions such as permethrine to protect the product from damage such as corrosion, fire or parasites, using a spray gun or paintbrush.

• Sand wood

  Use sanding machines or hand tools to remove paint or other substances from the surface of the wood, or to smoothen and finish the wood.

• Maintain musical instruments

  Check and maintain musical instruments.

• Restore musical instruments

  Restore old musical instruments to their original condition and conserve them in that state.

• Create musical instrument parts

  Design and create parts such as keys, reeds, bows, and others for musical instruments.

• Produce harpsichord components

  Choose the appropriate materials and tools, and build the components of musical instruments such as harpsichords, clavichords or spinets. Create components such as sound boards, jacks, strings and keyboards.

Optional knowledge and skills

Source: Sisyphus ODB