Transposing the Keyboards

When we ship the instruments, we like to fasten down at least the lower manual to the bottom of the case, but these screws must be taken out prior to transposing. There is a 'transposing block' tucked in to the right of the keyboards, which can be removed and placed on the left, after the keyboard has been pushed to the A 440 position to the right.

Make sure all the registers are in the 'on' position, which should thus leave every jack securely hanging from its damper. Move the keyboards to the right until you feel resistance - the jacks have to hop over the gap between the keys, and if a jack is a little too low it may tend to catch in that gap. Run two fingers (one for the naturals and one for the sharps) across the keyboard from bass to treble. This will make all the jacks jump up and hop over the gap between key levers.

If you just slam the keyboards to the right without thinking about the jacks, you may break a jack. You have to help the jacks find their new key to sit on. Go gently, but firmly.

The alternative is to lift every jack up and push it to one side so it stands on the lower guide when you move the keyboards. But this is tedious, and you should be able to do it by playing glissandos across the keyboards.

Once the keyboards are in their new position, you will find that your stagger and timing may not be as perfect as they were with the keyboards in their normal position. The jack is standing on a different key lever, and while every key ought to be at the same level as its neighbor, such perfection seldom happens. If you are going to leave your keyboards transposed, you should set the timing and stagger with the keyboards transposed, and leave the less perfect adjustment for the mode you rarely use.

As you can see, transposing keyboards are a compromise. Harpsichords must be made to accommodate the several pitches used to play early music.

Some harpsichords nowadays are made so the keyboards can transpose both left and right, and they can play at a basic pitch of either A 392, A 415, or A 440.

When you transpose to the right on a five-octave instrument, you lose the top note (the top f'''or g '''), and when you transpose to the left, you lose the bottom one (FF). These lost notes do not cause a problem on the larger harpsichords. If you are playing with other instruments, you will rarely, if ever, need the extreme notes of the keyboard.

On smaller instruments that have a range of GG-d ''' you cannot afford to lose the d ''', so extra strings aud jacks are often provided for this top note in the A 440 position.