ABSTRACT
As well as control over the pianos by touch alone and the 'built-in' colour of the registers, other methods of altering the sound also became a concern for performers, composers, and ultimately, piano-makers. The versatility of the harpsichord was enviable here and, although it was mechanically extremely cumbersome to couple several octaves simultaneously with the given register on the piano, there were, nevertheless, several instruments built with, and patents taken out for, such mechanisms. These involved either the coupling of another set or two of strings to the given octave, as in the harpsichord, or giving the player the opportunity of shifting the action of the piano to include one or more strings tuned an octave above and/or below, striking them all with one hammer. 1
