What humidity do harpsichords need?
Ideal humidity for harpsichords is between 40% and 60%. We really really recommend that all harpsichord owners have a hygrometer so they can keep an eye on the humidity. Mostly a harpsichord is happy anywhere that people and plants are happy, so if you have healthy houseplants your harpsichord should be fine. For short periods harpsichords can handle higher humidity, although if it continues for more than a couple of days you might want to retune to a ‘real’ 440 or whatever pitch your harpischord lives at, to lessen the strain on the case and to avoid broken strings. Note: You may notice that your harpsichord doesn’t sound as nice in damp weather, the moisture deadens the soundboard a bit, but it’ll go back to normal when it dries out. For long-term changes in humidity check your harpsichord to a tuning meter or tuning fork, this is especially important when the house heating comes on/goes off for the season. Air conditioning is great, it usually keeps humidity fairly constant as well
