Giovanni Spinnetti

Biography

Giovanni Spinnetti, of Venice, is credited as the originator of the spinet. About 1503 he constructed a keyboard instrument of oblong form with a compass of four octaves; this shape allowed him to use much longer strings and a larger soundboard covering nearly the entire case, materially increasing tone volume compared with the clavichord. Because the strings were too long to be effectively agitated by a striking tangent, a jack-and-quill mechanism was used instead, twanging the string when the key was pressed — a design that gave the instrument its name, 'spinet,' after its inventor. Spinnetti placed the keyboard outside of the instrument's case; this arrangement was later changed by Rossi of Milan, who around 1550 built spinets with the keyboard set within the case. A photograph of a 'Spinet of Spinnetti, 1503' is reproduced in the text. Giovanni Spinnetti was a Venetian maker credited with inventing the spinet around 1503. The author states that no records exist telling anything further of his life, but that surviving examples of his instruments stand as evidence of his genius and talent.

Highlights

• About 1503, constructed an oblong-form keyboard instrument in Venice with a compass of four octaves.
• The instrument was named the 'spinet' after him.
• His oblong design used longer strings and a larger soundboard than the clavichord, increasing tone volume; he placed the keyboard outside the case.
• Invented the spinet around 1503.
• No biographical records survive; only surviving instruments attest to his skill.

Source

Alfred Dolge, Pianos and Their Makers, Vol. I (1911), p. 33.

Public domain.