soundboard

1. A wooden screen placed behind a pulpit, for the purpose of reflecting the preacher's voice; or over it, to prevent the sound from ascending. 2. Carp.: Deadening; a partition or an additional division between two apartments to prevent the propagation of sound from one to the other. 3. Music: (1) A piece of resonant wood placed behind the strings of a pianoforte for the purpose of increasing the power of the sounds. (2) The upper surface-board of a wind-chest in an organ, that chamber of air into which the feet of the pipes are placed. "As in an organ from one blast of wind, To many a row of pipes the sound - board breathes." Milton: P. L., i. 708.