The guide-chant (singing guide) is a small

harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ that generates sound as air flows past a vibrating piece of thin metal in a frame. The piece of metal is called a reed. Specific types of pump organ include the reed organ, harmonium, and melodeon. T ...

used to accompany

choral singing A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

. It is a

free reed A free reed aerophone is a musical instrument that produces sound as air flows past a vibrating reed in a frame. Air pressure is typically generated by breath or with a bellows. In the Hornbostel–Sachs system, it is number: 412.13 (a member ...

aerophone An aerophone () is a musical instrument that produces sound primarily by causing a body of air to vibrate, without the use of strings or membranes (which are respectively chordophones and membranophones), and without the vibration of the instru ...

using thirty-seven reeds, with a

range Range may refer to: Geography * Range (geographic), a chain of hills or mountains; a somewhat linear, complex mountainous or hilly area (cordillera, sierra) ** Mountain range, a group of mountains bordered by lowlands * Range, a term used to i ...

of three

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

s. It employs a manually pumped bellows. The

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

consists of forty-four

keys Key or The Key may refer to: Common meanings * Key (cryptography), a piece of information that controls the operation of a cryptography algorithm * Key (lock), device used to control access to places or facilities restricted by a lock * Key (map ...

, although only thirty seven can be played at a given time, due to the number of reeds. This system is used because the keyboard is transposable, being physically shifted three of four

semitone A semitone, also called a half step or a half tone, is the smallest musical interval commonly used in Western tonal music, and it is considered the most dissonant when sounded harmonically. It is defined as the interval between two adjacent no ...

higher or lower to facilitate playing in different

. It was played resting on a table. With manual models, the instrument had a handle on the left hand side of the instrument, which limited playing to the right hand. With more recent

electric Electricity is the set of physical phenomena associated with the presence and motion of matter that has a property of electric charge. Electricity is related to magnetism, both being part of the phenomenon of electromagnetism, as described by ...

models, the instrument uses electric

bellows A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtigh ...

History

The guide-chant was used in

private school Private or privates may refer to: Music * " In Private", by Dusty Springfield from the 1990 album ''Reputation'' * Private (band), a Denmark-based band * "Private" (Ryōko Hirosue song), from the 1999 album ''Private'', written and also recorde ...

s, private institutions and

patronage Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists su ...

s, from the latter half of the 19th century until the 1960s. In France, many manufactures made these instruments; Kasriel and

Pleyel et Cie Pleyel et Cie. ("Pleyel and Company") was a French piano manufacturing firm founded by the composer Ignace Pleyel in 1807. In 1815, Pleyel's son Camille joined him as a business partner. The firm provided pianos to Frédéric Chopin, who consi ...

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

, Richard in

Étrépagny Étrépagny () is a commune in the Eure department in the Normandy region in northern France. Population International relations Since 1989, the town has been twinned with the Irish town of Trim Trim or TRIM may refer to: Cutting * Cutt ...

, Dumont in

Les Andelys Les Andelys (; Norman: ''Les Aundelys'') is a commune in the northern French department of Eure, in Normandy. Geography It lies on the Seine, about northeast of Évreux. The commune is divided into two parts, Grand-Andely (located about from ...

, Roethinger in

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

Alexandre Père et Fils Alexandre may refer to: * Alexandre (given name) * Alexandre (surname) * Alexandre (film) See also * Alexander * Xano (disambiguation) Xano is the name of: * Xano, a Portuguese hypocoristic of the name "Alexandre (disambiguation) Alexandre may re ...

fr.html" ;"title=":fr:Alexandre_Père_et_Fils.html" ;"title="nowiki/>:fr:Alexandre Père et Fils">fr">:fr:Alexandre_Père_et_Fils.html" ;"title="nowiki/>:fr:Alexandre Père et Fils">fr/small> also was a major manufacturer of Guide-Chants.

References

Keyboard instruments Reed aerophones French musical instruments {{Aerophone-instrument-stub