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In
music Music is the of arranging s in time through the of melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre. It is one of the aspects of all human societies. General include common elements such as (which governs and ), (and its associated concepts , , and ...

music
, the organ is a
keyboard instrument A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that t ...
of one or more
pipe divisions
pipe divisions
or other means for producing tones, each played with its own keyboard, played either with the hands on a
keyboard
keyboard
or with the feet using pedals.


Overview

Overview includes: *
Pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the obje ...

Pipe organ
s, which use air moving through
pipes PIPES is the common name for piperazine-N,N′-bis(2-ethanesulfonic acid), and is a frequently used buffering agent in biochemistry. It is an ethanesulfonic acid buffer developed by Good et al. in the 1960s. Applications PIPES has two Acid dissoc ...

pipes
to produce sounds. Since the 16th century, pipe organs have used various materials for pipes, which can vary widely in timbre and volume. Increasingly hybrid organs are appearing in which pipes are augmented with electric additions. Great economies of space and cost are possible especially when the lowest (and largest) of the pipes can be replaced; * Non-piped organs, which include: **
pump organ The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (anatomy) An organ is a group of Tissue (biology), tissues with similar functions. Plant life and animal life rely on many organs that co-exist in organ syste ...

pump organ
s, named also
reed organs
reed organs
or
harmoniums The pump organ is a type of free reed aerophone, free-reed Organ (music), 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 o ...

harmoniums
, which like the
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German German(s) may refer to: Common uses * of or related to Germany * Germans, Germanic ethnic group, citizens of Germany or people of German ancestry * For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality l ...

accordion
and
mouth organ A mouth organ is any free reed aerophone A free reed aerophone is a musical instrument that produces sound as air flows past a vibrating reed (instrument), reed in a frame. Air pressure is typically generated by breath or with a bellows. In the ...
s (both Eastern and Western), notably the
harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ A mouth organ is any free reed aerophone A free reed aerophone is a musical instrument that produces sound as air flows past a vibrating reed (instrument), reed in a frame. Air pressu ...

harmonica
, which use air to excite free reeds; **
electronic organs Electronic may refer to: *Electronics Electronics comprises the physics, engineering, technology and applications that deal with the emission, flow and control of electrons in vacuum and matter. It uses active devices to control electron flow b ...
(both analog and digital), notably the
Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...
, which generate electronically produced sound through one or more
loudspeaker A loudspeaker (or ''speaker driver'', or most frequently just ''speaker'') is an electroacoustic transducer, that is, a device that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referre ...

loudspeaker
s; *
Mechanical organ A mechanical organ is an organ that is self-playing, rather than played by a musician. For example, the barrel organ is activated either by a person turning a crank, or by clockwork driven by weights or springs. Usually, mechanical organs are pipe ...
s, which include the
barrel organ A barrel organ (also called roller organ or crank organ) is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of organ pipe, pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic principle is the ...
,
water organ The water organ or hydraulic organ ( el, ὕδραυλις) (early types are sometimes called hydraulos, hydraulus or hydraula) is a type of pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapt ...
, and
Orchestrion Orchestrion is a generic name for a machine that plays music and is designed to sound like an orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music Classical music is art music produced or rooted i ...
. These are controlled by mechanical means such as pinned
barrels A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical A cylinder (from Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece Greece ( el, Ελλάδα, , ), officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country located in Southeast Eu ...
or
book music Book music is a medium for storing the music played on mechanical organ A mechanical organ is an organ that is self-playing, rather than played by a musician A musician is a person who composes, conducts, or performs music. A musician who ...
. Little barrel organs dispense with the hands of an
organist Image:Organist at Lausanne Cathedral.jpg, A cathedral organist in Lausanne Cathedral An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ (music), organ. An organist may play organ repertoire, solo organ works, play with an musical ensemble, ensem ...
and bigger organs are powered in most cases by an
organ grinder A street organ played by an organ grinder is an automatic mechanical pneumatic organ designed to be mobile enough to play its music in the street. The two most commonly seen types are the smaller German and the larger Dutch street organ. History ...
or today by other means such as an
electric motor
electric motor
.


History

left, Carol Williams performing at the United_States_Military_Academy_
United_States_Military_Academy_West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html"_;"title="United_States_Military_Academy_West_Point_Cadet_Chapel">United_States_Military_Academy_West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.


__Predecessors_

Predecessors_to_the_organ_include: *_ United_States_Military_Academy_West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html"_;"title="United_States_Military_Academy_West_Point_Cadet_Chapel">United_States_Military_Academy_West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.


__Predecessors_

Predecessors_to_the_organ_include: *_Pan_flute">Panpipes _is_made_from_bamboo_bound_with_Reed_(plant),_reeds_and_rope A_pan_flute_(also_known_as_panpipes_or_syrinx)_is_a_musical_instrument_based_on_the_principle_of_the_closed_tube,_consisting_of_multiple_pipes_of_gradually_increasing_length_(and_occasi_...
,_pan_flute,_syrinx,_and_Nai_(pan_flute).html" ;"title="Pan_flute.html" "title="West_Point_Cadet_Chapel..html" ;"title="West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.">West_Point_Cadet_Chapel.html" ;"title="United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel">United States Military Academy West Point Cadet Chapel.


Predecessors

Predecessors to the organ include: * Pan flute">Panpipes is made from bamboo bound with Reed (plant), reeds and rope A pan flute (also known as panpipes or syrinx) is a musical instrument based on the principle of the closed tube, consisting of multiple pipes of gradually increasing length (and occasi ...
, pan flute, syrinx, and Nai (pan flute)">nai, ''etc.'', are considered as ancestor of the
pipe organ #REDIRECT Pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through ...

pipe organ
. * Aulos, an ancient double reed instrument with two pipes, is the origin of the word ''Hydr-aulis'' (water-aerophone).


Origins

file:Utrechts-Psalter PSALM-149-PSALM-150 organ.jpg, Depiction of an organ in the
Utrecht Psalter The Utrecht Psalter (Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, MS Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32.) is a ninth-century illuminated psalter 330px, Folio 15b of the Utrecht Psalter illustrates Psalm 27 A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psal ...

Utrecht Psalter
The organ is a relatively old
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who play ...
, dating from the time of
Ctesibius of Alexandria Ctesibius or Ktesibios or Tesibius ( grc-gre, Κτησίβιος; fl. 285–222 BC) was a Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece Greece ( el, Ελλάδα, , ), officially the Hellenic Republic, is a co ...
(285–222 BC), who invented the
water organ The water organ or hydraulic organ ( el, ὕδραυλις) (early types are sometimes called hydraulos, hydraulus or hydraula) is a type of pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapt ...
. It was played throughout the
Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the used in and the from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: (), Dark Ages (), the period (), and the period (). Ancient Greek was the language of an ...
and
Ancient Roman In historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historian ( 484– 425 BC) was a Greek historian who lived in the 5th century BC and one of the earliest historians whose work survives. A historian is a person who studi ...
world, particularly during races and games.Douglas Bush and Richard Kassel eds.
"The Organ, an Encyclopedia."
Routledge. 2006. p. 327. During the early medieval period it spread from the
Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages ...

Byzantine Empire
, where it continued to be used in secular (non-religious) and imperial court music, to
Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's countries and territories vary depending on context. Beginning with foreign exploration during the Age of Discovery, roughly from the 15th century, the concept of ''Europe'' as "the W ...

Western Europe
, where it gradually assumed a prominent place in the
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public worship performed by a religious group. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a community, communal response to and participation in the sacred through activities reflecting praise, thanksgiving, remembrance ...
of the
Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the , with 1.3 billion Catholics . As the world's oldest and largest continuously functioning international institution, it has played a prominent role in the history ...

Catholic Church
. Subsequently, it re-emerged as a secular and
recital A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide vari ...
instrument in the
Classical music Classical music generally refers to the formal musical tradition of the Western world The Western world, also known as the West, refers to various regions, nations and state (polity), states, depending on the context, most often consis ...

Classical music
tradition.


Early organs

Early organs include: * 3rd century BC: the
Hydraulis The water organ or hydraulic organ ( el, ὕδραυλις) (early types are sometimes called hydraulos, hydraulus or hydraula) is a type of pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapte ...
, ancient Greek water-powered organ played by valves. * 1st century (''at least'') - the ''Ptera''  and the ''Pteron'', ancient Roman organ similar in appearance to the portative organs * 2nd century: the Magrepha, ancient Hebrew organ of ten pipes played by a keyboard * 8th century: ''Pippin's organ of 757'' (
Carolingian dynasty The Carolingian dynasty (known variously as the Carlovingians, Carolingus, Carolings, Karolinger or Karlings) was a Frankish Frankish may refer to: * Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples The historic ...
) was sent as a gift to the West by the
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It surviv ...
emperor
Constantine V Constantine V ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντῖνος, Kōnstantīnos; July 718 – 14 September 775 AD) was Byzantine emperor from 741 to 775. His reign saw a consolidation of Byzantine security from external threats. As an able military leader, C ...
* 9th century: the automatic flute player (and possibly automatic hydropowered organ), a
mechanical organ A mechanical organ is an organ that is self-playing, rather than played by a musician. For example, the barrel organ is activated either by a person turning a crank, or by clockwork driven by weights or springs. Usually, mechanical organs are pipe ...
by the
Banū Mūsā The Banū Mūsā brothers ("Sons of Moses"), namely Abū Jaʿfar, Muḥammad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (before 803 – February 873); Abū al‐Qāsim, Aḥmad ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (d. 9th century); and Al-Ḥasan ibn Mūsā ibn Shākir (d. 9th cen ...
brothers


Medieval organs

Medieval organs include: *
Portative organ A depiction of Bartholomäusaltar'' in the Alte Pinakothek">Master of the Saint Bartholomew Altarpiece">Bartholomäusaltar'' in the Alte Pinakothek). The bellows can be seen to the right of the pipes. A portative organ (from the Latin (language) ...
: a small portable medieval instrument *
Positive organ A positive organ (also positiv organ, positif organ, portable organ, chair organ, or simply positive, positiv, positif, or chair) (from the Latin (language), Latin verb ''ponere'', "to place") is a small, usually one-manual, pipe organ that is ...
: a somewhat larger though still portable instrument * Regal: a portable late-medieval instrument with reed pipes and bellows; forerunner of the
harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (anatomy) An organ is a group of Tissue (biology), tissues with similar functions. Plant life and animal life rely on many organs that co-exist in organ syst ...

harmonium
and
reed organ The pump organ is a type of free reed aerophone, free-reed Organ (music), 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 ...

reed organ


Pipe organs

The
pipe organ #REDIRECT Pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through ...

pipe organ
is the largest
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person who play ...
. These instruments vary greatly in size, ranging from a cubic meter to a height reaching five floors, and are built in churches, synagogues, concert halls, and homes. Small organs are called "
positive Positive is a property of Positivity (disambiguation), positivity and may refer to: Mathematics and science * Converging lens or positive lens, in optics * Plus sign, the sign "+" used to indicate a positive number * Positive (electricity), a po ...
" (easily placed in different locations) or " portative" (small enough to carry while playing). The pipes are divided into ranks and controlled by the use of hand stops and combination pistons. Although the keyboard is not expressive as on a piano and does not affect
dynamics Dynamics (from Greek language, Greek δυναμικός ''dynamikos'' "powerful", from δύναμις ''dynamis'' "power (disambiguation), power") or dynamic may refer to: Physics and engineering * Dynamics (mechanics) ** Aerodynamics, the study o ...
(it is binary; pressing a key only turns the sound on or off), some divisions may be enclosed in a swell box, allowing the dynamics to be controlled by shutters. Some organs are totally enclosed, meaning that all the divisions can be controlled by one set of shutters. Some special registers with free reed pipes are expressive. It has existed in its current form since the 14th century, though similar designs were common in the
Eastern Mediterranean Eastern Mediterranean is a loose definition of the eastern Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct Ameri ...

Eastern Mediterranean
from the early
Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire, or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinople. It surviv ...
period (from the 4th century AD) and precursors, such as the hydraulic organ, have been found dating to the late
Hellenistic period The Hellenistic period covers the period of Mediterranean history between the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC and the emergence of the Roman Empire, as signified by the Battle of Actium in 31 BC and the conquest of Ptolemaic ...
(1st century BC). Along with the
clock A clock or a timepiece is a device used to Measurement, measure and indicate time. The clock is one of the oldest Invention, human inventions, meeting the need to measure intervals of time shorter than the natural units: the day, the lunar ...

clock
, it was considered one of the most complex human-made mechanical creations before the
Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution was the transition to new manufacturing processes in Great Britain, continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent A continent is any of several large landmasse ...
. Pipe organs range in size from a single short keyboard to huge instruments with over 10,000
pipe Pipe(s) or PIPE(S) may refer to: Common uses * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules * Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Tobacco pipe * Smoking pipe Places * Pipe, Wisconsin, United States * ''Pipe'' ...

pipe
s. A large modern organ typically has three or four keyboards ( manuals) with five octaves (61 notes) each, and a two-and-a-half octave (32-note) pedal board.
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period (music), Classical period. Despite his short life, his ra ...

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
called the organ the "King of instruments". Some of the biggest instruments have 64-foot pipes (a foot here means "sonic-foot", a measure quite close to the English measurement unit) and it sounds to an 8 
Hz
Hz
frequency fundamental tone. Perhaps the most distinctive feature is the ability to range from the slightest sound to the most powerful, plein-jeu impressive sonic discharge, which can be sustained in time indefinitely by the organist. For instance, the
Wanamaker organ The Wanamaker Grand Court Organ, in Philadelphia Philadelphia, colloquially Philly, is a city in the state of Pennsylvania in the United States. It is the sixth-most populous city in the United States and the most populous city in the state ...
, located in
Philadelphia Philadelphia (colloquially known simply as Philly) is the largest city in the of in the . It is the in the United States and the city in the state of Pennsylvania, with a 2020 population of 1,603,797. It is also the in the Northeastern U ...

Philadelphia
, USA, has sonic resources comparable with three simultaneous symphony orchestras. Another interesting feature lies in its intrinsic "
polyphony Polyphony is a type of musical consisting of two or more simultaneous lines of independent melody, as opposed to a musical texture with just one voice, , or a texture with one dominant melodic voice accompanied by , . Within the context of the ...
" approach: each set of pipes can be played simultaneously with others, and the sounds mixed and interspersed in the environment, not in the instrument itself.


Church

left, ''Organ'' by alt= Most organs in Europe, the Americas, and Australasia can be found in Christian churches. The introduction of church organs is traditionally attributed to
Pope Vitalian Pope Vitalian ( la, Vitalianus; died 27 January 672) was the bishop of Rome A bishop is an , , or appointed member of the who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the , , , , , and churches, as well a ...

Pope Vitalian
in the 7th century. Due to its simultaneous ability to provide a musical foundation below the vocal register, support in the vocal register, and increased brightness above the vocal register, the organ is ideally suited to accompany
human voice The human voice consists of sound In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such wa ...
s, whether a
congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrat ...
, a
choir A choir (; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the repertoire, which spans from the to the present, or repert ...

choir
, or a cantor or soloist. Most services also include solo
organ repertoire The organ repertoire is considered to be the largest and oldest repertory of all musical instruments. Because of the organ's (or pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make M ...
for independent performance rather than by way of accompaniment, often as a prelude at the beginning the service and a postlude at the conclusion of the service. Today this organ may be a pipe organ (see above), a digital or electronic organ that generates the sound with digital signal processing (DSP) chips, or a combination of pipes and electronics. It may be called a church organ or classical organ to differentiate it from the
theatre organ Theatre Pipe Organ at Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Michigan Theatre A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or specially in the U.K.a cinema organ) is a distinct type of pipe organ originally ...
, which is a different style of instrument. However, as classical
organ repertoire The organ repertoire is considered to be the largest and oldest repertory of all musical instruments. Because of the organ's (or pipe organ The pipe organ is a musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make M ...
was developed for the pipe organ and in turn influenced its development, the line between a church and a concert organ became harder to draw.


Concert hall

In the late 19th century and early 20th century,
symphonic organImage:Roycehallorgan.jpg, 300px, The console of the Royce Hall pipe organ at UCLA; built by Ernest M. Skinner, Skinner in 1930, it is an excellent example of the Symphonic Organ. The symphonic organ is a design, style of pipe organ that flourished d ...
s flourished in secular venues in the United States and the United Kingdom, designed to replace symphony orchestras by playing transcriptions of orchestral pieces. Symphonic and orchestral organs largely fell out of favor as the '' orgelbewegung'' (organ reform movement) took hold in the middle of the 20th century, and organ builders began to look to historical models for inspiration in constructing new instruments. Today, modern builders construct organs in a variety of styles for both secular and sacred applications.


Theatre and cinema

left, Theatre organ in State Cinema, Grays. (Compton Organ) The
theatre organ Theatre Pipe Organ at Ann Arbor, Michigan, Ann Arbor's Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor, Michigan), Michigan Theatre A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or specially in the U.K.a cinema organ) is a distinct type of pipe organ originally ...
or cinema organ was designed to accompany
silent movie A silent film is a film A film, also called a movie, motion picture or moving picture, is a work of visual art used to simulate experiences that communicate ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere through the use o ...

silent movie
s. Like a symphonic organ, it is made to replace an orchestra. However, it includes many more gadgets, such as mechanical percussion accessories and other imitative sounds useful in creating movie sound accompaniments such as auto horns, doorbells, and bird whistles. It typically features the Tibia pipe family as its foundation stops and the regular use of a tremulant possessing a depth greater than that on a classical organ. Theatre organs tend not to take nearly as much space as standard organs, relying on extension (sometimes called unification) and higher wind pressures to produce a greater variety of tone and larger volume of sound from fewer pipes. Unification gives a smaller instrument the capability of a much larger one, and works well for monophonic styles of playing (chordal, or chords with solo voice). The sound is, however, thicker and more homogeneous than a classically designed organ. In the USA the American Theater Organ Society (ATOS) has been instrumental in programs to preserve examples of such instruments.


Chamber organ

upChamber organ by Pascoal Caetano Oldovini (1762). A chamber organ is a small pipe organ, often with only one manual, and sometimes without separate pedal pipes that is placed in a small room, that this diminutive organ can fill with sound. It is often confined to chamber organ repertoire, as often the organs have too few voice capabilities to rival the grand pipe organs in the performance of the classics. The sound and touch are unique to the instrument, sounding nothing like a large organ with few stops drawn out, but rather much more intimate. They are usually tracker instruments, although the modern builders are often building electropneumatic chamber organs. Pre-Beethoven keyboard music may usually be as easily played on a chamber organ as on a piano or harpsichord, and a chamber organ is sometimes preferable to a harpsichord for continuo playing as it is more suitable for producing a sustained tone.


Non-piped organs


Reed or pump organ

file:Footpropelled organ.jpg , thumb , right , A
harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (anatomy) An organ is a group of Tissue (biology), tissues with similar functions. Plant life and animal life rely on many organs that co-exist in organ syst ...

harmonium
. Operation of the two large pedals at the bottom of the case supplies wind to the reeds. The pump organ, reed organ or harmonium, was the other main type of organ before the development of the electronic organ. It generated its sounds using reeds similar to those of an
accordion Accordions (from 19th-century German German(s) may refer to: Common uses * of or related to Germany * Germans, Germanic ethnic group, citizens of Germany or people of German ancestry * For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality l ...

accordion
. Smaller, cheaper and more portable than the corresponding pipe instrument, these were widely used in smaller churches and in private homes, but their volume and tonal range was extremely limited. They were generally limited to one or two manuals; they seldom had a pedalboard. *
Harmonium The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (anatomy) An organ is a group of Tissue (biology), tissues with similar functions. Plant life and animal life rely on many organs that co-exist in organ syst ...

Harmonium
or parlor organ: a reed instrument, usually with several stops and two foot-operated bellows. *
American reed organ The pump organ is a type of free-reed organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (anatomy) An organ is a group of Tissue (biology), tissues with similar functions. Plant life and animal life rely on many organs that co-exist in organ system ...
: similar to the Harmonium, but that works on negative pressure, sucking air through the reeds. * Melodeon (organ), Melodeon: a reed instrument with an air reservoir and a foot-operated bellows. It was popular in the US in the mid-19th century. (This should not to be confused with the diatonic button accordion which is also known as the melodeon.) The chord organ was invented by Laurens Hammond in 1950.Laurens Hammond
Encyclopædia Britannica Online, 2009 - His later inventions included the chord organ (1950, i.e. Hammond S-6 chord organ). It provided chord buttons for the left hand, similar to an accordion. Other reed organ manufacturers have also produced chord organs, most notably Magnus Organ Corporation, Magnus from 1958 to the late 1970s.


Electronic organs

Since the 1930s, pipeless electric instruments have been available to produce similar sounds and perform similar roles to pipe organs. Many of these have been bought both by houses of worship and other potential pipe organ customers, and also by many musicians both professional and amateur for whom a pipe organ would not be a possibility. Far smaller and cheaper to buy than a corresponding pipe instrument, and in many cases portable, they have taken organ music into private homes and into dance bands and other new environments, and have almost completely replaced the reed organ. ;Hammond file:Hammond b3 con leslie 122.jpg, left, Hammond organ, Hammond B3 organ,
with Leslie speaker, Leslie cabinet. The
Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...
was the first successful electric organ, released in the 1930s. It used mechanical, rotating tonewheels to produce the sound waveforms. Its system of Drawbars, drawbars allowed for setting volumes for specific sounds, and it provided vibrato-like effects. The drawbars allow the player to choose volume levels. By emphasizing certain harmonics from the overtone series, desired sounds (such as 'brass' or 'string') can be imitated. Generally, the older Hammond drawbar organs had only preamplifiers and were connected to an external, amplified speaker. The Leslie speaker, which rotates to create a distinctive tremolo, became the most popular. Though originally produced to replace organs in the church, the Hammond organ, especially the model B-3, became popular in jazz, particularly soul jazz, and in gospel music. Since these were the roots of rock and roll, the Hammond organ became a part of the rock and roll sound. It was widely used in rock and popular music during the 1960s and 1970s by bands like Emerson, Lake and Palmer, Procol Harum, Santana (band), Santana and Deep Purple. Its popularity resurged in pop music around 2000, in part due to the availability of clonewheel organs that were light enough for one person to carry. ;Allen In contrast to Hammond's electro-mechanical design, Allen Organ Company introduced the first totally electronic organ in 1938, based on the stable oscillator designed and patented by the Company's founder, Jerome Markowitz. Allen continued to advance analog tone generation through the 1960s with additional patents. In 1971, in collaboration with North American Rockwell, Allen introduced the world's first commercially available digital musical instrument. The first Allen Digital Organ is now in the Smithsonian Institution. ;Other analogue electronic file:Voxcontinental.jpg, A Vox Continental combo organ Frequency divider organs used oscillators instead of mechanical parts to make sound. These were even cheaper and more portable than the Hammond. They featured an ability to bend pitches. In the 1940s until the 1970s, small organs were sold that simplified traditional organ stops. These instruments can be considered the predecessor to modern portable Musical Keyboard, keyboards, as they included one-touch chords, rhythm and accompaniment devices, and other electronically assisted gadgets. Lowrey organ, Lowrey was the leading manufacturer of this type of organs in the smaller (spinet) instruments. In the 1960s and 1970s, a type of simple, portable electronic organ called the combo organ was popular, especially with pop, Ska (in the late 1970s and early 1980s) and rock bands, and was a signature sound in the rock music of the period, such as The Doors and Iron Butterfly. The most popular combo organs were manufactured by Farfisa and Vox (musical equipment), Vox. Conn-Selmer and Rodgers Instruments, Rodgers, dominant in the market for larger instruments, also made electronic organs that used Electronic organ#Separate oscillators, separate oscillators for each note rather than frequency dividers, giving them a richer sound, closer to a pipe organ, due to the slight imperfections in tuning. Electronic organ#Pipe/electronic hybrid organs, Hybrids, starting in the early 20th century,Synthetic Radio Organ Church Diagram French Print 1934
The ILlustration Newspaper of 1934, Paris incorporate a few ranks of pipes to produce some sounds, and use electronic circuits or digital samples for other sounds and to resolve borrowing collisions. Major manufacturers include Allen Organ, Allen, Walker, John Compton (organ builder), Compton, Wicks, Marshall & Ogletree, Phoenix, Makin Organs, Wyvern Organs and Rodgers Instruments, Rodgers. ;Digital file:Nord Electro2 61keys.jpg, A modern digital organ (Nord Electro, Nord Electro 2) utilizing physical modeling synthesis, modeling and Digital signal processor, DSP technology The development of the integrated circuit enabled another revolution in electronic keyboard instruments. Digital organs sold since the 1970s utilize additive synthesis, then sampling (music), sampling technology (1980s) and physical modelling synthesis (1990s) are also utilized to produce the sound. Electronic organ#Software pipe organs, Virtual pipe organs use MIDI to access samples of real pipe organs stored on a computer, as opposed to digital organs that use DSP and processor hardware inside a console to produce the sounds or deliver the sound samples. Touch screen monitors allows the user to control the virtual organ console; a traditional console and its physical stop and coupler controls is not required. In such a basic form, a virtual organ can be obtained at a much lower cost than other digital classical organs.


Other types

Mechanical organ A mechanical organ is an organ that is self-playing, rather than played by a musician. For example, the barrel organ is activated either by a person turning a crank, or by clockwork driven by weights or springs. Usually, mechanical organs are pipe ...
s include: * Barrel organ: made famous by
organ grinder A street organ played by an organ grinder is an automatic mechanical pneumatic organ designed to be mobile enough to play its music in the street. The two most commonly seen types are the smaller German and the larger Dutch street organ. History ...
s in its portable form, the larger form often equipped with keyboards for human performance * Organette: small, accordion-like instrument manufactured in New York in the late 1800s * Novelty instruments or various types that operate on the same principles. These pipe organs use a ''piano roll'' player or other mechanical means instead of a keyboard to play a prepared song: **
Orchestrion Orchestrion is a generic name for a machine that plays music and is designed to sound like an orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music Classical music is art music produced or rooted i ...
** Fairground organ (or band organ in the USA) ** Dutch street organ ** Dance organ The wind can also be created by using pressurized steam instead of air. The steam organ, or calliope (music), calliope, was invented in the United States in the 19th century. Calliopes usually have very loud and clean sound. Calliopes are used as outdoors instruments, and many have been built on wheeled platforms.


Music

file:Organ, St Giles cathedral.jpg, Organ in St Giles' Cathedral


Classical music

The organ has had an important place in European classical music, classical music, particularly since the 16th century. Spain's Antonio de Cabezón, the Netherlands' Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck, and Italy's Girolamo Frescobaldi were three of the most important organist-composers before 1650. Influenced in part by Sweelinck and Frescobaldi, the North German school rose from the mid-17th century onwards to great prominence, with leading members of this school having included Dieterich Buxtehude, Buxtehude, Franz Tunder, Georg Böhm, Georg Philipp Telemann, and above all Johann Sebastian Bach, whose contributions to organ music continue to reign supreme. During this time, the French organ mass, French Classical school also flourished. François Couperin, Nicolas Lebègue, André Raison, and Nicolas de Grigny were French organist-composers of the period. Bach knew Grigny's organ output well, and admired it. In England, Handel was famous for his organ-playing no less than for his composing; several of his organ concertos, intended for his own use, are still frequently performed. After Bach's death in 1750, the organ's prominence gradually shrank, as the instrument itself increasingly lost ground to the piano. Nevertheless, Felix Mendelssohn, César Franck, and the less famous Alexandre Pierre François Boëly, A.P.F. Boëly (all of whom were themselves expert organists) led, independently of one another, a resurgence of valuable organ writing during the 19th century. This resurgence, much of it informed by Bach's example, achieved particularly impressive things in France (even though Franck himself was of Belgian birth). Major names in French Romantic organ composition are Charles-Marie Widor, Louis Vierne, Alexandre Guilmant, Charles Tournemire, and Eugène Gigout. Of these, Vierne and Tournemire were Franck pupils. In Germany, Max Reger (late 19th century) owes much to the harmonic daring of Liszt (himself an organ composer) and of Wagner. Paul Hindemith produced three organ sonatas and several works combining organ with chamber groups. Sigfrid Karg-Elert specialized in smaller organ pieces, mostly chorale-preludes. Among French organist-composers, Marcel Dupré, Maurice Duruflé, Olivier Messiaen and Jean Langlais made significant contributions to the 20th-century organ repertoire. Organ was also used a lot for Musical_improvisation#Organ_improvisation_and_church_music, improvisation, with organists such as Charles Tournemire, Marcel Dupré, Pierre Cochereau, Pierre Pincemaille and Thierry Escaich. Some composers incorporated the instrument in symphonic works for its dramatic effect, notably Gustav Mahler, Mahler, Gustav Holst, Holst, Edward Elgar, Elgar, Alexander Scriabin, Scriabin, Ottorino Respighi, Respighi, and Richard Strauss. Camille Saint-Saëns, Saint-Saëns's ''Organ Symphony'' employs the organ more as an equitable orchestral instrument than for purely dramatic effect. Francis Poulenc, Poulenc wrote the sole organ concerto since Handel's to have achieved mainstream popularity. Because the organ has both manuals and pedals, organ music has come to be notated on three musical staff, staves. The music played on the manuals is laid out like music for other keyboard instruments on the top two staves, and the music for the pedals is notated on the third stave or sometimes, to save space, added to the bottom of the second stave as was the early practice. To aid the eye in reading three staves at once, the Bar (music), bar lines are broken between the lowest two staves; the brace surrounds only the upper two staves. Because music racks are often built quite low to preserve sightlines over the console, organ music is usually published in oblong or landscape format.


Jazz

Electronic organs and electromechanical organs such as the
Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated ...
have an established role in a number of popular-music genres, such as blues, jazz, gospel, and 1960s and 1970s rock music. Electronic and electromechanical organs were originally designed as lower-cost substitutes for pipe organs. Despite this intended role as a sacred music instrument, electronic and electromechanical organs' distinctive tone-often modified with electronic effects such as vibrato, rotating Leslie speakers, and overdrive-became an important part of the sound of popular music. The electric organ, especially the Hammond organ, Hammond B-3, has occupied a significant role in jazz ever since Jimmy Smith (musician), Jimmy Smith made it popular in the 1950s. It can function as a replacement for both piano and bass in the standard jazz combo. The Hammond organ is the centrepiece of the organ trio, a small ensemble which typically includes an organist (playing melodies, chords and basslines), a drummer and a third instrumentalist (either jazz guitar or saxophone). In the 2000s, many performers use electronic or digital organs, called clonewheel organs, as they are much lighter and easier to transport than the heavy, bulky B-3.


Popular music

file:Los Potatos w Lizard King (1).jpg, A modern digital Hammond organ in use Performers of 20th century popular organ music include William Rowland who composed "Piano Rags"; George Wright (organist), George Wright (1920–1998) and Virgil Fox (1912–1980), who bridged both the classical and religious areas of music. Church-style pipe organs are sometimes used in rock music. Examples include Tangerine Dream, Rick Wakeman (with Yes (band), Yes and solo), Keith Emerson (with The Nice and Emerson, Lake and Palmer), George Duke (with Frank Zappa), Dennis DeYoung (with Styx (band), Styx), Arcade Fire, Muse (band), Muse, Roger Hodgson (formerly of Supertramp), Natalie Merchant (with 10,000 Maniacs), Billy Preston and Iron Butterfly. Artists using the Hammond organ include Bob Dylan, Counting Crows, Pink Floyd, Hootie & the Blowfish, Sheryl Crow, Vulfpeck, Sly Stone and Deep Purple.


Sport

file:Nancy Faust in Cellular Field organ booth 2010-09-27 1.jpg, Nancy Faust playing at Guaranteed Rate Field, home of the Chicago White Sox In the United States and Canada, organ music is commonly associated with several sports, most notably baseball, basketball, and ice hockey. The baseball organ has been referred to as "an accessory to the overall auditory experience of the ballpark." The first team to introduce an organ was the Chicago Cubs, who put an organ in Wrigley Field as an experiment in 1941 for two games. Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, hired baseball's first full-time organist, Gladys Goodding. Over the years, many ballparks caught on to the trend, and many organists became well-known and associated with their parks or signature tunes.


See also

* List of organ builders * List of organ composers * List of organists * Residence organ * Street organ


Notes


References

* *


Further reading


Choosing a Church Organ in the 21st Century
*


External links


Organ Library
of the Boston Chapter, AGO. 45,000 items of organ music.
Music and organ recital at Notre-Dame de Paris

npor.org.uk
nbsp;– Homepage of the National Pipe Organ Register of the British Institute of Organ Studies, with extensive information on and many audio samples of original instruments
The Organ Historical Society
nbsp;– The Society promotes a widespread musical and historical interest in American organbuilding through collection, preservation, and publication of historical information, and through recordings and public concerts. {{Authority control Keyboard instruments Organs (music), Ancient Greek musical instruments Articles containing video clips Classical music instruments