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On this page:~ So how does an organ work? How do the pipes work? Length of pipes What are Stops? What are Ranks? Different types of action Bibliography
the design of pipe. For example the wind pressure; the materials used in construction and even the fabric of the building in which the organ is installed.
Length of pipes
The pitch of the sound produced is determined by the length of the body of the pipe~ just as the pitch of a note made by a stringed instrument is determined by the length of the string hit or plucked. A short string will create a higher pitch than a long string~ a short pipe
will create a higher pitch than a long pipe. So the longer the pipe, the lower the note; the shorter the pipe, the higher the note. Pitch can be expressed in terms of the frequency of the vibrating column of air in the pipe. Middle C on a piano has a frequency of about 512 Hertz (cycles per second) and to produce the same pitch on an organ, a 2 foot organ pipe would be required. As it happens, if the length of a pipe is doubled, the frequency is halved and the pitch goes down an octave. So the pitch of a 4 foot pipe will be Tenor C and an 8 foot pipe will produce a Bass C. Going the other way, a 1 foot pipe will produce a Treble C and a foot pipe will produce a Top C and the octave above that is a 3 inch pipe. The longest pipe in an organ is in the pedal department and on most organs is 16 foot in length. Cathedral organs usually have one or two 32 foot ranks, the 32 foot pipes having a frequency of just 16 Hertz! The longest pipes in existence are 64 foot long, but these enormous pipes are few and far between. In the UK, there is a 64 foot Gravissima at Worcester Cathedral, but sadly, it is out of action at the moment. Just to confuse things a little, some pipes are stopped which means that the top is blocked off by a stopper. This has an harmonic effect and the sound heard from a stopped pipe is an octave lower than its open counterpart. For example, when it says Stopped Diapason 8' on the Stop Knob, the longest pipe is actually only 4 foot long. When it says 64 foot on the Stop Knob, unless your at Worcester Cathedral, the chances are that the pipe is only 32 feet long. So, it is possible to get the effect of a 64 foot pipe by using a stopped 32 foot. These stopped bass pipes are often referred to as "Resultant" or "Acoustic".
pipes. The Slider can move either in or out~ when it is in, the holes don't line up with the pipes and the air is stopped from getting through. When it is pulled out, the holes do line up and air is allowed to pass through to the pipes. There has to be one Stop for each rank of pipes. Without organ Stops, whenever a key is pressed on the keyboard, every pipe above that note on the Soundboard would speak! Before organ Stops were invented, that is exactly what happened. This chorus of pipes for every note on the keyboard is called "Blockwerk". Organ Stops are identified at the Console by the names of the pipes that they control. So the Stop that controls the Open Diapason rank has "Open Diapason" inscribed on the Stop Knob. Also inscribed is a number that corresponds to the length in feet of the longest pipe within that rank, so that the organist has some idea of the pitch. If the pipes are stopped, the longest pipe won't actually be as long as it says! It will be half the length, because a stopped pipe sounds an octave lower than its open counterpart. However, the length inscribed on the Stop Knob is always the equivalent open length. Many people use the term "Stops" to identify the different sounds produced by an organ or to describe a particular set of pipes. For example, "The trumpet Stop is out of tune again!", or "That's a nice Stop, what's it called?" This is not strictly correct because it is the pipes that make the sound, the Stops merely control which pipes are allowed to speak.
The Nazard pipes sound a twelfth higher than the note that is being played and the inscription on the Stop Knob will read "Nazard" or "Twelfth". If a length is inscribed, it would be "2 2/3" because that's the length of the longest pipe in the rank (2 foot 8 inches). If a Nazard middle C is pressed on the keyboard, a treble G is what we would actually hear! The Nazard is referred to as a Mutation Stop which means that it sounds odd when played on its own. However, when played together with another rank, it can enhance the colour of sound.
Tracker action
Tracker action, or mechanical action as it is often called, is the oldest type of action. It does not require any electrical apparatus for it to operate because the link between the organist and the Pallets is completely mechanical. A series of levers and connecting rods transfers the movement from the keys to the Pallets.
Electropneumatic action
This type of action uses electric current between the manuals and the Soundboard and then pneumatic motors to actually open the Pallets. Pressing a key on the keyboard completes an electrical circuit and the corresponding solenoid is energised. The solenoid releases air from a pneumatic motor which opens the Pallet for that note.
Bibliography
BICKNELL, Stephen. The history of the English organ. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1996. BONAVIA-HUNT, Noel. The church organ. London : William Reeves, 1920. BONAVIA-HUNT, Noel. Modern organ stops: a practical guide to their nomenclature, construction, voicing and artistic use with a glossary of technical terms relating to the science of tone-production from organ
pipes. London : Musical Opinion, 1923. CLUTTON, C. and NILAND, A. The British organ. London : Batsford, 1963. DICKSON, W. E. Practical organ-building. Portsmouth : Bardon Enterprises, 1997. NORMAN, Herbert and NORMAN, John. The organ today. London : Barry and Rockliff, 1966. SUMNER, William. The organ. 3rd Ed. - London : Macdonald, 1962. THISTLETHWAITE, Nicholas and WEBBER, Geoffrey. The Cambridge companion to the organ. Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 1998. WHITWORTH, Reginald. Organ stops and their use. London : Pitman, 1951.
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