How do these things work? Pipe Organs

[JohnW63]

I stumbled into this video and I never knew that multiple keyboards would play at the same time and keeys would be pressed when you use that big row of pedals. Holy cow! How long does that take to learn?

 

[Opsimath]

I stumbled into this video and I never knew that multiple keyboards would play at the same time and keeys would be pressed when you use that big row of pedals. Holy cow! How long does that take to learn?

No clue how long it takes to learn, but my grandmother played the organ for church. My sister and I were her official page turners. We took turns, alternating Sunday's, sitting with her at the organ and when she nodded her head we turned the page of the hymnal. My uncle, her son, said his opinion was that no piece of music should be more than two pages long.

 

[GGJaguar]

I never understood how organists could read 3 lines of music at the same time.

 

[FNG]

Pretty awesome!

 

[Prince of Darkness]

My cousin's husband used to maintain and install church organs, initially as a hobby and later working for a company. They have one installed in their home and have (or did last I knew) others disassembled in their basement.

 

[Canard]

Large pipe organs are a remarkable and complex bit of pneumatic engineering, and they are very high maintenance. I once was, for my sins, an alter boy in a High Anglican cathedral. There was a large pipe organ which I got to see disassembled for repair/maintenance a number of times. It was a very complicated beast.

How a Pipe Organ Works

www.pipedreams.org

 

[fronobulax]

I stumbled into this video and I never knew that multiple keyboards would play at the same time and keeys would be pressed when you use that big row of pedals. Holy cow! How long does that take to learn?

Most of the organists I know started on piano before their teens and added organ as a teenager. A common theme is that they heard a real pipe organ and said "Holy cow!!! That sound is loud and awesome. I want to do that!!!". A 32' stop or two on the pedals can put many bass amps to shame in terms of shaking the room ;-)

I think basic competence - simple arrangements but using the foot pedals - is 3 to 5 years of practice and study. I am not aware of self taught and competent organists. At some point you will need advice, the ability to read music and some basic music theory to move on to the next level. Improvisation is a key skill of an organist and the good ones improvise using both hands and both feet. This awes me because I have trouble stringing together a bass line with single notes.

Erik Suter is the most accomplished organist that I know personally. Even with all of his talent his "day job" is now as an airline pilot. He had been a cathedral organist but grew frustrated with all of the time he had to spend in meetings instead of on the organ bench. So he switched to his other passion - flying.

 

[Guildedagain]

I love watching this guy's feet ;]

 

[Canard]

I used play sometimes with a group that included a keyboard player who among his kit had a chopped Hammond B3. The bass player always wanted me to help him in dealing with the keyboard player, saying that he needed someone to hold the keyboard player still so he could zap strap his legs to the legs of the keyboard bench.

 

[Guildedagain]

I had a neighbor local Blues star with B3, probably one of the reasons I have back pain/s, but helping him move it to gigs got me in the door, and playing on stage and even better in private jams with legendary local bass player Tom The Stomp Brimm, him shortly thereafter with local legends Too Slim and the Taildraggers among many others.

 

[Guildedagain]

It is uncanny how much this sounds a lot or just like Deep Purple for a bit, and then some more.



The Jon Lord/Ian Paice influence?

 

[mavuser]

the effects on a church organ are called "stops." They are essentially push-pulls, similar to a p-p potometer on a guitar or amp...the more stops you pull, the more the organ/leslie really sings (screams?)...

This is where the saying "they pulled out all the stops!!" originated from. that's right, from a day at the church. "any given sunday..."

 

[jp]

My parents used to live next to a guy who was one of the few people in the U.S. who repaired traditional pipe organs. When visiting my folks, I would often wander into his giant workshop next door to see what he was up to. This guy did everything from repairing the old blower motors to hand fashioning the gigantic pipes and wooden structures in which they were mounted. They're fascinating and complicated instruments.

New digital ones are equally mind-blowing and have amazing capabilities. I have a buddy who works for Rodgers Organs here in Oregon, which make digital organs. They've been owned by Tektronix, CBS Musical Instruments, Roland, and now a consortium that owns several digital organ companies. It was inevitable.

 

[fronobulax]

My parents used to live next to a guy who was one of the few people in the U.S. who repaired traditional pipe organs.

"few" might not be the best word. I've actually met more folks that build and repair pipe organs than folks who build and repair guitars. That may be just because I had keys and was often asked to open the building so the repair team could get to the organ. I was also around when the pipe organ was rebuilt over a several months period. But it is definitely a profession that is in decline.

 

[Guildedagain]

Organ repair people are unique and sometimes interact with guitar folks desperate for repairs, mostly with good outcomes locally, but the organ tech was rather strange, not quite Renfield strange but close.

 

[mavuser]

a couple of my favorites from back when I was studying Leslies:





there are hundreds of others, obviously. Most of those are from shows with a full band

 

[mavuser]