SMLC Pipe Organ

Organ Information

Organ Stop List
(pdf file)

The Organ in Worship

Basic Organ Information

Pew Side Guide to the
SMLC Organ

Frequently Asked
Questions

A Short History of the Organ

A long time ago pipes were made of hollow reeds in different sizes and strapped together to make an instrument called the Pan Pipes. The pipe organ was invented when someone decided to play a set of panpipes with a keyboard instead of blowing into each pipe.

Eventually a bellows was attached to provide the wind. Some of the earliest organs could be pumped and played by the same person. They were called portatives because they could be carried over the players shoulder. To play most early pipe organs, one needed an assistant to pump the bellows. It was handy to have a family member willing to do this boring job.

From the beginning pipe organs were made in all different sizes. Large organs were built in churches from as early as 1100 A.D. These instruments had many pipes and required several huge bellows to provide their wind. The job of a "calcant," or bellows-pumper, was quite taxing. One got to rest during the sermon, but then would be wakened in the basement by a bell attached to a string by the organist when it was time to start pumping again. During the 16th -18th Centuries there were even bellows-pumper unions. Not only was a bellows-pumper needed for every worship service, but also every time the organist wanted to practice or hold choir rehearsals. He was also needed whenever the organ had to be serviced or tuned, which was not that often, don't forget they would have had to use candles for light in the organ chamber as well.

Today the organ is still a wind instrument controlled by one or more keyboards and with an electric blower to supply the air. When a key is pressed, it opens a valve under a pipe. The wind enters the pipe causing a tone that is constant in pitch and volume until the key is released. Continuous tone is the organ's most important characteristic. As long as the wind is there the sound will be produced.

Pipes - Flue Pipes

Flue pipes have no moving parts. The sound is made when the wind enters the foot of the pipe and is directed outward against the upper lip of the pipe mouth. This lowers the air pressure in the pipe, causing the wind to be sucked back in. Then the cycle starts again. This process causes the column of air in the pipe to vibrate. The number of vibrations per second, and therefore the pitch of the sound, is determined by the length of the pipe.

The tone color of the pipe is affected by its scale [ratio of diameter to length], the material from which it is made [wood or various metal alloys], and by modifications that can be made to its mouth or shape. Flues are divided into groups according to their tone colors; Principals, Flutes, and Strings.

Principals are the most basic organ pipes. They represent organ sound and do not try to imitate any other instrument. They are usually made of metal and often appear exposed in the front of the organ. St. Matthew's Façade will consist of Principal pipes ranging in size to about 18 feet.

Flutes are the most prevalent pipes in most organs. They show up at every pitch level and appear in every division of the organ. They may be made or metal or often times wood. They are many different flutes to choose from, some may sound like a real flute or maybe a recorder. The trick for an organ builder is that all the flutes on the organ have their own character and blend with each other.

Strings are narrow pipes and made to be rich in upper harmonics and are not as common as Flutes. The sound they produce is a keener, but warm sound such as the sound of a bow across a cello. Some string ranks of pipes will be tuned slightly sharp which causes it to sound slightly out of tune with another similar rank of pipes. This creates an undulating effect that is used often for softer and meditative music. This sound is one of the most favorite sounds of the organ.

Pipes - Reed Pipes

Reed pipes have a metal tongue that vibrates against a brass tube called a shallot to produce the sound. The reed and shallot are inside the boot of the pipe. The sound is magnified by the resonator, which can be of metal or wood. Reed resonators come in many shapes and sizes, all affecting the tone of the pipe. The sound of reed pipes is pungent and distinctive.

Reeds are grouped according to whether they can be used with combinations of other stops or whether they are better used in solos.

The Chorus Reeds have cone-shaped resonators and add brilliance to the full organ sound. Some have names like brass instruments in an orchestra: Trumpet, Trombone, Tuba while others are called Clarion, Posaune or Bombarde. Sometimes, as St. Matthew's has have, a set of trumpet pipes are mounted horizontally, [called en chamade], to create a stunning visual display as well as a larger solo Trumpet fanfare sound..

The Color Reeds are divided into a number of groups. The oboe family has slim, conical resonators. Oboe tone in an organ, usually called Hautbois, is often a softer version of the trumpet tone; therefore this stop can be used as a good solo stop. The clarinet family has cylindrical resonators and are called Clarinet, Krummhorn or Dulzian. Short resonator reeds make for a very buzzy sound reflecting that of early wind instruments. A larger romantic style organ may contain reeds called English horn, Orchestral Oboe or even a French Horn.

The previous organ at St. Matthew's had one chorus reed and one color reed stop. The new Schlicker organ will have three Chorus reeds and six Color reed stops for added variety.

Divisions - Great and Choir

Each keyboard, including the keyboard played by the feet, of the organ controls a separate section or division of the instrument with its own pipes and stops. Each division contains sounds that can blend together or that can be used as accompaniments or a solos for another division.

The Great is the main division of the organ and the strongest sounds of the organ come from this section. The Great keyboard is the middle one on our new organ and the one that will get used the most. This division will always contain a Principal Chorus at various pitch levels, 16', 8', 4', 2'. This means that by playing only one note the organist can get various pitch levels at the same time. It is kind of like a String Bass, Cello, Viola, and Violin all playing one note at the same time. There will also be flute sounds at various pitch levels. The Great division contains the main chorus reeds [trumpets] for leading hymn singing and playing organ repertoire. All the sounds of the organ can be coupled to the Great for creating a full organ effect.

The Choir division is playable from the bottom of the three keyboards. These pipes are enclosed in a box with shutters to control the volume of sound from the organ console by the organist moving a foot pedal. The sounds in the choir division are softer principals, flutes and color reeds used for accompany solos or the singing choir; hence the name. It is also the section of the organ that will have the quietest sounds used for service playing.

Divisions - Swell and Pedal

Each keyboard, including the keyboard played by the feet, of the organ controls a separate section or division of the instrument with its own pipes and stops. Each division contains sounds that can blend together or that can be used as accompaniments or a solos for another division.

The Swell manual of this organ is the top keyboard. It is called the Swell Division because the sound of the pipes can be made to swell and diminish. Its pipes are housed in a box with shutters. These shutters are like Venetian blinds opening and closing for light, but with sound instead. The organist controls the shutter movement with a foot pedal. When the box is closed the sound is muffled, but as the box opens the music is let free and the sound crescendos into a brilliant full sound. This division has a smaller principal chorus and a smaller scaled Chorus Reed. It also includes more color stops; including an oboe, a solo flute, and a special stop called the Vox Humana, [the human voice] which is a small unique reed sound that has to be heard to be believed the sound. Listen for it sometime.

The Pedal keyboard of an organ is made like the manual keyboard except that the keys are larger so that they can be played with the feet. The organist has the equivalent of four fingers to use on the pedal board - two toes and two heels. This division houses all the lowest tones of the organ. The bass notes get played here and the largest pipes of the organ are in this division. In-fact the lowest note, low C, is the lowest C on a piano and is a pipe over 16 feet in length weighing a couple hundred pounds. The previous organ had three 16' stops, [only two that worked] the new organ contains six 16' stops, [all which work.] All the sounds of the organ can be coupled to the pedals so that at times a melody can be played by the feet that is higher in pitch then what the hands are playing. It is a mental balancing act and trick for the organist to keep track of where all the sounds are coming from.

Types of Action

The connection between the key and the pipe valve is called the "action" of the organ; it can be either mechanical or electric.

In a mechanical action instrument, long rods or "trackers" pull down the valves under the pipes to make them sound. Through a series of levers, rods and backfalls the key is directly connected to the pipe. Until electricity was discovered, all organs used trackers to connect the keyboard to the pipes. The large organs that Johann Sebastian Bach would have played would have all been "trackers." These organs would have taken many years to construct, install and finish due to the engineering complexity of all the parts. Many mechanical action organs still get built today; they offer a complete control to the organist how fast the valve is opened under each pipe when the key is pressed. St. Matthew did not get a "tracker" organ due the higher cost, and also that the console would not be moveable because of the direct linkage to the pipes.

In electric action instruments pressing of a key makes an electrical contact and activates a circuit to an electro-magnet that opens the pipe-valve. So in place of trackers there are wires. This means that the console can be separated from the pipes and placed at a more convenient location, or as in our organ; made moveable. The only internal difference in our Schlicker organ between the Electric and Mechanical action is that a little motor opens the valve to allow wind in the pipes. Because of the high quality work that the Schlicker Organ Company performs, great care was taken in the layout of the organ so that even with the electric action, where usually pipes can be placed anywhere, each pipe can be reached for tuning and servicing that may be needed.

Façade and Console of the Organ

The Façade of the organ is the front of the organ case. The case acts like a band shell; focusing and blending the sound of the pipes so that the congregation hears the beautiful sound of music. The façade design can range from a historic to modern design, but certain geometric principals must always prevail due to the nature and science of sound. It took six months of design work to finally approve the façade you see. It is a traditional classic design to blend together with the rest of the church, yet to set itself apart.

The Console is the cockpit control center of the entire instrument. The organist must know where all the controls are, how far away each item is and feel comfortable sitting in place. Stops must be in reaching distance so that adjustments can be made while playing. This console is moveable so that it can be placed almost anywhere in the church.

Pitches available on the Organ

Organs may have one or more keyboards and a pedal keyboard. The number of keys on the manual keyboards is usually 61; from Low C to C above high C. Pedal keyboards usually have 32 keys from Low C, to the G above middle C.

There is a separate pipe for each key for each different tone. The pipes are arranged in rows or "ranks," according to these tones. To bring a rank into play, the organist pulls a knob or "stop." So for each rank on the keyboard, 61 pipes must be made. With 5 ranks there are 5 x 61 = 305 pipes.

Each stop on an organ will have a number that tells the pitch at which it sounds. A stop that sounds the written pitch is labeled as an 8' stop. [This refers to the speaking length of the pipe at Low C, the lowest written note on the organ.] A stop with a 4' designation will sound an octave higher than the note played and with a 2' marking it will sound two octaves higher. As you might expect a 16' stop sounds an octave lower than written and a 32' stop sounds two octaves lower than written. So just by playing one note, let's say middle C, and having a 32', 16', 8', 4', 2' stop on there would be five pipes speaking at once. Now multiply that by a 7-note chord, add 15 more ranks playing, to add color and volume, and that would be 525 pipes playing all at one.

Some ranks are tuned to sound at non-octave pitches in the harmonic series. The most common is the 2 2/3'. This rank sounds an octave and a fifth above the written pitch. When used with other stops it can add beautiful color to the combination..

Bells, Buttons and Extra Stuff on the Organ

Pistons Most organs have what is called a "Combination Action." This is a system that allows the player to change stops quickly and easily by pushing a button under the keyboards called a piston. The organist is able to pre-set any of these pistons to get in an instance a new setting of stops. Our organ has a solid-state combination action that stores information for these pistons over an eight-level computer memory, so every piston can have 8 different memory settings.

Toe Studs are just like pistons but used by the toes of the feet and are placed just above the pedal keyboard.

Tutti Many organs have a special piston called "Tutti." This is a quick way to get full organ. When full organ is needed in an instance this button take care of that.

Swell Pedals are the pedals just above the pedal keyboard that open and close the pipe boxes to increase or decrease the volume of sound from the organ.

Tremolo/Tremulant is a device that causes the wind supply to shake, causing the sound to waver. It may affect a single stop or the entire division. It is often used with reed stops for a lyrical solo.

MIDI, meaning Musical Instrument Digital Interface, is a system where the organ and a computer can communicate with each other. Using a computer, organ performances can be saved/recorded as digital codes and be played back. Also the organ can be hooked into a keyboard/sound module and be made to play other non-organ sounds.

The Zimbelstern is a group of mounted high-pitched bells that are played in random order. They produce a jingling sound like sleigh bells. The historical use of the zimbelstern is that whenever the "Gloria" of the Mass was sung the church bells would ring. Tradition has it that a rotating star is activated whenever the bells play. Look for the star high on the organ case.

"Pew Side Guide" written by John R. Paradowski, Director of Music and Organist

Page Revised October 2008