Mechanical organ
Encyclopedia
A mechanical organ is an organ that is self playing, rather than played by a musician
.
Usually, mechanical organs are pipe organs although some instruments were built using reeds similar to those found in a harmonium
. Since the 1950s, some instruments have been built using electronics
to generate the sound, though still operated by mechanical or pneumatic means. From the 1990s pipe organs have been built that are operated by MIDI rather than the earlier mechanical means.
Originally, the music for mechanical organs was stored by pins on a large barrel. Such instruments were called barrel organ
s. Such organs only have a very limited repertoire, both in the number of musical selections that could be stored, and the length of tune that could be accommodated.
In the 1890s, book music
was invented. This meant that the length of music was no longer constrained. Being physically much smaller than a barrel for a similar instrument, it is much easier to manipulate the music, and so a greater variety of music could be played.
Rather than the book music, some instruments are operated by a music roll
.
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
.
Usually, mechanical organs are pipe organs although some instruments were built using reeds similar to those found in a harmonium
Harmonium
A harmonium is a free-standing keyboard instrument similar to a reed organ. Sound is produced by air being blown through sets of free reeds, resulting in a sound similar to that of an accordion...
. Since the 1950s, some instruments have been built using electronics
Electronics
Electronics is the branch of science, engineering and technology that deals with electrical circuits involving active electrical components such as vacuum tubes, transistors, diodes and integrated circuits, and associated passive interconnection technologies...
to generate the sound, though still operated by mechanical or pneumatic means. From the 1990s pipe organs have been built that are operated by MIDI rather than the earlier mechanical means.
Originally, the music for mechanical organs was stored by pins on a large barrel. Such instruments were called barrel organ
Barrel organ
A barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated...
s. Such organs only have a very limited repertoire, both in the number of musical selections that could be stored, and the length of tune that could be accommodated.
In the 1890s, book music
Book music
Book Music is a medium for storing the music played on mechanical organs, mainly of European manufacture. Book music is made from thick cardboard, containing perforated holes representing the musical notes to be played, with the book folded zig-zag style...
was invented. This meant that the length of music was no longer constrained. Being physically much smaller than a barrel for a similar instrument, it is much easier to manipulate the music, and so a greater variety of music could be played.
Rather than the book music, some instruments are operated by a music roll
Music roll
A music roll is a storage medium used to operate a mechanical musical instrument. They are used for the player piano, mechanical organ, electronic carillon and various types of orchestrion. The vast majority of music rolls are made of paper...
.
See also
- Barrel pianoBarrel pianoA barrel piano is a forerunner of the modern player piano. Unlike the pneumatic player piano, a barrel piano is usually powered by turning a hand crank, though coin operated models powered by clockwork were used to provide music in establishments such as pubs and cafés...
- Barrel organBarrel organA barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated...
- ComponiumComponiumThe componium was a mechanical musical instrument constructed in 1821 by Dietrich Nikolaus Winkel that composed novel music. It was an automatic organ consisting of two barrels that revolve simultaneously. The barrels take turns performing two measures of randomly chosen music while the other pauses...
- Dance organDance organA dance organ is a mechanical organ designed to be used in a dance hall or ballroom. Being intended for use indoors, dance organs tend to be quieter than the similar fairground organ...
- Fairground organFairground organA fairground organ is a pipe organ designed for use in a commercial public fairground setting to provide loud music to accompany fairground rides and attractions...
- Musical boxMusical boxA music box is a 19th century automatic musical instrument that produces sounds by the use of a set of pins placed on a revolving cylinder or disc so as to pluck the tuned teeth of a steel comb. They were developed from musical snuff boxes of the 18th century and called carillons à musique...
- OrchestrionOrchestrionAn orchestrion is a generic name for a machine that plays music and is designed to sound like an orchestra or band. Orchestrions may be operated by means of a large pinned cylinder or by a music roll and less commonly book music. The sound is usually produced by pipes, though they will be voiced...
- Organ grinder
- Piano rollPiano rollA piano roll is a music storage medium used to operate a player piano, piano player or reproducing piano. A piano roll is a continuous roll of paper with perforations punched into it. The peforations represent note control data...
- Player pianoPlayer pianoA player piano is a self-playing piano, containing a pneumatic or electro-mechanical mechanism that operates the piano action via pre-programmed music perforated paper, or in rare instances, metallic rolls. The rise of the player piano grew with the rise of the mass-produced piano for the home in...
- Reproducing piano
- SerinetteSerinetteA serinette is a type of mechanical musical instrument consisting of a small barrel organ. It appeared in the first half of the 18th century in eastern France, and was used to teach tunes to canaries. Its name is derived from the French serin, meaning “canary.”Serinettes are housed in a wooden...
- Street organStreet organA street organ is a mechanical organ designed to play in the street. The operator of a street organ is called an organ grinder. The two main types are the smaller German street organ and the larger Dutch street organ....