AGO pedalboard
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The AGO pedalboard is a specification for the pedalboard on a pipe organ, with the objective of standardisation. It is part of the organ console specification promulgated by the American Guild of Organists.
The specification calls for a pedalboard of 32 pedals, C-g', in a concave radiating pattern. That is, the fronts of the pedals (farthest from the organ console) are closer together than the backs, and the leftmost and rightmost pedals are elevated somewhat compared to the pedals in the center. The lengths of the pedals are specified, as is the length of the elevated section of the black notes, the height by which the black notes rise above the white notes, and the profile of the upper surface of the pedals. The specification is similar to the British RCO Pedalboard of the Royal College of Organists.
Prior to the widespread adoption of the AGO pedalboard, there was considerable variation in number, spacing, and geometry from one organ to the next. The use of the standard pedalboard makes it possible for an organist to play an unfamiliar organ without relearning the pedal layout.
Other layouts exist and some are still built, especially outside the United States. The Malines pedalboard is a concave-parallel design, and there are two "standard" configurations, both with 30 pedals, specified by the Bund Deutscher Orgelbaumeister (BDO): one concave-parallel and one concave-radiating. The concave-parallel design is the more common of the BDO configurations.
The B-3 Hammond Organ used a pedalboard with minimal concavity and only 25 notes, though an AGO pedalboard was available as an option.
