Barrel organ
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
A barrel organ is a mechanical musical instrument made of a series of pipes, and bellows, like any other traditional organ. Rather than being played by a musician the organ is played by a cylinder studded with staples, bridges or pins. These represent one or more tunes to be played.
Contents |
[edit] Barrel
While the cylinders are called barrels, they are usually much smaller than the barrels used as storage containers for several centuries. Unlike the cylinders for Swiss music boxes, which are made of finely crafted metal, the cylinders for barrel organs were made from wood. The organ barrels had to be extremely sturdy in order to keep their precise alignment over the years, since they played the same programming role as music rolls and had to deal with more mechanical stress given the greater number of rods and levers involved.
The size of the barrel will depend on the number of notes on the organ and the length of the tune to be played. The more notes, the longer the barrel. The longer the programme of music, the greater the diameter.
[edit] Operation
As the barrel rotates, the pins and staples come into contact with levers (called keys) connected to rods. As each key is lifted by a pin, valves are opened to allow air from the bellows to pass into the corresponding organ pipe.
To allow different tunes to be played from one barrel, the barrel can be moved laterally to bring a different set of pins under the keys. Less commonly, the pinning will form one continuous spiral and the barrel will be gradually moved as it rotates so that the pins remain lined up with the keys.
The bellows will usually be actuated by the same power source which, through reduction gearing or worm gearing, causes the barrel to rotate slowly.
[edit] Usage
Because of the common presence of the organ grinder in the literature and the pictorial history of the 19th century and the early 20th century, the power source is commonly assumed to be a crank, turned by the operator or by his monkey. With a few exceptions, the organ grinders used one of the smaller portable versions of the barrel organ.
There were many larger versions located in churches, fairgrounds, music halls, and other large establishments such as sports arenas and theatres. The large barrel organs were often powered by very heavy counterweights and springs, like a more powerful version of a longcase clock. They could also be hydraulically powered, with a wheel arrangement giving the mechanical force while columns of water forced greater pressure in the columns of air which sounded the pipes. The last barrel organs were electrically powered, or converted to electrical power.
[edit] Combined barrel and manually played instruments
Some large barrel organs can be confused with normal manually played organs as they were built as "barrel and finger" organs. Such instruments are furnished with a normal organ keyboard, in addition to the automatic mechanism, making it possible to play them by hand when a human organist is available. The barrels were all too often out of sight.
At the beginning of the 20th century large barrel organs intended for use as fairground organs or street organs were often converted, or newly built, to play music rolls or book music rather than barrels. This allows a much greater variety of melodies to be played.
[edit] Terminology
In the 19th century the term hurdy gurdy was also applied to a small, portable barrel organ that was frequently played by buskers (street musicians), but in modern usage the two terms should not be confused. Although the hurdy gurdy is also powered by a crank and often used by street performers, it produces sound with a rosin-covered wheel rotated against tuned strings. Another key difference is that the hurdy gurdy player is free to play any tune he or she desires, while the barrel organist is generally confined to pre-programmed tunes.
Some people also incorrectly refer to a barrel organ as a steam organ.
 Australia Fair Grand Concert Street Organ; pipes, drums, brass, etc. |
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- Diagram Group. Musical Instruments of the World. New York: Facts on File, 1976.
- Ord-Hume, Arthur W.J G. Barrel Organ: The Story of the Mechanical Organ and Its Repair. London: George Allen & Unwin, 1978.
- Reblitz, Arthur A., Q. David Bowers. Treasures of Mechanical Music. New York: The Vestal Press, 1981.
- Smithsonian Institution. History of Music Machines. New York: Drake Publishers, 1975.
[edit] External links
- (English) Museum of Musical Instruments in Netherlands: "From musical clock to street organ"]
- (English) website of the Argentinian Barrel Organ Museum
