Derby and District Organists’ Association
Exploring a
Pipe Organ
with CATO
Children and the Organ Project
Each organ pipe can only
produce one note and
this has to be at a fixed
loudness.
To make the music louder
or softer, the player
cannot simply press the
keys harder or more
gently as one does on a
piano.
There are four main methods of controlling the loudness:
1. Choosing a loud, medium or soft stop
2. Combining several stops
3. Changing manuals (keyboards)
4. Using the Swell pedal
Choosing one stop
Organists have to learn which stops are soft
and which are loud. For example, in general,
Diapasons are louder than Flutes but they are
not as loud as the Trumpet stop.
ROHR
FLUTE
8
DULCIANA
8
♪
♪
CLARIBEL
FLUTE
8
Click on each stop to hear its sound.
As well as loudness, what is the other
difference in sound for each stop?
OPEN
DIAPASON
8
In the reed family, there is a large range
of loudness, starting with the Oboe and
going up to the Tuba.
HORN
8
OBOE
8
♪
♪
TRUMPET
8
Click on each stop to hear its sound.
As well as loudness, what is the other
difference in sound for each stop?
TUBA
8
Combining several stops
Pulling out two stops, then three stops and so on is the easiest way
of making the organ sound louder, but the player has to take care
in choosing the extra stops.
If you are not careful, the resulting sound could
sound very ‘muddy’ or very harsh and unbalanced.
You need to have at least one 8 foot stop, but only
two or three more at 8 foot pitch.
It is more effective to add
brightness with 4 ft stops and
other higher
pitched stops.
To help the organist add stops quickly and in good combinations,
there are special ‘selector’ buttons underneath the manuals.
The button at the left hand end gives the softest combination.
As you press buttons to the right, more and more stops are added.
Softest combination
Loudest combination
Pressing these buttons in turn from left to right is a very useful way
of making the organ gradually louder.
Liverpool Cathedral has the largest organ in the UK.
At the console, there are plenty of stops to choose from!
♪ Notice the small selector buttons underneath each manual.
Here is a closer view of these
selector buttons. They are called
‘Thumb pistons’ because they are
usually pressed with the thumb.
If both thumbs are too busy playing
notes, then there are some similar
‘Toe pistons’ just above the pedal
board.
Changing manuals
A convenient way of very quickly
changing the loudness is to switch
from playing on one manual to
playing on another one.
♪ Explain how the organist would choose stops for each manual
to change the loudness.
♪ What useful effect can the organist create with one hand on
one manual and the other hand on a different manual?
(Hint: Think about the tone as well as loudness of the stops.)
Using the Swell pedal
Organ builders have invented
a simple way of controlling
loudness by placing the pipes
for one manual inside a large
cupboard called a ‘Swell Box’.
As you open or close the doors
on the front of the Swell Box,
the loudness changes. The
Doors are designed in narrow
sections and controlled by
levers to a special foot pedal
on the console.
The use of the Swell pedal is the only way an
organist has of making gradual changes to the
loudness. When the foot is on the pedal, a push
forward with the toes opens the Swell box; a
push down with the heel closes the Swell box.
In music, the terms crescendo and diminuendo are
used to describe changes of loudness.
♪ Explain how the Swell pedal is used to make a
crescendo.
♪
Click on this button to hear a Swell crescendo.
♪ How would you use the Swell pedal to make a diminuendo?
♪
Click on this button to hear a Swell diminuendo.
♪ What is the musical word for playing music very softly?
What have you learned?
You cannot make
the organ sound
louder by pressing
harder on the keys.
Different stops
have different
loudness.
The organ sounds
louder when you
pull out more stops.
The Swell organ is in a
large box with shutters
which open and close.
The Swell pedal controls
the shutters and loudness
of the Swell organ.
Materials prepared by Laurence Rogers for the
Children and the Organ Project
Team:
Stephen Johns
James Muckle
Edmund Stow
Gillian Chatto
Laurence Rogers
John Forster
Chris Darrall
Sponsored by
Derby and District Organists’ Association
Derby and District Organists’ Association
Children and the Organ Project
The project aims to introduce young children to the fascinating
world of pipe organs through practical workshops and fun
activities. The building and playing of organs being such multidisciplinary activities, their study has numerous spin-offs for the
school curriculum.
For more information, visit our website:
www.derbyorganists.co.uk
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