Tooting Joy, Tooting Hope, I am the Calliope!

Tooting Joy, Tooting Hope, I am the Calliope!
Circus music was a large
part of the circus experience, and
one unique feature of circus
parades was the musical wagon
called the calliope. Calliopes make
their distinct, loud sound when
steam travels through large
whistles. Originally, they were
locomotive whistles – an example
of the important role trains played
in the growth of the American
circus. Consider how loud train
whistles are – they can be heard
for miles! Calliopes are no different,
and there’s no way to change its
tone or volume.
Calliopes can be played by
a person at a keyboard, or
mechanically with a roll like a
player piano. This type of calliope
was often installed in steampowered carousels.
Unknown artist, Circus Parades – a Photographic History:
Ringling Bros. Calliope, no date. Tibbals Digital Collection
This instrument is named after the Greek muse Calliope, whose
name is pronounced ka-LIE-oh-pee. Calliope was the mother of Orpheus and
chief of the muses. Her name means “beautiful voice,” and she is
associated with elegance and epic poetry.
The circus community generally pronounces the name of the
instrument as kal-ee-OHP. Poking fun at the dispute of pronunciation, a 19th
century magazine published this rhyme:
Proud folk stare after me,
Call me Calliope;
Tooting joy, tooting hope,
I am the calliope.
Simon Vouet, The Muses Urania and Calliope ,
1634 (detail). Creative Commons.
Poem in Reedy’s Mirror, 1877, according to Ted
Guillaum in “MQ Calliope Press Release – Part 2.”
Retrieved from steamboats.org.
In today’s Family Workshops,
we made calliopes from red oaktag
and decorated them with gold
buttons and glitter glue. We made
the wheels from skewers, straws and
funky buttons!
While real calliope pipes are
made from brass to resist the heat
and moisture of the steam, we made
ours from fat milkshake straws! Try
cutting the straws to different
lengths and seeing what different
pitches you hear when you blow
across them. Most calliopes have 32
whistles, but it might be hard to fit
that many into your wagon!
Circus musicians are known
as windjammers, because
they would “jam wind” into
their instruments.
The Ringling has another pretty
spectacular organ! Although it
can’t travel like a calliope, the
Aeolian Organ at Ca’ d’Zan
works much the same way. Its
61 pipes were originally hidden
in the walls of the house, which
was built to accommodate it.
Imagine that – it’s kind of like
living inside a musical
instrument!
Check out this CD of circus
music for the calliope!
Organ made by the Aeolian Skinner Organ
Company. Bequest of John Ringling, 1936.