Transcript Hands and Feet - Insight Resources

Derby and District Organists’ Association
Exploring a
Pipe Organ
with CATO
Children and the Organ Project
The console is
where the
organist sits to
play the organ.
The black and
white notes look
like a piano
keyboard,
except that,
unlike a piano,
there are several
keyboards.
The keyboards
are called
‘manuals’.
This console
has three
manuals, each
connected to a
different part of
the organ.
This manual is
connected to the
Great Organ.
The stops for the
Great Organ are
here.
Here are the
stops and the
manual for the
Swell Organ.
And the stops
and manual for
the Choir Organ.
The stops for the
Pedal Organ are
here.
♪ Think of some
reasons why it is
useful to have
more than one
manual.
The organ at Melbourne Parish Church has two manuals.
The organ at St Alban’s Abbey has four manuals.
The Wanamaker organ in Philadelphia has six manuals.
Changing the stops
When you pull out a stop, a rank
of pipes becomes connected to
the manual. Each stop is
connected to a different rank of
pipes.
♪ Give some reasons why it is
useful to have several different
stops for each manual.
Combining several stops
When you press a thumb piston or
toe piston, several stops come out
at the same time.
These pistons are useful for
selecting the stops you want very
quickly. In general you get a
louder sound when you pull out
more stops.
Manuals coupled or uncoupled
If you pull out a coupler stop
like ‘Swell to Great’, you can play
both manuals at the same time,
combining their sounds.
♪ Explain why the organist might
want to couple two manuals
together.
Without the coupler, the organ can
sound like two different voices playing
different tunes at the same time, with
the left hand on one manual and the
right hand on another.
Playing the pedals
When you play the pedals,
you move the foot from the
ankle, pressing the keys with
the toe or the heel. Organists
learn to feel the keys without
looking at their feet. The
gaps between the ‘black’
notes help them to do this.
♪ What sort of tone do the
pedals give to the sound of
the organ?
If you pull out the ‘Great to Pedal’ coupler stop,
the pedals also play notes on the Great Organ.
Swell pedal
When you rock the
Swell pedal away from
you with your toe, it
gradually increases the
loudness of the Swell organ.
Rocking the pedal backwards by pushing your
heel down makes the organ softer.
♪ What is the musical word for making the music
gradually louder?
♪ What is the musical word for making the music
gradually softer?
Hands and feet
Playing with both hands and feet at
the same time needs careful practice
to keep everything together. When
you play a chord (several notes
together), your fingers must press
the notes down at the same time as
your toe or heel on the pedals. To
finish the chord, you must lift your
fingers and feet at exactly the same
time.
Remember that on the organ the
pipes make a sound all the time
while a key is pressed, unlike a piano
where the sound dies away after you
press a note.
♪ Think of four things which your hands have to control at the console.
♪ Think of three things which your feet have to do at the console.
Multi-tasking
• Hands
• Feet
• Eyes
• Ears
There is plenty to do...
... plenty to look at...
... plenty to listen to...
... and don’t forget to
turn the music pages.
Cartoon by Gerard Hoffnung
What have you learned?
Console
Playing the notes
Changing stops
Playing the pedals
Combining stops
Hands and feet together
Thumb pistons
Coupling manuals
Swell pedal
Toe pistons
Changing manuals
Turning pages
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
Copyright notice
Copyright owner:Derby & District Organists’ Association
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