A BARREL ORGAN consist of six major components: Something to sound (the pipes, reeds or horns), something to make them sound (a set of bellows or a rotary air pump), something to control the sound (valves and trackers or solenoids), something to select the sound (roll of punched paper or midi device) and something to provide the energy to make it work (crank handle, gears and pulleys or electric motors). The final component is a box to house it.
WHEN I BUILD a new organ I begin firstly with the bellows or their equivalent. This means that as I make each pipe I have some means of testing and tuning it. The tubular and conical wooden pipes are made on a lathe and tuned with stopped plugs. Larger (lath) pipes are long rectangular tubes made by sticking four thin slats of wood together with glue and carving a whistle for the end. Wooden tubes that can be seen are layered with gold or aluminium paint before tuning. The metal pipes are made from ordinary tubing with whistles hand-carved out of aluminium wedged inside below the flute-slot. These are tuned firstly by their chosen length and more finely by moving the whistle plug up or down the tube. Dummy pipes are also installed on the front of the instrument for decoration. In addition to pipes, a barrel organ may have drums, acoustic woodblocks, reeds, tubular or conical bells, horns, cymbals or other musical instruments.
UNLESS YOU USE PIANOLA ROLLS the paper rolls need to be punched by hand. This is made easier now-a-days by playing the music on a midi keyboard and printing the Event Listing onto a paper roll. This can then be slotted by hand with a craft knife. Or they can be left as printed black dots and lines so that a row of 'optical cells' (one for each note) can 'read' the dots and lines on the paper and relay this information to solenoids which operate the pipe valves. On my 'Faque' organs the rotating paper roll is purely decorative as the notes are sounded by digital MIDI or magnetic tape devices. My 20-pipe 'Kinderflutenpipe' organ uses a hand-embossed metal drum instead of a paper roll.
How does the instrument know which note to sound? This is what the perforated roll is for. Where the hole appears across the roll determines which note is sounded. Where the hole appears along the roll determines when the note is sounded. The size of the hole determines the volume. The shape of the hole can also be used for effect: If the hole is cut as a slot, the length of the slot determines the duration of the note (how long it is sounded). Depending on the direction, a long triangular slot creates a diminuendo or crescendo effect. An elongated diamond shape combines the diminuendo or crescendo and if repeated a number of times it can be used for 'wah-wah' or siren effects. By 'feathering' or zig-zagging (pinking) the edges of the slot a vibrato (or vox humana) effect can be created. And a row of square holes very close together creates a staccato effect. The holes are cut by hand to allow for the creation of special effects based on location, shape and size. The music you are now listening to has been effectively recorded to using this method. Mechanical cutters such as are used for commercially produced pianola rolls are usually limited to note selection and duration, and occasionally volume.
PIPES NEED TO HAVE VALVES operated by air, mechanical trackers or electric solenoids otherwise all pipes would sound at once. The signal from the paper roll, digital MIDI or magnetic tape device selects which valves will open, for how long and (in some cases) by how much (controlling volume).
THE ORGAN NEEDS A CRANK HANDLE or electric motors to make it work. A series of pulleys or gears and levers operate the different parts and these also need to be squeezed into the cabinetry. I prefer to use home-made wooden bearings (turned on a lathe from Australian hardwood and lubricated with candle-wax) as these are quieter than metal commercially-made bearings.
THE DECORATIONS are as much a part of the organ as the 'innards'. 'Kinderflutenpipe' has a model carousel operated by a set of gears attached to the main drum-shaft. My 'monkey' organs have a rod-puppet monkey mounted on the top and the 'Organmagnifique' has operational bells, pipes, horns, drums and cymbals adorning the façade. Bright colours and scroll-work then add to the carnival atmosphere created by the music.
Lionel Hartley, PhD
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Home> ©2002, 2004 Lionel Hartley <Email>It has been his pleasure, not only to build and play the organs, but also to complete the transposition of several hundred tunes; a selection of which has been recorded by Red Range Radio. CDs are available online from the following Music Stores:
CDs recorded by Red Range Radio
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