How an Organ Makes Music

Duke University Chapel has three outstanding pipe organs, each in a different style, which are used for worship services, recitals and the study of organ performance. In this video, organ curator John P. Santoianni demonstrates how one of those instruments -- the Flentrop or Benjamin N. Duke Memorial Organ -- creates its wide range of sounds. Santoianni is Duke’s Ethel Sieck Carrabina Curator of Organs and Harpsichords. To learn more about organ music at Duke Chapel visit chapel.duke.edu/worship/music/....
VIDEO CREDITS
Producer -- James Todd
Contributing videographer -- Paul Wynkoop
Contributing audio engineer -- Zach Hutchinson

[@TorutheRedFox]

this thing is nearly like a bloody synthesizer before synthesizers existed

[@uhuhuhuhuhuh3537]

It is a synthesizer, just not an electric one.

[@KC-fb8ql]

just my opinion but I think this is one of the most fantastic contraptions ever created

[@darthlinathegreat7489]

What crazy is the fact that he’s not only just an organist, but he also had to tune it. This would be like a full time job, I hope that this guy gets paid good money for all of this labor he has to do.👍🤔🎶.

[@kanereynolds9521]

It's honestly amazing that people hundreds of years ago invented an instrument that complex and beautiful. Very impressive!

[@TheHomeWoodShop]

Thousands of years. According to another video, the first evidence of an organ being invented was in the 300s...............BC.

[@aortaplatinum]

Organs are so INSANELY cool, these giant, imposing, massively loud and somewhat terrifying instruments that you have to climb up inside of to maintain, capable of flooding an entire building with sound from just a relatively small pressurized air well. Being able to even emulate the sounds of other instruments, it's like the ancient god megafauna precursor to MIDI or a keyboard.

[@Trenz0]

The dude's wearing $150 hiking boots and playing a priceless organ. What a time to be alive

[@bremick]

I noticed that as well.. He could not play a complicated pedal piece wearing those..

[@teufelhunden8308]

What else is he supposed to wear? Stilettos?

[@oron61]

Kinda? They get narrow, soft-bottomed shoes of thin leather so you can feel the key through and slip between them, with the heels pumped about an inch and a half so you can play some notes with your heels. In older pieces you just used your toes since it took more force to push down the keys.

[@ejtamayo5317]

Totally agree

[@JewelBlueIbanez]

Teufel Hunden organ shoes or leather soled dress shoes.

[@bored.in.california2111]

I'm trying to wrap my head around the simplest parts of this and it's still difficult. I can't imagine how it was actually building it. Amazing.

[@Isegawa2001]

What really adds to the complexity of the organ is not the working mechanism, but the sheer amount of pipes and tuning that can be done. It is truly a glorious instrument, no wonder churches use it so much.

[@LucyAnyambula-tw5ri]

Exactly

[@kmno4216]

Imagine the engineering and time it would take to learn how to build these

[@Daves_PianoAndPipes]

The organ - such an underrated instrument, these days. 🎵🎵🎵 It's basically an orchestra in a box

[@Alex_Mewtwo]

thats its purpose- to be capable of replacing an orchestra however, i would say it isnt just “in a box.” i think saying that is disrespectful to an instrument that is the size of a building

[@Gallzatron]

But where does the air pressure come from?!?

[@organbuilder272]

Electric rotary blowers connected to reservoirs then, through pipes into the reservoirs in the chamber for final regulation of the wind pressure before entering the chests.

[@alexanderip1003]

pair of bellows

[@kiragarvie]

@@AnonymousUser-lf6mc They had bellows boys! People who stood back there and pumped the air - some organs today have the option of being hand-pumped.

[@bachkirche]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKLZi4p3jKdmm5o and see for yourself on the recently reconstructed Bach organ in Arnstadt.

[@ejudeeus]

Heaven. From the heaven. Lol!

[@kansasthunderman1]

In addition to the sound of the organ, the church also has very good acoustics.

[@dinosaurcomplaints2359]

A lot of the old churches were designed with acoustics in mind. Some of the organs were built specifically for the space of the church. Bach’s toccatta and fugue in D minor is one of my favorite pieces. If I could only play it!

[@teebz5739]

@@dinosaurcomplaints2359because they were places for healing. These frequencies heal that’s why they were built that way. Same with the pyramids in Egypt, built for healing

[@kazunne4530]

Imagine tuning all of that? I could never.

[@amietedeschi3203]

Altogether, John is in charge of 12 organs, four in the Chapel alone. He also tunes the university's harpsichords.

[@joshygoldiem_j2799]

I was just about to say that😆 That guy must be very, very patient

[@stephenharper11]

He is musically educated, but much of his work is routine tuning -- very, very precise work. The general maintenance and repair work is really a combination of mechanical engineering, physics, and craftsmanship with different woods and metals.

[@tigerguy1013]

No instrument is more beautiful than the pipe organ

[@DonPedro6901]

Amazing how you are able to tune so many thousands of pipes.

[@tommythuyen4063]

What a masterpiece ❤ I never knew a mechanical organ could do as many things as a digital organ until watching this video.😅

[@raymondraptorclaw2901]

So the pipe organ was basically the original “electric piano” in the sense that it has the ability to play different instrument sounds?? That’s amazing!

[@Turnpost2552]

comparing it to anything today is seriously underestimating the influence this instrument had over centuries

[@iLumberjack]

It is more analogous to an orchestra, although the larger ones can produce a sound more powerful than any orchestra. The pipe organ was for centuries the most technologically complex machine humans were capable of producing.

[@harrybeau1712]

Not only mind-boggling in its complexity BUT the present players and repairers of these fantastic instruments must find people to whom they can pass on their knowledge or else...

[@alwynfrench1122]

This is my first time learning about the pipe organ, and it's really interesting,and adorable. Thank you.

[@groovesnotnews6022]

thats in the onion family

[@MrPourekkis]

this is actually magic

[@basedaudio1]

I'm stuck with my midi keyboard but one day I'll find one of this beautiful instrument.

[@andreson21]

Finally I got courageus in getting to know how a organ works. Thanks.

[@RobertOrgRobert]

Beautiful singing organ

[@camelcai]

Outstanding !

[@stylusfantasticus]

Most excellent explanation !!

[@thibomeurkens2296]

Incredibly fascinating!

[@calvinryden2589]

Great video.

[@sergiosalvador4838]

Marvelous!

[@brandonschoen5047]

Very interesting. Always wondered how those things worked. Had an idea, but this really helped. Thanks

[@norbertrivera]

Incredible, and as i know this invention is from centuries ago...WOW!

[@TayTayChan]

Great stuff

[@hehe734]

A great and briliant machine

[@vittoriobacchiega9118]

Good explanations and understand pronunciation ! Well done.

[@cardinalflower6959]

Most interesting! Thank you.

[@KingGrio]

Very instructive, thank you

[@mylifeisJDM]

what a blessing to be able to go to mass there.

[@teebz5739]

I think people were smarter before. We’ve been dumbed down, not by accident. These instruments and the bells (not so much now) and the acoustics they create in these specially designed spaces for the sounds are so healing for the body with the frequencies they emit

[@raymondraptorclaw2901]

I cannot imagine how much work it must take to tune these things.

[@JOHN-tk6vl]

One of the German Cathedral organs has 17,000 pipes!

[@fburton8]

Great presentation! What I find quite surprising is how the organist doesn't need to exert a huge force through his fingers given all the times the action needs to be transferred between the different rigid parts. I'd have thought the cumulative friction would make the key hard to press.

[@fburton8]

P.S. My grandfather used to tune and repair organs as well as pianos, including the organ at Hereford Cathedral in England.

[@kansasthunderman1]

The tracker action is a major component of this type of organ and minimizing friction is an art in itself.

[@ebutuoyrwd]

You get enough things coupled together and it does get harder and harder.

[@oron61]

The tracker opens more and more pallets/doors-for-each-pipe with pressure against them the more stops you pull out. You can make it so you have to put your full weight on a pedal key if you were crazy enough. With electrics, it all feels the same no matter how loud you get.. Between those, they started using the air from the pumps to make the keys easier to press.

[@KristolKrim]

amazing

[@harrietc7128]

The pedal part was composed by Dietrich Buxtehude.

[@JazzBluesMoscow]

very interesting!

[@Murat531454]

2:58 this means my farts are mostly c#... 😁

[@pizzafrenzyman]

wow!

[@Nosttromo]

this has to be the most complex instrument ever made

[@LucyAnyambula-tw5ri]

This is so interesting

[@darthlinathegreat7489]

I like the design on the wood works of this organ and this is literally a full on mechanical organ, sweeet even though this has the modern look to, but still I am glad it is still ticking on👍🎶🎶🎶. !

[@dinosaurcomplaints2359]

Cool! I learned something. I got a magnus organ for christmas one year. I wanted to learn to play. Unfortunately my parents had other ideas.

[@namegoesfirstthenlastname1785]

what ideas?

[@i_am_jayce]

Outstanding organ, and plenty of pipes! i have no idea how you can play a flat footboard, at the organ i play at, we have a radial keyboard. Also, it seems like the far stops are a bit hard to reach. But yeah, full respect to you!!

[@mauroquintanilha2316]

Meu Deus, isso é simplesmente fantástico!

[@fuinhaamiguinha8932]

Br ate aqui?

[@alexandertoth2808]

... and imagine people developed this instrument hundreds years ago - with no computers and printers - just paper, pencil and tons of creativity and patience

[@Fuyu714]

tank you

[@vinyl.croatia]

0:49 oh I love that sound :D

[@jdjones7855]

I was more wondering where the air pressure came from both in modern time and the old days but still very cool video

[@nicktheharpblower]

Hi Jd Jones, that’s a very good question! Us organ builders call the pressurised air (as you describe it) ‘wind’ and It’s measured in cubic feet a minute for flow volume, and inches of displaced water for wind pressure. Inches is traditional, but we also use mm now, I think this started in the 80’s? We tend to use a electronic wind pressure gauge as it’s more accurate. Pressure most commonly ranges from 2 ½ to 10”. The voicer sets the final pressure in the building, and it’s done in different ways depending on the reservoir used (we call them rez’s in the factory by the way). Double rise reservoirs have to be weighted, and single rise reservoirs have to have springs. The pressure in double rise reservoirs is consistent, and it doesn’t matter if the rez is full or nearly bottoming out. This is due to phase cancelation. The top frame, mid frame and well is connected together with a ‘counterbalance’ to ensure all the pieces move as one. Alexander Cumming, who was a clock maker, invented the horizontal double rise reservoir around 1787. Single rise rez’s give a higher pressure when they are nearly closed, so springs are used as they decrease steadily. Another type is called wedge bellows, these are used in ancient organs as well as neo baroque organs, there is also a regulator called a schwimmer. The history of organ blowing is exhaustively long to be honest, first the blowing was achieved by hand/and or foot dating back to the ancient Greeks, then steam power, hydraulic engines, crank gear that was driven by electric, gas oil and hot air engines and then finally the centrifugal fan which we call the blower now. Hand/foot or machinery operated organs have ‘feeders’ which inflate the storage rez, these are basically mini bellows that can be wedge or single rise in shape. Some famous British organ blowers include BOB organ blower, Watkins and Watson and laukhuff. Henry Willis once said “The most difficult thing in an organ is to move the blowing lever up and down”. Hope this helps!

[@James_Bowie]

At 3:15 .. in fact the opposite. 'Shall-OT' is the vegetable. 'Shall-et' is the reed pipe component.

[@tigerguy1013]

2:03 can’t get over that note

[@paulmaliakkal6735]

If this was my church I would come every Sunday .

[@karunajain796]

Shandar 🎉✌✌✌

[@heinmadsen-leipoldt2341]

Interesting to know the chapel have three organs,

[@jelenakonstantinovic114]

Woww👏🏼👏🏼

[@tonycasimiro4034]

basically a medieval synthesizer

[@mhdfrb9971]

Not medieval. It goes way back in Ancient greek/ptolemaic by Ctesibius in Alexandria

[@i_am_jayce]

What couplers do you have on it?

[@johnbogle59]

Actually regardless of the cynical comments of others I found the spoken discourse very interesting; maybe those wise men who commented would feel differently now after a good 8 months of covid 19 which I have feeling has tended to dilute such cynicism and be thankful for all mercies including music and those who can deliver it.

[@ducky-dt3wg]

i would like alla hornpipe to be played on this

[@JoboKobobo]

what is the piece at the end of the video?

[@CarlDoesMusic]

Why does he know EVERY knob like the alphabet? Talent

[@chrisrosenkreuz23]

I still don't understand what blows the air... Aren't there bellows or something? He just said pressurised air goes into the pipes but how does that happen? What pressurises the air, what makes it blow?

[@justinnaramor6050]

I apologize if this reply gets long, but here it goes: as far as I'm aware, pipe organs have what's called a "windchest". This acts as a reservoir of air. If you understand how bagpipes work, for example, this is similar to that. So I presume the windchest is what "pressurizes" the air... it inflates like a balloon (or... like the bag in bagpipes!). And as you're probably aware, any time you squeeze air into a smaller space, such as a balloon, it becomes pressurized; this is now 'compressed' air. So, my thinking is that the bellows (or electric blower, in more recent times) simply supplies air to the windchest, which then supplies that air to the pipes. The windchest has valves on it, one for each key. So when you press a key, a valve opens. So that air in the windchest then escapes into the pipe to make sound. Release the key, and the valve closes, cutting off the sound. The object, then, is to constantly keep that windchest inflated with air in order for the music to keep going; stop pumping air, and the music cannot progress forward even when the keys are actively being pressed... because at that point there's nothing to provide a constant airflow. This is my observation based on my (very recent) research into how pipe organs work. You're right, this video really didn't do a good job at explaining the air-supply portion. Seems to be a problem with videos like this... it's like they assume you know how air is being supplied to the pipes... which is nonsense. There are people who have absolutely zero understanding of how pipe organs work, particularly with the air supply part... so people should really try and explain that more thoroughly and correctly so other people can truly understand it. But I do hope my explanation helped you understand it a bit.

[@zshathickhaque]

Well play me something, okay cone back in 2 months while i tune this🤘

[@sashineb.2114]

How does the device in his hand tune the pipes? What is happening inside the pipe when he is drawing the "wand" over the pipe? Thanks.

[@DoomFinger511]

That tuning rod he showed that was next to the reed is what tunes it. If it's longer or shorter it changes the pitch. When he taps the pipe it wiggles the tuning rod and makes it move down slightly until it's the right pitch. He will manually pull it higher with his hand, then tap it with that stick to slowly wiggle it back down until it's at the right distance.

[@waliqadri]

Playing up priceless instrument wearing a damn wide jogger.

[@WildtuinMichael]

Thank you for this informative video. One thing I don't understand is the tuning part. What are you doing when you're tapping that pipe with that stick? How does that tune it?

[@tavoh3200]

I imagine it's a magnet

[@kansasthunderman1]

He's adjusting the tuning wire that controls the tension and frequency of the reed.

[@shiningarmor2838]

That tuning wire he pulls off changes the length of the reed, and the length determines the frequency.

[@onemoremisfit]

With the reed pipe that was shown, he taps that wire clamp that wedges the reed in place, and as the clamp moves, the reed's vibrating length changes. The assembly is wedged in place by friction, and light taps with a tool change its pitch by moving it slightly. On flue style pipes (not reed) there is a short telescoping section at the end of the pipe that is also wedged in place by friction and tapping the end section with a tool will effectively lengthen or shorten the assembly in order to change pitch.

[@ParanoidBurritos]

"...and after that we have more than 1000 reed pipes, and more than 1000 flute pipes, and over 2000 principle pipes, and then the whole organ will be in tune." The pain in my man's eyes when he said this, lmaooooo

[@davidtrufant3756]

Are these 440 or 432 Hz for A Tuning.?

[@tomcanton9201]

But how did they used to store pressurised air??

[@edwardgray154]

tracker organs sound real nice but most churches today use the electronic method as there is to many things can break down on tracker organs and also save a lot of space and Maintenace..

[@TheMightyKinkle]

I don't get how tapping it with a stick tunes it? 🤔

[@Garfield_633]

Imagine tuning all that… as someone suffering to tune a guitar every single time I play, I could never finish tuning an organ😂😂

[@dapinderjitsingh]

Hello Sir I wanted to start my channel for years now am looking at a story but it requires to show musical instruments can I use just 5-10 seconds from this clip, I would put the link in description, I am not pro in youtube so I have no knowledge so As a moral responsibility I wanted to ask you first

[@ashtonlambert7673]

imagine being the mind who designed the organ

[@davidjames1684]

Do you tune the pipes to each other or to an actual pitch such as A=440 Hz?

[@DanielSarkela]

David James I’m sure that A is tuned to 440hz and he was just tuning the pipe using another C# as a simple demonstration for the video

[@kiragarvie]

That depends on the organ. Many organs will be at 440, but some historic organs are tuned to different pitch levels and different temperaments - not all are equal-tempered.

[@stephenharper11]

The four organs, harpsichord, and piano in Duke University Chapel are tuned so they CAN be used together. But there are minor things differences due to heat and humidity. "Together" does not necessarily mean "simultaneously". For example, a processional hymn may start on the Flenthrop for verse 1 and 2 then verse 3 and 4 may be led by the Æolian as the choir reaches the Chancel at the front of the long aisle. There are some compositions that call for two great organs. For example, a Mass by LouisVierne which we have performed.

[@wiskybiz]

So how did they get compressed air before electricity was a thing?

[@oron61]

A steam pump. And before that, big leather bellows that a small platoon of men would crank or walk over.

[@yoonma6875]

So, is it string instrument or wind instrument???

[@finntv4280]

What's the best talent to be combined? Playing the organ, and tuning the pipes. 😅

[@kornelijekovac9793]

What happens to the tuning after earthquake?

[@oron61]

About $50,000.

[@paniaguajuanjose]

The speaker voice reminds me Richard Wright. 🤔

[@locodriver601]

The organist is playing the building not just the organ.

[@martintrueloveistherealmag3937]

I think churches were healing places and the ones who had an organ playing were working thru sound frequency..... thats why they are called organs... different frequency for different body organs. Just a part of my thoughts on churches and churchorgans. Btw i am dutch and originally learned to play electronic organ than switched to keyboard when i was 15. Ty for the vid and comments hugs martin

[@MD-bn4cv]

Double façade ?

[@tedphillips2501]

And then there is the marvelous Aeolian organ. Note: never touch or blow a reed pipe. Always use a dollar bill - It is linen and will keep body oils from harming the reed.

[@drewtowles1344]

My six year old wants to know what sound the organ makes if you don't pull any of the stops to the left and right of the keys? Any help? I know nothing about organs

[@stephenharper11]

No stops pulled. No sound.

[@johnbogle59]

Smart lad hey? Great musician too

[@TheMightyKinkle]

What happens if you pull all the stops out and play it?

[@darthlinathegreat7489]

The ceiling might collapse on you, that almost happened at my church because our organist tends to do that a lot. Sometimes while he’s playing it I would often check the ceiling (Plz do not fall)! Thank god I don’t go to that church anymore it’s a very small chapel though, it’s hell of a lot louder than you think in small space like that👍🤔.

[@stephenharper11]

Recently I have been checking the decibel level. Each of the great organs sound loud in the building at 70-75 db. However, I feel that either one could create more sound depending on registration. I will update this reply.

[@egali34]

so its basically a huge collection of clarinets

[@Garfield_633]

Now I understand why it is extremely expensive😮

[@clandestinbrrr791]

wow impressive, we should try to rap together

[@shaneconner174]

Where did compressed air come from back in the day? A steam engine? Was there a crew shoveling coals into a furnace to keep the organ running?

[@DavidDaringer]

According to Wikipedia they used bellows.

[@AndresMorales-wc4pg]

The air is produced by an electric fan, the air produced is stored in a large bellow that works similar like a lung, it keeps the right pressure, and then all the air is distributed through the ducts.

[@samschaeffer8236]

In earlier times, when they could not have electricity to run blowers, the wind pressure could be raised in several ways. One way was human power. One or more men could work levers by hand or by foot to pump air into the reservoirs or bellows. Another method was to use weights and pullies to allow gravity to pull the weight down, thereby converting downward motion into rotary motion to turn the blower. Of course you would need a tall enough bell tower or other structure so that the weight could work long enough, before having to reset it. I have even read accounts of gasoline engines being used to generate the power needed in some cases. This may have presented problems with fumes if the engine were not placed far enough away from the building.

[@heavyglassglass]

Still don't know how it makes music

[@CustomTies]

same as a tin whistle, but rather than having holes there are wider pipes.

[@oron61]

The stream of air coming out the pipe sucks a little vacuum from the pipe body, which makes the outside air push back in to get rid of this vacuum, bending the stream of air. This goes back and forth, turning the stream of air into an invisible reed that vibrates. Basically it's done through sorcery.

[@dinosaurcomplaints2359]

Imagine all the different wind instruments in an orchestra. The organ is a mechanical version able to be played by one person.

[@HaiTran-uk2oh]

Reading the the title "how organ makes music" I thought it's for beginners. Instead it's for ones who probably know already.

[@DoomFinger511]

So basically it's an electric piano before electric pianos existed.

[@zapfanzapfan]

The pipe organ is the king of instruments.

[@edgararcega3046]

Yeah...... il stick to whistling.