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Commonly used words and their meaning
- Blower An electric motor driven device which compresses ambient air to provide Wind at a pressure to blow the
pipes. Early blowers where powered by water, internal combustion engine and by hand.
- Celeste - A Celeste is a rank of pipes with the same timbre and similar scale. The first celeste rank is normally tuned sharp for a string celeste
and flat for a flute celeste. The beat frequency caused by the pipes being out of tune with each other caused a very warm chorus effect. Strings are normally made to beat slightly faster than flutes.
- Chamber A “room” separated from the listening area by Shutters. A chamber contains the pipes, wind chests and other
related items played from the Console.
- Chrysoglott
- The chrysoglott is a tuned percussion instrument . Bars are of metal and the hammers are reasonably soft and frequently a larger form of a piano hammer. It is essentially the same sound as the “Celesta” of the orchestra. Because of the use of the the word “Celeste” in defining certain flue pipes. the Theatre Organ “Celesta “ is called a “Chrysoglott”.
- Console The key desk of an organ, containing Manuals, Pedals, Stops,
and other devices used in playing or controlling the organ.
- I/O Board Short for Input or Output circuit boards. I/O boards interface between the organ and the Uniflex relay.
- Manual A keyboard consisting of 61 keys played by the hands.
- MIDI "Musical Instrument Digital Interface" An electronic connection
which allows the organ to control or be controlled by electronic musical instruments.
- Pedals A keyboard played by the feet.
- Pipe A pipe is a single note within a given Rank of Pipes. The tone or timbre it makes and the pitch it plays are
determined by:
1) The size and shape of the pipe
2) Whether it is a:
a) “flue pipe” (like a penny whistle)
3) The wind pressure blowing through it.
In a theatre organ, a rank may consist of from 61 to 109 pipes ranging in speaking length from 32’ to 3/8”.
- Rank A single set of pipes controlled by a Stop
producing one particular tone or timbre. Example: Trumpet, String, Flute, Clarinet, etc.
- Relay A device placed between the Console and the Wind chests.
Inputs from the Console are sent to the Relay which directs the signals to the Wind chests as required by the organist. Theatre organs originally had relays made of
wood and leather and operated pneumatically. In recent years electronic devices have come to replace the original mechanical devices which contributed a great greatly to maintenance of the organs
- Regulator A device frequently incorrectly referred to as a reservoir which “regulate” Wind to the specific pressure required by the pipes on the chest it feeds.
- SAM’s Syndine Action Magnet are electric devices used to control and show the on/off condition of a Stop
. The mechanical assembly also includes a reed switch which provides input control for the action controlled by the Stop
- Shutters A number of parallel, wooden blades inserted in the wall between the listening area and the Chamber. By opening and closing them, the organist controls the effective volume of the organ.
- Stop / Stop Key A switch on the console directing control of a Rank of pipes or accessories assigned to a Manual.
- Toy Counter
- That part of the theatre organ that contains the untuned percussion and sound effects such as Bird Whistle, Siren, Surf, Wind, Auto Horn Steam whistle, and many others.. Many of these instruments can be played from the manuals as well as from pistons and toe studs.
- Tremulant
- A wind device that varies the pressure of the air supply in a regular manner. to ranks of pipes. The varying wind pressure causes the pipes to vary in pitch and amplitude at the frequency of the tremulant. Tremulants in a theatre organ usually oscillate at a frequency of around 6 cycles per second
- Tuned Percussions
- Metal or wooden bars struck by mallets of felt, composition or metal.. The term is used to describe Orchestra Bells, Xylophones, Marimbas, Chimes, Chrysoglott and other musical instruments that are sounded be being struck.
- Tremolo
- regular variation in pitch and amplitude of an organ sound, much like the vibrato in a singing human voice, violin and other orchestral instruments. In a theatre organ the tremolo is caused by a Tremulant.
- Untuned Percussions
- Instruments that are struck or shaken to provide an effect such as Bass Drum, Snare Drum, Castanets, Cow Bell, Cymbals, and other instrument normally found in the battery of an orchestra.
- Wind - A generic term used to describe the compressed air supplied by the Blower. Wind is delivered to the
Chambers via metal air ducts where it is connected to Regulators and then to the Wind chests to blow the organ’s pipes. The wind pressure one major thing that distinguishes a Theatre Organ form a Concert/Church Organ. Theatre organs are usually voiced and play at from 8 inches of water up to as high as 100 inches of water. A concert/church organ are voiced and play at from about one and a half inches to around five inches of water Wind is measured in inches of water in the US and UK. In other countries in Europe and Asia, it is measured in millimeters of water. Approximately 27 inches of water is equal to 1 pound per square inch (PSI)
- Wind chest - A box fed by regulated wind with pipes placed on top. Under each pipe in the “chest” is a valve controlled by the organist via the Relay..
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