Organ History/Design Quiz 1

Question 1

The five elements which all pipe organs have in common are:

Answer 1

1. Things that raise and regulate wind pressure
2. A place (console) where players can actuate certain pipes
3. A way of connecting keys to pipes (action)
4. Wooden chests that support the pipes
5. The pipework itself

Question 2

What is used to measure wind pressure?

Answer 2

Manometer

Question 3

True or false: Wind pressures used in organ building rarely fall below two inches and now, save in the case of high pressure reed stops, rarely exceed five inches

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Another name for cuneiform bellows

Answer 4

Diagonal or wedge bellows

Question 5

Where in the winding system are cone and curtain valves used?

Answer 5

Between blower and reservoir

Question 6

How does the tremblant doux of Dom Bedos work?

Answer 6

A flap is put in front of the wind in the main wind trunk. This flap is put in front of the wind on top of a light spring, and a stop is pulled to push the flap down.

Question 7

What kind of tremulant is in the Juget-Sinclaire organ in the studio?

Answer 7

Tremulant doux

Question 8

Barker levers are used in pulling open the pallets. Do they replace or assist mechanical action?

Answer 8

Assist

Question 9

In mechanical action all of the connections are accomplished by mechanical linkages. What are they?

Answer 9

A key is balanced on a fulcrum with a sticker at the end. When key is compressed, the sticker goes up and pushes up the backfall, which then pulls down the tracker, which is attached to a pulldown that is attached to the pallet.

Question 10

What are the advantages of mechanical action?

Answer 10

It allows for a connection between the player and the pallet that is touch sensitive.
It forces a uniformity of design that is pleasing to the eye.
It has a lower maintenance cost.

Question 11

What are the disadvantages of mechanical action?

Answer 11

It is limiting in the amount of stops an organ can have, due to excessive weight it could create on the fingers.
Console, with some rare exception, must be attached to the frame and also limits the size of the frame.
Is more expensive to build and takes up more floor space.

Question 12

What is a tracker?

Answer 12

The back end of a backfall that attaches to the pulldown and pulls. Made of wood, 3/8 inch wide, 1/8 inch thick.

Question 13

What is a sticker?

Answer 13

The back end of a key that is attached to the backfall, is pushes. Made of tin, width of a pencil lead, 5/16th of an inch. Rarely longer than a foot

Question 14

What is a backfall?

Answer 14

The connection between the sticker and tracker. First class lever

Question 15

What are the two types of pedal boards on organs at CCM?

Answer 15

Flat, non-radiating
Concave, radiating

Question 16

What organ at CCM uses a fan frame to spread the action as it moves from keyboard to chest?

Answer 16

Wilhelm

Question 17

If a fairly large mechanical action organ does not use a fan frame, what is used to spread the action as it moves from keyboard to chest?

Answer 17

Roller boards

Question 18

There are three types of levers used in organ building. Where would you encounter each type?

Answer 18

First class: Typical keys, backfalls
Second Class: Suspended action keys
Third class: A pedal key

Question 19

What is a short octave?

Answer 19

It is a compression of a full 12-key octave to the space of 10 keys, used in early organs as a way to expand pitch range without needing to enlarge the compass of the organ.

Question 20

Which keys use which pitches in a short octave?

Answer 20

E=C, F=F, F#=F#/D, G=G, G#=G#/E, A=A, A#=A#, B=B, C=C, C#=C#

Question 21

What kind of a chest did the 16th century Italian organ use?

Answer 21

Spring wind chest

Question 22

On an Italian organ based on 16’ principale, what pitch is the VIII?
What about the XV and XIX?

Answer 22

8’, 4’, 2 2/3’

Question 23

On an Italian organ, were flutes used in the ripienao?

Answer 23

NO

Question 24

On an Italian organ, were flutes used in the ripieno?

Answer 24

No

Question 25

Were there mixtures on the Italian organ?

Answer 25

No

Question 26

On a one manual Spanish organ, at what pitches were stops divided?

Answer 26

C/C#