reed organ harmonium tutorial

[ofacteur]

At 1:11 I started playing the Lachrimae pavan. There are tons of settings of it, but I like the Sweelinck version most :)

Is it a larger Dominion? They are very similar to the Clough in sound!

[because88]

I believe you play part of Locke's 'Consort of Power Parts' (first suite) at around 1:27. Where did you find the the music, if you don't mind me asking? Or are you adapting from viol score? Nevertheles, thank you for the video (I have a Canadian Dominion reed organ coming next week! - just to play the small part as you did in video would be humongously satisfying).

[JmaJeremy514]

beautiful instrument, you are very talented!

[guillo1978q]

que bonito instrumento, alguien sabe si los siguen fabricando y si se puede comprar uno nuevo? cuánto costará?

[guillo1978q]

que bonito instrumento, alguien sabe si los siguen fabricando y si se puede comprar uno nuevo?

[guillo1978q]

que bonito instrumento

[hindsight1820]

You know, Bach had 21 children because his organ had no stops!

[AngelOfDeath373]

This is a great video! I love the sound of this instrument. I currently have my eye on an american reed organ like this... Its at a thrift store for only $75 so not that bad a deal. However, I'm not sure that it works sadly.

[Zylstra555]

I would love to see this video again with the ability to hear you so I can know what you are trying to tell us about.

Thanks for the sampling, I am currently in the process of restoring my reed organ -- my hands are covered in dried shellac! It's terribly messy.

[Zylstra555]

I would love to see this video again with the ability to hear you so I can know what you are trying to tell us about.

Thanks for the sampling, I am currently in the process of restoring my reed organ -- my hands are covered in dried shellac! It's terribly messy.

[ofacteur]

The sound isnt working? Sorry the quality is SO BAD, I dont have a decent device to record-

[Zylstra555]

@ofacteur Apoligize for my dual comments as well, when I clicked "Post" nothing appeared to happen but apparently it did...

I myself am having that problem. I am a piano and organ player. I took a vocal recording mic and placed it in front of m piano and then later used Audacity to amplify it and remove the static, the recording wasn't a miracle but it was better than nothing. Unfortunately for the organ, being as the pipes are in so many different locations, it picks up nothing at all.

[Doomside]

I'm intrigued! Hearing the myriad of different kinds of sound that the instrument can produce is so inspiring.

[old87country]

My Grandma Grunkemeier's has 20 stops.

[Spongebob11223344]

My organ only has 10 stops. I've seen some with as few as five though.

[Wierdoinc]

So THAT'S what those are for!

[mietekzjaczna]

piękny dźwięk !

[jasiu8541]

zgadzam się!!

[pokopikuchan]

Wonderful to hear a fine RO in such good conition and tune. Greatly enjoyed video.

Many thanks,

Ian T

[organmaster2101]

This is an amazing Reed organ. We have 2 at my church but you can't get to them. I have always wanted to play one.

[ofacteur]

Move the stuff out of the way and start using them...kids love them--and they can be very musical!!!

[organmaster2101]

Well they're behind lots of different large objects like old half stair cases for the church. With our new 162 rank wicks/walker combination organ they lay forgotten in the chapel. Our new organ is a wicks consol with all walker digital voicing.

[lostnyc2]

I dont play my reed organ often because I have a pipe organ, I find the reed organs designed for shorter people in the 1880's, my knees hit the underside of the keydesk and the height of the keys are not optimal in relation to sitting height. That is one reason the AGO came up with specific standards for pipe organ consoles and pedalboards all the builders stuck with once adopted. Gone are the flat pedalboards in favor of radiating/concave, and all the measurements are specified in the guide.

[ofacteur]

Many reputable pipe organ builders make flat pedalboards now in order to have an instrument that allows a more historic feel (and also a more elegant presentation)and oftentimes they are fusions of flat pedalboards with sharps of radiating lengths for ease of playing. This is helpful for anyone who wishes to be conversant as an organist but especially if one wants to play instruments in Europe :)

[lostnyc2]

True, some do, but when an organist, and especially a student or novice is trained and used to a modern radiating AGO standard, the flat may be historic but like driving a model T on the highway- it becomes an oddity to have to adjust to the one flat you run into in 5 years in the US

[ofacteur]

I am 6ft2 and have no problems with reed organ keyboard height. Keep in mind you should be seated high, but not cramped to the keyboard to give you optimum leverage (minimized effort).

[lostnyc2]

The problem isn't body height or shortness, it's the length of legs from the foor to the knees, the distance between my pedals and the underside of the keydesk is less than the length of my legs knees to foot, so I either have to spread the knees or sit further back with the knees out from under the desk- neither works especially well. These reed organs did vary in measurements and desk depth

[lostnyc2]

2 reed set organs ala Estey etc are as common as telephone poles, harmoniums are a different breed as is your instrument. Estey made a larger "style T" organ with pedal board and 10 ranks of philharmonic sized reeds is a good one. Mason & Hamlin had a 3 manual reed organ. I know someone with a large 2 manual (forget the make) it was a nightmare to work on with all the delicate pulldowns- was a lousy design from the maint/repair aspect. He was never able to get it to work.

[lostnyc2]

Had a double rise reservoir he rebuilt but the windchest had too many internal cracks and leaks. It had been pulled out of an old house it was installed in 1888 and dumped in the barn where it stayed for years, some small pieces were lost and some laid on the dirt rotted. This is HEAVY, huge and too wide to go thru doorways w/o taking it half apart- keydesk and supports, so it sits now in the humid warehouse moldering away. Never saw a Beatty but sounds typical- more knobs sells LOL

[lostnyc2]

Most of these little reed organs ala Estey etc only have 2 sets of reeds- one in the front and one in the back, and out of all those stop knobs you see on them- maybe 4-6 really DO anything (besides couplers) the rest do little more than open little wood louvers inside to various degrees rather than controlling additional sets of reeds. I believe this was a sales trick because more knobs SOLD better- buyers in the 1880's were fooled by the idea that more is better.

[ofacteur]

I dont bother with the typical 2 set instruments any more, unless it is a portable small model. It is nice (and musically flexible) to have an instrument suh as this one with a choice of 3 8ft stops, 16ft, and 4 ft in the trebles!

[ofacteur]

have you ever seen a D. Beatty instrument with a staggering 24 stopknobs and only 2 sets of reeds...pure 19th century Victorian hocus-pocus LOL

[san6166]

can you play some bachon this amazing insturment

[ofacteur]

Im jealous...you have to search the entire continent in North America to find a French instrument...then it costs 5000$ LOL

[Knappa22]

$5000!!! That's incredible. They must be very rare. The most expensive one I've seen was a Mustel, sold in an auction for £1100, which is about $2000. You can pick up Alexandres, Etiennes and Traysers (Stuttgart) for about £300 which is about $550.

[Knappa22]

Wonderful sounds - thanks for demonstrating :)

I have an Alexandre harmonium, which is very nice, but lacks the superb subbass stops you get in the good American Reed Organs.

I think you have a very fine example :)

[ofacteur]

Thank you for checking out the video! the sub-bass can really shake the room :)

The 16ft (2) on the Alexandre must be nice, though!!

[Knappa22]

Yes, it is nice. I bought it at an auction in a country house here in Wales for £8 ($15) - which was a stroke of luck, because they would have thrown it out otherwise :(

This happens a lot in the UK as churches close and old houses are sold up.

It's a nice Alexandre - beautiful "flutey" sounds, which I really like.

I love American Reed Organs too though, because of the more gutsy, resonating sounds you can get with the good ones.

[Brandotuomikoski]

oh. wow that is a grand sound. love that sub bass.

[ofacteur]

It is one of my favorite instruments of many many...many that have graced my living room :)

[Jm4steam]

That subbass sounds grand

[tyuru2]

aparently my aunt had one of these...

[clydesight]

That's a lovely instrument, and you obviously know how to use the split keyboard function very well. Full organ sound is really quite nice!

[genantray91]

does the organ have a motor to control the bellows?

[ofacteur]

NO!! (I have had some instruments with retrofit motors, but I removed the motor!!) Just the foot pedals. That way, the player has full control of expressive quality :)

[genantray91]

really? it's so quiet that I thought it might have one. It has a GREAT sound!!!

[tmwtcihm]

Never heared a harmonium with such a great sound. Unbelievable! You should record a CD with it...

[ofacteur]

Id love to have someone record on it!

[imahokieartist]

WOW! What an amazing instrument. I'd love to know the age of your organ.  That has to be the best sound I've heard. Wonderful video...Thanks for sharing your talent.

[ofacteur]

It is signed 1891. Clough & Warren made very lovely instruments. This one has qualifying tubes, or wooden resonators, that function to round the sound and take away the partials in the Diapason-Melodia. Thanks for listening!!!

[tmwtcihm]

Does that mean that the Diapason is the bass version of the Melodia? Are the resonators located in the upper part of the organ? If not, what's in there then?

[ofacteur]

yes, the diapason and melodia are the same register (bass and treble)and they are on the bottom of the stack of reeds. There are 3 banks of reeds in the back. The qualifying tubes, or resonator bank, pushes up to the reed cell, and is horizontal...it makes quite a difference in tone.

[Hammondlover2]

This is one of the finest reed organs I have ever heard. It has a lot of power to it. I bet it was meant for a larger church.

[ofacteur]

hey thanks! I put a ton of work into it, and did a bit of tuning. it was in NH when I found it :)

[AayaBonzar]

i used to have a reed organ

[grubsas]

zajebiaszcze :PP ode mnie tez masz 5 gwiazdek. Pozdro, zółwik :D

[ofacteur]

Żałujący, ja nie rozumie język polski :(

[Velostigmat]

Nice C&W!

[etbuk]

Fantastic instrument!!!!! You are luky to have it! (sorry for my horrible english...)

[ofacteur]

Amo molto questo strumento! Lo ho ristabilito io :)

[etbuk]

Compliments!!!!!!!

[Belgologies]

Hello ! Nice video ! I'm just waiting for the others ...

Bob, harmonium (and reed-organ) lover :)