A barrel organ

Two street musicians and a barrel organ playing on a kids' flea market on a fine Sunday

Category:

Music

Tags:

• barrel
• organ
• orgue
• de
• barbarie
• brocante
• fleamarket
• music

[HikaroTakayama]

@theorganguy: I was planning on building it myself, and the idea I had was to use something like the blower off an old portable blacksmithing forge to provide the needed airflow, and to play the keyboard with the right hand while cranking with the left (or vice-versa), basically how hone plays a true hurdy gurdy... I was even thinking about adding a couple "drone" pipes to further confuse the distinction between barrel organs and true hurdy gurdies XD

...Of course, I might not get around to it.

[theorganguy]

@HikaroTakayama not that difficult really. you want to build it yourself? or have it built for you? The only "trick" would be: how do you crank and play the keyboard at the same time? Maybe a foot-activated pump-mechanism?

[HikaroTakayama]

At least he didn't call it a "Hurdy Gurdy'... that would have been unforgiveable! ;)

I wonder how difficult it would be to modify/build something similar, but with a keyboard on it for use as a portable pipe organ...

[theorganguy]

"orgue de barbarie" is correct.

while "barrel organ" is the correct english name for this type of instrument, this particular organ does not operate off a barrel, but rather - as seen in this Video - from a perforated cardboard book.