The pipe organ is a keyboard instrument that makes sound by blowing air through pipes. One player works several keyboards with the hands and another keyboard with the feet. A small organ has a few hundred pipes, and the largest have more than 30,000. Mozart called the organ the king of instruments.
Quick facts
- Family: keyboards, with wind
- Sound is made by: air blown through pipes
- Keyboards: two or more for the hands, and one for the feet
- Pipes: one for each note of each sound
- Found in: churches, concert halls, and some old cinemas
How it makes sound
An organ has no strings. A fan fills a chest with air. Each key opens a valve under a pipe, and air rushes in. The pipe sounds for as long as the key is held down. A piano note fades. An organ note does not.
- Long pipes give low notes.
- Short pipes give high notes.
The longest pipes on a large organ can be 32 feet tall. The shortest are smaller than a pencil.
In the past, a helper pumped the air by hand. Today an electric fan does it.
Two kinds of pipe
- Flue pipes work the way a whistle or a recorder does. Air splits on a sharp edge.
- Reed pipes have a thin metal tongue that buzzes. These give the trumpet and oboe sounds.
Pipes are made of metal or wood. The pipes you can see at the front of an organ are a small share of the whole. The rest stand in rows behind them.
The parts a player uses
Manuals. These are the keyboards for the hands. Each one controls its own group of pipes.
Pedalboard. This is a large keyboard on the floor. The organist plays it with the toes and heels of both feet, and it sounds the lowest notes.
Stops. These are knobs or tabs beside the keyboards. Each stop switches one set of pipes on or off. Some sets sound like flutes, some like trumpets, and some like strings. Pulling out many stops at once gives a huge sound. The saying “pull out all the stops” comes from the organ.
Swell pedal. Some pipes stand inside a box with shutters. A pedal opens and closes the shutters, which makes the sound louder and softer.
An organist reads three lines of music at once: one for each hand and one for the feet.
A short history
The organ is one of the oldest keyboard instruments. An inventor in ancient Alexandria built an organ that used water to keep the air pressure steady. Churches in Europe took up the organ in the Middle Ages, and builders made organs larger over time.
Johann Sebastian Bach worked as a church organist and wrote a large body of music for the organ. Read Bach for kids.
Pieces to hear
Toccata and Fugue in D minor, by Bach. One of the best-known organ pieces. See the guide.
“Little” Fugue in G minor, by Bach. One tune enters four times, and the last entry is in the feet. Read what is a fugue?
Toccata from Symphony for Organ No. 5, by Widor. Fast, bright notes in the hands over a slow, grand tune in the feet. It is often played at the end of weddings.
Symphony No. 3, the “Organ” Symphony, by Saint-Saëns. The organ opens the final section with one great chord. Read Saint-Saëns for kids.
“The Cuckoo and the Nightingale,” by Handel. An organ concerto with birdcalls in the first fast movement.
Starting to play
Organists often start on the piano. The finger skills carry across, and a child’s legs need to be long enough to reach the pedals.
- Ask a church or a local organists’ group whether anyone teaches young beginners.
- Organ shoes have thin soles and a small heel, so the feet can feel the pedals.
- Practice takes place where the organ is. That means a church or a hall, not home.
Read the piano for kids.
Things to do together
Bottle pipes. Line up four glass bottles. Pour a different amount of water into each. Blow across the tops. The bottle with the least air inside gives the highest note.
Watch the feet. Find a video of an organist that shows the pedals. Count how many notes the feet play in ten seconds.
Count the keyboards. Look at a picture of an organ console. Count the keyboards and the stops.
Visit one. Ask at a church or a concert hall whether you can hear the organ. Some players are glad to show a child how it works.
Piano or organ? Play one note on a piano recording and one on an organ recording. Ask which note fades.
Print and play
Use a listening journal page for the Toccata and Fugue. For the other keyboards, read keyboard instruments for kids and the harpsichord for kids.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.