How to Tune An Organ.

Do not forget the pencil. (More about that later.)

The organ console is in the second balcony. Some of the pipes are in chambers flanking the second balcony, with the base of the side facade pipes approximately on a level with the first balcony.  The choir (that's a group of stops of the organ, not the people who sing) is to the right, and the swell (that's the part of an organ whose sound can be dampened with shutters) is to the left.  The great and pedal are way up at the level of a third balcony, if there actually was a balcony way up there.

Now. Do you have your pencil? Good. Organ technicians never drop their pencils into the pedalboard. Only organists do that.

The entrance to the second balcony is at the top of the choir risers. (This time I do mean the people-who-sing choir.) Insert your pencil under a key adjacent to the note you want to tune.  *Climb from the console, up the risers. Exit the second balcony, then go down two flights of stairs to the level of the first balcony. At the bottom of the stairwell, walk through the door to the pipe chamber. Now, climb up the ladder to the walkboard (that's catwalk to you non-technical types.) Tune pipe in question.

Now, back down the ladder, through the chamber door, up two flights of stairs, and back down the choir risers (remember, these are the people-choir risers) to the console.  Move your pencil adjacent to next note to be tuned.  Repeat from *.

When you've finished tuning notes in the side chambers, locate the little door at the lower left of the main organ's casework. (That's the cabinetry on the front, and sometimes sides, of an organ, but "cabinetry" sounds too plebeian.) Climb through that door, then climb the ladder up to the walkboard, with nothing to hold on to, and nothing behind you. I hope you remembered to stick the pencil into the keyboard to hold the note down.

What? It's still stuck behind your ear? Sheesh.  Back down you go!

Oh, and there's another organ, too.

Comments

[Presbytera]

So tell me, is your husband trim? That sounds like a tremendous physical workout! Beautiful picture.

[elephantschild]

What's so funny is that my husband is a skinny 6'-3" but he has a job that requires crawling around into the strangest-shaped places. It's kind of like how littlest kid in fifth-grade band was the one who chose the tuba!

Thanks for stopping by , Presbytera.