organ keyboard instrument played hands feet musical pipe secular recital churches synagogues concert halls organs
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The organ is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard played either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is one of the oldest musical instruments in the Western musical tradition. By around the eighth century it had overcome early associations with gladiatorial combat and assumed a prominent place in the liturgy of the western church; more recently it has reemerged as a secular and recital instrument. All organs are descended from the pipe organ which uses wind moving through pipes of various materials to produce sounds which can vary widely in timbre and volume and are divided into ranks and controlled by the use of hand stops and/or combination pistons. The keyboard touch is not expressive and does not affect dynamics; some divisions may be enclosed in a swell box, allowing the dynamics to be controlled by shutters. These instruments vary greatly in size, ranging from a cubic yard to a height reaching five floors, and are built in churches, synagogues, concert halls, and homes. Small organs are called positive (i. e. easily placed in different locations) or portative (small enough to carry while playing) Non-pipe organs include the reed organ or harmonium and accordion, which like the harmonica or mouth organ use air to excite free reeds; the electronic organ or digital organ which generates its electronically-produced sound through one or more loudspeakers; and more exotic instruments like the hydraulophone which use pipes but not air. Increasingly hybrid organs are appearing in which pipes are augmented with electronic additions; great economies of space as well as cost are possible especially when the lowest (and largest) of the pipes can be so replaced. Mechanical organs dispense with the hands and feet of an organist and are controlled by mechanical means such as pinned barrels or book music. The instrument may be powered by an organ grinder o