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Bach Pipe Organ Research Paper

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Faris Jalalluddin
HUM2510DAYAA
12/11/14
The Pipe Organ
The music it makes is as complex as it is majestic. The pipe organ is one of the largest and most technically sophisticated instruments. Building one is an incredible feat of engineering and craftsmanship. Early man discovered he could make music by blowing across hollow reeds of different lengths. In ancient Egypt, an engineer’s device would later would become the basic technology of the pipe organ. A steady airflow without mouth blowing while controlling air to each pipe to create different notes. By the Middle ages, the pipe organ was a fixture in churches throughout Europe. Johann Sebastian Bach composed his greatest works for organ while working as a musical director of a church. …show more content…

These are the large wooden boxes filled with air on which the pipes stand. Under each pipe is an air channel covered by a valve. The valve is made of leather and sits on a wooden board. When the organist pushes a key on the keyboard, the corresponding valve drops down like a trap door, releasing air into the pipe to play the note. They glue the valve to the wind chest one at a time using animal glue. The valves are connected to the organ keys mechanically by long tracks of cedar wood or by electrical wiring. The electric signals triggers electromagnets to cause a sudden air depression, making the trap door valve drop down on and let the air …show more content…

He was born in Eisenach, Germany on March 21st, 1685 to a long-rooted family of musicians. Some historians argued that during his time, the term “Bach” is almost synonymous with being a musician. His father Johann Ambrosius taught him how to play musical instruments from an early age, and at the age of 7, Bach went to a Lutheran school where he studied Latin and other subjects, which would later impact Bach’s career. Bach was profoundly religious and he saw everything that he did as a composer and musician as basically an act of prayer. Bach’s parents died when he was quite young, and he was adopted by his brother Christoph who was an organ

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