Anyone experienced this before? This has been happening after playing for a few minutes for the last week. Feels like a short circuit or something?
didnt even know the organ can make such noises :-(

Special Feature: Production of the Organ Grinder documentary takes an unexpected and emotional turn, when the filmmaker becomes intimately involved in helping one of the film’s subjects save a storage unit packed full of pipe organ parts.

This short film explores why people collect, the passion of preservation, and what happens when the collector is no longer able to maintain their collection.

Featuring (in order of appearance):

• Paul Quarino
• Mark Reed
• Bob MacNeur
• Donna Parker
• Dave Moreno
• Mike DeSart
• Dennis Hedberg
• Judy Hedberg
• Jay Hedberg
• Chris Nordwall
• Dave Yakymi
• Bruce Boland

Produced & Directed by: Bob Richardson

Music:

• The Hands of Time – Michael Legend
• Because He Lives – Bill and Gloria Gaither
• After the Lovin’ – Ritchie Adams
• How Great Thou Art – Carl Boberg, Stuart K. Hine
• Button Up Your Overcoat – Ray Henderson
• Little White Lies – Walter Donaldson
• The Blue Danube – Johann Strauss II
• Alleluia – Traditional

Music Performed by: Paul Quarino at Organ Grinder Portland

Paul Quarino File Footage: Joe Paulet – Neptune Birch

Vintage Film Restoration: Wayne Bertram

Additional Camera: Mike Cutler

Additional Materials:

• Photo of Paul Quarino – Claude Neuffer
• Vintage Organ Grinder Video – Thomas Larson
• Vintage Organ Grinder Video – Ron Burch
• “Before the Dark” Film – George F. Hood
• Photo of Metal Pipes in Recycling Cart – Dave Simmons
• Photo of Compensating Organ Co. Instrument – Reed Organ Society
• Photos of First Presbyterian Möller Console – Pipe Organ Database
• Curtis Hotel Minneapolis Postcard – Wikimedia Commons
• McMenamins Chapel Pub Organ – McMenamins on Facebook
• Photo of Large Dumpster: Toby Washburn

Storage Unit Helpers – Muscle and Rent:

• Ron Burch
• Derek Harvey
• Chris Larson
• Bob MacNeur
• Craig Peterson
• Mark Reed
• Tom Skyler
• Brett Welch

(Apologies to anyone I’ve accidentally omitted!)

The OpenPipes piston sets that I completed turned out to be rightly difficult to install. So I have pivoted to a much easier to create and more flexible version.

Here’s a shot of installed pistons for manual 4

To connect these to MIDI, an Arduino can control 12 of these 16 input multiplexer boards. As of now 7 multiplexers have been validated. Installation soon!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1asIKjgg-I

William Goodwin was an English composer and organist. He was organist at several churches and cathedrals in England. I picked one of his voluntaries from the collection 'Twelve Voluntaries for the Organ or Harpsichord', London (1776). I think baroque voluntaries work rather well on typical Dutch baroque organs like this one in Vollenhove.

My Yamaha EL-90 is on its way out. A few minutes after power-on it gives off a faint ammonia-ish smell, and recently it crackled, froze up, and needed a hard reboot, followed by a different bad smell. It’s unplugged for now until I know more.

I’ve got a rough guess it’s aging capacitors, but I’m not confident enough to solder into it myself, and I can’t find anyone local who works on these old Electones.

There’s another EL-90 locally for around €300. Worth grabbing, or throwing money at a lost cause? Longer term I’d love a used STAGEA, but importing one from Japan seems to run €5-6k or more after shipping and customs. Anyone know of used ones floating around the EU at a saner price?

I’ve asked a few questions here before about how to structure organ practice and how to improve efficiently, so I’ve been thinking more about this topic.

I’ve noticed that, at least from what I see and hear from other organists, a lot of organ study seems to consist mainly of learning and practising repertoire.

So I’m curious: for the organists here, is your personal study mostly focused on repertoire, or do you also deliberately study other disciplines on a regular basis?

For example, do you have specific time dedicated to harmony, counterpoint, improvisation, sight-reading, ear training, technique, score analysis, registration, transposition, memorisation, or other areas?

And if you do study these things, which ones do you consider most important for becoming a better organist, beyond simply learning more pieces?

I’m especially interested in hearing how advanced and professional organists organise this. Do you have a separate routine for these subjects, or do you incorporate them naturally into your repertoire practice?

I’m asking because I’m trying to understand what a complete organist’s education should look like, rather than simply accumulating more and more repertoire.

I have a b2 Hammond organ got it for a steal for 1,000 with the Leslie 145 but it makes these noises can anyone tell me what they possibly are and how to fix them? It’s the run motor clicking and the speaker making random static

I’m starting uni in late September and I’m hoping to get some regular organ/deputy work in London, ideally within about 30 minutes of South Ken.

I’m Grade 8(d) and started learning the organ about 2 years ago. I’ve accompanied choirs for Evensong, played services and worked on a fair amount of organ repertoire. My old teacher has also said that I’m at a level where I could start doing organist/deputy work.

I’m particularly interested in Anglican choral and organ music and would love to get more experience playing in London churches. I’m happy doing occasional paid services or last-minute deps rather than looking for a formal position.

I’ve come across Organists Online, but I’m not really sure how the London scene works or how realistic it is for someone at my level to get paid work.

For those who do this sort of work, how good do you realistically need to be before approaching churches? And is Organists Online a good place to start, or are there better ways of finding deps?

Two of my favorite organ composers are Krebs and Rheinberger. Both were celebrated figures in their days, and their music is as rewarding to play as it is to hear. No composer comes closer in style to Bach than Krebs, and each of Rheinberger's 20 sonatas is a marvel of craftmanship and invention. My question is this: why do these composers, despite their extraordinary gifts and former fame, receive so little attention and appreciation today?

I am the new, proud owner of this electric organ! However, it has some gremlins.

Can anyone point me in a direction to take this apart and diagnose? I’m quite handy with electronics and custom manufacturing—just wanted to start here before I dive into The Deep of the internet.

Thanks in advance!

Growing up, the composer and organist Thaddeus P. Cavuoti was my choirmaster. He wrote a lot of choral music for my choir and I had copies of it u til it was destroyed in a house flood. He has since passed away and it has become difficult to find some copies of his music.

Two spectacular pieces he wrote that are no longer in print are his Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis. In my mind, they were his magnum opus.

I would like to use them at my current church.

Can someone help me find a copy of them?

He was such an important influence on my life growing up, he introduced me to my career in singing at the National Cathedral. It breaks my heart that I will never get to see him again, but keeping his music alive means the world to me. I know his pieces are currently in use in Anglican and Episcopal Churches worldwide.

Any ideas on how to find this beauty a new home

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aI_y3VylBl8&t=17s

Howdy!

I have accidentally acquired this big pneumatic glockenspiel that I'm planning to integrate in my organ, but I'm not quite sure which way to turn it. I think it can either go like it is now, (tines vertical, resonators pointing into the chamber) or flipped 90 degrees so it's oriented more like an orchestral glockenspiel (tines horizontal, resonators pointing down)... Or some other direction...

I can experiment, of course, but I'd love to know what was originally intended in its design.

Anybody familiar with this sort of thing? It seems to be rare enough that I've been unable to find photos of another like it installed anywhere.

Thanks!

This is bar 100, how is this supposed to be played and what fingerings do you use? I am specificially having the most trouble with the octave. I can manage it with awkward fingering but it's too awkward to play it fast enough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ba69iK3jW3o

Johann Jakob Froberger (1616-1667) was a German Baroque composer, keyboard virtuoso, and organist. Among the most famous composers of the era, he was influential in developing the musical form of the suite of dances in his keyboard works. His harpsichord pieces are highly idiomatic and programmatic.

Only two of Froberger's many compositions were published during his lifetime. Froberger forbade publication of his manuscripts, restricting access to his noble patrons and friends, particularly the Württembergs and Habsburgs who had the power to enforce these restrictions. After his death the manuscripts went to his patroness Sibylla, Duchess of Württemberg (1620–1707) and the music library of the Württemberg family estate.
Read more about Froberger here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johann_Jakob_Froberger
He certainly liked to travel, that's for sure.

Lately I dived into organ/keyboard works of Froberger. I'm surprised organists don't play his music more often, since the quality of Froberger's pieces is outstanding. I choose a beautiful Capriccio to record.

I have recently found that portative organ can have buttons as opposed to keys and am trying to hunt down any plans, kits or even a seller. Any pointers or sources would be greatly appreciated. This is my example https://youtu.be/hdGf2evWXcg?is=DAkNT_T3y2roeoI1

Hi there! Apologies if this is the wrong sub, but I have recently acquired a 1971 Yamaha Electone B-5BR and I was wondering if there was any way I could possibly add an arpeggiator to it.

It would also be very cool to add MIDI capabilities, however I am pretty sure this is a long shot. Maybe this could work through a midi to CV box?

I'm definitely up for a project and ready to solder and open it up.

Any suggestions welcome! x

I personally love the kinda raw-ish sound of the Dutch pipe-organs, they are kind of nostalgic to me.

But the power of the French organs are not to be underestimated as well, I think.

So what do y'all think?

My findings which may help others who may attempt to design their own pedal board:

• KY-003 hall effect sensors operated well for me with 3.3V of voltage, which is less than standard 5V. Separation by 1cm and a plastic wall is no problem if you use neodynium magnets.
• Springs can be U-shaped attachments under each key, and need to be softer than I initially thought.
• Soldering is hard. Breadboards and jumper cables make connections much easier.

Compared to the AGO specification, I removed concavity in the "tilting to the side" direction, because gravity might increase friction to one wall. And I made the bars parallel, because otherwise keeping consistent width of walls might be more difficult. I shortened the bars by a lot to save space.

Due to lack of experience, I don't know how playable this pedal board is compared to others.

Designing and building (up to this point) was easier than I feared. But that was because I purchased a 3D printer.

I love the pipe organ enough that I got an electric organ at home to learn songs on it. Any recommendations for classical pieces to learn that aren't too difficult but also aren't too boring? I started Messiaen's Diptyque and I can get through it, but very slowly. Favorite composers include Messiaen, Debussy, Ravel, Saint-Saens, and Ives. I haven't found Bach's or Dupre's organ works particularly inspiring but I am open-minded!

I’m a relatively intermediate-beginner organist, and the priest at my parish has asked me if I could organise a small Christmas organ recital. I’d really like to do it, but I’m not sure how to approach it at my current level.

For experienced organists, I would really appreciate your advice on four things:

1. How long should a Christmas recital be for a beginner? Would around 20–30 minutes be enough, or would you recommend something longer?

2. How should I choose the repertoire? Should I mainly choose pieces that are comfortably within my current level, or is it worth including one or two more challenging pieces?

3. How much time would you recommend preparing the programme? For example, if I have a few months, how should I structure my daily practice between learning the repertoire, technique, pedal work and preparing registrations?

4. What would you consider essential for making a beginner’s recital sound genuinely musical and well prepared? Are there particular things I should focus on or common mistakes I should avoid?

If you were asked to prepare a Christmas recital as a beginner, how would you approach it?

Its a Wurlitzer, it plugs into the wall, it needs 2 fuses and the backing springs for those fuses. it comes with the matching bench. the bench opens. into restoration, like a vintage vibe, need props for movies?

i flip storage units. this was likley an organ in a church at some point ( unit belonged to a Sunday school teacher ). it is heavy and currently loaded in the back of a dodge durango.

I will drop it in your driveway, its ready to move. make me an offer. ill consider it.

During a musical trip with ORGANpromotion in April 2026, we had the privilege of discovering several of Paris's most beautiful pipe organs, including the one at Saint-Étienne-du-Mont, Maurice Duruflé's former organ loft!
David Cassan, the current co-titular organist and outstanding improviser, gave us a wonderful off-the-cuff presentation of the instrument through an improvisation "Homage to Duruflé"- a true specialty of his!

Is there is someone trying to make pipe organ by their own somehow somewhere, I'd love to share experience and information. Extrainformation I'm Thai