Types of musical organs: these are the differences

There are all kinds of organs. From well-known organs such as rotary organs, pipe organs and virtual pipe organs to lesser-known organs such as wind organs, steam organs and water organs. Every organ is different, we are happy to tell you more about the differences between these instruments. 

An organ is a musical instrument that consists of different pipes through which air flows. Every pipe has its own sound. When the organist presses a key on the keyboard, air flows through the relevant pipe, which in turn provides a certain sound. An organ can produce an enormous amount of sounds, depending on the number of pipes. The largest organs have more than ten thousand pipes spread over various rows!

The classical and virtual pipe organ

Let’s start with the most well-known organ: the classical pipe organ. As described, the pipe organ consists of pipes, one or multiple keyboards and a pedal. Pipe organs are often used as a church organ, but also as a concert- or home organ. The largest pipe organ in the world is located in Stephen’s Cathedral in Passau (Germany).

A variant of the classic pipe organ is the virtual pipe organ. A virtual pipe organ mimics the sounds of a classical pipe organ with the help of a software program. An example of such a program is Hauptwerk™. Nowadays, the sound of a virtual pipe organ can no longer be distinguished from a classical organ. Hauptwerk™ is often even used as an addition to the original organ, because Hauptwerk™ makes it possible to play on world-famous organs.

The barrel organ

The street organ is best known in the Netherlands and you often find it on the street in bigger cities. Where the pipes of a classical organ are generally made of metal, those of the barrel organ are made of wood. The barrel organ has the same mechanism as a pipe organ, but a barrel organ is operated by a moving music pattern (a barrel organ book) and not by human hands and feet.

The wind-, steam- and water organ

These three organs are perhaps less well-known, but they still exist. Take the wind organ, for example, which is ‘played’ by the wind. A wind organ is therefore always in the open air and is often intended as a sculpture at the same time. A well-known variant of the wind organ is a wind clock

With a power organ (calliope), steam flows through the organ pipes instead of air. Because the steam creates a certain pressure, the sound is amplified in such a way that a steam organ was often used in the open air. The largest steam organ in Europe is on board of the Dutch steamship Succes.

The oldest type of organ is the water organ (hydraulic organ). In a water organ, air is compressed by water and it is blown directly through the pipes.