History of the street organ
A street organ is a mechanical organ designed to play in the street. The operator of a street organ is called an organ grinder. The two main types are the smaller German street organ and the larger Dutch street organ.
German style street organs are usually operated by a music roll or pinned barrel. New technology allows for electronic music boxes that can house several hundred songs and eliminate the carrying of the bulky rolls.
The hand-cranked street organ began life in the eighteenth century as a little tiny hand-cranked table organ that was designed to teach song birds how to sing pretty little songs. These bird organs were called serinettes in French.
Serinettes contained all the basic elements of the modern street organ - bellows, pipes, and a way of making the pipes sound at the right time, which in this case was a barrel with little pins sticking out of it. These pins would hit keys which in turn would open valves which let air go to the pipes.
The serinette was soon adopted by wandering troubadours and other ne'er-do-wells.The only problem with serinettes was that they produced a very small, bird-like sound. As performers demanded a fuller sound, organs were built with larger pipes and bellows, and interchangeable barrels. Thus the instruments we would recognize as barrel organs were developed.
German style street organs are usually operated by a music roll or pinned barrel. New technology allows for electronic music boxes that can house several hundred songs and eliminate the carrying of the bulky rolls.
The hand-cranked street organ began life in the eighteenth century as a little tiny hand-cranked table organ that was designed to teach song birds how to sing pretty little songs. These bird organs were called serinettes in French.
Serinettes contained all the basic elements of the modern street organ - bellows, pipes, and a way of making the pipes sound at the right time, which in this case was a barrel with little pins sticking out of it. These pins would hit keys which in turn would open valves which let air go to the pipes.
The serinette was soon adopted by wandering troubadours and other ne'er-do-wells.The only problem with serinettes was that they produced a very small, bird-like sound. As performers demanded a fuller sound, organs were built with larger pipes and bellows, and interchangeable barrels. Thus the instruments we would recognize as barrel organs were developed.