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131-616: When Gottlieb Votteler opened his shop for building pipe organs in Cleveland in 1855, he built small instruments with mechanical key action and mechanical stop action. During the Votteler-Hettche years, robust mechanical actions were replaced with tubular–pneumatic actions , transitioning to electro-pneumatic actions in the Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling years, and Holtkamp Organ years. Currently

262-466: A clumsy device [that] made the touch hard and tough"; Silbermann improved the escapement of the original design. One of Silbermann's pupils, the Augsburg builder Johann Andreas Stein , further refined Schröter's action in the 1770s by reversing the orientation of the hammer, with the hammer head closer to the player. As described by Hipkins, in the original "Viennese" action, "the blow is caused by

393-426: A computer keyboard, but providing the least realism. More sophisticated keyboards incorporate weights in the keys but rely on springs for return, making these semi-weighted keyboards fast to depress and slower to return. Keyboards that use moving weights similar to the motion of hammers without relying on springs are called hammer-action . The hammer weights may vary by the note being played, similar to how keys in

524-427: A cushion of felt or soft leather upon which the different parts of the action rest or come in contact with each other. Their purpose is that of rendering the action noiseless and easy of operation. Bnc R , shows the end of the balance rail, underneath the keys and extending the entire length of the keyboard. B P , is the balance pin. This is a perfectly round pin driven firmly in the balance rail. The bottom of

655-414: A different feel than in a grand piano action. The return motion of the hammer as it rebounds from the string(s) is assisted by the catcher and bridle, which is a flexible strap (generally leather) connecting the catcher to the wippen; the bridle adds the weight of the wippen to the hammer to help the hammer return to the back check. When the key is released, the damper is restored to its resting position by

786-604: A distance from actual musical practice. But this medieval discipline became the basis for tuning systems in later centuries and is generally included in modern scholarship on the history of music theory. Music theory as a practical discipline encompasses the methods and concepts that composers and other musicians use in creating and performing music. The development, preservation, and transmission of music theory in this sense may be found in oral and written music-making traditions, musical instruments , and other artifacts . For example, ancient instruments from prehistoric sites around

917-492: A felt covering upon which the extension rests; in this case it is necessary to provide what is called an extension guide which is hinged to the extension guide rail shown in the cut at the left of the extension. In actions of this kind, the extensions remain in place at all times and the trouble of placing them properly on the bottom when replacing the action is obviated. Other methods also are employed which are readily understood upon slight examination, but are essentially similar to

1048-505: A given meter. Syncopated rhythms contradict those conventions by accenting unexpected parts of the beat. Playing simultaneous rhythms in more than one time signature is called polyrhythm . In recent years, rhythm and meter have become an important area of research among music scholars. The most highly cited of these recent scholars are Maury Yeston , Fred Lerdahl and Ray Jackendoff , Jonathan Kramer , and Justin London. A melody

1179-650: A greater or lesser degree. Context and many other aspects can affect apparent dissonance and consonance. For example, in a Debussy prelude, a major second may sound stable and consonant, while the same interval may sound dissonant in a Bach fugue. In the Common practice era , the perfect fourth is considered dissonant when not supported by a lower third or fifth. Since the early 20th century, Arnold Schoenberg 's concept of "emancipated" dissonance, in which traditionally dissonant intervals can be treated as "higher," more remote consonances, has become more widely accepted. Rhythm

1310-421: A key consists of the key itself and all its appurtenances. These appurtenances include a see-saw like leverage-system, the escapement, a supplementary device for repetition, and a check for hammer rebound. The illustration to the right is of a circa 1907 Wessell, Nickel and Gross upright action; the parts are listed below. Ky , is the key in its resting position. c , found in multiple places, represents

1441-723: A particular composition. During the Baroque period, emotional associations with specific keys, known as the doctrine of the affections , were an important topic in music theory, but the unique tonal colorings of keys that gave rise to that doctrine were largely erased with the adoption of equal temperament. However, many musicians continue to feel that certain keys are more appropriate to certain emotions than others. Indian classical music theory continues to strongly associate keys with emotional states, times of day, and other extra-musical concepts and notably, does not employ equal temperament. Consonance and dissonance are subjective qualities of

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1572-465: A piano's action is light when its keys fall easily under the fingers, and heavy when a noticeable downward thrust is required. The action, in short, is what makes a piano playable or not to an individual musician." The string hammer action was the important innovation that Bartolomeo Cristofori created when he invented the pianoforte; Cristofori is credited with building his first instrument by 1700. Although similar hammer actions were devised at about

1703-488: A pipe, he found its sound agreeable and named it huangzhong , the "Yellow Bell." He then heard phoenixes singing. The male and female phoenix each sang six tones. Ling Lun cut his bamboo pipes to match the pitches of the phoenixes, producing twelve pitch pipes in two sets: six from the male phoenix and six from the female: these were called the lülü or later the shierlü . Apart from technical and structural aspects, ancient Chinese music theory also discusses topics such as

1834-464: A professor of music theory at Western Reserve University in 1930. Following his appointment, Smith journeyed to France to study with Nadia Boulanger , where through his association with Andre Marchal , Joseph Bonnet , and others in the Paris organ scene, he became aware of and inspired by the music which was then being rediscovered, the organ music of the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. It

1965-413: A relatively small (key) movement into a longer, faster (hammer) movement. As an overview, when a key is depressed, a felt hammer strikes one or more strings, causing them to vibrate. The vibrations are transmitted to the soundboard, which makes the audible note. The action also automatically retracts the hammer after it strikes the string(s), preventing it from damping their vibration. In addition, as long as

2096-512: A science of sounds". One must deduce that music theory exists in all musical cultures of the world. Music theory is often concerned with abstract musical aspects such as tuning and tonal systems, scales , consonance and dissonance , and rhythmic relationships. There is also a body of theory concerning practical aspects, such as the creation or the performance of music, orchestration , ornamentation , improvisation, and electronic sound production. A person who researches or teaches music theory

2227-465: A second name change to The Votteler-Holtkamp-Sparling Organ Company. In general, specifications had less and less upper work, and more 16’ and 8’ stops.  Brightness , when desired, was for the most part provided by super couplers. Wind pressures went up to a standard 5”, sometimes ranging higher to 8”. The prevalent design style was still neo-Gothic or neo-Classical. In 1919, Walter Henry Holtkamp returned from Europe after two years in

2358-406: A shop for building pipe organs in 1855. After some time, he was joined by his son, Heinrich. They ran the company together until Gottlieb's death in 1894 (which was coincidentally also the year in which Walter Holtkamp Sr. was born). The instruments which they built were primarily one or two manual and pedal, some with divided keyboards. Wind pressures were low, in the 3” range. Visual design

2489-419: A spring, silencing the note, and the hammer returns to its initial resting position on the hammer rail (20). If the damper or sustain pedal is depressed, that action lifts a bar (10), which moves all of the dampers off the strings simultaneously, causing notes to be sustained even after the keys are released. The Zumpe action, as fitted to his square pianos from c.  1765 , is fairly straightforward: as

2620-399: A structure analogous to the letoff button just before the hammer strikes the string. This letoff button is attached to the hopper, which is hinged and held in place normally by the spring slide wire (15). The rising end of the key tilts the hopper against the spring, towards the rear of the piano, causing the hopper to disengage from the hammer butt; the hammer continues to rise until it strikes

2751-474: A style of encased organ design.   F. Christian (Chris) Holtkamp joined the shop in 1987 and became president of the Holtkamp Organ Company in 1995 following the retirement of his father. From the beginning of his time at the shop, Chris continued the development of tonal and visual design begun by Chick. His visual designs are entirely contextual, always taking great pains to match

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2882-779: A surging or "pushed" attack, or fortepiano ( fp ) for a loud attack with a sudden decrease to a soft level. The full span of these markings usually range from a nearly inaudible pianissississimo ( pppp ) to a loud-as-possible fortissississimo ( ffff ). Greater extremes of pppppp and fffff and nuances such as p+ or più piano are sometimes found. Other systems of indicating volume are also used in both notation and analysis: dB (decibels), numerical scales, colored or different sized notes, words in languages other than Italian, and symbols such as those for progressively increasing volume ( crescendo ) or decreasing volume ( diminuendo or decrescendo ), often called " hairpins " when indicated with diverging or converging lines as shown in

3013-469: A theoretical nature, mainly lists of intervals and tunings . The scholar Sam Mirelman reports that the earliest of these texts dates from before 1500 BCE, a millennium earlier than surviving evidence from any other culture of comparable musical thought. Further, "All the Mesopotamian texts [about music] are united by the use of a terminology for music that, according to the approximate dating of

3144-409: A thumbscrew (not shown in the cut, being behind the hammer) which fastens the action securely in position. M R , is the main rail; so called because the main constituents of the action are attached to it. (Everything designated as "rail" in the action runs the entire length of the action in one solid piece.) W , is the wippen. Those pieces upon which or by which the small letter g is shown are

3275-457: A tone comprises. Timbre is principally determined by two things: (1) the relative balance of overtones produced by a given instrument due its construction (e.g. shape, material), and (2) the envelope of the sound (including changes in the overtone structure over time). Timbre varies widely between different instruments, voices, and to lesser degree, between instruments of the same type due to variations in their construction, and significantly,

3406-678: A tradition of other treatises, which are cited regularly just as scholarly writing cites earlier research. In modern academia, music theory is a subfield of musicology , the wider study of musical cultures and history. Guido Adler , however, in one of the texts that founded musicology in the late 19th century, wrote that "the science of music originated at the same time as the art of sounds". , where "the science of music" ( Musikwissenschaft ) obviously meant "music theory". Adler added that music only could exist when one began measuring pitches and comparing them to each other. He concluded that "all people for which one can speak of an art of sounds also have

3537-648: A weak treble and heavy action, and Silbermann did not build more Cristofori action pianos for two decades, when he built several for Frederick the Great in 1747. Two of Silbermann's pupils, Johannes Zumpe and Americus Backers , popularized the Cristofori action as the "English" action after moving to London. Zumpe introduced the square piano between 1760 and 1765; Alfred James Hipkins called Zumpe's action "rudimentary but efficient". The pianos built by Backers did not survive, but his action, patented in 1776,

3668-399: Is a balance between "tense" and "relaxed" moments. Timbre, sometimes called "color", or "tone color," is the principal phenomenon that allows us to distinguish one instrument from another when both play at the same pitch and volume, a quality of a voice or instrument often described in terms like bright, dull, shrill, etc. It is of considerable interest in music theory, especially because it

3799-410: Is a group of musical sounds in agreeable succession or arrangement. Because melody is such a prominent aspect in so much music, its construction and other qualities are a primary interest of music theory. The basic elements of melody are pitch, duration, rhythm, and tempo. The tones of a melody are usually drawn from pitch systems such as scales or modes . Melody may consist, to increasing degree, of

3930-799: Is a music theorist. University study, typically to the MA or PhD level, is required to teach as a tenure-track music theorist in a US or Canadian university. Methods of analysis include mathematics, graphic analysis, and especially analysis enabled by western music notation. Comparative, descriptive, statistical, and other methods are also used. Music theory textbooks , especially in the United States of America, often include elements of musical acoustics , considerations of musical notation , and techniques of tonal composition ( harmony and counterpoint ), among other topics. Several surviving Sumerian and Akkadian clay tablets include musical information of

4061-399: Is a wooden block called the bottom; sometimes called the key-rocker. It is held in position by the two screws shown in cut by which it can be adjusted or regulated. When the key is depressed by the player, the bottom rises, as it is on the opposite side of the pivot pin. E , is the extension communicating the motion of the key to the upper part of the action. There are various ways in which

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4192-453: Is an additional chord member that creates a relatively dissonant interval in relation to the bass. It is part of a chord, but is not one of the chord tones (1 3 5 7). Typically, in the classical common practice period a dissonant chord (chord with tension) "resolves" to a consonant chord. Harmonization usually sounds pleasant to the ear when there is a balance between the consonant and dissonant sounds. In simple words, that occurs when there

4323-402: Is called an interval . The most basic interval is the unison , which is simply two notes of the same pitch. The octave interval is two pitches that are either double or half the frequency of one another. The unique characteristics of octaves gave rise to the concept of pitch class : pitches of the same letter name that occur in different octaves may be grouped into a single "class" by ignoring

4454-464: Is common in folk music and blues . Non-Western cultures often use scales that do not correspond with an equally divided twelve-tone division of the octave. For example, classical Ottoman , Persian , Indian and Arabic musical systems often make use of multiples of quarter tones (half the size of a semitone, as the name indicates), for instance in 'neutral' seconds (three quarter tones) or 'neutral' thirds (seven quarter tones)—they do not normally use

4585-492: Is comparable to a seesaw ; when the player depresses one end, the end on the other side of the pivot point rises. The capstan (2) is on the rising side of the key. The rising capstan lifts the wippen (3), which is connected to the L-shaped jack (5). The rising wippen carries the long end of the jack, which pushes on a felt knuckle near the pivot point of the hammer shank (8), causing the felt-covered hammer (10) to rise and strike

4716-416: Is connected via the transfer wire (20) to a felt block called the damper (10), which normally rests on the string(s), preventing vibrations. With the damper lifted, the string(s) vibrate after the hammer has struck them. Since the felt hammer itself would dampen these vibrations if it remains in contact with the string(s), a hammer escapement is provided by the notched rising end of the key, which engages with

4847-591: Is derived from the Greek music scale, and that Arabic music is connected to certain features of Arabic culture, such as astrology. Music is composed of aural phenomena; "music theory" considers how those phenomena apply in music. Music theory considers melody, rhythm, counterpoint, harmony, form, tonal systems, scales, tuning, intervals, consonance, dissonance, durational proportions, the acoustics of pitch systems, composition, performance, orchestration, ornamentation, improvisation, electronic sound production, etc. Pitch

4978-419: Is often referred to as "separated" or "detached" rather than having a defined or numbered amount by which to reduce the notated duration. Violin players use a variety of techniques to perform different qualities of staccato. The manner in which a performer decides to execute a given articulation is usually based on the context of the piece or phrase, but many articulation symbols and verbal instructions depend on

5109-427: Is one component of music that has as yet, no standardized nomenclature. It has been called "... the psychoacoustician's multidimensional waste-basket category for everything that cannot be labeled pitch or loudness," but can be accurately described and analyzed by Fourier analysis and other methods because it results from the combination of all sound frequencies , attack and release envelopes, and other qualities that

5240-521: Is produced by the sequential arrangement of sounds and silences in time. Meter measures music in regular pulse groupings, called measures or bars . The time signature or meter signature specifies how many beats are in a measure, and which value of written note is counted or felt as a single beat. Through increased stress, or variations in duration or articulation, particular tones may be accented. There are conventions in most musical traditions for regular and hierarchical accentuation of beats to reinforce

5371-438: Is put near the balance rail according to the requirement. In some actions the lead is omitted entirely; but in the best actions it is almost invariably present. In the action of the grand piano the keys are leaded in front of the balance rail instead of back of it. This is because, in the grand piano, the hammer rests in a horizontal position and its whole weight must be actually lifted and the force of gravity overcome, while in

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5502-554: Is the lowness or highness of a tone , for example the difference between middle C and a higher C. The frequency of the sound waves producing a pitch can be measured precisely, but the perception of pitch is more complex because single notes from natural sources are usually a complex mix of many frequencies. Accordingly, theorists often describe pitch as a subjective sensation rather than an objective measurement of sound. Specific frequencies are often assigned letter names. Today most orchestras assign concert A (the A above middle C on

5633-402: Is the metal action bracket. The bracket is one solid piece of metal. There are generally four brackets in the upright action. The brackets rest on supports in and at the sides of the keybed, and are secured at the top by large bolts (BB). BB , are the bolts which go through the metal plate and into the wooden frame or pin block. At the top of each bracket is an opening to receive this bolt and

5764-407: Is the study of theoretical frameworks for understanding the practices and possibilities of music . The Oxford Companion to Music describes three interrelated uses of the term "music theory": The first is the " rudiments ", that are needed to understand music notation ( key signatures , time signatures , and rhythmic notation ); the second is learning scholars' views on music from antiquity to

5895-712: The Army during the First World War . He joined the firm and began working side by side with his father. The company prospered and expanded its geographic range from the east coast to the Dakotas . The late 1920s and early 1930s were difficult times for the shop, times that brought with them multiple challenges. First was the Great Depression . With the Stock Market Crash of 1929

6026-508: The United States Navy . Upon his father's death in 1962 he became president of the company. Chick Holtkamp began his creative endeavors with work that reflected his father's. The chest actions were mixed pitman and electro-pneumatic slider. The visual designs were unenclosed, often with a strong horizontal element. The scaling and voicing focused on clarity and the rendering of polyphony . After taking over

6157-434: The key action mechanism or simply the action ) of a piano or other musical keyboard is the mechanical assembly which translates the depression of the keys into rapid motion of a hammer, which creates sound by striking the strings. Action can refer to that of a piano or other musical keyboards, including the electronic or digital stage piano and synthesizer , on which some models have "weighted keys", which simulate

6288-419: The lead weight inserted in this portion of the key, which serves three purposes: to balance it, to ensure uniformity of "touch", and to ensure quick and certain return of key to its rest position. As each key may vary in length and weight, and each hammer also may vary in weight, some keys are leaded much more heavily than others. In some cases the lead is inserted in the extreme back end of the key; in others it

6419-512: The voicing , and the organ's ability to lead the congregation . This was accompanied by a gradual increase in the overall amount of fundamental. As time passed the Positive gradually gave way to the Choir, all the while focusing on a blending, ensemble style of voicing which worked equally well with the congregation, choirs, and instrumentalists. It was Chick's belief that the future of

6550-572: The "horizontal" aspect. Counterpoint , which refers to the interweaving of melodic lines, and polyphony , which refers to the relationship of separate independent voices, is thus sometimes distinguished from harmony. In popular and jazz harmony , chords are named by their root plus various terms and characters indicating their qualities. For example, a lead sheet may indicate chords such as C major, D minor, and G dominant seventh. In many types of music, notably Baroque, Romantic, modern, and jazz, chords are often augmented with "tensions". A tension

6681-478: The 17th and 18th centuries. This was followed by the designing of a Rückpositiv division for the E. M. Skinner organ at the Cleveland Museum of Art. This Rückpositiv was designed to be a foil to the Great, a secondary manual division of great color and transparency, which could compete with the Great through its position, brightness, and differing timbre. This Rückpositiv division contained

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6812-503: The 1990 National Convention in Boston , Massachusetts . Both competitions continue to this day. In visual design, Chuck made a tremendous impact on American organ building. His exposed designs, which were reminiscent of his father's work, had unmatched, three dimensional sculptural qualities. Rather than stay with the tried and true, and in conjunction with the ever increasing demand for mechanical action organs, he began developing

6943-406: The 4” range. Consoles became detached. Visual design remained as previously, either neo-Gothic or neo-Classical. In 1911 Henry was joined by Allan Gordon Sparling. Mr. Sparling was a Canadian by birth, had extensive experience in organ building, and great skill in the new pneumatic technology that was becoming dominant in pipe organ building worldwide. In 1914 the company underwent

7074-592: The Schwander action is still used in Bechstein pianos. At the turn of the century, Schwander-Herrburger merged with Brooks, giving us the Herrburger-Brooks piano action, which was the definitive piano action of the twentieth century. Throughout the history of the action, piano makers tended to make it heavier and sturdier, in response to the increasing size, weight, and robustness of the instrument, which

7205-692: The United States for a lecture at the University of Chicago , Albert Schweitzer visited Cleveland to play the Holtkamp Rückpositiv at the Cleveland Museum of Art , the only American instrument he requested play. Schweitzer had written to Walter Holtkamp from Günsbach , Alsace , May 22, 1934: "Bravo for the first Rückpositiv in America, I congratulate." Walter “Chick” Holtkamp joined the firm in 1956 after serving five years in

7336-709: The Western tradition. During the thirteenth century, a new rhythm system called mensural notation grew out of an earlier, more limited method of notating rhythms in terms of fixed repetitive patterns, the so-called rhythmic modes, which were developed in France around 1200. An early form of mensural notation was first described and codified in the treatise Ars cantus mensurabilis ("The art of measured chant") by Franco of Cologne (c. 1280). Mensural notation used different note shapes to specify different durations, allowing scribes to capture rhythms which varied instead of repeating

7467-417: The above. Instead of the bottom, a capstan screw is used in some actions as follows: Cpn , is a capstan screw used in some actions in place of the bottom. It is turned by inserting a pointed instrument in one of the four holes, thus raising or lowering the capstan in regulating. The lower end of the extension is felted. In such actions the extension is invariably provided with the extension guide. B ,

7598-407: The back check (11), which is on the same (rising) side of the key as the capstan; this facilitates rapid repetition of notes without fully returning the key to rest, as the repetition lever (9) raises the hammer shank far enough to reset the long end of the jack back under the hammer knuckle for additional key strikes. When the key is released, the damper falls back to its resting position, silencing

7729-437: The bass register of the piano have heavier hammers to sound the thicker strings than those in the treble register; these are known as progressive hammer-action keyboards. Many electronic keyboards use keys that are hinged at the back to minimize keybed depth; some use keys that pivot in the middle or have longer pivot arms with higher-end keybeds, similar to acoustic pianos. The action primarily serves to mechanically amplify

7860-470: The chord C major may be described as a triad of major quality built on the note C . Chords may also be classified by inversion , the order in which the notes are stacked. A series of chords is called a chord progression . Although any chord may in principle be followed by any other chord, certain patterns of chords have been accepted as establishing key in common-practice harmony . To describe this, chords are numbered, using Roman numerals (upward from

7991-469: The company builds electro-pneumatic, electric slider, and mechanical action organs. As with so many pipe organ builders , The Holtkamp Organ Company started small and local. The founder, Gottlieb Votteler, trained as a general musical instrument builder in Reutlingen , Wittenburg , Germany. He immigrated to the United States in 1847. He eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio and opened

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8122-428: The cost of re-leathering electro-pneumatic actions, Chick began developing his electric slider action. This relied upon the tried-and-true slider chest design that the company had built for the past twenty-five years. The tonal pallet of his work maintained its focus on the music and the rendering of polyphony. However, his particular emphasis gradually evolved to put greater emphasis on the free and singing quality of

8253-401: The damper is held in place normally by a spring on the damper arm, preventing vibrations. With the damper lifted, the string(s) vibrate after the hammer has struck them; since the felt hammer itself would dampen these vibrations if it remains in contact with the string(s), the short end of the jack, called the jack toe or jack arm (15) is tripped by the letoff button (16) just before the moment

8384-511: The depression of the key raising the hammer-butt until the back of it comes in contact with a rail at the back of the keyboard, the result being to jerk the hammer to the string". Stein also refined this action by adding an escapement. This "Viennese" action continued to be developed by Stein's daughter, Nannette Streicher , and was widely used by other makers in Vienna, and was the action of pianos played by Haydn , Mozart , and Beethoven , as it

8515-402: The difference in octave. For example, a high C and a low C are members of the same pitch class—the class that contains all C's. Musical tuning systems, or temperaments, determine the precise size of intervals. Tuning systems vary widely within and between world cultures. In Western culture , there have long been several competing tuning systems, all with different qualities. Internationally,

8646-457: The ever-expanding conception of what constitutes music , a more inclusive definition could be the consideration of any sonic phenomena, including silence. This is not an absolute guideline, however; for example, the study of "music" in the Quadrivium liberal arts university curriculum, that was common in medieval Europe , was an abstract system of proportions that was carefully studied at

8777-406: The extension is connected to the bottom. In this action, the extension is made round at the lower end and fits snugly into a hole in the bottom upon a felt disc. When the action is taken out, the extensions simply lift out of the holes, and when it is put back it is necessary to insert each one in its place. In other actions, the upper side of the bottom where the extension rests has no hole but simply

8908-657: The figure, motive, semi-phrase, antecedent and consequent phrase, and period or sentence. The period may be considered the complete melody, however some examples combine two periods, or use other combinations of constituents to create larger form melodies. A chord, in music, is any harmonic set of three or more notes that is heard as if sounding simultaneously . These need not actually be played together: arpeggios and broken chords may, for many practical and theoretical purposes, constitute chords. Chords and sequences of chords are frequently used in modern Western, West African, and Oceanian music, whereas they are absent from

9039-521: The first type (technical manuals) include More philosophical treatises of the second type include The pipa instrument carried with it a theory of musical modes that subsequently led to the Sui and Tang theory of 84 musical modes. Medieval Arabic music theorists include: The Latin treatise De institutione musica by the Roman philosopher Boethius (written c. 500, translated as Fundamentals of Music )

9170-404: The flanges. The one at the left of the wippen is called the wippen flange. It is made fast to the main rail by a screw, and upon it the wippen is hinged by means of a "center-pin" at the lower end. The center-pin in the wippen is driven through a hole in which it fits tightly and immovably in the middle part, and it (the center-pin) is consequently stationary in the wippen. The flange extends down at

9301-484: The following attributes: the chest had a quick and responsive action, the voicing was transparent and colorful, and the pipework was exposed. These were the basic concepts with which Walter would work for the remainder of his career. Under the direction of Walter Holtkamp Sr., the company became famous as a pioneer of the Organ Reform Movement in the United States. So much so, that in 1949, while in

9432-406: The graphic above. Articulation is the way the performer sounds notes. For example, staccato is the shortening of duration compared to the written note value, legato performs the notes in a smoothly joined sequence with no separation. Articulation is often described rather than quantified, therefore there is room to interpret how to execute precisely each articulation. For example, staccato

9563-1002: The greatest music had no sounds. [...] Even the music of the qin zither , a genre closely affiliated with Confucian scholar-officials, includes many works with Daoist references, such as Tianfeng huanpei ("Heavenly Breeze and Sounds of Jade Pendants"). The Samaveda and Yajurveda (c. 1200 – 1000 BCE) are among the earliest testimonies of Indian music, but properly speaking, they contain no theory. The Natya Shastra , written between 200 BCE to 200 CE, discusses intervals ( Śrutis ), scales ( Grāmas ), consonances and dissonances, classes of melodic structure ( Mūrchanās , modes?), melodic types ( Jātis ), instruments, etc. Early preserved Greek writings on music theory include two types of works: Several names of theorists are known before these works, including Pythagoras ( c.  570 ~ c.  495  BCE ), Philolaus ( c.  470 ~ ( c.  385  BCE ), Archytas (428–347  BCE ), and others. Works of

9694-432: The hammer strikes the string(s), causing the jack to slip off the hammer butt; the hammer continues to strike the string(s) through inertia, then rebounds and falls back. If the key remains depressed, the hammer is held above its initial resting position by the catcher (19), which rests on the back check (18), which is on the same (rising) side of the wippen as the jack; this facilitates rapid repetition of notes, although with

9825-401: The hole in the key fits closely around the balance pin; at the top, it is the shape of a mortise , parallel with the key, which allows the key to move only in the direction intended. The mortise in the wooden cap on top of the key at this point is lined with bushing cloth which holds the key in position laterally, and prevents looseness and rattling, yet allows the key to move easily. L , is

9956-419: The hopper raises the curved hammer butt. Because of the stepped projection, the hopper slips off the key just before the hammer strikes the string, providing the escapement action. Other modern features are apparent in his diagram, including the presence of a back check to facilitate repetition, and using the rising tip of the key-lever to lift the damper. Cristofori died in 1731 and left no significant pupils;

10087-456: The inner face and suspended on a wire. BCW , back check wire supporting the back check, and screwed to the wippen. The purpose of the back check is to check the hammer by coming in contact with the "back catch" (the backward projection of the butt), at a short distance from the string in its return, and prevent the hammer from falling entirely back to its rest position, thereby preventing quick repetition. Music theory Music theory

10218-474: The instruments that were in process were finished by Giovanni Ferrini, who also is credited with building a pianoforte dated to 1730. However, Gottfried Silbermann built pianos with both Cristofori and Schröter actions. Silbermann produced Schröter action pianos as early as 1728; Silbermann also built two Cristofori action pianos which were submitted to Johann Sebastian Bach ; according to Bach's pupil Johann Friedrich Agricola , Bach rejected them for having

10349-426: The interval between adjacent tones is called a semitone , or half step. Selecting tones from this set of 12 and arranging them in patterns of semitones and whole tones creates other scales. The most commonly encountered scales are the seven-toned major , the harmonic minor , the melodic minor , and the natural minor . Other examples of scales are the octatonic scale and the pentatonic or five-tone scale, which

10480-444: The jack and the adjacent parts upon which it depends for its exact movements, play an important part in regulating the "touch" of the piano. js , jack spring. Its purpose is to hold the jack inward against the "nose" or "heel" of the hammer butt. (See Bt, hammer butt.) Rr , regulating rail. The regulating button is shown attached to the rail by the regulating screw which is turned by means of its ring on top of Rr. The purpose of

10611-409: The jack which strikes against it when thrown from nose. This rail is absent in some actions, in which case the back of the jack is felted and strikes against the "back catch", which is also felted on inner side. (The back catch has no mark in the cut, but is explained below in connection with the "back check".) BC , is the back check which is simply a piece of wood with a thick piece of felt glued to

10742-465: The key (1) is depressed, the rising end of the lever raises the leather-covered jack (2), also known as the "old man's head". This in turn lifts the hammer, which is hinged using a leather strap, to strike the string(s) above it. Simultaneously, the damper (6) is lifted from the string(s) by the damper jack (5), also known as the "mopstick". In the Viennese action, when the player depresses one end of

10873-412: The key is depressed, the action also lifts a felt damper off the appropriate string(s), sustaining the vibration. The main difference between grand and upright piano actions is the direction of motion. In the grand piano, the soundboard is horizontal; the hammer rises and strikes the string(s) from below, and gravity is used to restore the damper and hammer to their resting positions. In an upright piano,

11004-481: The key-note), per their diatonic function . Common ways of notating or representing chords in western music other than conventional staff notation include Roman numerals , figured bass (much used in the Baroque era ), chord letters (sometimes used in modern musicology ), and various systems of chord charts typically found in the lead sheets used in popular music to lay out the sequence of chords so that

11135-438: The moral character of particular modes. Several centuries later, treatises began to appear which dealt with the actual composition of pieces of music in the plainchant tradition. At the end of the ninth century, Hucbald worked towards more precise pitch notation for the neumes used to record plainchant. Guido d'Arezzo wrote a letter to Michael of Pomposa in 1028, entitled Epistola de ignoto cantu , in which he introduced

11266-572: The music of many other parts of the world. The most frequently encountered chords are triads , so called because they consist of three distinct notes: further notes may be added to give seventh chords , extended chords , or added tone chords . The most common chords are the major and minor triads and then the augmented and diminished triads . The descriptions major , minor , augmented , and diminished are sometimes referred to collectively as chordal quality . Chords are also commonly classed by their root note—so, for instance,

11397-399: The musician may play accompaniment chords or improvise a solo. In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches ( tones , notes ), or chords . The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic line , or

11528-497: The nature and functions of music. The Yueji ("Record of music", c1st and 2nd centuries BCE), for example, manifests Confucian moral theories of understanding music in its social context. Studied and implemented by Confucian scholar-officials [...], these theories helped form a musical Confucianism that overshadowed but did not erase rival approaches. These include the assertion of Mozi (c. 468 – c. 376 BCE) that music wasted human and material resources, and Laozi 's claim that

11659-430: The note. The damper pedal, also known as the sustain pedal, lifts the damper tray (13), which raises all of the dampers simultaneously, causing the notes to be sustained even after the keys are released. Similar to the grand action, in an upright, when the player depresses one end of the key (12), the end on the other side of the pivot point rises. The capstan (13) is on the rising side of the key. The rising capstan lifts

11790-521: The optimism of the Roaring Twenties began to evaporate. In March 1931, Henry Holtkamp died. In June of that year Mary, Holtkamp died. Walter Holtkamp Sr. was left as the sole creative director of the firm. As the 1930s began the company was still building as many as twenty organs in a year. By 1934 that number had dwindled to four. It was at this point that Walter met Melville Smith. Melville Smith had been hired as

11921-444: The performance or perception of intensity, such as timbre, vibrato, and articulation. The conventional indications of dynamics are abbreviations for Italian words like forte ( f ) for loud and piano ( p ) for soft. These two basic notations are modified by indications including mezzo piano ( mp ) for moderately soft (literally "half soft") and mezzo forte ( mf ) for moderately loud, sforzando or sforzato ( sfz ) for

12052-598: The performer's technique. The timbre of most instruments can be changed by employing different techniques while playing. For example, the timbre of a trumpet changes when a mute is inserted into the bell, the player changes their embouchure, or volume. A voice can change its timbre by the way the performer manipulates their vocal apparatus, (e.g. the shape of the vocal cavity or mouth). Musical notation frequently specifies alteration in timbre by changes in sounding technique, volume, accent, and other means. These are indicated variously by symbolic and verbal instruction. For example,

12183-584: The piano) to the frequency of 440 Hz. This assignment is somewhat arbitrary; for example, in 1859 France, the same A was tuned to 435 Hz. Such differences can have a noticeable effect on the timbre of instruments and other phenomena. Thus, in historically informed performance of older music, tuning is often set to match the tuning used in the period when it was written. Additionally, many cultures do not attempt to standardize pitch, often considering that it should be allowed to vary depending on genre, style, mood, etc. The difference in pitch between two notes

12314-417: The piano, a hammer strikes the string, whereas with a harpsichord, a mechanism plucks the string. Cristofori's improved escapement action (1720) embodied many of the principles still found in 2000-era actions. It used levers to magnify the small motion of the piano key into a large motion of the hammer, and was arranged so that the very last part of the hammer's motion before striking the string would be purely

12445-724: The pipe organ was not entirely in the past. Taking a proactive approach, in 1983 Chick founded the Holtkamp/AGO Competition in Organ Composition to encourage composers to write for the instrument. Following this in 1987, Chick brought together many of the premier American improvisers for a meeting in New York City. It was this meeting and the work that followed which gave rise to the first AGO Competition in Organ Improvisation at

12576-477: The practice of using syllables to describe notes and intervals. This was the source of the hexachordal solmization that was to be used until the end of the Middle Ages. Guido also wrote about emotional qualities of the modes, the phrase structure of plainchant, the temporal meaning of the neumes, etc.; his chapters on polyphony "come closer to describing and illustrating real music than any previous account" in

12707-496: The present; the third is a sub-topic of musicology that "seeks to define processes and general principles in music". The musicological approach to theory differs from music analysis "in that it takes as its starting-point not the individual work or performance but the fundamental materials from which it is built." Music theory is frequently concerned with describing how musicians and composers make music, including tuning systems and composition methods among other topics. Because of

12838-407: The primary immigrant group. Most German immigrants also spoke their native tongue as their primary language. It is not a stretch to imagine that Heinrich and Henry knew each other through a German “good old boy” network . When Henry moved to Cleveland and began work at the shop, the company underwent a name change to The Votteler-Hettche Organ Company (1903 – 1914). Ownership of the company

12969-404: The quarter tone itself as a direct interval. In traditional Western notation, the scale used for a composition is usually indicated by a key signature at the beginning to designate the pitches that make up that scale. As the music progresses, the pitches used may change and introduce a different scale. Music can be transposed from one scale to another for various purposes, often to accommodate

13100-457: The range of a vocalist. Such transposition raises or lowers the overall pitch range, but preserves the intervallic relationships of the original scale. For example, transposition from the key of C major to D major raises all pitches of the scale of C major equally by a whole tone . Since the interval relationships remain unchanged, transposition may be unnoticed by a listener, however other qualities may change noticeably because transposition changes

13231-410: The regulating button is to throw the point of the jack out of the nose of the hammer butt, and allow the hammer to rebound from the string. If the button is too high, it does not throw or trip the jack in time to prevent blocking. When the button is too low, it disengages too soon, and much of the force of the key is lost before it reaches the hammer. BR , is the block rail, felted on the side next to

13362-408: The relationship of the overall pitch range compared to the range of the instruments or voices that perform the music. This often affects the music's overall sound, as well as having technical implications for the performers. The interrelationship of the keys most commonly used in Western tonal music is conveniently shown by the circle of fifths . Unique key signatures are also sometimes devised for

13493-454: The repetition lever, patented in 1808 and 1821; Dolge credits Érard with combining the refined touch of the Vienna action with the force and power of the English action. The 2000s-era grand piano action is a distant descendant of Cristofori's original. One of the most well-known French piano actions was created by Jean Schwander in 1844 and improved upon by his son-in-law Josef Herrburger;

13624-416: The result of inertia and not propelled by the key; this prevents the key from pressing the felt-covered hammer firmly into the string, which would damp and stop the string vibrations and the sound. In Cristofori's improved escapement action (1720), when the key is depressed, the other end of the key-lever raises a horizontal hopper (which Cristofori called the linguetta mobile ) with a stepped projection;

13755-571: The same fixed pattern; it is a proportional notation, in the sense that each note value is equal to two or three times the shorter value, or half or a third of the longer value. This same notation, transformed through various extensions and improvements during the Renaissance, forms the basis for rhythmic notation in European classical music today. D'Erlanger divulges that the Arabic music scale

13886-414: The same time by Marius (1716) and Christoph Gottlieb Schröter (1717), Cristofori was the only one of these three to actually construct an instrument. Alfred Dolge notes the first pianos were quite similar in construction to contemporary harpsichords , while incorporating key features of the clavichord , including the soundboard, metal strings, and percussive-string method of creating sounds. With

14017-401: The seesaw-like key (1), the end on the other side of the pivot point rises, lifting the fork (18). The end of the hammer butt (17) is constrained by the hopper (16), so as the fork rises, the hammer shank (21) effectively pivots at the hammer butt and the hammer (3) is raised toward and strikes the string(s) (7). Simultaneously, the rising end of the key also lifts the damper capstan (19), which

14148-477: The shop in 1962 he began developing the chests and components necessary for building instruments with mechanical action. This process first happened in 1967 at St. John Lutheran Church in Summit, New Jersey . From this point on, the shop built instruments with both mechanical and electro-pneumatic action as the situation required. This combination continued until 1992. At that time, in recognition of

14279-423: The sides of the wippen and the holes in flange are made large enough to receive bushing cloth in which the center-pin works freely but not loosely. All flange joints are of this nature; some, however, are provided with a means for tightening the center-pin in the middle portion of the joint. j , is the jack. The purpose of the jack is to communicate the motion of the wippen to the hammer. The precise adjustment of

14410-538: The sonority of intervals that vary widely in different cultures and over the ages. Consonance (or concord) is the quality of an interval or chord that seems stable and complete in itself. Dissonance (or discord) is the opposite in that it feels incomplete and "wants to" resolve to a consonant interval. Dissonant intervals seem to clash. Consonant intervals seem to sound comfortable together. Commonly, perfect fourths, fifths, and octaves and all major and minor thirds and sixths are considered consonant. All others are dissonant to

14541-551: The soundboard is vertical; the hammer strikes the string(s) from the side, and a combination of gravity and springs are used to restore the damper and hammer to their resting positions. The key feel when playing repeated notes is slightly different on these actions, as a result. Traditionally, the individual parts of the action of an acoustic piano are made of wood with metal pins and pivots; some manufacturers have switched to using plastic and composite materials for certain items to add strength and environmental stability. The key (1)

14672-399: The string(s) (16). Simultaneously, the rising end of the key also lifts the spoon (14), which is connected to a felt block called the damper (15), which normally rests on the string(s), preventing vibrations. With the damper lifted, the string(s) vibrate after the hammer has struck them. The short end of the jack is tripped by the letoff button (4) just before the moment the hammer strikes

14803-438: The string(s), causing the long end of the jack to slip off the knuckle; the hammer continues to rise and strike the string(s) by inertia, but then the hammer rebounds and falls back down. In this way, the felt hammer is prevented from dampening the vibrations after striking the string(s), as it would if it remained in contact with the string(s). If the key remains depressed, the hammer is held above its initial resting position by

14934-472: The string(s), then it rebounds and falls back down. If the key remains depressed, the hammer is held above its initial resting position by the back check (2); this facilitates rapid repetition of notes. When the key is released, the damper falls back to its resting position, silencing the note, and the hammer returns to its initial resting position. The damper guide rail (8) is lifted by the damper pedal, allowing multiple sustained notes. The action mechanism of

15065-409: The system known as equal temperament is most commonly used today because it is considered the most satisfactory compromise that allows instruments of fixed tuning (e.g. the piano) to sound acceptably in tune in all keys. Notes can be arranged in a variety of scales and modes . Western music theory generally divides the octave into a series of twelve pitches, called a chromatic scale , within which

15196-552: The texts, was in use for over 1,000 years." Much of Chinese music history and theory remains unclear. Chinese theory starts from numbers, the main musical numbers being twelve, five and eight. Twelve refers to the number of pitches on which the scales can be constructed. The Lüshi chunqiu from about 238 BCE recalls the legend of Ling Lun . On order of the Yellow Emperor , Ling Lun collected twelve bamboo lengths with thick and even nodes. Blowing on one of these like

15327-415: The touch and feel of an acoustic piano. The design of the key action mechanism determines the "weight" of the keys, i.e., the force required to sound a note; that is, the feeling of the heaviness of the touch of the keys. "A professional pianist is likely to care most about the piano's action, because that is what controls its responsiveness and relative lightness--or heaviness--of touch. Roughly speaking,

15458-410: The upright action differs from the grand action. In the upright action, the wippen has a pivot on the main rail (9); as the jack end of the wippen rises for the hammer strike, the other end of the wippen falls, pushing the connected spoon (11) toward the string(s). The moving spoon in turn pushes on the damper arm (7), which also pivots on the main rail, lifting the connected damper (6) from the string(s);

15589-425: The upright, the hammer rests in a vertical position, only requiring to be thrown forward. G P , is the guide pin, generally of oval shape, with the longest diameter in line with the key. The hole in the lower portion of the key, in which the guide pin works, is bushed with bushing cloth and is made to fit so closely that the key will not move laterally, yet not so tightly that the key will not work easily. Bm ,

15720-523: The visual design of the organ to the room in which it is installed. In tonal design his instruments contain the same ensemble voicing of Walter and Chick, but the internal balance of each instrument has changed to have a more even balance from treble to bass. This results in an ensemble which is full, rich, and embracing, without being overbearing. The shop currently builds electric slider, electro-pneumatic, and tracker actions . Action (piano) The piano action mechanism (also known as

15851-399: The wippen (14), which is connected to the L-shaped jack (17). The rising wippen and jack push on the hammer butt (8) near the pivot point of the hammer shank, causing the felt-covered hammer (21) to move toward and strike the string(s) (5). The hammer is normally held away from the string(s) by a spring near its pivot and the hammer butt. The mechanism to move the damper off the string(s) for

15982-745: The word dolce (sweetly) indicates a non-specific, but commonly understood soft and "sweet" timbre. Sul tasto instructs a string player to bow near or over the fingerboard to produce a less brilliant sound. Cuivre instructs a brass player to produce a forced and stridently brassy sound. Accent symbols like marcato (^) and dynamic indications ( pp ) can also indicate changes in timbre. In music, " dynamics " normally refers to variations of intensity or volume, as may be measured by physicists and audio engineers in decibels or phons . In music notation, however, dynamics are not treated as absolute values, but as relative ones. Because they are usually measured subjectively, there are factors besides amplitude that affect

16113-531: The world reveal details about the music they produced and potentially something of the musical theory that might have been used by their makers. In ancient and living cultures around the world, the deep and long roots of music theory are visible in instruments, oral traditions, and current music-making. Many cultures have also considered music theory in more formal ways such as written treatises and music notation . Practical and scholarly traditions overlap, as many practical treatises about music place themselves within

16244-692: Was neo-Gothic or neo-Classical . Heinrich Votteler ran the company until 1903 when he was joined by Heinrich “Henry” Holtkamp. Henry was born in New Knoxville, Ohio . He was a church organist and the owner of a parlor musical instrument store in St. Mary's, Ohio . In his store he sold music boxes , harmoniums , pianos , and the occasional small pipe organ. It is through these occasional small pipe organs that Heinrich and Henry may have known each other. At that time in Ohio , Germans were

16375-419: Was a touchstone for other writings on music in medieval Europe. Boethius represented Classical authority on music during the Middle Ages, as the Greek writings on which he based his work were not read or translated by later Europeans until the 15th century. This treatise carefully maintains distance from the actual practice of music, focusing mostly on the mathematical proportions involved in tuning systems and on

16506-419: Was characterized by a "pleasant light elastic touch and [a] charming musical quality of tone". It survived in Viennese pianos almost to the end of the 19th century. In the 19th century, the English action was further modified by French builders, notably in the invention of the repetition lever, which facilitated rapidly repeating notes. Sébastien Érard invented the double-escapement action which incorporated

16637-399: Was itself part of a general demand for a more powerful sound. Christian Ernst Friederici invented the first upright piano action in 1745, but it was not well-regarded; Hipkins likened it to a Nuremburg clock. The first upright piano was built by Johann Schmidt in 1780, and improvements were made by various engineers and inventors in the early 1800s, including John Isaac Hawkins , but it

16768-620: Was not accepted as a proper musical instrument until 1826, with the introduction of Robert Wornum 's upright piano action, which has continued with few changes to the modern upright. Ignaz Pleyel adopted Wornum's action and it is popularly known as the Pleyel action. Manufacturers of electronic keyboards, synthesizers, and digital pianos have used various designs to recreate the feel of an acoustic piano. The simplest electronic keyboards, sometimes known as synth-action , use springs to restore each key to its resting position, similar in concept to

16899-540: Was refined by Robert Stodart (1777) and John Broadwood (1780); the resulting "English" action was noted by Hipkins as "the best single escapement action". Perhaps the best-known English piano action of the nineteenth century is the Brooks action of 1810. Silbermann also was responsible for popularizing the Schröter or "German" action. Dolge characterizes Schröter's original action as "a model of innocent simplicity ...

17030-410: Was shared equally between Heinrich Votteler, Henry Holtkamp, and John Hettche, who was an investor knowledgeable regarding pipe organs. At this time Mary Holtkamp, daughter of Henry, began working in the shop. During this period, the robust mechanical action gave way to tubular pneumatic actions. Specifications became more weighted towards 16’ and 8’ stops. Wind pressures slowly climbed to

17161-413: Was through this association, and the association with Arthur Quimby, an organist at the Cleveland Museum of Art , that Walter's work began its movement away from a more orchestral oriented organ of the early 1930s, best suited to homophonic music, towards an instrument that would render clear polyphony . This evolution began with a small experimental organ on which Smith and Quimby played literature from

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