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27-397: Michigan Theater or Michigan Theatre may refer to: Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor, Michigan) Michigan Theatre (Detroit) Michigan Theatre (Jackson, Michigan) Frauenthal Theater (Muskegon) (former name, Michigan Theater) Topics referred to by the same term [REDACTED] This disambiguation page lists articles associated with

54-541: A performer can produce the sounds of an entire orchestra through the use of all available manuals in conjunction with the pedalboard and the various registration controls. Despite the superficial resemblance to piano keyboards, organ manuals require a very different style of playing. Organ keys often require less force to depress than piano keys; however, the keys on mechanical instruments can be very heavy ( St Sulpice Paris , St Ouen Rouen , St Etienne Caen , etc.). When depressed, an organ key continues to sound its note at

81-489: A stop out (that is, turn on a stop) or push it in (turning off this stop); in contrast, Hammond organs typically have drawbars, so that the player can control how much of each " pipe rank " (e.g., 16 ft, 8 ft, 4 ft 2 ft, etc.) they wish to use. Synthesizers can program separate manuals to emulate sounds of various orchestral sections or instruments, using imitative digital sounds or sampling of real instruments, or using entirely synthesized sounds. On digital synthesizer instruments

108-414: Is that of dynamic control. Unlike the case of piano keys, the force with which the organist depresses the key has no relation to the note's resonance; instead, the organist controls the volume through use of the expression pedals . While the piano note, then, can only decay, the organ note may increase in volume or undergo other dynamic changes. Some modern electronic instruments allow for volume to vary with

135-643: Is the current home of the annual Ann Arbor Film Festival , the Ann Arbor Symphony , and the Ann Arbor Concert Band. The theater has been named the 2006 Outstanding Historic Theatre by the League of Historic American Theaters. The theater also hosts a series of children's stage productions entitled "Not Just For Kids" and a concert series entitled "The Legends of Rock & Roll." The Barton theatre pipe organ , catalogued as Opus 245,

162-445: Is used instead of the word "keyboard" when referring to any hand-operated keyboard on a keyboard instrument that has a pedalboard (a keyboard on which notes are played with the feet), such as an organ; or when referring to one of the keyboards on an instrument that has more than one hand-operated keyboard, such as a two- or three-manual harpsichord. (On instruments that have neither a pedalboard nor more than one hand-operated keyboard,

189-399: Is within the arches. The inner lobby still retains original details, including a barrel-vaulted ceiling, Romanesque columns and arch decorations, wood paneling, and wrought-iron balcony and staircase railings. The main auditorium, seating 1,610, is used for film screenings and live events. The auditorium contains some of the original detail. Manual (music) The word " manual "

216-979: The organ console (or "keydesk"). The layout of a manual is roughly the same as a piano keyboard, with long, usually ivory or light-colored keys for the natural notes of the Western musical scale , and shorter, usually ebony or dark-colored keys for the five sharps and flats . A typical, full-size organ manual consists of five octaves , or 61 keys. Piano keyboards, by contrast, normally have 88 keys; some electric pianos and digital pianos have fewer keys, such as 61 or 73 keys. Some smaller electronic organs may have manuals of four octaves or less (25, 49, 44, or even 37 keys). Changes in registration through use of drawknobs, stop tabs, or other mechanisms to control organ stops allow such instruments to achieve an aggregate range well in excess of pianos and other keyboard instruments even with manuals of shorter pitch range and smaller size. On smaller electronic organs and synthesizers,

243-526: The Hauptwerk, Rückpositiv, Brustwerk and Oberwerk, while in Dutch, common divisions are Hoofdwerk, Rugwerk, Borstwerk and Bovenwerk. Finally, theatre organs are usually composed of Great, Accompaniment, Solo, Bombarde and Orchestral divisions. Organ builders choose different divisions to accommodate the type of music played, the space in which the organ is installed, as well as the desired character and tone of

270-486: The console and relay having been updated to reliable solid-state in 2014. The instrument is professionally maintained, and is played regularly by staff organists prior to film screenings and for silent films, making it one of the most-heard theater organs in the country. The Michigan Theater Building is a large, two-story block building, consisting of the Michigan Theater itself and seven retail stores fronting

297-410: The force applied to the key and permit the organist to sustain the note and alter both its attack and decay in a variety of ways. For example, Hammond organs often have an expression pedal, which enables the performer to increase or decrease the volume of a note, chord, or passage. All of these variables mean that both the technique of organ playing and the resulting music are quite different from those of

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324-549: The historic auditorium seats 1,610 and features the theater's original 1927 Barton Theatre Pipe Organ , orchestra pit, stage, and elaborate architectural details. It was built for and owned by Angelo Poulos and his heirs and was leased until 1978 to the Butterfield Theatres chain, who managed it along with Butterfield's nearby State Theater . Both theaters are now owned and managed by the non-profit Marquee Arts. The Michigan Theater opened on January 5, 1928, and

351-527: The instrument. Various other controls, such as stops, pistons, and registration presets are usually located adjacent to the manuals to allow the organist ready access to them while playing. This further increases the instrument's versatility, as a piston or other preset function can cause multiple stops to be pulled out or pushed in automatically. This is of particular benefit in pieces where a number of stops have to be pulled out or pushed in between sections. Devices known as couplers are sometimes available to link

378-455: The key. The exception is some modern electronic instruments and relatively contemporary upgrades to theatre pipe organ consoles, which may have a knee lever which sustains the previous chords or notes. The knee lever enables an organist to hold a chord or note during a fermata or cadence , thus freeing their hands to turn a page in the sheet music, change stops, conduct a choir or orchestra, or shift hands to another manual. Another difference

405-506: The manuals may span fewer octaves, and they may also be offset, with the lower one an octave to the left of the upper one. This arrangement encourages the organist to play the melody line on the upper manual while playing the harmony line, chords or bassline on the lower manual. On pipe organs each manual plays a specific subset of the organ's stops , and electric organs (e.g., Hammond organ ) can emulate this style of play. Hammond organs differ from pipe organs in that pipe organs can only pull

432-533: The piano. Nevertheless, the trained pianist may play a basic organ repertoire with little difficulty, although more advanced organ music will require specialized training and practice, as the musician has to learn to play on multiple manuals, set stops and other controls while performing, and play the pedal keyboard with the feet. One of the key types of electromechanical organs, the Hammond B-3 , has two manuals. Each manual has drawbars which are used to control

459-584: The registration for each manuals. Different manuals on pipe organs are usually used to play stops from a variety of divisions , which group together a series of different tones. Divisions are usually standardised within pipe organs belonging to certain regions; in the English school of organ building, common divisions include the Great, Swell, Choir, Solo and Echo, while French organs commonly include Grand Orgue, Positif, Récit and Echo. German organ divisions include

486-412: The same volume until the organist releases the key, unlike a piano key, whose note gradually fades away as the string vibrations fade away. On the other hand, while the pianist may allow the piano notes to continue to sound for a few moments after lifting their hands from the keys by depressing the sustain pedal, most organs have no corresponding control; the note invariably ceases when the organist releases

513-427: The stair access to the second floor. In each section, the roofline parapet contains the name of the building. The Romanesque theater entrance contains cream terra cotta columns, arches, and other Romanesque elements on the second floor; these elements on the first floor were lost to the 1956 remodeling. Decorative aprons above the second-floor arcade sections contain green and blue terra cotta, and additional decoration

540-450: The street, as well as offices above. The building's exterior is clad with brown brick with cement and terra cotta trim. The main section of the facade, three bays wide, contains the entrance to the theater and two flanking stores. This section is Lombard Romanesque in style. The remaining five storefronts are all to one side of the main section, and are considerably plainer. In the plainer section are two slightly recessed storefronts that flank

567-403: The time have or had ten ranks of pipes. The instrument also has various tuned and untuned percussions and a standard “toy counter” of special effects to aid in film accompaniments. The Barton deluxe/“circus wagon”-style console is situated on a functioning Barton four-poster lift. The nearly-forgotten Barton organ had fallen into disuse in the 1950s and suffered water damage in the early 1960s. It

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594-564: The title Michigan Theater . If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Michigan_Theater&oldid=723084876 " Category : Disambiguation pages Hidden categories: Short description is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Michigan Theater (Ann Arbor, Michigan) Designed by Detroit -based architect Maurice Finkel and built in 1927,

621-510: The word "manual" is not a synonym for "keyboard".) Music written to be played only on the manuals (and not using the pedals) can be designated by the word manualiter (first attested in 1511, but particularly common in the 17th and 18th centuries). Organs and synthesizers can, and usually do, have more than one manual; most home instruments have two manuals, while most larger organs have two or three. Elaborate pipe organs and theater organs can have four or more manuals. The manuals are set into

648-456: Was at the time the finest theater in Ann Arbor. The theater not only showed movies, but also hosted vaudeville acts, live concerts, and touring stage plays. Over the years, Jack Benny , Bing Crosby , Paul Robeson , and Ethel Barrymore all appeared at the theater. During a renovation in 1956, many of the original ornate designs were destroyed. After a period of low attendance, the theater

675-545: Was built for the Michigan Theater and installed in November 1927, shortly before the theater was opened on January 5, 1928. Of some 7,000 theatre organs collectively built by many companies between the mid-1910s and the early 1930s, the Michigan Barton is one of only about 45 remaining in their original locations. It has three manuals (keyboards) and thirteen separate ranks of pipes, while other area Barton organs of

702-514: Was repaired and began receiving regular use in the early 1970s, and factored significantly in raising strong community support to save the historic theatre when the original lease expired in 1978. In regular use since that time, the marginally-adequate original blower failed in early 2014 and was rebuilt with a larger custom motor and new impellers. The instrument was completely rebuilt and restored to like-new mechanical and tonal condition by Renaissance Pipe Organs of Ann Arbor between 2018 and 2020, with

729-477: Was threatened with demolition when its 50-year lease to Butterfield Theatres ran out in 1978, but members of the community and local organists helped raise funds to save and renovate the theater, returning it to its original design. A second screen, the Screening Room, with a state-of-the-art sound system, seating for 200, and the ability to project films digitally, was added in 1999. The Michigan Theater

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