How does a pipe organ actually work? | Anna Lapwood

How does a pipe organ actually work? | Anna Lapwood | Classic FM

Рет қаралды 907,803

Күн бұрын

Organist Anna Lapwood presents a beginner’s guide to the organ, from stops, pedals and manuals to pipes and wind chests.
Filmed at St John's Smith Square in London - home to a magnificent organ made up of a whopping 3,574 pipes.
0:00 Introduction to the organ
1:19 How the keyboards (or manuals) work
2:12 How the stops work
4:32 How organs vary
5:09 How the pedals work
7:03 How the buttons work
9:37 How to Train Your Dragon 🐉
11:03 Inside the organ
12:51 History of the organ
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Пікірлер: 1 300

@alex0589 Жыл бұрын

Are you kidding me? I want hours of this. Give her a show, someone.

@JS-bf9dw Жыл бұрын

a very humble request, sir ...I just want to marry her, but I think the probability of her getting a show is much more higher

@mattiafioravanti8475 Жыл бұрын

Hear hear.

@1earflapping Жыл бұрын

@@JS-bf9dw Hey! I saw her first!

@truck6859 Жыл бұрын

Yes, ideed!

@vornamenachname9905 Жыл бұрын

Anna has her own youtube channel with lots of stuff :) She is such a charm…

@derekdaniels8649 Жыл бұрын

The most articulate and comprehensive demonstration ever of the workings of this superb instrument. Thank you.

@deanedge5988 Жыл бұрын

Also so charming and engaging.

@rowanlidbury Жыл бұрын

35 years playing and I learnt something from this, very well done.

@DoahnKea_Tuber Жыл бұрын

Great Presentation by the talented Anna Lapwood pulling out most of the stops!

@ubernate860 Жыл бұрын

On film? Yeah perhaps

@crazyorganist1609 Жыл бұрын

Diane bish did it better

@Tacttactification Жыл бұрын

I wasn't planning on watching a 15 minute video about how organs work, but Anna is so charismatic that I couldn't stop watching

@rexstuff4655 Жыл бұрын

Mad respect for someone who is clearly passionate and deeply knowledgeable about her area of expertise. Thoroughly articulate, too. You are a true ambassador for your craft.

@lupe2947 Жыл бұрын

Organs are like physical synths!! Never knew they were this flexible! I’m so amazed

@thetheatreorgan168 Жыл бұрын

And the synthesizer in turn, was inspired by orchestrally-designed pipe organs that found heavy usage in the silent film era due to their capabilities

@ellietheverysmellybellybea7984 Жыл бұрын

not only that but Much like a synth, Organs have oscillators!

@Solidst8dad2112 Жыл бұрын

Additive versus subtractive, but yes!

@torinstorkey Жыл бұрын

@@Solidst8dad2112 you can have additive synths. FM synths for example.

@GotYourWallet Жыл бұрын

Right? You have different keyboards for playing multiple timbres at the same time. You have generals which are banks of patches. And each patch is made up of multiple oscillators stacked on top of each other. I never knew this!

@wetwillie Жыл бұрын

33 years old and I finally understand where the classic idiom, "pull out all the stops" comes from.

@sonnydemontage Ай бұрын

My dad is an organist. I’ve known it since birth

@scheepalicious Жыл бұрын

Wow, what a natural born teacher and storyteller. She's amazing to listen to.

@Twobarpsi Жыл бұрын

🤩

@cannon440 Жыл бұрын

How do you precisely control 12 appendages simultaneously, while remembering exactly where the 150 + or - keys & buttons are located & plug in the musical piece with your mind. Truly an amazing feat.

@blahfasel2000 Жыл бұрын

14 really because you can use heel and toes simultaneously for different things.

@michaelmascari9785 Жыл бұрын

Don't you mean, Truly an amazing "feet" 🤣

@craigborgardt6396 Жыл бұрын

As an organist at a very basic level, I've always felt that a bit of schizophrenia is involved....when everything is working, there is nothing around me other than the music and those magical moments, rare as they are, are worth the effort and pleasures of learning The King Of Instruments. And no matter one's age!!

@1962RJP Жыл бұрын

And the melody played by her feet!

@jonh284 Жыл бұрын

@@michaelmascari9785 you went there. And I laughed.

@zaneclone Жыл бұрын

Aside from Anna's musical talents- of which there are many- she is the most wonderful speaker. Wonderful clarity, chosen words, confidence, delivery etc. I could literally listen to her all day- irrespective of the subject matter !!

@theoryismypraxis3538 Жыл бұрын

she's also exceptionally beautiful

@zaneclone Жыл бұрын

@@theoryismypraxis3538 Yes, she's gifted in that area also...

@fyfyi6053 Жыл бұрын

She looks like a waifu with glasses.

@pirojfmifhghek566 Жыл бұрын

I dunno about the rest of you weirdos, but I just appreciate that she's knowledgeable about a very obscure instrument. I don't feel like it's necessary to go on a tangent about how she presents herself. Y'all are just pushing her skills aside to comment on appearances instead.

@macsmith2013 Жыл бұрын

Not to mention she doesn't appear to take herself overly serious, which is always a nice thing. Confident, yes, and rightly so, but relatable and down to earth nevertheless.

@OfficialRainsynth Жыл бұрын

Also, pipe organs are basically the only musical instruments, that take up a building and they are specifically always built INTO the church or concert hall.

@roycevanbeethoven Жыл бұрын

Carillons exist.

@jonh284 Жыл бұрын

Preferably, the building would be built around it. As I’m sure many were. Same idea though.

@andybrown4284 Жыл бұрын

It could be argued that the building itself is also part of the instrument due to the acoustics of the architecture

@annasolovyeva1013 Жыл бұрын

@@andybrown4284 the buliding is even more important to an academically trained voice.

@gr8n10city3 11 ай бұрын

Quite organic

@jenssajetzki4050 2 ай бұрын

She could read the phone book to me and I would listen...

@Dunkelzeitgeist Жыл бұрын

I have never been so fascinated in my life, I'm a 25yo metalhead who does listen to classic FM daily whilst commuting, but this ...this is beautiful and bizarre and just wonderful

@RuminatingWizard Жыл бұрын

You're 25 and you listen to the radio? Lol

@Dunkelzeitgeist Жыл бұрын

@@RuminatingWizard why yes, if I want to listen to metal or modern music for sure Spotify is better, but when commuting nothing beats classic FM, beautiful music and traffic updates

@resurgem Жыл бұрын

@@RuminatingWizard why not?

@okamanokama Жыл бұрын

Metal covers of classical music are amazing, they fit the typical chord structures well. I got into more metal music because of them 😊

@turtlezen4292 Жыл бұрын

I had no idea how badass organs are. The organist at our church growing up made everything sound like a dirge. This was such a fascinating video!

@Fomites Жыл бұрын

I love the word 'dirge'.

@Vousie Жыл бұрын

I think that may have more to do with the speed that some organists play at - a lot of the songs would sound a lot less like a dirge if they were just played a little bit faster...

@matthiku Жыл бұрын

@@Fomites Yeah, I learned a new word today! Nice!

@DavidSmith-sb2ix Жыл бұрын

She was probably a blue haired old lady.

@ralanham76 6 ай бұрын

@@DavidSmith-sb2ixI've driven her to the hairdresser 😉

@dormilon36 Жыл бұрын

Wow! She pulled out all the stops for this wonderful explanation! 😊

@philmckenna5709 Жыл бұрын

And it was really well organised 😈

@woodhonky3890 Жыл бұрын

Literally!

@robertnewell5057 Жыл бұрын

Oh dear 😂

@dielaughing73 9 ай бұрын

She should write a manual

@tomvandongen8075 7 ай бұрын

@@dielaughing73 under appreciated joke

@bunkytony Жыл бұрын

This lady has it all. She's beautiful, talented, a great musician and speaker. What a dangerous combination! I could listen to her all day too. She should have a show!

@cornelius8617 3 ай бұрын

I love her shoes

@tevya017 10 ай бұрын

As a non musician I am amazed how someone can learn to play what seems such a complex instrument. At least people like me can sit back and immerse ourselves in great music.

@cellosean 5 ай бұрын

You may be a non-musician, but I think you have a great appreciation for music and what we musicians do. Not everyone has that.

@michallacki9462 Жыл бұрын

What a fantastic video! I was always curious as to what all the buttons do. I thought it was difficult but now that I know how it works I think it's completely insanely difficult 😂

@jennhoff03 Жыл бұрын

;'D Right?! I thought, "this will make it easier. Can't be that hard." ;'D

@joshuaswannmusic6462 Жыл бұрын

I did an apprenticeship back in 2009 restoring and tuning pipe organs. The sheer amount of components that must be maintained on a yearly basis is infact staggering. Highly stressful job too wouldn’t recommend it. Still amazing living works of art.

@philmckenna5709 Жыл бұрын

Do you still do that work?

@big800wildcat Жыл бұрын

And then after you get it all perfectly tuned, the temperature and/or the humidity changes....

@babybloc Жыл бұрын

My friend did that. Said you had to wear gloves because the temperature of your hands would make it go out of tune 😵

@rh5971 Жыл бұрын

I would love to see her in concert!!! She is so enjoying what she is doing and the way she explains the instrument is amazing. Such talent!

@richardmeftah2569 Жыл бұрын

No way, I always loved the sound of these and now have a huge appreciation of just how complicated these things are and just how talented a musician she is! That's amazing! 👏🏼👏🏼

@MattAndImprov Жыл бұрын

This is so well-presented. I could watch 20 more episodes.

@vervetech9395 Жыл бұрын

It's amazing how engineers get to make something as complicated as this without any chip or computer programming. Purely mechanical.

@v3xman Жыл бұрын

It is! However she keeps mentioning the phrase “if things go wrong”, which is sadly an inherent characteristic of something large and mechanical.

@big800wildcat Жыл бұрын

@@v3xman Can be fun when a note sticks - especially during a performance. That note will continue to sound until the organist has time to find the bank from which it is coming and push in that stop.

@maniravsadhur8409 2 ай бұрын

This is insane! I knew organs were complex, but I never imagined it went that far. And here I thought playing the piano was hard enough... Thank you for this video!

@MrAsego Жыл бұрын

Test Flight at 9:37 is such a fantastic piece, and I think its swells and dives, plus the the combining of the two characters' themes (Hiccup and Toothless) makes such a wonderful and intuitive example for the generals! If anyone hasn't seen an analysis of Test Flight in the context of the movie and story, I highly recommend looking one up.

@NicoScorpio Жыл бұрын

I find it hugely entertaining she is playing a kids movie

@steveurbach3093 Жыл бұрын

@@NicoScorpio KIDS? You don't fly. That flight was brilliant. (and there was a lesson: Stop thinking 'do this' and JUST DO. )

@trustmeiknow1 8 ай бұрын

All I wanted to know was what song this was. Never seen the movie. Thank you. I’ve heard this song before somewhere else though

@mkfmkf55 Жыл бұрын

Thanks very much for posting this. I always wondered how pipe organs made such a grand sound before electricity was available.

@theuntapstep7789 Жыл бұрын

They would have people to pump the bellows

@wesleyjoseph3997 Жыл бұрын

Kid power! Sometimes they would pump long handles to keep the air pressure in the bellows up, sometimes walk on a stair treadmill type thing.

@geoffreydcruz7222 Жыл бұрын

How would the keys control all the pipes prior to electricity? Mechanical linkages?

@wesleyjoseph3997 Жыл бұрын

@@geoffreydcruz7222 You got it! Many organs that post-date electricity still use mechanical linkages (we call it "tracker action") because it's more reliable, durable, and sounds more precise than electronic action, though it's certainly less flexible in terms of where you can place the console and pipes.

@chrishoover4888 Жыл бұрын

@@wesleyjoseph3997 I've heard it called "clacker action" - maybe that one needed some work ;-}

@Token_Nerd Жыл бұрын

Freaking how to train your dragon of all film scores

@aaronstanley6914 Жыл бұрын

Thanks that was going drive me crazy. As crazy as I was when I found out metrolinx haven't even started cutting the new tunnels.

@pxlz0729 Жыл бұрын

One of my favorite soundtracks. Really well composed

@LoonyYunie 8 ай бұрын

I thought it sounded familiar! Now I need to watch it 😄

@Mrcloc 3 ай бұрын

It will go down as one of the greats of all time.

@JB-cp3bh Жыл бұрын

Dear Mrs. Lapwood, your amazing talent at your craft is truly a beacon of hope for humankind. In this age of mindless mediocre entertainment you are the light this world needs. I am so grateful for people like you! 🥰

@davemcddd Жыл бұрын

I always knew that pipe organs were complicated machines, but I had no idea they were THAT complicated. And the idea they were able to build these machines hundreds of years ago is even more mind boggling.

@Pauley_in_GP Жыл бұрын

This is one of the best videos I've ever seen. Your awesome musical talent is so well-matched to your wonderful presentation ability. Thanks so much for a very enjoyable and informative time.

@staticofmasses3166 Жыл бұрын

I’ll second that!

@feminuma9495 Жыл бұрын

Thirded here. Undisputable

@danilorico2668 Жыл бұрын

It is difficult to find words to express my admiration for the greatest of all instruments created by man. Thank you very much Anna, for your excellent explanation. Greetings from Bogotá Colombia!

@todd60613 10 ай бұрын

Omg! Pull out most of the stops vs pull out all the stops! Brilliant! Thank you again!

@leonardgucciardo8386 Жыл бұрын

This is a most amazing presentation of one of the most complex instruments in the world. You are also one of the most talented watching you play 3 different melodies at once is completely mind bending. The best!!

@fronkentine Жыл бұрын

Omg, I recognize her! She played for Einaudi!!! If you haven't seen it, look it up. Magical.

@ucheucheuche Жыл бұрын

5:09 Was NOT expecting River Dance from an Organist!! 🌊💃

@samrc8350 9 ай бұрын

This woman is a genius

@digitalmediafan Жыл бұрын

She's a genius just incredible So much talent on here was this recommended because I'm a fan of Dr K and Ladyva ?! Probably !

@MrGreatplum Жыл бұрын

Organs are truly bonkers instruments - love them. Thank you for a fine explanation!

@counterfit5 Жыл бұрын

@norman-m [KANDAGAIGO] at least until someone makes a quadruple-Bb tuba

@Joshuasbikingandadventures Жыл бұрын

Get her on here more often , the most informative thing ever

@chanceheaps6720 Жыл бұрын

When she started playing "test drive" from how to train your dragon, I fell in love. I had the privilege of getting to play the baritone part of that piece in our local orchestra. Beautiful

@christopherwilson6527 2 ай бұрын

This absolutely incredible. I knew it was difficult to play, but this really has blown my mind. Very impressive!

@youtubestolemyname Жыл бұрын

For some reason, I was entirely too curious as to how organs worked in the days before electricity and found out today. WOW, as if they weren't complex enough as is, to have to employ another human to work the massive bellows is mind blowing.

@thegamingkaiser2874 Жыл бұрын

I wouldn't hire one person, I would hire an entire team.

@davidkennedy4845 Жыл бұрын

@@thegamingkaiser2874 Or perhaps a team of horses to drive a mechanism for producing the wind.

@wedgeski Жыл бұрын

Incredible skill, all the brilliance of a concert pianist combined with the limb independence of a world class drummer! Amazing stuff. :)

@tim2015 Жыл бұрын

I like your description.

@darian.the.barbarian 2 ай бұрын

Wow she is amazing. Explained perfectly, with wonderful charisma and a clear love for her art ❤

@midnight2600 8 ай бұрын

I really love how the moment your fingers go down and press a key, you just transform into music mode. It shows in the way your face changes, the way your entire body starts to move with what you are playing, how your entire mood and vibe changes completely. which only music lovers and musicians can truly understand.

@ivanpb1983 Жыл бұрын

The fact that humans are capable of operating at this level of coordination to produce music makes me proud. ☺

@deonbotha5020 Жыл бұрын

Far more that an organist, what a brilliant mind and a wonderful talent to remember all the combinations and the ability to play such a complex instrument! Amazing!

@Situated_Curve Жыл бұрын

"Fun Fill Music" is the How to Train Your Dragon soundtrack. Wonderful!

@joelb360 Жыл бұрын

I just learned so much!! Not only do I need to travel to Europe to hear some of these ... BUT they all sound slightly different!? Amazing instrument is an understatement... it is phenomenal.

@paschalndukwe2248 Жыл бұрын

I could pay to watch this instructor 😊 she made everything easy and calm. Well explained with smiles all through

@LukeBass1000 Жыл бұрын

The Saint-Saëns at the beginning brought back so many awesome memories!

@sparkypeter Жыл бұрын

Thank you for giving me a clue to what is was !!👍

@robertharris8912 Жыл бұрын

I sang for Church and Cathedral choirs from the age of 7 and was always fascinated by the beast! To be honest, I still am! An excellent explanation and it got me interested in going to hear recitals. excellent work!

@michaelveltkamp9451 Жыл бұрын

I was only half paying attention when she broke into HTTYD and I almost dropped my phone in surprise. Absolutely amazing to hear my favorite soundtrack played this way, thank you so much for this

@canisrah Жыл бұрын

What a striking woman. Impressive knowledge, stunningly articulate and obviously very talented. And seemingly so young! Gives one hope for the future.

@Alkanen Жыл бұрын

"[...] because if we did it wouldn't sound, actually, particularly pleasant. It would sound something like this." *plays most epic sound in the history of the world*

@aphexart Жыл бұрын

Pulling out All the stops reminds me of the old THX intro 😁 great info, would've loved more technical info on how it works and worked in the past.

@andyhesford1617 Жыл бұрын

I could listen to Anna play all day long

@pawel7318 Жыл бұрын

For one like me it might seem crazy that someone building such an instrument would think one musician can handle all of those keyboards and buttons... for someone like her it might seem necessary to use the talent she has. The beauty in our species is our diversity. Not every person can handle every thing, but as humans, we have no limits.

@benjaminniemczyk Жыл бұрын

Excellent description and demonstration! Anna has the talent, skills and personality to give a clear idea of a very complex instrument. She is great at this.

@gunnarbjorck929 Жыл бұрын

I really liked that sound with ALL stops acctually!!💪💪💪👍

@paulstannard7985 Жыл бұрын

Brilliant. Beautifully concise, informative and entertaining. These instruments are a wonder. Thank you so much Anna.

@LukeAps Жыл бұрын

That was extremely well done! Thank you Anna Lapwood!

@djtaylorutube Жыл бұрын

Thanks for the training course. I think I'm now ready to sound competent with my rendition of one finger "chop sticks" at the RAC.

@h-dgronewold8584 Жыл бұрын

That was very interesting and "how to train a dragon" gave me goosebumps.

@themanwhoknewtoomuch6667 Жыл бұрын

Anna must have a gift with teaching to make such an inscrutable, remote and discordant furniture accesible to us...

@Ambienfinity Жыл бұрын

Absolutely brilliant - playing and explanation. Thank you Anna. For we lesser mortals, a fantastic guided tour!

@hugobiernot9174 Жыл бұрын

I love how to train your dragon and John Powell and then she plays one of the best pieces out of the movie out of nowhere... i am so happy right now and i smiled as soon as i recognized it. Thank you so much for that :)

@soniccinos 6 ай бұрын

Aside of the truly exceptional talent of Anna, the technical side of organs really impress me! I mean all of that is ANALOG!!!!

@alejandrosotomartin9720 Жыл бұрын

Hats off to this lady. Wonderfully played and explained.

@notmyworld44 Жыл бұрын

Thank you, Anna. I had never before heard that much information about that instrument.

@AndresPozosComposer Жыл бұрын

When she said at the end "it wont sound particularly pleasant" and then the sound was beautiful and majestic... lol! 14:32

@vale.antoni 8 ай бұрын

So this video was recommended to me, after watching one about how the theme song of How To Train Your Dragon is so genius in almost every aspect. In effect that video was about how that is the perfect piece to play as a demonstration of a pipe organ's range of possible applications. Best thing is that I didn't know the theme song would actually be played, just by looking at the thumbnail, or reading the title.

@ViliamF. Жыл бұрын

Kudos for featuring the Test Drive from HTTYD! I love that song as well as the entire trilogy.

@MrCreative3 Жыл бұрын

I can’t imagine a better presentation and explanation. Magnificent

@BeckGregorFL Жыл бұрын

I can't even type as crisp and clear as Anna speaks. Great video by the way. I love it!

@roadkill_666 5 ай бұрын

Great video, my favorite instrument. 10:55, where you decided to pull out one more stop..... Awesome.

@colephelps6202 Жыл бұрын

Why no one ever made this into a video before I'll never know. This is awesome.

@shiningarmor2838 Жыл бұрын

There are many videos on this subject

@skyecommander2169 Жыл бұрын

Ok organs are waaaaay more complex than I initially thought.😵‍💫😵‍💫. Beautiful instrument!

@pauljb6207 Жыл бұрын

Anna, you are such a natural in front of the camera, this was amazing.

@DrewMakepeace 5 ай бұрын

This is one of the best explanatory videos on KZfaq.

@ron88303 Жыл бұрын

The king of instruments.

@P.Atreides Жыл бұрын

anna is hopefully inspiring for everything with her energy and joy, if you really want to start making music. may she inspire new people for music and the possibilities

@levongabrielian6430 2 ай бұрын

Very elegant presentation by an elegant and charming musician 👍🙏

@aaronhighfill2959 Жыл бұрын

i played how to train your dragon as a marching band and that sounds awesome!

@aaronhighfill2959 Жыл бұрын

i think that was probably the most extensive version of how to train your dragon i have heard 😂 i wanna know how many octaves there are in the piece you played?

@ceceliahaentjens904 Жыл бұрын

I LOVE this! Thank you so much for the detailed description,

@purplealice Жыл бұрын

Nothing compares to the sound of someone playing a building full of whistles!

@josephsylve6758 Жыл бұрын

Anna Lapwood is a wonderful teacher. Love from France

@bpkolos1974 Жыл бұрын

A very passionate storytelling indeed! Thanks a lot for that, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year from Ukraine!

@TheRimeOfTheAncientMariner Жыл бұрын

This was great!! I wish this video was an hour with her going into even more detail. She is great and what an incredible instrument.

@andrewwebster6025 Жыл бұрын

This must be the most difficult instrument to play , apart from the variations of , two, three and sometimes more sets of keys and having to use your feet as well. A great insight on how it all works and with the ease you seem to play it shows you have great talent ❤

@MCF961 Жыл бұрын

Having all the stops out sounds amazing.

@jonh9561 Жыл бұрын

I realised at the end of the video that I've been watching this with my mouth open and absolutely transfixed! MORE PLEASE!

@georgetzimas1541 Жыл бұрын

That was illuminating, to say the least! Thank you for this detailed walk-through into the intricacies of this quite spectacular and extremely sophisticated instrument.

@tc322 9 ай бұрын

This is one of the most amazing videos I have ever seen on KZfaq. A big salute to the engineers who have designed such an instrument and bigger salute to this amazing lady who explains and shows this instrument with such ease. Incredible!!!

@marcusjansson6586 2 ай бұрын

I'm in trance... I had no idea. Thank you a million times, what an instrument!

@wannabetrucker7475 2 ай бұрын

i can't even comprehend how this was invented, just amazing

@marleybu302 Жыл бұрын

Absolutely incredible instrument! I'm in awe of the coordination this lady has. Amazing talent and explained beautifully. Wonderful sound. The buzz you must get playing this. Thank you 😊

@iuptubaman Жыл бұрын

I loved your video! I really enjoyed the film music section and I wish more organists would perform film music during recitals or concerts. Such a versatile instrument, and by far my favorite (saying that as a tuba player!).