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A manual is a Keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a Pipe Organ , Harpsichord , Clavichord , Electronic Organ , or Synthesizer . The term "manual" is used with regard to any hand keyboard on these instruments to distinguish it from the Pedalboard , which is a keyboard that the organist plays with her feet. It is proper to use "manual" rather than "keyboard," then, when referring to the hand keyboards on any instrument that has a pedalboard. 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 and theater organs can have four or more manuals. The manuals are set into 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 smaller electronic organs may have manuals of four octaves or less (49, 44, or even 37 keys). Changes in registration through use of drawknobs, drawbars, 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 size. On some electronic organs and synthesizers, the manuals may be offset, with the lower one an octave to the left. This arrangement encourages the organist to play the melody line on the upper manual as she plays the harmony line or chords on the lower manual. , with four manuals.]] On pipe organs each manual plays a specific subset of the Organ's Stops , and electronic organs can emulate this style of play. Synthesizers can program separate manuals to emulate sounds of various orchestral sections or instruments. On such instruments a performer can produce the sounds of an entire Orchestra through her use of all available manuals in conjunction with the pedalboard and the various registration controls. A given key on a traditional manual sounds a note when depressed and continues to sound it until released, with no ability to sustain the note in any other fashion. The force with which the organist depresses the key has no relation to the note’s power; the organist controls the volume through her use of the expression pedals. Modern electronic instruments, on the other hand, allow for volume to vary with 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. Common names of manuals on pipe organs include Great, Choir, Swell, Solo and Echo in English ; Grand Orgue, Positif, Recit and Echo in French ; Hauptwerk, Ruckpositiv, Brustwerk and Oberwerk in German ; and Hoofdwerk, Rugwerk, Borstwerk and Bovenwerk in Dutch . 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 as she plays; this further increases the instrument’s flexibility. Devices known as couplers are sometimes available to link the manuals, so that the stops normally played on one can be played from another. |
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