Information AboutPedalboard |
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The pedalboard is a distinctive feature of the organ and adds to its mystique, differentiating it from other keyboard instruments. As an organists plays the pedalboard, they appear to be dancing, making the music both visually and audibly richer and more powerful. Most pedalboards range in size from 13 notes (an octave) to 32 notes(two and a half octaves) notes. Pedalboards smaller than 32 notes are usually found in small- to medium-size electronic organs, while 32-note boards are the province of pipe organs and higher-end electronic organs. The industry standard today is the AGO Pedalboard , a concave, radial, 32-note board that places all of the pedals within easy reach. Other controls are located near the pedalboard; these can include expression pedals, a crescendo pedal, toe pistons for changing registration swiftly, and, on electronic organs, toe switches and effects pedals. This complexity, when added to the organist's job of playing the manuals, require organists to possess what is perhaps the highest degree or coordination to be found in the musical world.. While it is playable by both feet, the organist here is using only her left foot, while she works the organ's Expression Pedal with her right foot in order to influence the music's dynamics and overall volume. ]] Thirteen and 20-note boards most usually appear on small Spinet Organs or Synthesizers and are designed to be played with the left foot, while the organist rests the right foot on the expression pedal, which control the volume and dynamics. Twenty-five and 32-note boards are the sign of a pipe or Console Organ ; with these (especially the 25-note board), the organist may also confine the right foot to the expression pedal (or, with larger instruments, expression pedals). However, the pedals are designed to be played with both feet for optimum efficiency. Playing the pedalboard with both feet usually makes the music flow much more smoothly. Classical repertoire incorporates a standard, well-developed method of two-foot pedaling. With this method, the organist works the pedals with the heels and toes (or, more accurately, the balls of the feet, although this method is still called 'heel-and-toe'). In popular organ music, especially in custom arrangements and music that incorporates improvisation, the style of pedaling is more flexible and more idiosyncratic. With shorter pedalboards designed to be played primarily with the left foot, for instance, the organist often greatly restricts or entirely omits the use of the heel, working the pedals with light touches of the toes; this allows swifty coverage of the pedalboard. To feel and play the pedals efficiently, many organists, especially classical performers, wear special Organ Shoes , while some, especially those who play electronic organs and synthesizers, play shoeless (a famous example being jazz organist Rhoda Scott , who is known as the Hammond Organ ’s “Barefoot Contessa” and “The Barefoot Lady”). The many masterpieces written for the organ require precise pedalling with both feet, which can be accomplished only by wearing suitable leather-soled shoes, allowing easy movement from one pedal to the next, or one location to another on the pedalboard. Though some organ benches are adjustable in height, tall organists (those about six feet and greater) must usually use wooden blocks to elevate the bench to a height which will allow their legs to freely move. Otherwise, such organists would have to lift their legs excessively. It is possible to play an organ without using the pedalboard, and many pianists can play simple organ music with little additional training; this is becoming common in churches, with the decline in the number of formally trained organists and the need for pianists to fill in. (Some organs now sport a coupler which transfers the lowest depressed key of the Great manual to the Pedal for such players.) However, the pedals are responsible for much of the organ’s characteristic sound, and pianists who learn to include the pedalboard in their playing can make their performance, and their music, a richer, more exciting experience for the organist as well as the audience. Indeed, great organ works, small and large, truly come to artistic life when the performer's pedal technique and choice of pedal stops is mature and highly accomplished. |
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