The pipe organ is a keyboard instrument, similar to the piano and the harpsichord. However, in this case, sound is produced by air being forced through individual pipes. The length, shape, and materials used to make the pipe all affect the sound that comes out. 

The earliest ancestors of the pipe organ date back to the 3rd century BC! It had fully matured as an instrument by the 17th and 18th centuries, at which time it was the most complex man-made device in existence. Pipe organs usually have two, three, four, or even more keyboards for the organist to play with his or her hands. These are called the manuals. An additional keyboard, called the pedalboard, is played with the feet!

The pipe organ can often be heard in churches and synogogues, but many fine instruments also exist in concert halls around the world.

Push play to listen to the sound of the pipe organ.

To hear more examples of all the instruments, check out WHOOs MAKING MUSIC in the App Store!