How does an organ differ from a piano or harpsichord?
An organ is primarily a wind instrument. Its sound arises from the action of air movement in metal or wood tubes (pipes). In contrast, a piano is a percussion instrument; sounds are produced when felt-covered hammers strike strings. Toy pianos often use wooden hammers that strike steel bars of different lengths. In a harpsichord, strings are plucked as the keys are depressed. Why doesnt the organ have as many keys per manual (usually 61) as the piano (88)? Very early keyboard instruments had keyboards that were limited to approximately the singing range of the human voice, plus perhaps a few keys. As musical needs developed, the ranges expanded. The organ has remained one of the most versatile of musical instruments. One reason is that different ranks of pipes can be combined at different pitch levels on the organ to cover a wide range of fundamental tones, far greater than that of the modern piano. Well explore that below. The piano as we know it today was developed long after the org
