Organ Explorer (3D)
About this app
A pipe organ with 876 pipes to play yourself, with sound computed in real time from partials. The key opens a pallet, the stop connects a row of pipes, and each pipe plays one note. Cut it open down to the windchest, blend pitch levels, change the wind pressure, see flue and reed pipes in section, and follow Bach’s Toccata and a chorale.
With explain mode: an AI tutor walks you through the app, points out what matters in the scene and answers your questions.
How a pipe organ works
The console of an organ controls air. The key opens a pallet into a channel of the windchest, the stop slides a slider under a row of pipes. Only the pipe at the crossing of key and stop can sound. Each pipe plays exactly one note, which is why an organ needs so many.
What the app shows
A typical medium-sized organ in 3D with two manuals, pedal, 16 stops and 876 pipes. The sound is computed in real time from partials, with no recordings. The section runs through the channel of the chosen key, and a matrix shows keys and stops. Flue and reed pipes run slowed down in a section model. Bellows and blower show where the wind comes from.
Try it yourself
Push in all stops and press a key: silence. Then pull a stop. Let 16, 8, 4 and 2 foot join one after another and hear the sound build. Hold a chord and switch off the blower. Let it play Bach’s Toccata or the chorale Ein feste Burg and watch what moves inside the instrument.
Frequently asked questions
- What is a stop on an organ?
- A row of pipes of the same build and tone colour, with one pipe per key. It is switched on at the console with a stop knob. Only then can a key make this row sound.
- What does 8 foot mean on an organ?
- The foot number names the pitch level of a stop, after the approximate length of its lowest open pipe. 8 foot sounds as written, 16 foot an octave lower, 4 foot an octave higher, 2 foot two octaves higher.
- What is the difference between flue and reed pipes?
- In a flue pipe a sheet of air meets the upper lip, much as on a recorder. In a reed pipe a metal tongue vibrates on a shallot, and the resonator above shapes the sound. Reed stops such as the trumpet therefore sound sharper.
- What can I try in the Organ Explorer?
- You play on the keyboard or your computer keys, pull stops and ready-made registrations, change the wind pressure, switch off the blower, cut the organ open down to the windchest and let it play Bach’s Toccata or a chorale.
Subject: Music (Gymnasium)
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