Interested in working on a mind-bogglingly complicated device?
(The number of ways the stops and couplers on this instrument can be configured is greater than the best estimates of the number of subatomic particles in the known universe!)

Students from ALL majors are welcome to join the project, no experience is necessary. The number of students that can be accomodated is limited, so please apply as soon as possible to be placed on the list of applicants. In general, new members begin at the start of a semester.

Course credit will be given for ENGR X90 and the course can be repeated for credit. For those who choose one of the subsidiary topics (see list below), credit in a more appropriate special topics course can be arranged.

The primary tasks in this project involve the restoration and enhancement of a 1970's vintage electronic organ, and incorporating actual organ pipes into the instrument. The tasks range from simple to quite complicated. These include:

• Cable fabrication and reconnection
• Debugging and repair of both mechanical linkages and electronic circuits
• Tuning
• Renovation of electromechanical peripheral instruments
• Renovation and installation of pipes, blowers, and windchests
• Design of microprocessor interfaces to replace the terribly unreliable and outdated mechanical switches
• Design and implementation of presets (more microprocessor stuff)
• Incorporation of a MIDI interface
• Design and implementation of the interface between console and pipes
• Incorporation of modern electronic/digital voices
• Experimental additions - who knows what these may be.

In addition, we are actively seeking students interested in the following subsidiary topics:

• The physics of organ pipes
• The history of the organ, from its origins in the Hydraulis over two millennea ago, to modern instruments with enough computing power to run a small country.
• The impact of the instrument on musical forms.
• The sociological ramifications of the instrument, particularly regarding religious observances.
• If there is a related topic you are interested in that is not listed, please contact the faculty sponsor, Dr. William Park, to discuss your idea.

This page last updated at 1:52 PM on Mon, Apr 23, 2007
CHORD site maintained by Dr. William Park. Please address comments or suggestions to parkw@ces.clemson.edu