Organ

Family

Keyboards

Description

Keyboard instruments are often classified as percussion instruments because they play a rhythmic role in some music. However, most keyboard instruments are not true members of the percussion family because their sound is not produced by the vibration of a membrane or solid material.

When an organist presses the keys of an organ, air is allowed to flow into corresponding pipes. The vibration of the air in the pipes creates the sound of the organ. The organ in the Meyerson Symphony Center was designed and created by the Fisk Organ Company of Glouceter, Massachusetts. One of the largest concert hall organs in the world, it has four keyboards, 244 keys, 32 pedals and 4,535 pipes. The largest pipe is 32 feet high while the smallest pipe is less than one inch in height.