The 30-note pedalboard of a Rieger organ with expression pedal and coupler switches.

A pedalboard, pedal keyboard or pedal clavier is a musical keyboard that is played with the feet. Pedalboards are found at the bottom of electronic and pipe organ consoles, and on other instruments such as the pedal harpsichord and the rare pedal piano. Pedalboards can even be built into completely separate, independent instruments, such as the Moog Taurus bass pedals. The layout of a pedalboard is conceptually the same as that of a manual keyboard, with long pedals for the natural notes of the Western musical scale, and shorter pedals, usually darker in color, for the sharps and flats. The arrangement of the pedals can be either radial (converging toward the player) or parallel, and can be either concave (with the pedals near the center lower than those at either end) or level. Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 471 KB) Summary A 30-note pedalboard of a Rieger organ Author: thSoft Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (1280x960, 471 KB) Summary A 30-note pedalboard of a Rieger organ Author: thSoft Licensing File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Expression pedal is a control pedal found on electronic and pipe organs and many digital synthesizers. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany // The pipe organ (Greek ὄργανον, órganon) is a musical instrument that produces sound by admitting pressurized air through a series of pipes. ... Hello People who love keyboards!!!!!!!!!!!! Headline text This article is about keyboards on musical instruments. ... The classic Hammond electronic organ, invented in the 1930s and popular for decades thereafter. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany // The pipe organ (Greek ὄργανον, órganon) is a musical instrument that produces sound by admitting pressurized air through a series of pipes. ... Harpsichord in Flemish style; for more info, click the image. ... The pedal piano is a kind of piano that includes a pedal keyboard, enabling notes to be played with the feet, as is standard on the pipe organ. ... The first model of the Moog Taurus bass pedal synthesizer was created and manufactured by Moog Music from 1976 to 1981. ... Bass pedals are an electronic musical instrument. ... A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. ... In music, a scale is a set of musical notes that provides material for part or all of a musical work. ... Figure 1. ... Figure 1. ...

By using the feet to play an independent part, the musician is able to play three distinct lines rather than two, adding another layer to the music. On a pipe organ with a divided pedal 'coupler', four separate lines can be played, one with each hand, and one with each foot. The ability to play an independent line frees the hands for playing more intricate music on the manuals. The pedalboard is most commonly used to produce low-pitched notes for bass accompaniment. This gives pipe organ music its powerful foundation, and frees the left hand from having to cover the bass register. The pedals also have other, less common uses, such as playing the cantus firmus of a chorale prelude. Pipe organs provide this flexibility by allowing the player to control which pipes are linked to the pedals. On a modern electronic organ or standalone pedalboard, the pedals may produce an even wider variety of sounds. As a noun, a part is a section of a greater whole. ... Organ in Katharinenkirche, Frankfurt am Main, Germany // The pipe organ (Greek ὄργανον, órganon) is a musical instrument that produces sound by admitting pressurized air through a series of pipes. ... In music, a cantus firmus (fixed song) is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition, often set apart by being played in long notes. ... In music, a chorale prelude is a short liturgical composition for organ using a chorale tune as its basis. ...

Pedalboards range in size from 13 notes (an octave, conventionally C₂-C₃) to 32 notes (two and a half octaves, C₂-G₄). It is common to find 30 note pedalboards (which stop at F₄) on pipe organs, which can cause problems playing the small number of classical pieces which require the higher notes. Smaller pedalboards, typically 13 to 20 notes, are usually found on small spinet organs or electronic bass pedal units, and usually feature short, parallel pedals. On an organ, such pedals are often positioned to the left side of the player; the right foot in this case covers expression pedals, such as the swell pedal. Larger pedalboards are centered with respect to the playing position, to facilitate two-footed pedalling, and usually incorporate long pedals which extend beneath the player. Twenty-five-note pedalboards are found on medium-sized electronic organs; 30- and 32-note boards are the province of pipe organs and high-end electronic console organs. The current industry standard for large organs in the US is the AGO pedalboard, a concave, radial, 32-note board. In Great Britain, the Royal College of Organists or RCO promulgates a similar design. The German Bund Deutscher Orgelbaumeister (BDO) has both a radial standard and a parallel (or straight) standard. The classic Hammond electronic organ, invented in the 1930s and popular for decades thereafter. ... The classic Hammond electronic organ, invented in the 1930s and popular for decades thereafter. ... The AGO pedalboard is a specification for the pedalboard on a pipe organ. ... The Royal College of Organists or RCO, based in Birmingham, England, is the United Kingdoms national body charged with promoting organ and choral music and overseeing musical education and training for organists and choral directors. ...

A 25-note pedalboard on a Hammond Organ. While it is playable by both feet, the organist here is using only her left foot, while she works the organ's expression pedal with her right foot in order to influence the music's dynamics and overall volume. The railing beneath the bench provides a place to rest the feet when not playing.

Classical organ technique incorporates a standard, well-developed method of two-foot pedalling. This method is called 'heel-and-toe', though it is actually done with the balls of the feet rather than the toes. In popular music, especially in custom arrangements and music that incorporates improvisation, the pedalling style can be more varied and idiosyncratic. With shorter pedalboards designed to be played primarily with the left foot, for instance, the player often greatly restricts or entirely omits the use of the heel, working the pedals with light touches of the toes; this allows swift coverage of the pedalboard. Even on a larger pedalboard designed for playing with both feet, the organist may confine the right foot to the expression pedal or pedals, but playing the pedalboard with both feet usually makes the music flow much more smoothly. Image File history File links Hammond25. ... Image File history File links Hammond25. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Expression pedal is a control pedal found on electronic and pipe organs and many digital synthesizers. ...

Precise pedalling with both feet requires both nimble movement and a good feel for the pedals. To this end, many organists, especially classical performers, wear special organ shoes. Some, usually players of electronic instruments, play shoeless (a famous example being jazz organist Rhoda Scott, who is known as the Hammond organ’s “Barefoot Contessa” and “The Barefoot Lady”). Organmaster organ shoes, in womens (L) and mens (R) styles. ... Rhoda Scott is an American jazz musician. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

Because the pedals on a full-length pedalboard extend beneath the player, such a board requires a wide bench, typically a purpose-built organ bench. Though some organ benches are adjustable in height, most require tall organists (those about six feet and greater) to use wooden blocks to elevate the bench to a height which will allow their legs to move freely. Otherwise, such organists would be cramped and have to lift their legs excessively. Tall organists can also have a problem in which the lowest keyboard (manual) is too low for the player to fit their knees comfortably under the console. A manual is a keyboard designed to be played with the hands on a pipe organ, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic organ, or synthesizer. ...

Other controls are often located near the pedalboard; these can include expression pedals and toe pistons (or switches on electric instruments) for changing registration swiftly. This complexity, when added to the organist's job of playing the manuals, requires organists to possess what is perhaps the highest degree of coordination to be found in the musical world.