Before making any suggestions that might will hear a prime tone and a multitude of over­ help an organ enthusiast repair a damaged tones. The overtones are harmonics and par­ pipe I want to pay a tribute to a person who, in tials of the prime tone. my opinion, is one of the great artisans of the I repeat, a good voicer represents years of pipe organ industry - THE VOICER. experience combined with an artistic tempera­ Many organ fans confuse voicing organ repairingment, a natural ear for tonal quality, great ac­ pipes and tuning organ pipes. They are two curacy of workmanship and plenty of pa­ separate functions. Organ tuning is done after tience. He is indeed a great artisan. His value the installation has been completed. The tun­ to organs is too often overlooked. er sets the temperament and tunes all the stops and The organ enthusiast has no need for such to the temperament octave. He also does the qualifications, for he will never be confronted finishing, by which is meant adjusting the vol­ with organ pipes directly from a pipe shop ume of the pipes in each stop so some tones that must be made to speak before they can be are not louder or softer than the others. Fin­ voicingused, but enthusiasts do encounter voiced ishing is most important with reed stops. pipes that have been damaged so they do not A voicer works in the factory or in a pipe speak properly, or perhaps not at all. shop which is operated separately from an or­ damagedFixing damaged pipes so they will speak is gan factory. He has a voicing room connected not easy, but here is how you can try. with the pipe shop. It takes several years of ex­ Metal flue pipe: If the mouth is badly dam­ perience combined with an artistic tempera­ aged and the languid (the horizonal piece of ment, a natural ear for tonal quality, great ac­ o~gan metal inside the pipe) is badly bent the pipe curacy of workmanship and plenty of pa­ cannot be repaired. The languid is soldered tience. He usually starts with such work as inside the pipe during the process of man u fac­ weighing metal - zinc, tin or lead - into ex­ pipes ture and cannot be replaced. act proportions for metal pipes. He helps with Metal flue pipes are made from either com­ the casting, solders metal pipes together or mon or spotted metal and are easily damaged. glues on sides around the blocks of wood If bent only slightly near the mouth the pipe pipes, always observing and studying the art by Dan Barton, Organ Builder will lose its speech. The tools needed are a Lip of the voicer. A voicer usually receives the Raiser and a Languid Depressor. To make the pipes from the pipe shop in such a condition Illustrated by Tony Provenzano tools use two old table knives or other metal that no sound can be produced from them. as thin as a knife blade. If the metal is steel, The voicer makes the pipe speak. draw the temper by heating. Cut the blades The voicer of metal flue pipes adjusts the Horn, Oboe, Violin and many others. The off square at the end. Bend the end of one shape of the languid, which is the flat piece of voicer makes the pipe speak with many of its blade to a right angle 1/4 inch from the end. metal that lies horizontally just inside the upper harmonics or partials to produce the The flat blade is the Languid Depressor, the mouth, determines the width of the mouth tonal quality of Strings, Trumpets and Tubas. bent blade the Lip Raiser. Use an undamaged and adjusts the upper and lower lips. He nicks He makes pipes speak with no harmonics or pipe for a pattern. the front edge of the languid like the teeth of a partials to produce the tonal quality of Flutes, saw, some with shallow nicks very close to­ Bourdons and foundation tones. The pipe gether and others much deeper and farther with only a part of its harmonics or partials apart. Nicking creates a series of air columns becomes a Diapason. By suppressing certain instead of a solid stream. partials and using only one partial the voicer creates the tone quality of the Clarinet or Oboe. The voicer uses small nicks close to­ gether for String tones, deeper nicks farther apart for Flute tones. With reed pipes the Fig. 3. Metal pipe repair tools made from detempered voicer adjusts the shallot, which is the partly table knives . Metal pip e cutawa y cut away brass tube that carries the reed. The to show nicking on voicer determines the thickness, width and vi­ The languid must be in a position near the languid brating length of the reed. Without doubt, the lower lip to provide a slot through which the greatest precision of all the voicer's art is the stream of air is directed so it strikes square curving of the reed. He curves small reeds against the upper lip. Usually the trouble is with his fingers, exactly the right curve to caused by the stream of air passing in front or create prompt speech, no rattle and with cor­ in back of the blade of the upper lip. Use the rect tonal quality, an exhibition of experi­ Languid Depressor to move the languid ence, skill and patience. The large reeds are slightly up or down and the Lip Raiser to curved on a curving plate, sometimes called a move the lower or upper lip in or out. If the curving block. pipe has no speech or if it flies off its speech or sounds its octave or if the pipe is slow to speak, try pulling the upper lip slightly out­ 111111 Ca, !2" ward and move the languid slightly down­ ward. If no results, reverse the procedure. C::::::: Take it slow and easy and work carefully on the languid. If the solder breaks loose and the Fig. 2. Reed curving block (side view). languid becomes loose in the pipe you are Fig. 1. Parts of metal pipe (mouth). done. Do your practicing, if possible, on If you want an excellent demonstration of pipes which don't matter should you ruin In wood pipes the voicer adjusts the upper harmonics and partials, secure one of a pair them. and lower lips and the block. The block is the of high grade cymbals such as used in concert If the upper part of the pipe or resonator is same to a wood pipe as a languid is to a metal bands. Hold the cymbal by the strap and hit badly damaged, try this experiment. Cut the pipe. The voicer by these operations creates the outer edge a sharp blow with a padded resonator off and replace it with a heavy tin the timber or tonal quality, such as French beater, such as used to play a bass drum. You tube. Solder the seam of the tube and solder 12 THEATRE ORGAN JANUARY /FEBRUARY 1986 Cut a tuning slot near pattern. You can also use an adjoining pipe's only be found in very large organs where great the top of tin pip e extension(replacement ) reed for a pattern. After the reed is cut it must volume is necessary. The inside surfaces of -Add a tuning slider be polished to make sure it is free from grease, wooden pipes are sized with diluted glue, the I corrosion or other substance. The next step is outsides may be varnished or lacquered, if de­ to curve the reed. This is done with a curving sired. Pip es with dama ge d tops ma y be r epair ed by re- block. The curving block can be obtained Keep in mind that repairs undertaken by placing damag ed end with from an organ supply company. The reed is organ buffs must necessarily be classed as ex­ •'•she et tin shap ed and 1 I r,i-',. solder ed to bott om held on the curving block at the small end. periments. Don't be too disappointed if you .,;...,~ , of pip e I 1 With a tool such as a small half-round chisel don't get the desired results. Just remember . .~) or shank of a screwdriver press the length of the qualifications of a voicer: 1) artistic tem­ L-_....:._:...._-_-f-'~~~...!.:~•<..;.~~ .: ~ (WHOOSH ! ! !) the reed starting from the small end. Use an perament, 2) a natural ear for tone quality, 3) ~ ·}t fj/ji;..iJfAir str eam must adjoining pipe's reed to judge the proper great accuracy in delicate workmanship, 4) \ ~ e upp er lip squarely curve of the reed. Experiment by curving the patience of Job and 5) several years of ap­ small reeds with your fingers. Mount the reed prenticeship. There are no short cuts and it is Languid on the reed block and hold the lower end most unlikely that these abilities will be found down. Hold the shallot and reed to a light. If very often among the scores of organ enthusi­ you see light between the reed and shallot asts now confronted with the problems of your experiment did not succeed. Try again. such repairs. If a reasonable number of ex­ Keep your hands dry when handling reeds and periments result only in pipes more mangled never blow your breath on a reed. You will than before, give up before you are branded a start corrosion that will eventually spoil the "pipe destroyer." In this case, turn the job reed.