Pipe Organ?

Essentially, when most people talk about synthesizers, they'll see a keyboard hooked up to a computer. They'll hear strange electronic noises, vocoders, laser lights; basically, the synthesizer has become essential to the party scene, and with it comes dancing and thumping bass.

However, what really is a synthesizer? Is it an instrument that relies on circuitry, rather than acoustics, to achieve tone? Or is it an instrument that is mechanical in nature, relying on multiple functions and mechanisms to achieve tone? Or is it any instrument that lacks a true organic tone, and can also recreate tones of other instruments as well?

The pipe organ. The original synthesizer? No pun intended, but the pipe organ is the least organic of the classical instruments. What sound does an organ make? It depends. An organ doesn't just sound like an organ- the tones are based off the tones of other instruments, much like a lot of modern synthesizers are. The organ can be used to create the soft tone of a flute, the harmony of a string orchestra, the bravado of a trumpet, and even the sweet ring of chimes and bells.

Another beautiful feature of the pipe organ- and another case for classifying it as a synthesizer- is its ability to layer tones. There really are no organic instruments that can layer differing tones. With a trumpet, or any other wind instrument, you're only ever going to get one single tone at any one time. A piano only makes one tone at a time. The pipe organ creates an amazing tone by blending different tones together to create a completely new tone. A popular technique in electronic music and among users of synthesizers is, of course, the ability to blend two tones together to create a unique sound.

Not only does the pipe organ differ from other instruments in the sounds and tones they are capable of, but also in execution. The pipe organ is the most complex classical instrument, using a series of stoppers, pipes, and bellows to keep the air flowing. There is no instrument as large as the organ, either. The pipe organ is not only a musical instrument, but also a work of art in itself, a piece of architecture as important to a cathedral as aeything else. No other instrument can achieve such the grand scale, not only in the tones it creates, the range of notes it can play, and beauty of the instrument as itself.

I believe the pipe organ is the most beautiful and inspiring instrument for these reasons. I've been obsessed with the sound of the organ, and have listened to JS Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor many times in the past several days. If you love music at all, you should definitely listen to some organ music. Really, it isn't all a bunch of boring churchy chorales. Just give one listen, and you'll understand...