THE MIDITZER
Introduction
what is the Miditzer
Get Started
download the Miditzer
and set up your PC
 Console Up!
setup and use of the Miditzer

The Console
find out what all the controls do
  the Keyboards
how organ keyboards are set up
the Stops, part 1
the Stops, part 2
the Stops, part 3
controlling the sound of an organ
  the Other Tabs
couplers and tremulants
the Combination Action, part 1
  the Combination Action, part 2
orchestrating the stops
  the Swell
controlling the volume

Tech Session
make the Miditzer do more
Recording Studio
record your performances

ELSEWHERE
Bruce Miles
cinema organ soundfont creator

Almost all organs have more than one keyboard.  One of the keyboards is usually a large keyboard to be played with the feet; this is called the pedal.  The remaining keyboards, the ones that look like piano keyboards, are called manuals.  Full sized organ manuals have 61 notes compared to 88 notes on a piano.  Organ manual keys start at C two octaves below middle C and go to C three octaves above middle C. 

Some small organs may have less than 61 keys on the manuals.  Usually the lower manual is offset to the left of the upper manual.  However, the keys that are directly in line with each other will play the same pitch.  If you have short keyboards and you are unsure of where middle C is, you can hold a key and see what key is pressed on the Miditzer screen to get oriented.

The pedal is a giant keyboard in exactly the same arrangement as the keys on the manuals.  A full sized organ will have 32 notes of pedal keys.  Many electronic consoles will have less, 13 and 25 pedals being common.  it may seem surprising but the pedals start two octaves below middle C exactly the same as the manuals. 

Organ keys are unlike piano keys because they are simple on/off switches.  An organ pipe sounds the same whether you hit the organ key hard or gently.  You cannot affect the volume of the sound of an organ from the keyboard.  You learn how volume is controlled in the Swell.

Organ notes cannot be sustained.  You have to hold a key for as long as you want the note to sound.  Organists develop what is called a legato touch where each key is held for the full duration of a note and is released just as the next note sounds.  You should learn to play so that there is no audible space between successive notes and yet no overlap of the notes either.

Now that you are aquainted with the keyboards, go on to the Stops to learn how to control the sounds produced by the keyboards.