What are organ pistons for?  Anne Marsden Thomas explains their operation, how to set them up, and how a memory system and stepper can be used on a modern organ.

RCO Director Andrew Macintosh gives a guided tour of the National Pipe Organ Register (NPOR), an online database of over 36,000 pipe organs in the UK.

We are recording our current series of live webinars on harmony for the RCO examination written papers, so they can be viewed on iRCO.  This month’s Learning during Lockdown suggests how you could use these, and other resources, to start or continue your studies of harmony, depending on your existing knowledge.   We also introduce live looping, an improvisatory technique from the world of electronic music, which can be creatively applied to the organ.

An insight into the Hammond Organ – Jean Martyn explains how different styles are created, from Bossa Nova to Samba, Reggae, and A Whiter Shade of Pale.

William Reynolds’s thought-provoking, well-documented introduction to early organs and their use in Wales and the Welsh borders is a major contribution to national organ history, opening up a range of organological and musical perspectives about local practices.

Tom Bell explains how organ builders exploit the archetypal organ pipe, the Diapason.

Only one inanimate object has been habitually described as having lungs or as being capable of a kind of mechanical breathing. That the organ lends itself to imagery and metaphor has not gone unnoticed: Francis O’Gorman takes this subject on by investigating a range of nineteenth-century and early-twentieth-century poetry.

Because pipe organs are so long-lived, the need to commission a new one, or renovate an old one, doesn’t arise very often.  However when work is needed, an adviser is required with answers to all the ensuing musical, technical, acoustical, architectural and historical questions. The Association of Independent Organ Advisers (AIOA) exists to provide and accredit these experienced specialists. Organist Tom Bell talks about his own organ consultancy work towards becoming an accredited AIOA member.

St Laurence’s Church in Ludlow currently houses two very different organs – their own fine Snetzler organ, and also the Wetheringsett organ, one of the two Tudor organs of the Early English Organ Project managed by the RCO. On Saturday 20th July this year organ enthusiasts have the chance to hear and learn more about both these instruments, with the opportunity to play them at the end of the day.