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Pipe Organ (5-story instrument)

Rob Scallon
Documentaries
YouTube
3 HN users recommended this documentary3 months2023–2026 score 3.5
Years with an HN recommendation, 2007–2026

HN recommends it as an engaging look at how an organ works as a whole orchestra, in threads about organs and live-coding them.

Rob Scallon explores a five-story pipe organ, the largest in the Midwest, with organist John Sherer. The half-hour tour covers most of the instrument and how it works.

“You'll want to give a watch” (HN, 2026)

1 strong recommendations · 2 recommendations · Documentaries

3 Hacker News comments

From the HN archive; up to 20 kept per video, favoring different commenters. Recommendations first.

@TheRealPomax Jan 2026 Strongly recommends
on HN thread World's largest functioning musical instrument: Wanamaker Organ in Philadelphia
It sounds like you don't actually know how a real organ works, which literally has different instrument groups all over the place behind the walls, with your stops controlling which instruments sound out, and your separate decks giving you additional control over which sections to play. You'll want to give [this video] a watch, where Rob Scallon takes us on a trip to discover how incredible these instruments are, and should highlight just how little an organ is like a piano (not even "four pianos") and how much it really is an entire orchestra.
Shows how an organ works as a whole orchestra
@organman91 Jan 2023 Recommends
on HN thread The Organ as a Wind Instrument
In addition to being thought of as a wind or keyboard instrument, there's another component to all pipe organs that makes each of them unique in a way (almost) no other instrument is - the room they are installed in. With very rare exceptions, pipe organs aren't mobile, so the acoustics of the room matter almost as much as the pipes do. Here's Rob Scallon exploring the largest pipe organ in the midwest: [this video] Here's a more in depth look at all the sounds of that same organ: [link] - this channel has documented a number of organs over the years.
Tour of the largest pipe organ in the midwest
@tiew9Vii Jan 2024 Recommends
on HN thread Can You Live Code a Church Organ? [video]
I came across another similar video a while ago going down a YouTube rabbit hole 3am one morning. Controlling a MASSIVE pipe organ with my computer, Rob Scallon [link] The precursor to that video is just as if not more interesting, "Pipe Organ (An instrument the size of a building)" [this video] . In the video they find a midi port on the control unit. Several months later after talking to the manufacturer they go back and figure out how to get midi working and play bohemian rhapsody. It would of been an experience to be there with the size of the organ.
Exploring a building-sized organ and finding its midi port

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