There are always a lot of questions about theatre organs, and always will be.
Curiosity is a good thing, is it not?
Below are a number of questions and answers.
Click on a question and the answer will be displayed.
What is a theatre organ?
The theatre or cinema organ was originally used to accompany silent films.
It was wonderful to watch a flickering black-and-white film by Laurel & hardy or Buster Keaton with accompaniment on the organ.
Beside the impressive full sounds of the organ there are lots of effects such as a car horn, birdsong, various drums, a siren, a steamboat whistle, horses hooves, wind and rain.
The bellows are operated by air via electromagnetic switches.
The organ console is situated downstairs. It looks just like a large organ with a great number of buttons and switches, but no sound comes out of it.
Everything is controlled remotely from this console.
Higher up in the hall, behind two sets of louvred doors, are the organ chambers where all the instruments are.
Is a theatre organ the same as a church organ ?
There is a saying: “In some ways a theatre organ is like a classical organ; in all other ways it is better.” Well, that just depends on what the enthusiast thinks.
There are similarities but also differences:
- On a church organ, every stop pitch has a complete row or rank of pipes.
- A theatre organ has one long row of pipes for each type of stop from which the various pitches are all taken.
- A theatre organ is enclosed in a box with shutters to regulate the volume.
- A theatre organ has tremulants which give the typical throbbing theatre organ sound.
- A church organ sometimes has a tremulant but often not.
- A theatre organ has lots of effects such as a car horn, rain effect, wind, horses hooves, fire gong and more. A theatre organ has percussion intruments such as bass drum, snare drum, wood block, tambourine, cymbal, hi-hat and lots more.
- A theatre organ has tuned percussion instruments as well, like xylophone, metallophone (glockenspiel), vibraphone, chrysoglott, harp, external piano and much more.
So you see there are similarities but also contrasts.
Where are there theatre organs in the Netherlands ?
In the Location menu all the locations with theatre organs in the Netherlands can be found.
In short, you can find them in:
- Amsterdam
- Boskoop
- Dordrecht
- Haarlem
- Oosterwolde
- Schiedam
- Steenwijk
When can I visit them ?
There are plenty of opportunities to see, hear and experience them.
Naturally there are the concerts, but there are also organist's gatherings, open days and other events.
Take a look at the Events Page. This can be found in the Main menu.
Where does the sound come from ?
Many people who have never experienced a theatre organ do not realise that loud speakers are not used. The music you hear comes from real musical instruments. These musical instruments are strategically placed in two separate chambers which emit the sound to the audience (and the organist of course!) via large wooden shutters.
Every key played by the organist at the console is translated into a signal relayed to a magnetic switch which in turn sends air to a mini-bellows that then operates the musical instrument.
The mini-bellows is thus an extention of the organist's finger. Press the key, the bellows inflates, and sound comes from the instrument.
If the organist chooses a Xylophone and presses the ‘C’ key then a real xylophone is played by a hammer (mounted on a bellows) which hits the wooden bar of the xylophone: “Toinnng”.
Every bar of the xylophone has its own hammer and bellows which can be played by the organist at the console. Of course, the organist doesn't just have a xylophone. The organ chamber is full of instruments like a glockenspiel; a real piano (played remotely, of course!); untuned percussion (drums etc.); various sound effects (all operated by wind); and of course hundreds of organ pipes of different tonal qualities.
How does a theatre organ actually work ?
Peter, an expert team member, has written an extensive article elsewhere on this website about the technology of the theatre organ.
Read it through at your leisure — a fascinating subject.
On the left of the screen there is a link to the article “The technology behind the theatre organ”, or you can also jump to a specific subject.
How do you adjust the volume ?
To play louder or softer, increasing or decreasing the wind won't work.
That would make the pipes sound out of tune or result in the hammers not striking properly.
To regulate the volume, the large opening of the organ chamber is fitted with wooden shutters.
These can be operated by the organist with two expression pedals (one each for the left and right chambers).
Electronic house organs have similar volume pedals.
The difference is that on the theatre organ the pedals open and close the wooden shutters.
It is like opening and closing a window to control the sound.
So, no loud speakers are needed!
What is a specification ?
A specification is a list of the technical capabilities of the organ.
It mentions how many and what kind of stops the organ has.
Also listed are the number of manuals; which accessories (playing aids) are available and any further technical details pertaining to the instrument.
What is a Toy Counter ?
The toy counter is one of the unique features of the theatre organ.
A toy counter has various effects such as Tambourine, Snare Drum, Castagnets, Wood Block and much more.
Often these can be played on their own via a separate toe stud or can be played by operating the keys of a manual.
Uniflex, the new system. Does this make everything digital ?
Uniflex was born out of a desperate situation.
To make one thing clear straight away: Uniflex only replaces the old relay system.
the communication between the console and the organ chamber.
Formerly this was done by running wires from every key, every stop tab and every effect button up to the organ.
This meant thousands of wires bunched together in a thick cable leading to a large relay board that distributed the signals in turn to magnetic pallets in order for the instrument to sound.
The wiring and the relays are so old that parts have become worn and often malfunction.
It is virtually impossible to replace these parts and so another solution had to be found for the problem.
Now, the signal travels up from the key to the organ via a network cable, to be translated and sent on its way to the pallet valves by the old route.
This means that all the instruments in the organ chamber are still original and authentic.
Only the signal relay has been replaced.
Many theatre organs in England and America already use this system.
We want to keep the theatre organ as original and authentic as possible.
However, if we have to choose between an irreparable old mechanism and a modern system, the choice is easily made.
What are the advantages of Uniflex ?
The advantages really are practically endless.
Here are some of the most important:
- the organ console no longer has a hefty cable with a limited length. This means that the console can be placed anywhere you wish. In Haarlem for example, it is put some distance away from the pipes, in front of the chambers.
- when everything has been connected to the Uniflex circuit boards we can make use of lots of extra functions, such as:
- the quick adjustment of a wrongly-connected pipe
- the addition of various effects
- extra transposition possibilities, for example to get the “Blackpool sound”
- to produce ‘Sostenuto’ (sustaining a note) or ‘Sforzando’ (a sudden accent)
- easy adjustment of the Crescendo pedal (which brings more and more stops into play in stages)
- recording the music played by an organist
- automatic playback when no organist is present (also very handy for making a recording without extraneous sounds)
- the presets can be programmed quickly and easily according to each organists's taste. These settings are instantly recovered by one touch of a button
- the organ can even be operated by remote control from a mobile telephone or Ipad in order to facilitate tuning.
How do I increase the size of the letters ?
For some of us the letters are sometimes too small for comfort.
Often you can increase the size of the typeface.
On our website changing the size of the letters does not always improve the appearance of the page, however.
The sidebar menus become rather crowded.
A better alternative is to increase the entire size of the screen.
To do this:
On a Windows PC: hold down the CTRL key and tap the + (plus) key.
On a Mac: hold down the CMD 
key and tap the + (plus) key.
Repeat until the desired result is achieved and use the - (minus) key to reduce the size once more.
On an Ipad, or other touchscreen appliance you can zoom in and out by wiping with two fingers. 
What is the Netherlands Organ Federation NOF ?
You can find this information by clicking on the link entitled: The NOF
The history of the NOF can be found at the following link: History of the NOF/ NOF History
What does the NOF do with the subscription money and donations ?
All income goes solely towards the maintenance and preservation of the theatre organs.
A ‘zero overhead’ policy is maintained. There are no paid volunteers or council members.
All activites carried out by volunteers (including the design and maintenance of this website) are done absolutely free of charge.
Often the volunteers use their own funds to finance projects.
In this way we can put as much as possible into our passion: the theatre organ.
PRIVACY VERKLARING van de NEDERLANDSE ORGEL FEDERATIE
De Nederlandse Orgel Federatie (verder: NOF) hecht veel waarde aan de bescherming van uw persoonsgegevens en dat uw privacy wordt gerespecteerd. In deze privacyverklaring willen we heldere en transparante informatie geven over hoe wij omgaan met persoonsgegevens. Wij doen er alles aan om uw privacy te waarborgen en gaan daarom zorgvuldig om met persoonsgegevens.
De NOF houdt zich in alle gevallen aan de toepasselijke wet- en regelgeving, waaronder de Algemene Verordening Gegevensbescherming.
Dit brengt met zich mee dat wij in ieder geval:
• uw persoonsgegevens verwerken in overeenstemming met het doel waarvoor deze zijn verstrekt, deze doelen en type persoonsgegevens zijn beschreven in deze Privacy verklaring;
• verwerking van uw persoonsgegevens beperkt is tot enkel die gegevens welke minimaal nodig zijn voor de doeleinden waarvoor ze worden verwerkt;
• vragen om uw uitdrukkelijke toestemming als wij deze nodig hebben voor de verwerking van uw persoonsgegevens;
• passende technische en organisatorische maatregelen hebben genomen zodat de beveiliging van uw persoonsgegevens gewaarborgd is;
• geen persoonsgegevens doorgeven aan andere partijen, tenzij dit nodig is voor uitvoering van de doeleinden waarvoor ze zijn verstrekt;
• op de hoogte zijn van uw rechten omtrent uw persoonsgegevens, u hierop willen wijzen en deze respecteren.
Als NOF zijn wij verantwoordelijk voor de verwerking van uw persoonsgegevens. Indien u na het doornemen van onze privacy verklaring vragen heeft hierover of contact met ons wenst op te nemen kan dit via onderstaande contactgegevens:
Waarom verwerken wij persoonsgegevens
Uw persoonsgegevens worden door de NOF verwerkt ten behoeve van de volgende doeleinden
en rechtsgronden :
• Om te kunnen deelnemen aan de activiteiten van de NOF; (uitvoering overeenkomst)
• Het versturen van nieuwsbrieven en uitnodigingen. (toestemming betrokkene) Voor de bovenstaande doelstellingen kunnen wij de volgende persoonsgegevens van u vragen en opslaan:
• Persoonlijke identiteitsgegevens : naam, voornaam, adres, telefoonnummer, e-mail
• Persoonlijke kenmerken : geslacht, geboortedatum, facultatief: (voormalig) beroep We gebruiken de verzamelde gegevens alleen voor de doeleinden waarvoor we de gegevens hebben verkregen.
Verstrekking aan derden
De gegevens die u aan ons geeft kunnen wij aan derde partijen verstrekken indien dit noodzakelijk is voor uitvoering van de hierboven beschreven doeleinden. Zo maken wij gebruik van een derde partij voor:
• het verzorgen van de internetomgeving (webhosting);
• het verzorgen en verspreiden van ons ledenmagazine,nieuwsbrieven en uitnodigingen.
Wij geven nooit persoonsgegevens door aan andere partijen waarmee we geen verwerkersovereenkomst hebben afgesloten. Met deze partijen (verwerkers) maken wij hierin uiteraard de nodige afspraken om de beveiliging van uw persoonsgegevens te waarborgen.
Verder zullen wij de door u verstrekte gegevens niet aan derden doorgeven, tenzij dit wettelijk verplicht en toegestaan is.
Tevens kunnen wij persoonsgegevens delen met derden indien u ons hier toestemming voor geeft.
U heeft het recht deze toestemming ten allen tijde in te trekken,
Bewaartermijn
De NOF bewaart persoonsgegevens niet langer dan noodzakelijk voor het doel waarvoor deze zijn verstrekt dan wel op grond van de wet is vereist, met een maximale termijn van 5 jaar na laatste gebruik.
Beveiliging van de gegevens Wij hebben passende technische en organisatorische maatregelen genomen om persoonsgegevens van u te beschermen tegen onrechtmatige verwerking, zo hebben we bijvoorbeeld de volgende maatregelen genomen;
• We hanteren een gebruikersnaam en wachtwoordbeleid op al onze systemen;
• We pseudonimiseren en zorgen voor de encryptie van persoonsgegevens als daar aanleiding toe is;
• Wij maken back-ups van de persoonsgegevens om deze te kunnen herstellen bij fysieke of technische incidenten;
• We testen en evalueren regelmatig onze maatregelen;
Uw rechten omtrent uw gegevens
U heeft recht op inzage en recht op correctie of verwijdering van de persoonsgegeven welke wij van u ontvangen hebben. Bovenaan dit privacy statement staat hoe u contact met ons kan opnemen. Tevens kunt u bezwaar maken tegen de verwerking van uw persoonsgegevens (of een deel hiervan) door ons of door één van onze verwerkers.
Klachten
Mocht u een klacht hebben over de verwerking van uw persoonsgegevens dan vragen wij u hierover direct contact met ons op te nemen. U heeft altijd het recht een klacht in te dienen bij de Autoriteit Persoonsgegevens, dit is de toezichthoudende autoriteit op het gebied van privacy bescherming.
Wijziging privacy statement
De NOF kan zijn privacy statement wijzigen. Van deze wijziging zullen we een aankondiging doen op onze website.
