MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS— THE ORGAN. 



643 



rate key-board instrument, prior to 1800. The " free reed " is so 

 named to distinguish it from the " beating reed " of the clarionet 

 and the " double reed " of the oboe and bassoon. It consists of a 

 strip of flexible metal adjusted on a pan over a slot in which the 

 reed vibrates on being set in motion by a current of air, thus pro- 

 ducing a musical sound. Pitch, the height or depth of sounds, is 

 regulated by the size and structure of the reed and pan, the smaller 

 reeds producing the sharpest and the larger the gravest tones, 

 while timbre, or quality, one of the three chief characteristics 

 which a sound possesses, is conditioned by the structure of the 

 reed, the nature of the metal used, and other incidental in- 

 fluences. 



The seraphine was the first instrument of the class produced in 

 America. It was invented by Mr. Chadwick, an American, and 

 was merely a slight advance on the accordeon, its precursor, which 

 was also a key-board instrument. The melodeon appeared about 



Fig. 25.— Showino Body of Organ eemoveb from Case (Peloubet system, Lyon & Healy, 

 Chicaffo, nianufacturersV— Ends of mutes belonging to two full registers of reeds {A) ; 

 stop-board (B), with knobs in front; upright forked levers for stops (C). Also UIus- 

 trates general principles. 



1840, and differed little from French harmoniums until Emmons 

 Hamlin— afterward one of the founders of the celebrated firm of 

 Mason & Hamlin — introduced some significant improvements in 

 the construction of the reed. The improvement was of a highly 

 important character from the historical point of view, since it was 

 the first and chief step toward the American parlor organ. Ham- 

 lin found that, if the tongue of the reed were slightly twisted or 



