Editing Calliope (music)

{{Short description|Large, steam-powered musical instrument}}
[[File:Calliope, the wonderful operonicon or steam car of the muses, advertising poster, 1874.jpg|300px|thumb|upright=1.8|"Calliope, the wonderful operonicon or steam car of the muses" – advertising poster, 1874]]
{{listen|filename=Margie on JBS steam calliope.ogg |title='Margie'|description=Performed on the steam calliope of the <br> Str. [[Julia Belle Swain]] |format=[[ogg]]}}
A '''calliope''' (see [[#Pronunciation|below]] for pronunciation) is an American [[musical instrument]] that produces sound by sending a gas, originally [[steam]] or, more recently, [[compressed air]], through large [[whistle]]s—originally locomotive whistles.

A calliope is typically very loud. Even some small calliopes are audible for miles. There is no way to vary [[timbre (music)|tone]] or [[dynamics (music)|volume]]. Musically, the only [[musical expression|expression]] possible is the [[pitch (music)|pitch]], [[rhythm]], and [[duration (music)|duration]] of the notes.

The steam calliope is also known as a '''steam [[Pipe organ|organ]]''' ({{Lang|fr|orgue à vapeur}} in [[Quebec]]) or '''steam piano''' ({{Lang|fr|piano à vapeur}} in Quebec). The air-driven calliope is sometimes called a '''calliaphone''', the name given to it by [[Norman Baker (inventor)|Norman Baker]], but the "Calliaphone" name is registered by the Miner Company for instruments produced under the Tangley name.

In the [[Steam power during the Industrial Revolution|age of steam]], the steam calliope was particularly used on riverboats and in circuses. In both cases, a steam supply was readily available for other purposes. Riverboats supplied steam from their propulsion boilers. Circus calliopes were sometimes installed in steam-driven [[carousel]]s,<ref>{{cite news |title=Where did merry-go-rounds come from? |url=https://www.cbc.ca/kidscbc2/the-feed/where-did-merry-go-rounds-come-from |access-date=20 November 2021 |work=[[CBC Kids]]}}</ref>{{efn|The calliope is confused by some with the air-powered [[orchestrion]], which was also used to produce music on period carousels.  It used [[organ pipe]]s rather than steam whistles to produce its principal sounds.  See also [[fairground organ]].}} or supplied with steam from a [[traction engine]]. The traction engine could also supply electric power for lighting, and tow the calliope in the circus parade, where it traditionally came last. Other circus calliopes were self-contained, mounted on a carved, painted and gilded wagon pulled by horses, but the presence of other steam boilers in the circus meant that fuel and expertise to run the boiler were readily available. Steam instruments often had keyboards made from brass. This was in part to resist the heat and moisture of the steam, but also for the golden shine of the highly polished keys.

Calliopes can be played by a player at a [[musical keyboard|keyboard]] or mechanically. Mechanical operation may be by a drum similar to a [[music box]] drum, or by a [[Piano roll|roll]] similar to that of a [[player piano]]. Some instruments have both a keyboard and a mechanism for automated operation, others only one or the other.  Some calliopes can also be played via a [[MIDI]] interface.

The whistles of a calliope are tuned to a [[chromatic scale]], although this process is difficult and must be repeated often to maintain quality sound.  Since the pitch of each note is largely affected by the temperature of the steam, accurate tuning is nearly impossible; however, the off-pitch notes (particularly in the upper register) have become something of a trademark of the steam calliope.  A calliope may have anywhere from 25 to 67 whistles, but 32 is traditional for a steam calliope.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.neworleansonline.com/neworleans/music/musichistory/natchezcalliope.html |title=The Steam Calliope on Steamboat Natchez |publisher=Neworleansonline.com |access-date=2012-11-07}}</ref>

==History==
[[Image:Calliope on the Minnie-Ha-Ha.jpg|thumb|right|Calliope on the Minne-Ha-Ha, a [[paddle steamer|stern-wheeler]] on Lake George, New York]]
[[Image:Kitch Greenhouses Calliope.jpg|thumb|right|Kitch Greenhouse Steam Calliope at the Ohio Historical Society – July 2006]]
[[Image:SteamTractorCarnival18Feb2007Rubensteins.jpg|thumb|right|Fairground calliope trailer being hauled by a U.S.-built [[traction engine]] – New Orleans Mardi Gras 2007]]
[[File:Kratz Steam Calliope.jpg|thumbnail|Steam calliope (c. 1901) built by George Kratz and used on the showboat French's ''New Sensation'' at The [[Mariners' Museum]]]]

[[Joshua C. Stoddard]] of [[Worcester, Massachusetts]] patented the calliope on October 9, 1855,<ref>{{cite web|title=Patent US 13668: Apparatus for producing music by steam or compressed air.|url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?url=patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/pdfs/US13668.pdf|publisher=United States Patent Office|access-date=22 February 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last1=Bopp|first1=Ron|title=Whistling By The Numbers (A Survey of the Calliope in the U.S. Patents)|journal=Carousel Organ|date=April 2004|issue=19|page=2|url=http://www.coaa.us/index_archive/Issues_11_to_20/Whistling%20By%20The%20Numbers%20-%20Survey%20of%20Calliope%20Patents_%20Ron%20Bopp__19.pdf |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20221009/http://www.coaa.us/index_archive/Issues_11_to_20/Whistling%20By%20The%20Numbers%20-%20Survey%20of%20Calliope%20Patents_%20Ron%20Bopp__19.pdf |archive-date=2022-10-09 |url-status=live|access-date=22 February 2016}}</ref> though his design echoes previous concepts, such as an 1832 instrument called a ''steam trumpet,'' later known as a [[train whistle]]. In 1851, William Hoyt of Dupont, Indiana claimed to have conceived of a device similar to Stoddard's calliope, but he never patented it. Later, an employee of Stoddard's American Music, Arthur S. Denny, attempted to market an "Improved Kalliope" in Europe, but it did not catch on. In 1859, he demonstrated this instrument in [[The Crystal Palace|Crystal Palace]], London. Unlike other calliopes before or since, Denny's Improved Kalliope let the player control the steam pressure, and therefore the volume of the music, while playing.

While Stoddard originally intended the calliope to replace bells at churches, it found its way onto riverboats during the [[Paddle steamer|paddlewheel]] era. While only a small number of working steamboats still exist, each has a steam calliope.{{cn|date=December 2022}} These boats include the ''[[Delta Queen]]'', the ''[[Belle of Louisville]]'', and ''[[President (1924 steamboat)|President]]''. Their calliopes are played regularly on river excursions. Many surviving calliopes were built by '''Thomas J. Nichol''', [[Cincinnati, Ohio]], who built calliopes from 1890 until 1932. The Thomas J. Nichol calliopes featured rolled sheet copper (as used in roofing) for the resonant tube (the bell) of the whistle, lending a sweeter tone than cast bronze or brass, which were the usual materials for steam whistles of the day. David Morecraft pioneered a resurgence in the building of authentic steam calliopes of the Thomas J. Nichol style beginning in 1985 in [[Peru, Indiana]]. These calliopes are featured in Peru's annual Circus City Parade.  Morecraft died on December 5, 2016.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Dahlinger |first1=Fred |title=Passing of Dave Morecraft, Steam Calliope Builder |url=https://www.mmdigest.com/Archives/Digests/201612/2016.12.06.01.html |website=Mechanical Music Archives |access-date=25 September 2018}}</ref>

Stoddard's original calliope was attached to a metal roller set with pins in the manner familiar to Stoddard from the contemporary clockwork [[music box]]. The pins on the roller opened valves that admitted steam into the whistles.  Later, Stoddard replaced the cylinder with a keyboard, so that the calliope could be played like an organ.

Starting in the 1900s calliopes began using [[music roll]]s instead of a live musician. The music roll operated in a manner similar to a [[piano roll]] in a [[player piano]], mechanically operating the keys. Many of these mechanical calliopes retained keyboards, allowing a live musician to play them if needed. During this period, compressed air began to replace steam as the vehicle of producing sound.

Most calliopes disappeared in the mid-20th century, as steam power was replaced with other power sources. Without the demand for technicians that mines and railroads supplied, no support was available to keep boilers running. Only a few calliopes have survived, which, unless converted to a modern power source, are rarely played.

A relatively recently-built calliope is that of Carl Bergman of [[Aspen, Colorado]], which was built in the mid 1970s.  The 6 foot tall wood-fired steam boiler was originally used by miners at [[Independence Pass (Colorado)|Independence Pass]] and requires its owner to maintain a boiler operator's license.  The calliope produces 10 notes and takes 8 hours to get ready.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Agar |first=Charles |date=2008-01-13 |title=Carl's calliope a hit at Aspen parade |url=https://www.aspentimes.com/news/carls-calliope-a-hit-at-aspen-parade/ |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=www.aspentimes.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

=={{anchor|Pronunciation}}Pronunciation==

The pronunciation of the word has long been disputed, and often it is pronounced differently inside and outside the groups that use it. The [[Calliope|Greek muse]] by the same name is pronounced {{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|l|aɪ|.|ə|p|i}} {{respell|kə|LY|ə|pee}}, but the instrument was usually pronounced {{IPAc-en|ˈ|k|æ|l|i|oʊ|p}} {{respell|KAL|ee|ohp}} by people who played it.<ref>{{Cite dictionary |url=http://www.lexico.com/en/definition/calliope |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220426214300/https://www.lexico.com/en/definition/calliope |url-status=dead |archive-date=April 26, 2022 |title=calliope |dictionary=[[Lexico]] US English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}</ref>
<ref>{{cite news |author=<!--not stated--> |title = THERE'S JUST ONE WAY TO PRONOUNCE KAL-EE-OPE |date = 2000-04-02 |url = https://greensboro.com/theres-just-one-way-to-pronounce-kal-ee-ope/article_482f7423-b5dd-5fb8-9bf4-a06d43c60e87.html |access-date = 2024-08-05 |work = Greensboro News & Record |ref = none}}</ref> A nineteenth-century magazine, ''[[Reedy's Mirror]]'', attempted to settle the dispute by publishing this rhyme:<ref>{{cite web
  | last =Guillaum
  | first =Ted
  | title =MQ Calliope Press Release-Part 2
  | date = 2003-01-18
  | url =http://www.steamboats.org/talkshop/messages/2175.html
  | access-date = 2007-02-20 }}</ref>
{{poemquote|Proud folk stare after me,
Call me Calliope;
Tooting joy, tooting hope,
I am the calliope.}}

This, in turn, came from a poem by [[Vachel Lindsay]], called "The Kallyope {{sic}} Yell",<ref>{{cite web
  | title =The Kallyope Yell
  | date = 2003-01-18
  | url =http://www.theotherpages.org/poems/amv13_3.html
  | access-date = 2007-02-20 }}</ref>
in which Lindsay uses both pronunciations.<ref>{{cite web
 |last        = Lehmann
 |first       = Gary
 |title       = Vachel Lindsay: A Madman Who Burst His Rivets on a Head of Steam
 |date        = Fall 2005
 |url         = http://www.jmww.150m.com/Lindsay.html
 |access-date  = 2007-02-20
 |url-status     = dead
 |archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20070515073540/http://www.jmww.150m.com/Lindsay.html
 |archive-date = 2007-05-15
}}</ref>

In the song "[[Blinded by the Light]]", written in 1972, [[Bruce Springsteen]] used the four-syllable ({{IPAc-en|k|ə|ˈ|l|aɪ|.|ə|p|i}} {{respell|kə|LY|ə|pee}}) pronunciation commonly used in the United States when referring to a fairground organ; this was also used by the British [[Manfred Mann's Earth Band]] in their 1976 [[Cover version|cover]].

==Related instruments==

===Pyrophone===
The [[pyrophone]] is a calliope-like instrument that uses internal combustion within its whistles to power their notes, rather than the calliope's system of friction from steam going through ducts.

At 1998's [[Burning Man]], a pyrophone referred to as ''Satan's Calliope'' was powered by ignition of propane inside resonant cavities.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hell's Bells: An engineer's devilish art car produces great balls of fire at Burning Man|author=Sarah Phelan|work= Metroactive|url=http://www.metroactive.com/papers/cruz/08.22.01/burningman-0134.html}}</ref>

===Calliaphone===
The calliaphone is a compressed-air powered, easily transported instrument developed by early 20th century American inventor [[Norman G. Baker|Norman Baker]].

===Lustre chantant===
The ''lustre chantant'' (literally "singing chandelier") or musical lamp was invented by Frederik Kastner.  It was a large [[chandelier]] with glass pipes of varying lengths each illuminated and heated by an individual gas jet. A keyboard allowed the player to turn down individual jets; as the glass tube cooled, a note was produced. Kastner installed several such instruments in Paris.

==Popular culture==
[[Henry Mancini]] used the calliope in his 1961 song "[[Baby Elephant Walk]]" for the film ''[[Hatari!]]'' to suggest the fun of a circus.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1963 |author=Les Tomkins |title=Henry Mancini: Bringing Jazz Out From the Shadows |url=http://www.jazzprofessional.com/interviews/Henry%20Mancini_1.htm |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=JazzProfessionals.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

A calliope in a travelling circus plays an important role in [[Mission: Impossible season 1]] (1966, episodes 4 and 5, ''Old Man Out''). Its music serves as background for the diversionary circus stunts central to the episode's mission.

[[The Beatles]], in recording "[[Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!]]" from the 1967 album ''[[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]],'' used tapes of calliope music to create the atmosphere of a circus. Beatles producer [[George Martin]] recalled, "When we first worked on 'Being for the Benefit of Mr. Kite!' John had said that he wanted to 'smell the sawdust on the floor', wanted to taste the atmosphere of the circus.  I said to him, 'What we need is a calliope.' 'A what?' 'Steam whistles, played by a keyboard.{{'"}} Unable to find an authentic calliope, Martin resorted to tapes of calliopes playing [[John Philip Sousa|Sousa]] marches. "[I] chopped the tapes up into small sections and had [[Geoff Emerick]] throw them up into the air, re-assembling them at random."<ref>{{cite book
| last=Lewisohn
| first=Mark
| year=1988
| author-link=Mark Lewisohn
| title=The Beatles Recording Sessions
| publisher=[[Harmony Books]]
| location=New York
| isbn=0-517-57066-1
}}</ref>

In the 1972 western film ''[[The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid]]'', which takes place in 1876, a calliope is featured prominently during a scene when [[Cole Younger]] (portrayed by [[Cliff Robertson]]) and his gang arrive in Northfield, Minnesota. The instrument is referred to by name and Younger shows such interest in it that he attempts to fix it.<ref>{{Cite web |date=1972-06-02 |title=The Kansas City Star from Kansas City, Missouri |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/675995289/ |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=1972-04-23 |title=Omaha World-Herald from Omaha, Nebraska |url=https://www.newspapers.com/newspage/886671188/ |access-date=2024-06-19 |website=Newspapers.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

In the video game ''[[Team Fortress 2]]'', the calliope is prominently used as a quasi-[[Bass (sound)|bass]] line in the #11 track "Haunted Fortress 2" in the game's soundtrack, used mostly during [[Halloween]] or [[Full Moon]]-timed events.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wiki.teamfortress.com/wiki/Haunted_Fortress_2_(Soundtrack) | title=Haunted Fortress 2 (Soundtrack) - Official TF2 Wiki &#124; Official Team Fortress Wiki }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Fairground organ]]
* [[Orchestrion]]
* [[Showman's road locomotive]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Calliope (steam musical instrument)|Calliopes}}
* [https://www.mmdigest.com/Calliope Mechanical Music Digest: Calliope]
* [https://www.mmdigest.com/Calliope/harmony.html "Harmony in Steam"]
* [http://www.steamboats.org/whistle-calliope.html "Riverboat Calliopes"] – ''includes audio clips of several riverboat calliopes''
* [http://galutschek.at/ships/video/delta_queen_2006/calliope_full_length/ The calliope of Delta Queen (divX video clip)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20110303075052/http://www.partyschipsucces.com/partyschip/fotoalbum-partyschip-passagiers-stoomschip-succes/category/18-partyschip-met-uniek-stoomorgel.html "Europe's largest calliope aboard the ss Succes <!--this is correct spelling – check vs website!-->"] – ''(Dutch) includes pictures & audio''
* [https://www.youtube.com/view_play_list?p=1DDECC1D4C48FB1B Steam calliopes on YouTube (playlist)]
* Watch the [[National Film Board of Canada]] vignette [http://www.nfb.ca/film/canada_vignettes_calliope/ ''Calliope'']
* {{US patent|13668}}:  Apparatus for producing music by steam or compressed air.
* [https://archive.today/20130415080937/http://collections.marinersmuseum.org/default.asp?IDCFile=DETAILS.IDC,SPECIFIC=46393,NEXTRECORDS=0,PREVRECORDS=0,DATABASE=62751091,LISTIDC=PAGE.IDC,RECORDMAX=10,RECNO=1,WORDS=U=calliope Kratz Steam Calliope at The Mariners' Museum]
* [https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLTl0sWfUVF2TlEjVVl2LIsNspM2yJ9DV5 Popular Calliope and Steam Organ Videos]
* [http://education.ket.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/How-the-Belle-of-Louisville-Steam-Calliope-Works.pdf How the Belle of Louisville Steam Calliope Works (PDF)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119173612/http://education.ket.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/How-the-Belle-of-Louisville-Steam-Calliope-Works.pdf |date=2018-11-19 }} Schematic diagram of the [[Belle of Louisville|Belle of Louisville's]] calliope

{{Musical keyboards}}
{{Water instruments}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:American musical instruments]]
[[Category:Canadian musical instruments]]
[[Category:Internal fipple flutes]]
[[Category:Pipe organ]]
[[Category:Steam power]]
[[Category:1855 introductions]]
[[Category:Circus music]]
[[Category:French-American culture]]
[[Category:Music of Quebec]]
[[Category:Gilded Age]]
[[Category:Victorian era]]