The Music-Box-Calliope
By Robbie Rhodes
A long, fine article by author J. Lee Anderson about the musicians and calliopes aboard American riverboats appears in the July, 1996, issue of "The Mississippi Rag". (The issue is available for 27169 2.00 from P.O. Box 19068, Minneapolis, MN 55419.) Photographs of a calliope in action clearly show 32 whistles arranged chromatically upon a hairpin manifold. Anderson notes, "the number of whistles on a calliope varied from 13 or 15 to as many as 58 ... many of the most popular instruments had 32."
Most intriguing is that the very first calliope had variable-pitch whistles, and was played by a pinned cylinder -- what a noisy music box!
A few quotes from the text: - - - - The calliope's inventor, a beekeeper from Worcester, Mass., named Joshua C. Stoddard, had a flair for things mechanical and loved to tinker. ... While experimenting with steam whistles, Stoddard discovered how to vary the pitch [by altering the pressure]. ... He improved on his notion of a steam-operated music box by varying the shape of the pins pegged in a revolving cylinder to produce whole, half, quarter, eighths and lesser notes.
The pins, in revolving, lifted valves which admitted just the proper squirt of steam to each of the whistles, resulting in a hoarse-toned mechanical melody. Eventually, the calliope was played from a brass-keyed, piano-like keyboard.
Stoddard patented his instrument in 1855, and soon formed the American Steam Music Company. In August 1856 one of their new calliopes was installed on the side-wheel tugboat "Union", which toured New York harbors giving a free concert.
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(Message sent Sun 7 Jul 1996, 16:41:36 GMT, from time zone GMT-0700.) |
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