Calliope (music)

A calliope (see below for pronunciation) is a North American musical instrument that produces sound by sending a gas, originally steam or, more recently, compressed air, through large whistles—originally locomotive whistles.

The traction engine could also supply electric power for lighting, and tow the calliope in the circus parade, where it traditionally came last.

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.

[2] Joshua C. Stoddard of Worcester, Massachusetts patented the calliope on October 9, 1855,[3][4] 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.

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 paddlewheel era.

David Morecraft pioneered a resurgence in the building of authentic steam calliopes of the Thomas J. Nichol style beginning in 1985 in Peru, Indiana.

[11] In the song "Blinded by the Light", written in 1972, Bruce Springsteen used the four-syllable (/kəˈlaɪ.əpi/ 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.

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.

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

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.

Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, used tapes of calliope music to create the atmosphere of a circus.