Tracker action

Tracker action is a term used in reference to pipe organs and steam calliopes to indicate a mechanical linkage between keys or pedals pressed by the organist and the valve that allows air to flow into pipe(s) of the corresponding note. This is in contrast to "direct electric action" and "electro-pneumatic action", which connect the key to the valve through an electrical link or an electrically assisted pneumatic system respectively, or "tubular-pneumatic action" which utilizes a change of pressure within lead tubing which connects the key to the valve pneumatic.

Organs trace their history as far back as at least the 3rd Century B.C. with an organlike device known as the hydraulis. Also known as a "water organ" or "Roman organ," the Hydraulis was an instrument in which water was used as a source of power to push wind through organ pipes. (It is not to be confused with the hydraulic action of a hydraulophone, an instrument that actually uses water to produce the sound, not just as a source of power). While the control of air pressure was controlled by water pressure, hence the name, the action was a rudimentary form of modern action.

It was not until the mid 14th century that the action needed to be explored and expanded as finally more pipes were added, as well as the addition of stops, and ultimately multiple cases and keyboards.

This continued in the 17th and 18th centuries. No particularly great developments took place in the Classical Period.

In the Romantic Period came a new style of organ building. The organ became larger and louder and pneumatically assisted action became the norm in large instruments, to offset the extreme key weight caused by high wind pressures.

Although tracker action was less utilized in the early 20th Century, particularly in England and America, its use has enjoyed a strong renaissance in the same areas since WWII, especially in instruments modeled on historical antecedents. Today, many builders are using tracker action throughout the world, and it has been successfully employed in organs of many styles. Some active builders of tracker action organs include Taylor and Boody of Staunton, Virginia, Paul Fritts of Tacoma, Washington, Flentrop Orgelbouw B.V. of Zaandam, the Netherlands, and C. B. Fisk, Inc. of Gloucester, Massachusetts.

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Wikipedia