Our organ has nearly 5,000 pipes. Voicing is all done by ear, requiring very quiet conditions. During the voicing, a Voicer makes an assessment of each pipe and tests each one repeatedly to ensure that the speech and volume level are correct; this process is then applied throughout.
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Organ voicing begins at Winchester Cathedral
What is the difference between voicing and tuning?
Whilst regular tuning alters the pitch of the pipes, voicing manipulates the musical output of the individual pipes and only happens once in a generation. Adjustments are made to each pipe to ensure that each note is not louder or softer than its neighbours. Each stop has a pipe for every note on the organ keyboard, so there’s a lot of work for our Voicer. During this process, individual notes are therefore sounded repetitively at high and low frequencies and require noise to be kept at a minimum.
We thank you for your consideration during this time and look forward to welcoming you back to hear our organ. Please note that during this voicing period, there will be no access to the Quire.
Important visitor information
You can now access the East End by the North Transept steps (which was previously closed due to erection of scaffolding).
The wheelchair lift is in operation.
There is access to The Crypt however this does depend on the water level, if this goes over the viewing platform it will not be open.