Serinette
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A serinette is a type of
musical instrument A musical instrument is a device created or adapted to make Music, musical sounds. In principle, any object that produces sound can be considered a musical instrument—it is through purpose that the object becomes a musical instrument. A person ...
consisting of a small hand-cranked, pneumatic
barrel organ A barrel organ (also called roller organ or crank organ) is a France, French mechanical musical instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of organ pipe, pipes housed in a case, usually of wood, and often highly decorated. The basic ...
. It appeared in the first half of the 18th century in eastern
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, and was used to teach tunes to canaries. Its name is derived from the French ''serin'', meaning “canary.” Serinettes are housed in a wooden case, normally of
walnut A walnut is the edible seed of any tree of the genus '' Juglans'' (family Juglandaceae), particularly the Persian or English walnut, '' Juglans regia''. They are accessory fruit because the outer covering of the fruit is technically an i ...
, and typically measuring × × . The instrument is played by turning a crank mounted on the front. The crank pumps a
bellows A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtig ...
to supply air to the
pipes Pipe(s), PIPE(S) or piping may refer to: Objects * Pipe (fluid conveyance), a hollow cylinder following certain dimension rules ** Piping, the use of pipes in industry * Smoking pipe ** Tobacco pipe * Half-pipe and quarter pipe, semi-circu ...
, and also turns a wooden barrel by means of gears. Driven into the barrel are brass pins and staples which encode the pieces of music. Mounted over the barrel is a bar carrying wooden keys connected to valves by vertical wooden rods. As the barrel turns, the pins and staples lift the keys, in turn opening the valves to let air into the pipes, which are located at the rear of the instrument. Different tunes are selected by lifting the bar carrying the keys, then shifting the barrel along its length. This brings a different set of pins and staples in line with the keys. Most serinettes contain one rank of ten metal pipes at 2' pitch and play eight different tunes. Each tune lasts about 20 seconds and is normally of quick tempo and contains considerable ornamentation. A paper label pasted inside the lid lists the tunes available; one of the most common was “La petite chasse.” Serinette construction was remarkably consistent. Instruments built a hundred years apart by different makers can bear a strong similarity. Many craftsmen worked in and around
Mirecourt Mirecourt () is a Communes of France, commune in the Vosges (French department), Vosges Departments of France, department in Grand Est in northeastern France. Mirecourt is known for lace-making and the manufacture of musical instruments, particula ...
in the Lorraine region of France. The sound of the serinette is similar to that of the
piccolo The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
.


References

*Ord-Hume, Arthur W.J.G., “Bird organ.” ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians''. 2nd ed. New York, 2001. vol. 3 p. 605. *François Bédos de Celles, ''The Organ-Builder''. Translated by Charles Ferguson. Raleigh, 1977. pp. 306–308.


External links


Anonymous serinette
in the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

restorer of serinettes and related instruments (includes recordings of a serinette) {{Traditional French musical instruments Organs (music) Mechanical musical instruments French musical instruments