Hi MMDers,  I plan to build an "indoor calliope" -- not as loud as
an air calliope for outdoor use.  I am borrowing some ideas from the
plans by R. M. Stanoszek for building a Tangley calliope; however,
I will use an organ keyboard, shortened to the requisite 43 notes,
and organ pipes ranging in pitch from F below Middle C (174.6 Hz)
up to B (1975.5) Hz.

In essence, this will be a 43-note single rank organ using direct
electric action.  In addition to keyboard operation, I want to operate
the organ from MIDI recordings, if such a thing exists.

So here are my questions:

1) Are MIDI (or some digital format) recordings available for
a 43-note calliope?

2) Since I know nothing about how the MIDI interface works, what
components do I need to take a MIDI (digital) signal and run it through
the proper drivers to operate the direct electric solenoids in my organ
chest?

3) Can I connect the keyboard in parallel with the digital inputs so
I can play along with a recording?

4) Does my approach make sense?

Thanks for any and all advice!

Pat DeWitt
Fort Wayne, Indiana

 [ See  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-TK_AvqpJ0&feature=channel 
 [ MMDer Bob Meyer built his MIDI-controlled "indoor calliope" using
 [ a salvaged rank of 4-foot open flute organ pipes.  Much 48- and
 [ 58-note chromatic music has been transcribed to MIDI files; to
 [ better play it the lowest note of your calliope should be C below
 [ Middle C (131 Hz).  You can add a cheap MIDI keyboard to play
 [ along with the pre-recorded music.  -- Robbie