Revised: 29 January 2021

Many articles on organs are available in full on this website - click on the Complete Articles page to access them.  Other of my publications relevant to the subject matter of the site which have appeared elsewhere in public domain print media include those below.  Note that this is not a full list of my publications; it does not include those relating to other areas of research.  The listing is in chronological order with the most recent first:

1. Handel's Temperament, Colin Pykett, Organists' Review, September 2019.

Describes the vague tuning instructions published in 1780 for a temperament purported to be by Handel, together with my realisation of it which matches the criteria of interval quality exactly.  An expanded version of the article is available here.

2. My metronomes won't synchronize, Colin Pykett, Physics World, January 2017

This article was first published in Physics World, the house journal of the Institute of Physics.  It discusses the curious topic of pendulum synchronization which has been observed since the first clocks were developed hundreds of years ago, but uses metronomes instead.  In fact my pair of metronomes do not synchronize as most others seem to do, and it is this feature which is examined in the article.

The article is also available as a PDF download courtesy of IOP Publishing Ltd to whom the copyright belongs (download).

3. Digital Organs Today, Colin Pykett, Organists' Review, November 2009

This article was commissioned by Organists' Review to update an earlier one published some years ago in the same journal (see number 8 below).  It discusses the pros and cons of the main types of digital organs currently available, in particular the newer techniques of physical modelling and so-called virtual pipe organs.  Neither were part of the digital organ scene when the earlier article was written.

This article is also available in full on this website on the Complete Articles page. (read).

4. Speaking with Tongues, C E Pykett, Physics World, February 2005

Physics World is the house journal of the Institute of Physics.  This article emphasises the shortcomings of popular programming languages such as C, which could prove dangerous in a safety-critical application.  They are also irritating and time-wasting to the programmer, and I speak from experience having used this language extensively in my musical instrument research.

The article is also available as a PDF download courtesy of IOP Publishing Ltd to whom the copyright belongs (download).

5.  A Dorset Temperament, C E Pykett, Organists' Review, August 2004

A novel temperament has been developed in which there are two perfect fifths, with the remainder being tempered.  All keys are useable, and most of the "sharp" keys (e.g. C# major) have an intonation much better than in equal temperament.  There are noticeable key flavours associated with the temperament, unlike equal temperament in which all keys have the same flavour (or lack of it).  The work was suggested when playing an organ in a Dorset country church whose tuning, by chance, had drifted towards this temperament. 

This article is also available in full on this website on the Complete Articles page. (read).

6.  Pipe Organs: Physics in an action, C E Pykett, Physics World, December 2002

Physics World is the house journal of the Institute of Physics.  This article introduced readers to the opportunities for applying physics to the design of mechanical and electric organ actions.

The article is also available as a PDF download courtesy of IOP Publishing Ltd to whom the copyright belongs (download).

7.  Electronic Transmission Systems, C E Pykett, Organists' Review, August 1999

Responding to requests from their readership, this article was commissioned by the editorial staff of Organists' Review to dispel some of the uncertainties surrounding today's widespread use of electronic (digital or multiplex) transmission systems in pipe organs with electric action.

The article is also available in full on this website on the Complete Articles page. (read)

8.  Electronic Organs, C E Pykett, Organists' Review, August 1998

The controversies created by electronic organs cannot be resolved by those who are content with the sour reactions which merely conceal ignorance.  Written at a non-technical level by an author (me) with no vested interests, the article updated an earlier one (number 11 below) and it has been widely used and quoted by those seeking objective information on the complex issues involved in today's digital electronic organs.  It was also received positively by some of the leading manufacturers.  In 2009 a further update was commissioned by Organists' Review and published in November of that year (see number 3 above).

Because of the number of requests received for reprints, this article is now available in full on this website on the Complete Articles page (read).

9.  Touch Sensitivity & Transient Effects in Mechanical Action Organs, C E Pykett, Organists' Review, November 1996

This article addressed the physical basis underlying the musical effects which can be obtained from a sensitive mechanical action.  It showed that certain phenomena which occur at the beginning and end of pipe speech can be modulated by the rate at which the note is keyed and released.  It therefore confirmed the reality of such articulation effects, which are of course only realisable with a well designed mechanical action.

Because of the number of requests received for reprints, this article is now available in full on this website on the Complete Articles page (read).

10.  The Hope-Jones Organ in Pilton Parish Church, C E Pykett, Organists' Review, November 1993.

Hope-Jones's organs are now exceedingly rare.  When this article was written there was a Hope-Jones organ at Pilton in Devon which was largely intact as far as the pipework and console were concerned, although the instrument had been somewhat disguised by later additions.  Today the article has some added historical significance in view of the further interventions that have taken place regarding this organ since it was published.

This article is now available in full on this website (read).

11.  Choosing an Electronic Organ, C E Pykett, The Musical Times, January 1987

This article was written at a non-technical level by one with no commercial interests (me) at the time when some electronic instruments were moving from analogue to digital technology.  From today's perspective it therefore has some historical content.  Now that all organs are digital, it was superseded by a more recent article (see number 8 above) introducing the reader to the updated technology in more detail.

Because of the number of requests received for reprints, this article is now available in full on this website on the Complete Articles page (read).

12.  Tone Filters for Electronic Organs, C E Pykett, Wireless World, October & December 1980

This was originally serialised as two articles in 1980.  It is rather a technical museum piece nowadays, as it was an attempt to raise the standard of analogue electronic organs in an era when most were utterly dreadful.  The article is the only one known which showed how to design analogue tone-forming circuitry based on acoustic measurements of real organ pipes.

The Wireless World  articles are available as a PDF file (450 kB) - click here to download.  Thanks to Stefan Vorkoetter they are also available in HTML format with reworked diagrams.  Please contact him via his website if you prefer this option.