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World Of Mechanical Music, Gloustershire

 

The World of Mechanical Music in Northleach, Gloucestershire, collects and displays clocks and mechanical musical devices. Interestingly the history of clock and musical instrument making are closely related.

Before the invention of machine tools, there was no standard tuning for musical instruments, making it very difficult for musicians to play together. Also it was impossible to play all types of harmony without stopping your performance and retuning your instrument accordingly - being in tune for one type of harmony would put you out of tune for another. In 1722 the head of music at Cothan Castle in Germany, Johann Sebastian Bach, worked out a way of tuning a harpsichord so that all harmonies in any key could be played in one sitting without retuning. Bach called this tuning "equal temperament". Bach achieved equal temperament by retuning every note so that each one was imperceptibly out of tune, thus finding a very delicate compromise which allowed every combination of harmony to work. For equal temperament to become standard, machine tools were needed to produce instruments built precisely enough to achieve the level of tuning required. The machine tools that would eventually make this possible were actually first developed in the precise manufacture of clocks. The Italian clock maker Juanelo Torriano of Cremona (1501 - 1575) developed the first lathe to reliably produce identical gear wheels for clocks. In 1800 Henry Maudsley designed a metal lathe based on the principles used by Torriano for use in the production of pianos. The same precision engineering was then applied to all other modern musical instruments. It was now possible to bore woodwind or brass instruments with pin point accuracy and produce precisely engineered valves. In this way manufacturing techniques used in clock making came to dominate musical instrument production.

The World of Mechanical Music has a unique collection of self playing musical devices and clocks, for display and sale. A clock and musical box repair service is also offered.

 

 

Opening Times: Open daily 10am - 5pm, except Christmas Day and Boxing Day.

Directions: Northleach is just off the A429, about ten miles north of Cirencester in Gloucestershire. The museum is in the High Street. Click here for an interactive map centred on the World of Mechanical Music.

Address: World of Mechanical Music, The Oak House, High Street, Northleach, Gloustershire GL54 3ET

Access: There is full wheelchair access.

Contact:

telephone: 01451 860181

fax: 01451 861133

e-mail: keith@mechanicalmusic.co.uk

web site: http://www.mechanicalmusic.co.uk/index.html

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