“What on earth is a WOOFYT?” was in the minds of pupils from Brafferton, Alne and Green Hammerton Primary schools as they arrived at Easingwold Parish Church on 2 February for sessions on this mysterious machine.
‘WOOFYT’ (standing for Wooden One-octave Organ For Young Technologists) is the brainchild of Jeremy Sampson (a professional violinist and teacher) and our own Bill Cleghorn from Easingwold Town Band (a retired pump engineer).
Jeremy entertained the children with a very interesting talk, going through the basics of music, air flow and physics, showing how they are used, as the students played some simple tunes on the WOOFYT. He related the various components of the ‘WOOFYT’ to the corresponding parts of the full-sized church organ. Our own organists Peter Smith and Bill Henebury then demonstrated the power of the instrument!
All the children became very enthusiastic with the games and exercises and the chance to make music themselves, gaining an understanding of where the organ’s ‘sounds’ come from. It was a most enjoyable session for them, and the grown-ups learned a thing or two as well!