Some more circus music knowledge to lay on you! In one of the halls at the Circus World Museum in Baraboo, there was a collection of novelty instruments. Most were of the hit-with-a-mallet variety, but there were also a couple of calliopes. A calliope (pronounced cuh-lie-O-pee) is a steam powered instrument. Kind of like a organ, but instead of pipes, the tubes that the air is forced through is more whistle like. This creates a less rich, more shrill sound than that of an organ.
Here is a calliope inside one of the wagons. Calliopes are also loud, and except for note pitch and duration, it's impossible to play with any expressiveness (like dynamics).
This one travelled all over the country, including some performances with the Barnum circuit.
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