The musical clock is a mantelpiece clock made up of clockwork and organ pipes. They were common in the 17th and 18th centuries.

Through the history of Clock Music, we hear clock music performed by many others: symphonies, chamber groups, organists, pianists and more. Many times, when the music is performed away from its intended venue, it becomes changed into the typical performance of the new instrument and/or artist. Tempos vary, volumes change, emotions enter and leave. Whether this is a good thing or not, will not be judged here.

Musical clocks do not provide opportunity to slow down and/or speed up the tempo during play; they do not offer the opportunity for crescendo and/or diminuendo during play. It is a tribute to the Great Masters, who composed for those instruments that did, and for these instruments that did not!

Clock Music is usually a specific length. The three Haydn/Niemecz instruments used a pinned barrel of about 6 inches in diameter and the Haydn Clock Music used this space on the barrels to operate the organ mechanism. Likewise, the Handel Clock Music was designed to occupy like space on the Clay instruments in England.