A musical cuckoo clock does more than call the hour: after the bird’s call, a melody rises and figures start to move. Here is how these little shows work, on mechanical and quartz models alike.
The music box of a mechanical cuckoo clock
On a mechanical cuckoo clock, the music comes from a genuine music box. A cylinder studded with small pins turns and plucks the teeth of a steel comb, each one tuned to a note.
It is driven by a third weight, in addition to those for the time and the call. It therefore works without batteries, like the rest of the cuckoo clock mechanism.
Two alternating melodies
The music box of a mechanical cuckoo clock usually plays two traditional melodies, such as “Edelweiss”, “The Happy Wanderer” or “Trink, Brüderlein, trink”. When they play depends on the type of movement:
on a 1-day movement, one melody follows the call on the hour, the other on the half hour;
on an 8-day movement, the two tunes alternate from one hour to the next, on the hour only.
Twelve tunes on a quartz cuckoo clock
On a quartz cuckoo clock, the music is recorded. After the call on the hour, the clock plays one of its twelve tunes, which change from one hour to the next: waltzes, German folk songs or classics such as “Für Elise”. This is the case with this beer drinker chalet.
Animated figures
During the melody, the scene comes to life: dancers in traditional costume twirl on the balcony, a water wheel turns, a woodchopper swings his axe or a beer drinker raises his stein. On this woodchopper chalet, three animations come to life together to the music. The more figures there are, the more elaborate the mechanism that drives them.
Silencing the music at night
On a mechanical cuckoo clock, the shut-off lever silences both the call and the music. On a quartz clock, the light sensor does this automatically as soon as the room goes dark. Some quartz models also let you keep the call without the music.
Mechanical or quartz: which musical cuckoo clock to choose?
A mechanical clock offers the sound of a real music box and can carry the VdS certificate. A quartz clock offers more melodies and needs no winding. For a detailed comparison, see our guide mechanical or quartz.
