How to Install GrandOrgue on Windows
Get GrandOrgue 3.17.3 running on Windows 10 or 11 in about ten minutes: download the installer from GitHub Releases, connect your MIDI keyboard, and load a free sample set.
Installing GrandOrgue on Windows is straightforward. The program is free, open source, and ships as a standard 64-bit installer on the project’s GitHub Releases page. There is no Microsoft Store version, no installer wizard trickery, and no bundled software — what you download is what you get.
This guide covers Windows 10 and Windows 11, which are the versions the current release (3.17.3, released 2026-08-10) supports.
Step 1: Download the Windows installer
Open the GrandOrgue Releases page and download the 64-bit Windows .exe installer for the latest version. The 32-bit builds are legacy and should only be used on genuinely old machines — on any PC made in the last decade, pick the x64 installer.
Step 2: Run the installer
Double-click the downloaded file and follow the prompts. If Windows SmartScreen shows a blue “Windows protected your PC” warning, click More info and then Run anyway. This happens because GrandOrgue is a volunteer open-source project that does not pay for commercial code-signing certificates — it is not a sign of malware. You can verify the download by comparing the SHA-256 checksum published on the Releases page with the file you downloaded (see our guide Is GrandOrgue Safe? for the full check).
Step 3: Lower audio latency with ASIO
Out of the box, GrandOrgue uses the standard Windows audio path, which usually has noticeable latency between pressing a key and hearing the pipe. For real-time playing you will want ASIO4ALL, the free generic ASIO driver that works with most onboard sound chips:
- Install ASIO4ALL (free download from its official site).
- Open GrandOrgue and go to Settings > Audio/MIDI.
- Select the ASIO driver and set the buffer size to 128 or 256 samples.
- Restart GrandOrgue and play — latency should drop to a few milliseconds.
If you own a USB audio interface (such as a Focusrite Scarlett), use its manufacturer ASIO driver instead — it will beat ASIO4ALL. Our guide to audio interfaces for GrandOrgue explains which ones to buy and how to tune them.
Step 4: Load a sample set and play
GrandOrgue ships with a small demo organ so you can make sound immediately after installation. To play a real pipe organ, download a free sample set — the Friesach (44 stops, St. Bartholomäus, Austria) is a great first choice — then use File > Open and point GrandOrgue at the set’s .organ file. (Sample sets are configured by an ODF, an XML organ definition file; learn more in What Is an ODF?)
Sample sets live in a folder of your choice, so put them on an SSD if you have one — a 30 GB cathedral organ can take minutes to load from a spinning hard drive, but under half a minute from an NVMe SSD.
Frequently Asked Questions
Which versions of Windows does GrandOrgue support?
The current release runs on 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11. Older releases also ran on Windows 7, but those versions are long past their support window, so stick with the current version on a current OS.
Do I need a MIDI keyboard to use GrandOrgue?
Not to try it out — you can click the on-screen keyboards with the mouse. But playing real music demands a physical MIDI keyboard. See our guide to MIDI keyboards for GrandOrgue for what to buy.
Why is there no sound after installing?
Check three things in order: the audio driver selected in Settings > Audio/MIDI, the output device routing, and whether a sample set is actually loaded. If you hear nothing at all, the full checklist is in our troubleshooting guide.
Should I install the 32-bit or 64-bit version?
Always 64-bit (x64) on a modern PC. Large sample sets need more than 4 GB of RAM, which 32-bit builds cannot address.