Timothy Jones can't really see the 2,297 pipes that make up the massive organ in the sanctuary of the First Presbyterian Church.

Legally blind, the 17-year-old from Norcross can't even see the sheet music. Yet his hands hammered out the notes to Bach's "Prelude in G," and the music billowed out from the tall silver pipes and filled the immense sanctuary.

Jones said his mother noticed his musical talent when he was just a toddler.

"I could hear a tune and play it almost immediately," he said.

Jones was just one of the young pianists in Saturday's Pedals, Pipes and Pizza organ education event at the First Presbyterian Church in Gainesville. Unlike Jones, however, for most of the young piano players it was their first experience with the immense instrument.

Fourteen-year-old Rachel Waterer of Gainesville dreamed of becoming an organist at her old church years ago.

"It's a dying art," she said. "Many churches are desperate for organists."

Waterer was amazed by the differences between the organ and the piano, which look similar. But while pianos have 88 keys, the organ only has 61. The remaining keys are played with long pedals beneath one's feet.

"I think that once you know what to expect and have some music in front of you - it's really not that hard," Waterer said.

Waterer hopes to receive lessons at her own church after trying her hand at First Presbyterian's organ.

"It was an incredible experience," she said.

Church music director Michael Henry could sense the young participants' awe of the organ, which was installed just a year ago.

"They sense the power that is under their control for the first time," he said.

Henry doesn't play the organ, but he is a member of the American Guild of Organists, which hopes to inspire a new generation of organ players through events like Pedals, Pipes and Pizza. The young players, all the between the ages of 10 and 19, watched a video showing the parts of an organ and how one was made. After lunch there was a demonstration, and then the youths had a chance to play.

Wearing an earring and a black and gray striped shirt, 16-year-old Michael Di Iorio of Cumming doesn't seem like the next big virtuoso organist. But his premiere performance, entirely improvised, impressed everyone sitting in the pews.

"That was my first time on the organ," he said. "I was just fumbling around trying to get good sounds out of it."

Di Iorio's so-called fumbling around held the attention of the other young players and adults as his fingers danced over the keys and his feet followed effortlessly on the pedals beneath.

"I can't explain it. It just goes from my head to my fingers," he said.

Henry said that the organ itself inspires grand images that lend to its appeal for the young players.

"Whether its a beautiful wedding, grand recital, or patriotic occasion, it brings out all kinds of feelings of excitement and possibilities."

Beyond feeling the power behind the massive instrument, Henry hopes the experience with the organ will encourage the young participants to create.

"It opens up the possibility that they can be producers of music instead of just consumers of music," he said.