Saturday's Technical Bit

Just a few words on organ pipes again:

First off…….. the Bass pipes.

I have laid the organ on it’s side to give a view of the five largest pipes.

As they are the largest, they sound the lowest notes. They are wooden stopped pipes; which means that they are tuned by a sliding “stopper” at the top end.

The largest is about 18” long, and in order to get it in the organ case, it has a right-angled bend in it. This bend in a stopped pipe has little, or no noticeable, effect on the sound produced. This is not the case with an open pipe (no tuning stopper).

If the inside “effective” length (between base and stopper) is, say 12”, this will sound the same note as an open pipe of 24” length. This makes stopped bass pipes a better choice for small organs; instead of an open, pipe 4 feet long, we can have stopped, angled pipe of 2 feet to produce the same sound and take up less space.

The five bass pipes on my organ are:- Eb, F, Ab, Bb and C (middle C).

In the key of Eb, we have Eb(tonic),  Ab(sub-dominant) and Bb(dominant 7th) and for good measure there is F(related minor 2nd) and C(relative minor 6th).

This is the best key for arranging, as there are the fewest missing notes.

In the Key of Ab, we are missing the (sub-dominant) Db.

In the Key of  Bb, we miss out on the minors.

In the key of F, we again miss the minors.

If I’m really stuck I can, at a push, arrange in the Key of Db, by using the lowest of the accompaniment pipes (Db) as a bass note.

Friday Night is Music Night

Goodbye Sexy Knickers

I was saddened today to hear that Miss Brahms (Wendy Richards) had passes away.

She appeared in four of my favourite shows/films...'Are you being Served', 'Dad's Army', the 'Carry On' films and 'Up Pompeii'.

I first heard her, in 1962, on the chart-topping song "Come Outside" sung by Mike Sarne. She was the  girl  who always, (until the last line) answered his invitations to 'come outside' for a 'bit of romancing', in the negative.

 All she wanted to do was 'keep on dancing'

....... "what for"

.... "what's the rush"

....." It's cold outside"

... "I'll slap and tickle you in a minute"

 were her responses to his suggestion. In later years she said it took ages to shake-off the image of the "Come Outside" girl.

In the Carry-On films she played "Miss Willing" in 'Carry On Matron' and in 'Carry On Girls' she played "Ida Down". 

In Dad's Army she played Private Walker's girl-friend, but I shall always remember her best as Shirley Brahms from Grace Bros.

Painful Memories of NuLabour

A drug which appears to erase painful memories has been developed by scientists.

As if the world wasn't scary enough? 

A lecturer in medical ethics at St George's, University of London, said: 'Removing bad memories is not like removing a wart or a mole. It will change our personal identity since who we are is linked to our memories. 

'It may perhaps be beneficial in some cases, but before eradicating memories, we must reflect on the knock-on effects that this will have on individuals, society and our sense of humanity.' 

But British experts warned the drug raises some difficult questions. 

Professor John Harris, an expert in biological ethics at the University of Manchester, said: 'It is obviously up to the individual whether or not she wishes to risk the possible effects, including psychological discontinuity, of erasing unpleasant memories. 

Would it work on erasing the memories of the last 10 yrs?

No doubt some Labour low life politician is planning to put this in the water supply before the next general election, so that we all happily vote for them...again.

No more mind altering drugs, we have more than enough in society already, doing untold damage.

"Nothing's New"

The BBC has just aired the first episode of EastBenders featuring an entirely black cast. 

Anybody, of course, who challenges this travesty of History will be deemed racist.

This is more of the righteous panic over the rise of the B_NP. 

Surely they must realise that this sort of clumsy social engineering simply drums up more recruits for them?

A similar sort of thing was tried out, over a hundred years ago, in 1903.

"In Dahomey" was an all black Broadway musical, with not only black performers, but also black writers and songwriters.

It was not very popular on Broadway and only managed 53 nights.

However, it was shipped over to London, where the "novelty" held good for 251 performances.

MOOS

This morning I received my membership renewal, for 2009, to the "Mechanical Organ Owners' Society" or MOOS for short.

"Thank you for your support of the Society last year and your prompt payment of £12.00 for your 2009 M.O.O.S. subsription. This is much appreciated and I enclose your new membership card for the year."

"We hope the Magazine and Newsletter have helped keep you informed of some of the Mechanical Organ related activities that occurred during the year"

"If you know of anyone who owns, or is interested in, the mechanical organ, then please feel free to pass our details on."

"As a Society promoting and protecting the interests of organ owners, the larger our membership is, the more effectively we can lobby against legislation that threatens to restrict our hobby."

And there you see it again.....LEGISLATION  that  THREATENS  to  RESTRICT......

  eu..BASTARDS.

"Wagon Wheels"

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          The political elite (of all parties) have closed ranks, successfully destroying democracy, leaving us the choice, of a rock or a hard place. I don’t know anyone who wants either Gordo or Cameroon to be the next prime mentalist, but as there are no viable/realistic alternatives, one of them will certainly win  - probably by default - leaving us little, or no better off than we are now.

There must be a reason for all of this? For the blatant disregard for the opinions of the masses, the deliberate shutting down of debate, the destruction of our nation and incorporation into the authoritarian, undemocratic eu and the poor decision making in this recession. I simply cannot believe these MPs and their advisers are really that stupid, and I can’t help thinking there’s something more sinister at work.

So, in the meantime, what can we do, other than to sit helplessly in front of a computer, leaving letters of complaint on the comment columns;

It’s so frustrating.

Every day I feel sicker and sicker as I read the day's news.

"The Wheel of the Wagon is Broken” and we are heading towards the cliff edge very rapidly

"Which Twenty-Six Notes"

Sorry....This will probably "bore the pant's" off a few people but here goes:-

I've mentioned a couple of times that I have a 26 note Street Organ.

I built it myself over a period of three years: It was a sort of retirement project.

The organ has 70 wooded pipes but can only sound 26 notes. This is because the Tracker-bar has only 26 holes. The Tracker-bar is the bar which runs across the paper roll (or card book) at 90 degrees to the movement of the paper, and tracks the holes punched in it.

The 26 notes are not consecutive tones or semitones, but are 26 chosen from a consecutive run of 35 semitones.

This run starts on the Eb below middle C, and finishes up, 35 semitones higher on Db.

Now......which 26 notes do you pick? 

Well over the years different manufactures have had different ideas on this. So we now have dozens of different "standards". Not only do we have large organs with 101 keys (ie Hooghuys), and 112 keys (ie Mortier Dance Organs), but we also have them choosing different scales.

However, back to the 26 from 35 choice. 

There are 12 semitones in an Octave and it is usual to only sing 8 of these. Therefore to sing or play most SIMPLE tunes, we only need 2/3 of the notes. This is like, "only playing the white notes" on the piano.

My small organ, has pipes divided into 3 groups.

 1)   The highest are the Melody pipes, and here we have chosen 13 (of the 14 highest) so only one note ( B natural) is missing. These are the pipes on show in the front.

 2)   The lowest are the Bass pipes, there are 5 of these, chosen from the lowest 10.

 3)   The remaining pipes, between groups 1) and 2) are known as the Accompaniment. There are 8 of these chosen from the remaining 11.

So.....we have 13+5+8=26 chosen from 14+10+11=35.

To summarize then, we have almost a full set of Melody pipes, to play the "tune" or "melody". We have 5 Bass pipes and 8 Accomp. pipes to play along under the melody.

These bass and accomp. pipes are chosen to make the best arrangements in the key of Eb. All the notes are there for the bass and major triads. It is also possible to play in Ab or Bb, with just a few notes missing.

.....and at a stretch, in Db or F, with a couple more missing.

I have just arranged "The Arrival of the Queen of Sheba" by Handel, so it just goes to show what you can do with 26 well chosen notes. 

"Saturday Night Knees-up"

"Ragtime with a difference"

I have always been fond of Ragtime music; I think I discovered it in the early seventies.

About that time I started buying LP's of the works of Scott Joplin and Joe Lamb. 

Most Ragtime was written for the piano, but I also came across some records of it being played on other instruments.

My favourites were played on guitar by David Laibman ,Eric Schoenberg and Ralph McTell.

There were also some excellent arrangements for Orchestra/Bands. I still have LP's by Ken Colyer's Jazzmen and the New Orleans Ragtime Orchestra.

I have arranged Joplin's Weeping Willow Rag for the 26 note organ; it doesn't of course equal the real thing, but it was amazing, that by leaving out the octaves on the left hand, it would fit in the 26 note range. 

Now for Friday night music have a look at this excellent version of Maple Leaf Rag on the harp!

"The Muzak's Over"

When I first read this the other day, my first reaction was "Thank God".

 But, before most of us jump for joy it appears that they have only filed for bankruptcy protection and of course could be bought out and carry on. 

Most people dislike piped music of any sort, according to all impartial opinion polls. It is also a torment to professional musicians of all kinds.

Most people find canned music makes conversation more difficult, and imagine what it must be like for many people working in music-filled places, who have to endure the same limited range of pieces played again and again.

Clients of Muzak, it seems, are looking for cheaper ways to keep customers satisfied.

I do not believe that pumping out this "crap" is essential to increasing sales and I think at times it may do just the opposite.

Silence may often be golden......but not always for the piped music industry

Watch Out Who You Photograph

 Section 76 of the latest Counter Terrorism Act came into force today, the latest in a long line of laws introduced by this freedom-limiting Government.

 Professional photographers held a protest about the law earlier today, as they fear that the it could be used to hinder them as they go about doing their job:

And as for members of the Armed forces, what about those wanting to take snaps at a display of pageantry like Trooping the Colour, or capture a relative's passing out parade on camera, for instance?

How long before a tourist gets stopped for photographing the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace?

"Just One more Kiss"

A railway station has banned kissing after bosses claimed commuters were being delayed by passionate embraces.

Managers put up a ‘No Kissing’ sign, showing two pecking silhouettes within a circle and a red line through them.

Passengers are now prohibited from doing any more than shaking hands while standing in line at the taxi rank outside Warrington Bank Quay Station.

  What                          are

        they                  going 

           to do?      Arrest

              the person? 

          Force       them 

      apart?             How

 pathetic               can you get?

 Mr Daniels, chief executive of Warrington Chamber of Commerce you are sad little man who is in good need of living in the real world, or maybe you are just jealous that it's you not getting "any"?

"One Man's Meat is Another Man's Poison"

These two snippets show just how different, peoples views can be on what is "healthy" or "unhealthy" for us.

1)    The West Bromwich St George's Day parade started in 1998 and began as a fairly modest affair with 5,000 turning up. Now three times that attend the two-mile parade in April. Fire Service and Scout Association bands have played, the British Legion lends its support and each year ex-servicemen attend to help raise money for charities. 

But last night the local council, Labour-controlled Sandwell, voted to withdraw its support for the parade. 

They said that the St George's parade created an "unhealthy atmosphere". 

2)   "One of India’s leading Hindu cultural groups, has developed Gau Jal or Cow Water, at its research centre in the Indian holy city of Haridwar on the River Ganges, and hopes it will be marketed as a 'healthy' alternative to Coke and Pepsi.

Hindus worship cows for their life-sustaining dairy products, but many also consume bovine urine and faeces in drinks and spice mixes for their "health-giving" properties.

In some Indian states, cow dung and urine are sold in regular dairy shops alongside milk and yogurt, whilst some Indian health food companies make porridge, toothpaste and tonic drinks which claim to cure ailments ranging from liver complaints to diabetes and cancer."

"What a Load of Old Tripe"

"Experts studying the complex aroma of chips have discovered what makes the snack smell so delicious.

Food scientists at Leeds University unravelled the smell using a laboratory and human noses.

They broke down the smell into components using a process known as gas chromatography mass spectrometry.

The results showed chip aroma is made up of butterscotch, cocoa, onion, flowers, cheese and IRONING BOARDS.

The research was commissioned by the Potato Council for National Chip Week."

What a load of old tripe!

I feel a song coming on.......

Tripe, tripe, beautiful tripe,

A gradely sight is a plate of tripe.

If I'd a pound it would soon be gone,

The same to you with vinegar on.

Dream, dream of a lovely thick seam,

Always in season and ripe;

I'm all of a dither when I see

A whacking great plateful of Tripe.

"Goodbye to an Old Friend"

I finally had to say goodbye to my Old Harmonium.

I needed the space and as I had the digital piano, on which I could select "harmonium", it was the real item that had to go.

The really sad bit is that you cannot sell them for "love nor money". The boss at my local antique centre told me he took a similar one to auction a couple of months ago.....there were no bids and he ended up taking it home.

He did however take mine away free of charge!

Some Soothing Friday Night Music

After a hectic week on the blogs I need to wind down.

This really has to be one of the best ways to do it.

OK, so I's not everyone's "cup of tea", but it is mine and I love it

Community "Harmony"

"Dutch MP banned from visiting Britain."

Article 18 of the ec treaty gives every union citizen a directly effective right to move within the eu.

While Member States are allowed to derogate from this on the basis of 'public security', they are not allowed to do so for 'community harmony', except the British government who will do exactly what it wants, in the interests of ‘community harmony’.

I now quote from Melanie Phillips who expresses my sentiments exactly:-

"If British MPs do not raise hell about this banning order, if they go along with this spinelessness, if they fail to stand up for the principle that the British Parliament of all places must be free to hear what a fellow democratically elected politician has to say about one of the most difficult and urgent issues of our time, if they fail to hold the line against the threat of violence but capitulate to it instead, they will be signalling that Britain is no longer the cradle of freedom and democracy but its graveyard."

I can't see any future "harmony" in this land until we get rid of this "dissonant" government.

"More Nanny Meddling"

The latest Nanny campaign is to get us to switch to lower fat milk: and that grating cheese, instead of slicing it, could cut our risk of dying from heart disease.

Surely 2oz of grated cheese contains the same ammount of sat-fat as 2oz of sliced cheese.

"A new awareness campaign suggests tips which could save an estimated 3,500 lives by cutting the nation's consumption of sat-fat."

Or, in other words, 3500 more miserable people, giving up any enjoyment of food in favour of a few more years of a joyless existence.

It's my life. I only get one, and it's too short not to enjoy it.

Is Gordon Brown a pathological liar?

Is Gordon Brown a pathological liar, or is he just stupid? 

This is the question currently being debated in political circles as the full extent of his bogus “British jobs for British workers” quote has come home to roost over the past week.

The only thing that Mr Brown could have promised would have been “British jobs for eu Workers“.

Mr Brown then announced that the “government” (i.e. the British taxpayer) is putting millions into education and training, with the aim of “ensuring British workers are best placed to get jobs.”

But, eu residency rules allow any eu national to live in the UK, and therefore they qualify for these training programmes in exactly the same way that British nationals do.

Sorry......This blog is getting a little bit political.

....It was meant to have a "musical theme"

England, my England

I am very concerned about our loss of sovereignty to the eu and the insulting treatment of England within the union. This seems to be of equal inconsequence to the three larger parties. All three dip into a similar pot-pourri of other policies, according to whatever is the flavour of the month and is adjudged to gain the best political advantage. No core principles are of course allowed to get inconveniently in the way.

Thus it really doesn't matter which of the three gains power. 

Same trough; 

Undifferentiated snouts.

Nigel Farage seems to be the only leader to address the core issue - the eu, which, in its current form, is a post democratic institution.

A Day at Amersham

Amersham Organ Museum is the place to see some smashing Fair Organs. They are open one day every month during the winter, the latest was yesterday 8th Feb. It is a good chance for like minded people to get together for a chat. I meet up with several "small" organ owners to get news, udates and in my case, let friends have copies of my latest arrangements.

The Museum is the lifetimes work of Teddy Reed who has been collecting Fairground Organs for over fifty years. 

"Milestones"

Friday Nights video clip was of a trio of organs playing at Milestones Living History Museum, Basingstoke in May. Some thirty organ grinders played during the weeks visit, this being the largest gathering of organs at the museum to date. 

"Friday Night is Music Night"

"Let it Snow, let it Snow, let it Snow"

Over the last few days nearly every Blog has a photo of the blogger's garden knee deep in snow.

Well, I'm afraid I don't have a digital camera and there was no film in my Pentax....

...So this is the best I can do.

"The Flag"

"Drowning Street was forced into making a grovelling apology yesterday for displaying the Union Flag upside down during an official ceremony... Conservative MP Andrew Rosindell said: “It’s an unbelievable flaw in protocol by Number 10. You’d think they would know which way the flag was flown. Whoever is responsible for this should know better.”" - Daily Express

Well, what can I say? This is something every Boy Scout learns on day One. As least I did.

"Elf and Safety" Music

A professional musician, who has been working in the West End and touring shows for ten years, tells of the preposterous precautions now being forced on production companies by insurers and elf ’n’ safety.

Producers are so terrified of being sued for hearing loss that musicians are forced to wear strapped-on decibel meters, earplugs and noise reduction headphones.

When he questioned this madness, he was told it was now a criminal offence to play a saxophone without noise-reducing headgear.

Needless to say, it defeats the whole object of playing together as an orchestra, since they can’t hear each other.

I think I'd better get a pair of  "PC/elf 'n' safety" reduction headphones and then I wouldn't have to listen to all this crap.

"BBC Gets Jam on its Face"

"The BBC confirmed tonight it had dropped Carol Thatcher as a presenter on The One Show after she referred to a professional tennis player as a "golliwog" in a private conversation."

Not quite true I believe.....I think you will find that she said the tennis player had 'sticking out

hair, like the Gollywog on the Robertson's jars of Jam.

The logic of the BBC's argument is that the very mention of the word 'golliwog' is considered racist.

Utterly preposterous.

 

A Golliwog is nothing more than a stuffed toy, popularised in 1895 by Bertha Upton in The Adventures of two Dutch Dolls and a 'Golliwogg'. The story is concerned children's toys. and is still in print as a book. 

Toy Golliwogs swept the world, and Debussy was inspired to write The Golliwog's Cakewalk, as part of the Suite "Children's Corner"

"Two's Company...Three's not Green"

"COUPLES who have more than two children are being “irresponsible” by creating an unbearable burden on the environment, the government’s green adviser has warned"

What right does the state have in restricting the number of children we choose to have?

 None whatsoever in my opinion. I have no problem with people having as many children as they want - as long as they have the resources to feed, clothe and house them and don't expect the taxpayer to carry the burden.

Pehaps we could propose that child benefit, income support, tax credits and other related child benefits apply to only a maximum of two children and then people can make a choice. 

If they have the resources and means to raise more children then good luck to them.

Isn't the domestically generated population of the UK declining?

 So if anything, aren't people in the UK having too few rather than too many children?

The birthrate in this country is 1.91 - how is that a problem?

"Victim of intolerance"

"A nurse has been suspended for offering to pray for her patients. A fellow nurse took offence on their behalf.
This poor nurse is a victim of intolerance and discrimination.
All she did was offer the patient a choice.
But choice is to be denied, and healthcare must be secular."

In 1939 when this music was written a prayer was seen as an offer of kindness and if this is not now the case, then I believe we must live in a society all the "more the worse" for it.
When I read this I was not angry, but very much sadden'd by the society this government has created.

"Not Fade Away"

When I read that it is fifty years since the death of Buddy Holly, it made me stop and think how time flies.The songs he co-wrote and performed with his backing band the Crickets remain as fresh and potent today as when recorded  in New Mexico half a century ago: That'll Be The Day, Peggy Sue, Oh Boy, Not Fade Away.

I would have been sixteen at the time and had two of his song books which, if I remember correctly, put me back seven and sixpence each. All out of my saved-up pocket money.

In those days I had an old Spanish guitar and would take it down to the Youth Club and strum, on three chords only, Peggy Sue. We all gathered in the kitchen at the back to keep out of the way of the table tennis in the main hall.

What happened to the Song Books ?

Well, I had them until a couple of years ago, but after a bit of a clear-out, I put them up on ebay

and sold them for £35........Never mind.....You have to let thing go some of the time.