Rosie's Winning Organ

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Rosie won a prize for this fantastic version of the John Smith 20 note Busker organ.

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I've put it up here because of several requests to see the finished organ.

Of course the organ 'innards' are built to a standard design, but the front....or to give it, it's correct name, proscenium!....is left to the whim of the builder. I think you'll agree, this a very original design.

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20 Note Fussell Street Organ

William Tell Overture on 20 notes. How about that?

D.I.Y. Arranging - Part 1

Rosie on 'Street Organ' has finished her John Smith 20 note, exhibited it and won "Best in Show".

Congratulations.

Now we come to stage two.

Shall we spend around £50 a roll and buy music for it?... or

Shall we try punching it ourselves?

I had no trouble in deciding what to do as I had an elementary knowledge of music.

Understanding music is definitely helpful, but I would say, not essential, as you can learn a lot of things as you go along.

Once you have decided to have a go, there are two paths that you can take.

One is to arrange straight from the sheet music....this is ok if you play another instrument and already have a collection of music. You will of course need more than a single line as for solo instruments (ie clarinet, trumpet, flute etc.) Piano music is best although I have arranged from guitar music and keyboard music, where the later give the chords for accompaniment.

The second way is, if you do not have access to sheet music, to arrange on the computer using standard software like "Cakewalk" or similar. These programs use MIDI files for the tunes and can be found all over the web. Nearly all are in the public domain and many sites will allow you to download the files provided they are for private use. There are strict rules applied by the music industry once you want to start selling copies. (which I personally don't)

I now arrange using either of the above methods. I started off with the sheet music method but after a time switched to downloading when I did not have the score of the tune I wanted.

A word of warning.....you cannot just pick 'any old' tune you fancy and expect it to fit on a 20 or 26 note scale, we are a bit limited. To get started it is best to practice with a simple, short tune.

Two reasons for this, one, it is more likely to fit into our small scale and you won't have any missing notes to worry about and, two, if it is a short piece, you will not have wasted hours marking it all out, punching it all up and then find out it sounds awful.

So, start small and build from there. I know, I have a large box of early attempts. The 1812 overture was not meant for 20 pipe street-organs!!

Children's music books are a good starting point and also hymn books are a good source.

They have simple tunes usually with three chord accompaniment and more important, you will find that vocal works have a range not un-similar to that of our organs.

If you can 'sing it'.....it has a good chance of being transposed and arranged for our limited scale.

The key of the original score does not matter. We are going to transpose it, up or down anyway to fit the organ......the key of Eb is the only one case where you will get away with 'as written'.

Try to avoid tunes with too many accidentals......you will not be able to play them all and tunes do not sound right if you miss notes out or put in wrong alternatives. Believe me...it's true!

Always try to choose a tune that keeps moving......you know the sort of thing. Jigs, dances and marches. We need people to stop and listen and enjoy. Avoid music with long, sustained notes...we don't want it to sound like the 'drones' on the bagpipes!

Enough for now.....I have a sore forefinger!!

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"Painted Pianos"

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On "Organ Grinder's Monkey" on my post of 30th May I mentioned that pianos were to be placed around the streets of London and the public were invited to 'have a go'.

The pianos were to be painted in various styles to suit their location.

Some of these are now in position and I have located a web site where they can be seen and where you can leave comments. (www.streetpianos.com)

My first reaction was that I didn't think much of the artwork....I was expecting something better similar to the piano that Deb (of Harmony Club) had painted some years ago.

I expect it was all done on a tight budget.

One tin of paint per piano!!

Here's a few examples from the 38 shown on their web site.

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"Taking the Mickey"

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This has to be one of the most unusual Organ Grinders around.

It is a Mickey Mouse tinplate clockwork organ-grinder with Mickey operating the organ and Minnie dancing on top in place of the monkey.

I have no further details.....it's probably German, from around 1930.

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Bungee Straps

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Well I had a good day in Thame....and I got my 'whats-a-names'.

Actually I was after straps to hold the organ and cart steady in the back.

You can get stretchy ones called 'bungee' straps, maybe OK for somethings but not quite right for heavy items.

Oh Yes. A trip to the market would not be complete without a few delicacies!

This is the only place for miles around where I can get 'White Pud'.

The other was a new one for me.

"Stilton and Celery" sausage!

The chap in the market was cooking them there, and let you try a piece (or two)...excellent.

I'm sure I'd not have bought them.....without a little taster first.

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Market Day in Thame

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If you're free on Tuesday,

Let's go to the Market in Thame,

For I'm after some "What do you call its ?"

And I'm looking for "Oh, what's its name ?"

If we're lucky we might get "Thing-a-me-jigs",

As we saunter between the stalls,

Some nuts, bananas,

Some home-made jam

And a quarter of Aniseed Balls!

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Sun shone on Marsworth

What an excellent day.

Sun shone, organs organised and people enjoying a truly English Sunday afternoon.

Sorry no cricket.....but a beer tent, chip van, steam engines and sheep dog demonstrations, to mention but a few.

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Dennis, here choosing which of Kipper's arrangements to play next.

No.. not the 'Arrival of the Queen of Sheba'... but if I remember correctly my version of 'Peggy O'Neil' Waltz

A very nice John Smith 20 note 'Busker' organ...at rest, with the owner enjoying some well earned refreshment in the beer tent.

I took this photo especially for any pony lovers who drop by to read my blog!!

And of course.. a special place for Terry with a superb line up of his home built organs.

I would like to thank him for allowing me to 'have a turn' on his excellent JS 26 note.

Trolley now Secure

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This is how I 'locked' the organ in place to stop it sliding backwards in the car.

After the organ is in, they swing round and a pin is dropped into place.

Next ... I had a think about how I would stop the trolley rolling around in the back.

The trolley has two wheels and a single leg. Therefore two strips on either side of the wheel rim would stop forward/backward movement in the car. These strips are not fixed down, if they were they would make sliding the organ in, impossible, so they have small locating pins which fit into the holes on the board and are removable.

Then to stop any side movement across the car.....a little recess for the leg to sit in.

Of course I will use a few straps to stop it jumping around on these 'pothole' roads that we find everywhere.

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Problem solved........now to try it out.

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A Little Mechanical Music

This nickelodeon has 12 flute pipes, piano, bass drum, snare drum and tamborine. It plays a 10 to 25 tune Coinola O roll.

Taking to the Road

The next question I have to address is....how do I get the organ, trolley and other bits and pieces, into the back of the car?

There was no hope of getting it into the back of my previous car, even with the seats down, but with the current one things are look much better.

So I put the back seats down,  measured the back inside,  and cut out a large board the same size. It was two boards actually, hinged in the centre so it could be put into the back and then folded open.

The reason for having a board is to make it easier to slide the organ into its position.

It is going up behind the seats so that it can be strapped to them.

In order to stop it sliding around I have fixed pieces of strip wood to the board at the organ corners.

The organ has removable (alternative) fronts, so I shall take them off when in transit to prevent them getting damaged. 

Having the organ placed across the car, I was able to get the trolley in as well without having to take the wheels off as originally intended.

You can see that it is a tight fit for the trolley across the car, not much to spare.

But now I have to think of a way to stop the trolley moving around in the back!!

Back to the drawing board as they say.  

X Marks the Spot

Well I had a little taste of democracy yesterday. Did my little bit.

But......

Did you notice the Poll Clerk write down the number of the ballot paper next to your name?

Big Brother knows how you voted. 

All you people out there who voted UKIP or BNP are about to be put to the back of the NHS waiting list and will be removed from your GP's surgery list. Also your children just failed their upcoming GCSE exams and owing to an administrative error covering the last few years you owe the Inland Revenue £15,000. Also your Local Authority will no longer empty your dustbin and your Internet Service Provider has reported you to the Police for persistently downloading Child Pornography.

  

A not so secret ballot…..was it?

Well, what we have are ‘private’ ballots….. not anonymous ones.

They are secret or private, only in sense that there is no one to influence your choice ‘when you make it‘.

No CCTV looking over your shoulder.

One amusing question I did find :-

UKIP - is that a mattress manufacturer?

Mutiny on the SS Brown

Todays headlines.........

"Gordon Brown is facing a concerted attempt to force him from office as Labour MPs circulated a letter calling for his resignation."

Oh dear, 

"Gordon Brown has lost the backing of Britain's most pro-Labour newspaper, with The Guardian urging party members to "cut him loose" and elect a new leader."

Oh dear,  oh dear, 

"The mutiny on the SS Brown has worsened, with more members of the crew joining the rebellion, but the captain insisting he is still in full control." 

Oh dear,  oh dear,  oh dear!!

Actually this last headline takes me back to a post I did in January....

                 "I'll tell the tale of the Nancy Lee,

             The ship that got ship-wreck'd at sea,

             The bravest man was Captain Brown,

    For he played his Ukulele as the ship went down;"

                 "All the crew were in despair,

        Some rush'd here and others rush'd there,

        But the Captain sat in the Captain's chair,

   And he played his Ukulele as the ship went down:"

There are at least another twelve verses, each from a different member of the crew.....

...I think it is probably best to spare you all those.

But fits todays news, don't you think?

.........................................Must go now....... and vote.

Global Warming ?

I know you ladies are thinking that Kipper has a one track mind ......but I only remembered that I still had this on file after reading Sage's joke on Saturday!

"Well Blow me down"

Well I've seen some pretty stupid ideas in my time but this really does take the biscuit.

Firstly...vacuum cleaners suck .......and organ pipes require a bit of blow!

Secondly......think of the noise!!!!     Have you ever heard a quiet Hoover???

It looks as if his wife is wearing a hearing aid......so she probably thinks it sounds wonderful.

I wonder what the tune is?.....

......"Where the Bee sucks, there suck I"  perhaps?