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I watched this on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKejfYzB3ak
Several things strike me:
1. My god, the picture and sound quality really ins't that hot. :-/
2. You really can't record bass notes, can you?
3. OMG, how many stops are there on that organ?! o_O
4. The organist appears to have really short, stubby fingers, and yet he
seems easily able to reach all the notes. I have exceptionally long,
boney fingers and I'm really struggling to play some of the really wide
chords and arpeggios. Is an organ keyboard a different size or something?
5. Oohhh, so *that's* how you change volume on an organ? You use a
different manual?
6. What are all the metal spikey things dotted around the foot pedels?
Anyway, after watching this, I viewed all the other videos. It turns out
that this is about the best sound quality of them all.
Also, *immediately* after watching this, I tried playing it on my
keyboard - the way it says on the score. With the 4-note block chords
and the full arpeggio. And my god, it _really_ sounds very similar you
know! I can still hardly believe I can actually hit those big block
chords *and* play the difficult arpeggio *and* play it in time *and*
play it at more or less the actual speed too. O_O
Seriously. This tocatta is the stuff of dreams. When I first heard it
performed live at the Royal Albert Hall in London last year, I just
thought to myself "OK, well obviously that's impossible. I mean, no
human being could possibly play that. Except for maybe one or two
exceptional people on the plannet." And now, after a mere month of solid
practice, I can *almost* play it myself. For real.
Every week I try to play some new part of it. Maybe learn a few more
bars, or most recently trying to play the arpeggio as well. I keep
finding parts that are really hard and that I struggle horribly to bend
my fingers round and hold in my brain. And then, a week later, I find
myself casually playing the "impossible" parts as if there were nothing
unusual about it.
It's as if anything - absolutely *anything* - is possible. I can't begin
to explain how powerful that is! It's as if no matter how hard this
tocatta gets, if I read carefully and practice hard, I can play just
about everything in the score.
Bariers do not exist. Limits fade into insignficance. The possible
transcends the impossible. And my own mortal fingers can play that which
before was reserved for gods.
I have produced a recording that features me, live and unedited, playing
complex organ music for 2:30 straight, fluidly and accurately, with only
2 pauses in the entire performance. And it didn't even take all that
many takes to pull it off! I don't care *what* you say, playing a
complex non-repeating slab of anything for 2:30 without missing a beat
is some nontrivial achievement!
But that's old news now. You've all heard it already. In the last few
days I have slowly gained the ability to play the full score as the
composer intended. (Minus the pedels, obviously.) Next week, who knows?
But that's nothing. Last month, I wrote a program in C++. And it ****ing
worked. (Astonishing, I know...) And then Warp actually installed a
Haskell compiler, and wrote his first Haskell program. And it worked.
And 2 hours ago, I applied for a Haskell programming job for a financial
institution in London. (Yes, these jobs do, in fact, exist. Even in the UK.)
What will tomorrow bring?
Well, actually, I'm kinda hoping that tomorrow or some day near it is
going to involve me playing this bitchin' tocatta on a real pipe organ.
Cos *damn*, that would be pretty sweet, eh? And god damn it, if I can
absorb 6 pages of dense musical score, learn C++, convince an ardent
critic to actually try out Haskell, and apply for an actual programming
job involving actual Haskell, all in the space of a month, who's to say
I can't find somebody crazy enough to let me play with their organ?
Try and stop me, ******s! >:-D
--
http://blog.orphi.me.uk/
http://www.zazzle.com/MathematicalOrchid*
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48e53da6$1@news.povray.org...
>I watched this on YouTube:
>
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DKejfYzB3ak
>
> Several things strike me:
>
> 1. My god, the picture and sound quality really ins't that hot. :-/
I prefer this one but no video :-)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wvPgKecORl8
>
> 2. You really can't record bass notes, can you?
Why couldn't you? With good microphones you can record very low frequencies
(you need excellent speakers to reproduce them though)
> 3. OMG, how many stops are there on that organ?! o_O
A lot :-D
>
> 4. The organist appears to have really short, stubby fingers, and yet he
> seems easily able to reach all the notes. I have exceptionally long, boney
> fingers and I'm really struggling to play some of the really wide chords
> and arpeggios. Is an organ keyboard a different size or something?
>
> 5. Oohhh, so *that's* how you change volume on an organ? You use a
> different manual?
There are other way as putting some of the pipe sets in a box with mobile
walls
>
> 6. What are all the metal spikey things dotted around the foot pedels?
A SAM battery to dissuade the player from playing wrong notes (never hear of
Stalin's Organs?)
No seriousely there are foot commanded stops
> Well, actually, I'm kinda hoping that tomorrow or some day near it is
> going to involve me playing this bitchin' tocatta on a real pipe organ.
> Cos *damn*, that would be pretty sweet, eh? And god damn it, if I can
> absorb 6 pages of dense musical score, learn C++, convince an ardent
> critic to actually try out Haskell, and apply for an actual programming
> job involving actual Haskell, all in the space of a month, who's to say I
> can't find somebody crazy enough to let me play with their organ?
>
> Try and stop me, ******s! >:-D
LOL I hope you do it
Marc
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m_a_r_c wrote:
>> 2. You really can't record bass notes, can you?
> Why couldn't you? With good microphones you can record very low frequencies
> (you need excellent speakers to reproduce them though)
Almost all the videos on YouTube, the intro sounds fairly OK, but as
soon as the bass comes in the sound becomes distorted as hell.
I guess camcorder microphones aren't so hot? ;-)
>> 5. Oohhh, so *that's* how you change volume on an organ? You use a
>> different manual?
> There are other way as putting some of the pipe sets in a box with mobile
> walls
Mmm, interesting.
>> 6. What are all the metal spikey things dotted around the foot pedels?
>
> A SAM battery to dissuade the player from playing wrong notes (never hear of
> Stalin's Organs?)
o_O
> No seriousely there are foot commanded stops
...foot commanded stops...?!
>> Try and stop me, ******s! >:-D
> LOL I hope you do it
That makes two of us... ;-)
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48e5d9cb$1@news.povray.org...
> Almost all the videos on YouTube, the intro sounds fairly OK, but as soon
> as the bass comes in the sound becomes distorted as hell.
>
> I guess camcorder microphones aren't so hot? ;-)
I meant large membrane condenser professional microphones.
like http://www.sonicstate.com/news/shownews.cfm?newsid=5303
They are rather heavy and very sensitive
You can't have those mounted on hand held camcorders :-)
In addition, youtube files are the most often heavily compressed with a big
loss of quality.
Don't forget the last link of the chain : end listener speakers.
I you listen on mean multi-media speaker, don't wonder why you don't hear
32' pipes fundamental frequencies :-)
>
>>> 5. Oohhh, so *that's* how you change volume on an organ? You use a
>>> different manual?
>> There are other way as putting some of the pipe sets in a box with mobile
>> walls
>
> Mmm, interesting.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swell_box
>
>>> 6. What are all the metal spikey things dotted around the foot pedels?
>>
>> A SAM battery to dissuade the player from playing wrong notes (never hear
>> of Stalin's Organs?)
>
> o_O
>
>> No seriousely there are foot commanded stops
>
> ...foot commanded stops...?!
Didn't you notice that your hands are sometimes rather busy while playing
organ ?
Marc
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>> I guess camcorder microphones aren't so hot? ;-)
>
> I meant large membrane condenser professional microphones.
Yeah. But a lot of the YouTube videos seem to be somebody playing on an
organ in their house or their local church, recorded using home video
equipment. Clearly such equipment doesn't cope well with such loud,
powerful sounds.
The CD recordings I've heard, on the other hand, usually sound just
fine. Clearly the result of better equipment and trained professionals
who know how to set it up right. ;-)
> In addition, youtube files are the most often heavily compressed with a big
> loss of quality.
Many of the recordings sound like they're simply clipping due to the
extreme volume.
> Don't forget the last link of the chain : end listener speakers.
> I you listen on mean multi-media speaker, don't wonder why you don't hear
> 32' pipes fundamental frequencies :-)
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swell_box
Ooo...
>>> No seriousely there are foot commanded stops
>> ...foot commanded stops...?!
>
> Didn't you notice that your hands are sometimes rather busy while playing
> organ ?
Heh. Well yes. Like I said, I assumed that's why all organs seem to have
at least 2 manuals on them - you you can configure them at different
stops before you start playing...
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48e615aa$1@news.povray.org...
>>> I guess camcorder microphones aren't so hot? ;-)
>>
>> I meant large membrane condenser professional microphones.
>
> Yeah. But a lot of the YouTube videos seem to be somebody playing on an
> organ in their house or their local church, recorded using home video
> equipment. Clearly such equipment doesn't cope well with such loud,
> powerful sounds.
Or users don't know or don't bother to set the record level.
OTOH automatic level is not better : it produces a 'pumping' artifact : loud
sounds get gain lower so background sounds may have unnatural level changes
>
> The CD recordings I've heard, on the other hand, usually sound just fine.
> Clearly the result of better equipment and trained professionals who know
> how to set it up right. ;-)
Indeed :-)
>
Not so bad I guess :-) but did you actually try to hear sounds below 30Hz
with them?
Remember that the fundamental frequency of a 32' open pipe (or a 16' closed
one) is about 16Hz !
Usually the very low frequency band is percieved more by chest and belly
than by ears
Human ear is usually said to percieve sounds down to 20Hz and I suspect even
good headphones can't reproduce such low frequencies simply because their
resonance frequency is higher
> Heh. Well yes. Like I said, I assumed that's why all organs seem to have
> at least 2 manuals on them - you you can configure them at different stops
> before you start playing...
On modern or modernized organs with electric, electronic or even pneumatic
key actions that are versatile, that may be true... but old organs with
mechanic actions from keys to pipes had their manuals dedicated to different
sections with for each a limited choice in stops selections.
Do you want stops and manuals?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Usnaconsole2.jpg
Marc
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> Not so bad I guess :-) but did you actually try to hear sounds below 30Hz
> with them?
Actually no. But the headphones certainly produce far more bass than my
speakers do.
> Remember that the fundamental frequency of a 32' open pipe (or a 16' closed
> one) is about 16Hz !
Doesn't necessarily mean the pipes generate any significant energy at
their fundamental. ;-)
> Usually the very low frequency band is percieved more by chest and belly
> than by ears
> Human ear is usually said to percieve sounds down to 20Hz and I suspect even
> good headphones can't reproduce such low frequencies simply because their
> resonance frequency is higher
By sound card, amplifier and headphones are all "rated" to do 20 Hz - 20
kHz. Of course that only means the system has a meaningful amount of
gain in that range; I'm sure frequencies outside it do register a little.
But clearly, no stereo system is likely to shake the building like a
real pipe organ can - much to my neighbor's relief! ;-)
(BTW... if your headphones *have* a "resonant frequency", the designers
did something wrong.)
> Do you want stops and manuals?
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Usnaconsole2.jpg
o_O
It looks like it would take 3 people to play it...!
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>> ...foot commanded stops...?!
>
> Didn't you notice that your hands are sometimes rather busy while playing
> organ ?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Organ_shoes
Oh... my god...
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m_a_r_c wrote:
> Do you want stops and manuals?
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Usnaconsole2.jpg
How about this?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:ConsoleOrgueWanamaker.jpg
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Orchid XP v8 wrote:
> What will tomorrow bring?
>
> Well, actually, I'm kinda hoping that tomorrow or some day near it is
> going to involve me playing this bitchin' tocatta on a real pipe organ.
> Cos *damn*, that would be pretty sweet, eh?
Ooo... look at this:
http://npor.emma.cam.ac.uk/xnpor.shtml
I just sound some pictures of the pipe organ in MK's largest church. :-D
(Actually, it looks like a pretty lame organ to be honest...) And hey,
it even tells me the names of the organ stops. (!!) o_O
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