It’s Here! It’s Here!

Arts and Crafts, Musical Instruments, Musician

Took a drive down to Whitestone this morning, and picked up my very own barrel organ (piano). There is great news, and not-as-great news.

The great news is that it is in near-mint condition, and everything mechanical is completely operational without so much as a squeak. You couldn’t ask for a better from an instrument that’s sixty years old. The condition is absolutely uncanny — no paint fading, no rust on the strings or gears. Even the hammers are in pristine condition.

The seller didn’t know why it didn’t play. (Something inside.”) The reason is a simple one — It doesn’t have its cylinder. The cylinder looks exactly like a music box cylinder, only big. They came with six songs each, and were interchangeable so you could switch to different tunes.

However. The good news far outweighs the bad. Cylinders can be bought. From what I’ve seen, they come up now and then. I’ll just have to look on the auction sites I frequent.

These were manufactured in the nineteen-fifties and sixties for tourists visiting Italy and Spain. They’re about half size — full size would be about six feet tall.

It must’ve sat lovingly in some Nona’s front room. I plunked some notes; and while (of course) they were out of tune, they weren’t unrecognizable out of tune. In highly professional technical terms, I’d say “it sounds like a beat up classroom piano.” A video —

A great purchase! Sometimes we win, sometimes we lose. This one was a winner. =)

In the Studio

Musician, Personal

One of my older students asked me yesterday what my studio looked like. I’m sure he was imagining the puffy egg cartons on the walls, a rolling desk chair, a gigantic mixing board, and a plate glass window.

We had been talking about recording, and he was interested in what I am doing right now, so we’d had to listen to the track I’m working on (“Saint Clement’s, Forestbury“).

At one point, I guess it must’ve been about 15 years ago, my studio did indeed take up a small room of its own — a full-size digital piano, a smaller controller keyboard, digital sound modules in a rack, a mini disc deck (and before that, a DAT deck), a big lunky computer, etc. I still use versions of all those things and more; but as we know, electronics have gotten much smaller and much more powerful. I use an iPad Pro, an Akai MK3 mini, and a Sennheiser condenser mic.

A picture sounds 1000 notes, so here is a photo of my studio and workstation these days; including my recording engineer, Eli.

No vocals today, so we didn’t have the mic set up.

It Doesn’t Come With a Monkey

Musician

To absolutely no one’s surprise, I’ve bought a barrel organ.

It’s one of those things that you imagine an Italian man with a monkey rolling down the street and cranking. Don’t be too concerned — The one I bought is a half-size version.

They weren’t produced for quite a while until a Spanish company started making them again in the 1950s. They were made in both organ and piano versions — something I did not know. Mine is a piano version. It has something wrong with the cogs inside, but that’s hopefully an easy fix. They’re pretty simple machines.

Here are some photos of what I bought and a few I found (same model) on the internet.

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The barrel part of “barrel organ” is a metal cylinder that sits inside the instrument that plays six different songs. In a few minutes I’ll be off to research where I can buy different barrels so I can add songs.

I imagine buying a stuffed animal monkey in a fancy costume and taking the instrument and my new plushy friend to events at church or in the park across the street. =)

“O sole mioooooooo …”

Creature of the Night

Goals, Musician, Personal

I’m a nighttime person.

Undeniably, part of the reason that I most enjoy the late hours is that everyone else is asleep (and leaving me alone). I understand and appreciate the privilege in my schedule — I have time to do things I enjoy, I can do some of my work while I am resting, and in fact, I enjoy my work.

I like where I have arrived. There were unavoidable years of survival jobs and work in music which necessitated long hours. There was returning to school to learn new instruments or improve skills. I’m thankful for all this, and also thankful that it’s now in the past.

I have a been assistant to a broker on the trading floor of a private bank. I have been a buyer’s assistant for QVC. I have been on corporate national tours. I have worked in retail at a record store. I have been a classroom teacher. I have been the receptionist for the office of a celebrity talk show. I have been a pit musician.

With all this past (and plenty left out), days are calm. Almost invariably, this is what my days look like.

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9:00 am

10:00 am

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12:00 pm

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2:00 pm

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6:00 pm

11:00 pm

2:00 am

Wake Up, shower.

Answer work emails, book work, planning, etc.

Composition, orchestration, recording time.

Teaching private students (piano, theory, music exploration).

Rest, watch a play or documentary; or DIY work.

Read, write a blog post.

Bed time.

I suppose the moral of the story is that it’s best to work hard honing your (practical) gifts and putting them into practice, working toward a long-term goal of peace and enjoyment.

Or at least, it worked for me.