Improv - January 9, 2006 - Organ + Piano

[quantum]

I did this on my home spinet organ.  I got the organ last month used - it came from a church that was getting a new organ.  I took some time fixing it up and it is now at least in some decent playing order.  I recorded the organ part first, then using multitracking improvised the piano part on top of it. 

I would have liked to record the organ directly with line in, but it didn't work so well.  I ended up micing it, and it turned out pretty good with the additional benefit for turning the mono output into a stereo image.  Those clicking noises you hear every so often in the recording is me switching stops - those tabs make a big click when you push them.  The pickup of some of the bass notes at times was somewhat unbalanced (some were boomy, some were not as audible). 

The addition of reverb was a bit tricky.   I wanted to add it to give the organ more dimension.  I used the church preset - the organ sounded great but the piano sounded like a tin can in a bathroom (there were very strong reflections).  Removing reverb only from the piano part sounded very weird.  What I ended up doing is applying the reverb separately to the organ and piano tracks.  The organ track used the preset settings, and with the piano track I changed the mix of raw and reverb so there is much less reverb and more raw sound. 


Improv - January 9, 2006 - Organ + Piano
Mic: (2x) Studio Projects B1
Interface: Edirol UA-25
Organ: GEM F-30
Piano: Yamaha C3

Enjoy!

[erak]

i've been listening to the first 4 minutes of this over and over again, the rest that comes after that doesn't fit the feeling that you create with those minutes, and (for me) makes it rather unpleasant. i'm really not into the atonal improvising stuff, because i don't know anything of it (i'm not calling it banging out of respect;))

but the first 4 minutes is some of the most beautiful simple-sounding (but most likely way more complex than i could ever imagine) music for me, i really like that kind of stuff.


congrats with this, sorry that i'm not an atonal-impro-listener;)

[icd]

i have only started learning the organ for a while... and i think that u have done a good job on it. i find it really hard holding so many notes may be because my hands aren't large enough.

i like the first bit more when there is more stillness and tranquility. personally i think that u have done really well mixing the piano and organ bits together. the second bit was quite a surprise to me and same as erak, i am not really used to listening to atonal pieces but well done anyway!!

[gruffalo]

i have to say, i do enjoy your improvisations. you seem more of a release your "energy and tensions" types. i enjoyed the randomness aswell.

[whynot]

I enjoyed this, as well.  I have pretty old-fashioned taste and don't listen to a lot of contemporary music, but I always like your playing very much.  This piece reminds me of James MacMillan, a very fine young Scottish composer. 

[quantum]

Well thanks for listening!

[whynot]

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