Wednesday, December 20, 2023

"O Christmas Tree"

 

I got this from James Bastien's Great Christmas Carols Arranged for Organ, but I didn't play it exactly like it appears in the book.  I played a regular E major instead of an E major 7.

Sunday, October 22, 2023

Pianet T

Here's the description from the ad:
YOU CAN TAKE IT WITH YOU
HOHNER PIANET T
For the traveler, Hohner's Pianet T ‒ a compact electro/mechanical piano weighing just 38 pounds.  The keyboard has 60 standard size piano keys for a five octave range.  Amplified headphones permit private listening, and the Pianet T requires no batteries or electric power.  Retails for about $650.

Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Telemann: 168 Keyboard Pieces, TWV 36:78: Menuet: Wilstu denn nun von mir scheiden

 

This project is back from hiatus, although I'm going to post less frequently than I had been.  My plan is to upload pieces on the first and third Wednesdays of the month.

Wednesday, August 9, 2023

Bartók: Mikrokosmos, Sz. 107, Volume 1, No. 36

 

When I started working through the Mikrokosmos, I intended to do just the first volume and then take a break from this project.  Since then, however, I discovered Telemann's 168 Keyboard Pieces, TWV 36, which I've been enjoying.  My plan now is to continue working on various pieces (principally the 168 Keyboard Pieces) but hold off on posting them until I've built up a supply.  I'm hoping that this way I'll feel like I have more time to work on the pieces and won't be as stressed out about finishing them.

Sunday, July 23, 2023

The Band at Casino Arena

Last week was the anniversary of a concert the Band performed at Casino Arena on 20 July 1976.  I watched the concert via this official YouTube playlist, although as of this writing, there are four private videos that are unavailable.  In any case, Richard Manuel is playing a Hohner keyboard on some of the songs.  The set up (with a Mu-Tron Bi-Phase and an ARP Pro-Soloist) seems to be the same as what's shown in this picture from June 1976:

[source]

Because the audio and video quality of the concert isn't the best and because Manuel seems to use the phaser on some songs, it's difficult to tell whether the keyboard is a Cembalet or a Pianet, but based on the above photo (which definitely shows a Pianet; the high end of the F-F key range is visible) and the close time frame, I'm assuming it's a Pianet.  The legs clearly distinguish it as an N model.

I'm more familiar with the earlier Band albums, but as far as I know, none of the studio versions of these songs features Pianet.





Garth Hudson seems to be playing Clavinet on "Up on Cripple Creek," but it's not visible at all:


In previous posts about the Band, I noted that Hudson had a Clavinet II, but in this picture from the Last Waltz (in November 1976), a Clavinet C is visible:


I don't know which model he plays at this concert in July.

Wednesday, July 5, 2023

Telemann: 168 Keyboard Pieces, TWV 36:26: Menuet: Last mich gehen ihr nichtigen Sorgen

 

Initially, I skipt this one because I didn't understand a section of the notation, but in looking at a different Telemann score (I think it was the two menuets from TWV 55:C1) and comparing it to a modernized version, I realized what it means.  At the end of the A section, the note in the right hand is the same both times, but the notes in the left hand are different.  Telemann writes out the different notes, but he doesn't bother with the one that's the same, and I hadn't understood the blank measure.

Wednesday, June 14, 2023

The Zombies' "I'll Keep Trying"

 

I'm not sure this was really worth doing because it's so short, but here's the Hohner Pianet solo in the Zombies' "I'll Keep Trying."  The guitar plays basically the same thing, just an octave higher and articulated slightly differently (there are some glissandi between the notes, and the C in the third measure is held longer).  For a bit of context, I also included the bass part.

Sunday, June 4, 2023

Argent on Set of 6

Recently, Argent's appearance on Set of 6 was uploaded to the Zombies Fan Club YouTube channel.  The date given is 29 May 1972, but in Jim Rodford: Sideman, Rodford (the bass player) writes, "In April, we recorded a special for Granada TV called A Set of 6" (p. 177).  Maybe 29 May was the broadcast date.  In any case, Rod Argent is playing a Pianet N, the newer of the two models he had (see my detailed post on his Pianets here).  He uses it for most of the songs, namely "Liar" (with what seems to be some kind of phasing effect), "Rejoice," "Sweet Mary," and "Keep on Rollin'."  Aside from "Liar," none of the studio versions of these songs features Pianet.

Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Telemann: 168 Keyboard Pieces, TWV 36:49: Pollonisse

 

This is obviously in A major, but I followed the notation in the manuscript, where the key signature is D major and every G has an accidental:


I'm not sure what the direction "bis" means.  It's the German word for "until," and since those two measures are markt off with a different kind of repeat sign, I assumed that the direction is something along the lines of "repeat these two measures for as many times as you want."  I repeated them just once.

Sunday, May 7, 2023

Neil Diamond's "You Got to Me"

Recently, I listened to Neil Diamond for the first time in something like seven years and was surprised to discover that there's Clavinet in "You Got to Me."  I'm sure I heard it before but just didn't recognize it as Clavinet (for one thing, it's doubled with piano).  I figured out the part and notated it.  It's a recurring eight-measure phrase, although really it's just four measures repeated.  Note that it's played an octave lower than written.

Sunday, April 23, 2023

Super Mario Bros. Theme

The Chicago Electric Piano Co. recently posted a video of the Super Mario Bros. theme played on three Pianet Ts: