Reprise:"Fairground organs should play more modern musi
Dear People: Below is the auctuall post of "Fairground organs should play more modern music" if anybody would like the full story of all the talk on the MMD(Mechanical Music Digest) about this subject. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Dear Readers: A subject the President of A.M.I.C.A has mentioned several times in the A.M.I.C.A 'magizine' is presenting our hobby to the public(band organ rally's etc). With that in mind, we should bring some of that attention to the youth if we want this club(hobby) to survive. In doing so we must appeal to them by playing more modern music on band organs. I feel band organs most suited for this job are larger fairground organs as well as some of our own(American) organs (like Wurlitzer 165 scale band organs). For example, currently on www.youtube.com there is a video of an 80-key Bruder Fairground Organ from the late Mike Kinter collection playing a 10:00(minute) melody on the Phantom of the Opera. Please watch this video if you want to see a Bruder do things unheard of when the organ was built. Although I feel we should let some fresh air into our hobby I do not think we should toss the baby out with the bath water. The old music is part of our culture and should be preserved for the future. Have you even considerd why Holland and Great Britain have so much youth in their forums? Please respond soon Sincerly: -Justin Senneff" ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- like I said please respond soon. Sincerly: -Justin Senneff

Hot Dance Organ Music
All that is needed is good arranging like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mgq5YXtuVyc So you don't know the name of the song.... The great arranging overrides it all! OR How about CRAZY MOON LADY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lusLU_wyKMk&feature=related

Quote: All that is needed is good arranging like that" Yes that is true for both sides of the sword(Modern and Traiditonal). One thing that I usually do not like is when the arranger, arranges it like it is an older tune(like turning a Ballad to a foxtrot for example). This especilly annoys me when the modern arrangment is arranged like I mentioned, when that tune in question could be arranged like it should be, the way the composer intended it to be. What do you think about that? -Justin

I have discovered the perfect modern music for a band organ! (especially an American one of limited scale): BANDA! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Banda_music Si Habla Espanol? Then check out this website: http://www.chalino.com/ Norteño, with it's accordion, strong melodic lines, etc., is also seemingly suitable: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norte%C3%B1o_(music) I don't speak Spanish and thus still know little about these related styles of music, such as who is popular, what tunes are popular, etc. etc. I have heard many instances of tunes by these groups that sound perfect for a band organ, etc. but I never know the titles since I don't understand the language. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDUNYIFPWyA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtcTiWWof4E http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXIACeXpjLc In our area (Southern California), we regularly hear cars blasting out Banda or related styles of music at loud volumes; it is about the only thing you typically hear blasting out of cars besides rap, and personally, I quite prefer it to rap! Trust me, I'll bet if a modern-day noteur could consult an expert in this kind of music as to what tunes are really popular and well-known, and what bands, they could probably put together a nice track list of recognizable tunes for a band organ roll! Then, imagine such a roll playing on a carousel organ here in So Cal, such as the North Tonawanda at Balboa Park, or the Stinson at Griffith Park (or their North Tonawanda once it's restored), and I'll bet at least some of the riders would recognize the tunes and maybe sing along! --- See, the thing with most rock music is it is not quite suitable for the instrumentation of the band organ, with pipes, a relatively poor percussion section, small bass section, etc.; one has to practically design a new type of organ from the ground up to suitably play rock music! (I won't be surprised if someone does, eventually). However, of modern-day widely-popular music, the previously-mentioned genres seem the most easily adaptable. Some of it I can imagine on a Decap dance organ right away, and some on a regular carousel band organ. It really depends on the tune and band.