A Mandolin Trio Playing a Tune for Pipe Organ by Brian Ebie

A Mandolin Trio

by Brian Ebie

Organist and composer Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901) composed a series of Trios for pipe organ.  I've always found Trio 1 in G Minor to be among the most beautiful of the set with it's aria-like melody and beautiful left hand counter melody.  Several months ago I was noodling around on my mandolin and started playing the melody for the Trio 1 in G Minor.  I realized just how beautiful it could be when it was played on mandolin.  Soon thereafter I thought that if the melody sounded that good on mandolin, it would be a good fit for the three voices of the mandolin family--mandolin, mandola, and mandocello. 

The mandolin family, like the violin family, has all of the voices of a choir--soprano, alto, tenor, and bass.  Violin--Mandolin. Viola--Mandola.  Cello--Mandocello.  Bass Viol--Mandobass.  The instrument tunings correspond as well. 

Using the Acapella app for iPhone, published by Mixcord, Inc., I was able to record each of the three parts of the organ trio on the mandolin, mandola, and mandocello.  Acapella is a mobile app that allows users to layer different videos together in a single layout. It is meant to be an easy way for people to create a cappella videos, but both singers and musicians can enjoy creating music with the app. 

It was easy to record using the Acapella app.  I picked the screen layout I wanted from within the app.  I laid down the first track, in which I played the melody on a mandolin.  To record the second track on mandola, I used my earphones and the app plays back your first recording, along with a countdown screen to the beginning of the recording.  This helps you really play in sync with your original track.  I followed the same steps for the final step on mandocello.  There are onboard mixers and filters as well as a graphic equalizer, giving the user control over each track in terms of volume, reverb, pitch, and so forth. 

In conclusion, I enjoyed my first experience using the Acapella app from Mixcord.  Everything worked very well and it was fun to create a mandolin trio where I could count on the other two musicians!!

Thanks for watching!

Brian Ebie



Pipe Organ Removal -- The Hardest Thing about Taking Out a Pipe Organ

Check out my most current blog post on the removal of a wonderful old pipe organ from an old church building.  In the coming weeks I'll be blogging both the removal process and the history of this church as the organ goes into a period of hibernation until it's next home can be found.

Excerpt:

The Hardest Thing about Taking Out a Pipe Organ

by Brian Ebie

I’m not sure what has been the hardest thing about taking out this pipe organ.
 
A beautiful instrument going silent?

The closing of an historic church?

Experiencing vicariously the loss the congregation must feel?

Figuring out where to store countless pipe organ pieces and parts?

In the early hours of each morning as I’ve worked in the church, walking from balcony to organ chamber and out the door to my truck, my mind replays many happy times as organist at the church as well as the  great memories of installing the pipe organ.  Twenty four years ago I enlarged the existing pipe organ, barely beefy enough to accompany the hymns, to become a great instrument in worship and recital. 

You can read the full post here on my website, http://brianebiepipeorganservice.com

http://brianebiepipeorganservice.com/blog/2016/8/1/the-hardest-thing-about-taking-out-a-pipe-organ

Pipe Organ Removal--When churches no longer need the King of Instruments

Check out my most current blog post on the removal of a wonderful old pipe organ from an old church building.  In the coming weeks I'll be blogging both the removal process and the history of this church as the organ goes into a period of hibernation until it's next home can be found.

Excerpt:

The Last Songs of an Old Friend -- Pipe Organ Removal

By Brian Ebie

It's all too often the way of things these days.  Congregations age, worship styles change, members move away and churches find themselves struggling to adapt, retain membership, and attract new members.  Such is the case at a local church I service, a congregation who has served their community for nearly 190 years.  I was once part of their membership and served as music director and organist, and I have serviced their pipe organ for the past 26 years.  

Read the full post here on my website, http://brianebiepipeorganservice.com

http://brianebiepipeorganservice.com/blog/2016/7/19/the-last-songs-of-an-old-friend-pipe-organ-being-removed

Bach Fantasia In C Major BWV 570 -- Brian Ebie Organist

Organist Brian Ebie plays Johann Sebastian Bach's Fantasia in C Major BWV 570 on the 1974 Rudolf JANKE tracker pipe organ at the United Methodist Church of Berea, Ohio. Recorded Ash Wednesday 2016.

The Fantasia in C is an early organ work of JS Bach.  It is composed as a standalone piece, not coupled with a fugue or any other movements which is somewhat unusual for Bach, who wrote many preludes and fugues, toccatas and fugues, and fantasias and fugues.  That being said, in his earlier years he did compose individual organ works not tied to a larger structure, such as the Fugue in G Minor ("Little Fugue") BWV 578.  The Fantasia in C Major (as well as the aforementioned "little" fugue) was written around 1706-07 while Bach was serving as organist in the town of Arnstadt, or during a brief stay in the city Muhlhausen.

I hope you enjoy my impromptu performance on the Janke pipe organ, recorded during the Ash Wednesday services.  Thank you for watching!

A Pipe Organ Desk!

I recently created a board on Pinterest called Random Old Organ Pipes.  

I got the idea from a picture I'd seen of a birdhouse made out of two old wooden flute pipes. (Whether or not making a birdhouse from an organ pipe qualifies as a travesty is a topic for later discussion...)  Well, it's surprising what people have dreamed up.  An organ pipe shelf.  An organ pipe knife holder.  An organ pipe ribbon rack.  Organ pipe benches.  And my favorite, the aforementioned organ pipe birdhouse.

But it was the Kagen Sounds pipe organ desk that really grabbed my attention, for, not only is it beautifully crafted desk with organ pipes about; it's also a sort of puzzle!  Master wood worker and designer Kagen Sound of Denver, Colorado, has created this pipe organ desk with the most beautiful woods, unparalleled craftsmanship, and intrigue.

Kagen's specialty is secret boxes, and is a recognized member of the world's only guild of secret box makers. 

Pipe organs, as we all know, are the epitome of a "secret box" with all of their pipework, windways, windchests, mechanical actions, wiring, and bellows, reservoirs, and blowers.  So what a perfect combination, to build an organ that makes noise as one opens and closes the desk drawers.

Do you remember an episode of Scooby Doo where the team finds a note on an organ that says "FEED the organ and watch the floor?"  Its always stuck with me, that Velma (who else?) figured out that FEED meant to play the notes F, E, E, D on the organ.  Sure enough a trap door opened in the floor and Shaggy, Scooby, et. al were able to escape.

In much the same way (with apologies to Kagen Sound), the pipe organ desk--when *FED* the appropriate combination of drawers opening and closing--opens up to reveal secret compartments.  One can even play tunes and solve more puzzles contained within the larger drawers! 

 

 The amazing craftsmanship of the Pipe Organ Desk can be seen in the pictures on the site.  I've chosen a few that I found the most fascinating.

"Adjusting these pegs on the back of the memory board changes the tune it reads. The dark pegs represent the notes of the song."  (Picture and Text from Kagen Sound Website)

 Wooden air connectors inside the desk. (Picture and Text from Kagen Sound Website)

 

The pneumatic memory board and organ pipe octave.  Each pipe can be adjusted to play any note within an octave. All organ pipes can be tuned to perfect pitch.  (Picture and Text from Kagen Sound Website)

Check out Kagen Sound on the web and see his many beautiful creations, including the Koa Pipe Organ Box.  

I'd love to see this in person someday and experience working the puzzles and combinations to make music on the Kagen Sound Pipe Organ Desk!  I told my wife that someday I want something like this at home.  I suppose that's a.. uh hm, err.. pipe dream.  

©2015 Brian Ebie

 

Rally 'Round the Flag! Some Pipe Organ Fireworks for the 4th of July

The Battle Cry of Freedom!

Played by Richard Elliot on the Schoenstein Organ at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Conference Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.  

 

This iconic song of the American Civil War was at one time so popular that the publisher's 14 printing presses ran around the clock and could not keep up with the demand from the public for copies of the sheet music.  Written by George Frederic Root in 1862, it was to become one of the most popular songs of the period.  It is estimated that over 700,000 copies were produced.

American composer and hymn writer George F. Root wrote the music and lyrics which were adopted by the Union Army as a pro-Union song.  The  song was even adapted as a campaign theme song for President Abraham Lincoln.  Despite this, the Confederacy found a composer (H. L. Schreiner) and lyricist (W. H. Barnes) to set the music and words with a pro-Confederate spin, thus it became popular in the southern states as well.

Mormon Tabernacle Organist Richard Elliott performs his own setting of the piece on the mighty 160 rank Conference Center Schoenstein pipe organ.  His arrangement is expertly thought out with a solid foundation and "horn" fifths treatment of the melody.  A second section with a piccolo-styled obbligato brings to mind the fife and drum corps.  Finally, some incredible pedaling passages suggest the folks running to "Rally 'Round the Flag!"

Enjoy!  And for those of you in the States, Happy 4th of July!

The Battle Cry of Freedom

chorus:

The Union forever
Hurrah, boys, hurrah!
Down with the traitor
Up with the star
While we rally round the flag, boys
Rally once again
Shouting the battle cry of freedom

verses:

Oh, we'll rally round the flag, boys, we'll rally once again
Shouting the battle cry of freedom
We will rally from the hillside, we'll gather from the plain
Shouting the battle cry of freedom

(chorus)

We are springing to the call of our brothers gone before
Shouting the battle cry of freedom
And we'll fill the vacant ranks with a million freemen more
Shouting the battle cry of freedom

(chorus)

We will welcome to our numbers the loyal, true, and brave
Shouting the battle cry of freedom
And although they may be poor not a man shall be a slave
Shouting the battle cry of freedom

(chorus)

So we're springing to the call from the East and from the West
Shouting the battle cry of freedom
And we'll hurl the Rebel crew from the land we love the best
Shouting the battle cry of freedom

(chorus)

Brian Ebie: A Checklist for Organ Practice

  
A Checklist for Organ Practice

This document provides the organ student with an outline of how to approach learning a piece of music. Activities to stimulate learning and retention from pre-practice to followup and evaluative assessment are included in this brief outline. Perhaps a bit idealistic here and there, but nonetheless a solid primer on building one's skills or returning them to a higher level of musical comprehension and executive ability. 

PRACTICE TECHNICS

I.  PRE-PRACTICE  Away from the keyboard

• Decode the score - analyze for understanding
• Determine structure of piece – which parts are the same and which present different challenges.
• Identify scale and chord outlines in order to plan fingering. Note key changes and probable spots for registration changes
• Determine starting points for practice - list by number in the score
• Form a conception of the music - tactile and visual - hear it in your head

II.  BEGINNING PRACTICE

• Warm up at the keyboard with manual and pedal scales beginning at a slow tempo;
• Play a familiar hymn
• Work out three basic rudiments in each piece: NOTES, RHYTHM & FINGERING
• Work in small sections concentrating on one technical challenge at a time
• Be consistent with similar passages that occur through a piece.
• Use the same fingering on the same patterns wherever possible. Use fingering that helps you play the correct notes and rhythm
• Analyze problem spots - correct them and reinforce by several repetitions
• Work corrected spots into the texture of the piece by beginning a few measures before and continuing a few measures following them
• Practice slowly with a metronome for consistent rhythm
• Practice pedaling on floor while seated in a chair to gain an overview of foot and body movement

III.  REFINING PRACTICE

• Approach errors with curiosity and objectivity; i.e. what is causing this spot to be difficult? How can I take the parts apart and correct the errors?
• Avoid mindless repetitions at fast tempi. Vary repetitions to keep them fresh and avoid overuse of the same muscle groups
• Practice in dotted rhythms to improve coordination, accuracy and steadiness
• Avoid tension in your hands, arms and ankles. Incorporate hand and arm rotation principals into all playing. At the first sign of pain stop playing and observe what you were doing and how. Determine how to play the problem passage without tension and discomfort.
• Begin practice at different parts of a piece each day and be able to start at any of these section set weekly practice goals; i.e. be able to play last two pages of Bach at a slow tempo with all notes and rhythms correct.
• Conduct the piece all the way through away from the keyboard.
• Keep in mind the adage that practice may not make perfect, but it does make permanent.
• Practice the way you hope to play the piece.
• Memorize difficult passages sections for technical and mental security

IV.  ON-GOING PRACTICE

• Set realistic short-term and long-term goals
• Consider how a practice technique used in learning a piece can facilitate learning a similar piece
• Use practice as a preparation for performance; play for others regularly to gain experience in playing under pressure.
• Record and listen to your own playing with a positive mindset – what sounded really good as well as what areas had glitches
• In order to develop your own concepts of interpretation, listen to three performances of a work that you are learning as recorded
• by competent performers. What do you like in what you heard? Which ideas might you want to incorporate in your playing of the piece?
• Which ideas did not like and why?
• Enjoy plateaus and look forward to the next level of learning and playing 

Follow this link for a downloadable PDF of this list.  

All materials courtesy of Drs. Barbara MacGregor and Brian Ebie

© Brian Ebie 2015. All rights reserved.