Musical Instruments

"I did have that great advantage of knowing the machine inside out and I was able to repair, fix and re-create it!"

"We did this very simple trick with the Mellotron which I don't think had been done before. In "Watcher of the Skies" in particular, we put it directly through one side of the PA system while putting it via a CopyCat echo machine through the other side, so you got this massive stereo effect"

"The Mellotron was a very British instrument"

"Tuning a Mellotron doesn't."

"There’s something on your page where it claims you doused the last Mellotron you owned in petrol and set fire to it. Is that true?"

"I must take it out into the middle of a field one day and burn it."

"The 2000s saw the rise of Nord keyboards as absolute standards in studios and festivals stages the world over. If you nodded along to an indie band at some point in the past decade, chances are you could spot a shiny red Nord Electro or Stage keyboard in the setup somewhere."

"It’s impossible to reinvent an instrument as iconic as the Rhodes piano. So we’re not going to try."

"Originally marketed to churches as a lower-cost alternative to manual pipe organs, the Hammond electric organ gained its initial popularity in the 1950s and '60s through gospel music and the famed jazz player Jimmy Smith. As the organs became more widely available and electric sounds found their way into popular music by way of amplified guitar and bass, Hammonds started showing up all over the place."

"From Keith Richards's ratty distorted guitar on The Rolling Stones's “Satisfaction” to T-Pain's Auto-Tuned vocals on Lil Wayne's “Lollipop,” music technology has often defined the sound of popular music. And of all of the instruments integral to defining those eras, the keyboard has done it most consistently over the past 50 years."

"The Wurlitzer 200, introduced in 1968, quickly became an essential part of the sound of American R&B and strongly influenced the sounds at the end of the decade."

"While the Rhodes was initially introduced in the late '60s, [...] it really belonged to the 1970s."

"The '90s also saw the release of the first major keyboard sampler, Ensoniq's ASR-10, which would quickly redefine the sample work in hip hop, first by way of the Wu Tang Clan's RZA's complex soul chops, and then via Timbaland's and The Neptunes' pristine, minimal productions from the tail end of the '90s through the mid-2000s."

"The Prophet 600, released in 1983, was the first synth to offer MIDI connections, opening a new era of inter-connectivity that would become essential for all future electronic instruments."

"It's hard to make the case that the keyboards of today are the same as those from half a century ago. Their evolution from piano to organ to synthesizer to sampler leaves the former and the latter with less in common than a violin has with a guitar. But tracing the keyboard’s wild journey across the decades gives us a lot of insight into phenomena like “the '80s sound.” The keyboards that dominated their eras shaped not just the music of their time, but the sound of the future. By considering the history of these instruments, we can gain a unique perspective on the trajectory of contemporary popular music."

"The Rhodes electric piano [is] reviled by many purists, but [was] a key new sound in jazz from the late 1960s on."

"The Roland Jupiter 8 was a work of art, featuring two discrete VCOs per voice, flexible and fantastic sounding filters and a suite of features that set it apart from the competition."

"The famous low-end of the 808's kick-drum stimulated the creation of newer, sparser dance styles such as Miami Bass, where booming and distorted sound comprise the key sonic signature."

"In 1972, a new company called Roland Corp. appeared, with the very first product in the shape of a drum machine. It was styled to include a music stand made of wood, the concept being that you could place it on top of your home organ or piano, and provide a drum-box accompaniment for your ivory-based noodlings."

"The TR-808 was not initially well received - it was expensive and people were far more excited by the newer drum machines such as the Linn LM-1 Drum Machine which used real drum samples for greater realism. The 808 got its break (pun intended) in the electro and hip hop scenes of early 80s' New York. Replicating the beats of funk and post-disco grooves caused vast quantities of records to be made with its distinctive cowbell and its still excellent clap sound. The track 'Planet Rock' by Afrika Bambaataa in 1982 was the track to alert the world to its deep booming kicks, crisp hats and sizzling snares."

"... they were dining delightedly, these neighbours and kinsmen of the famous , under his tall roof-tree. Of the party one was a who sang divinely to his lyre. As soon as his preluding chords were heard two clowns danced in among the guests and threw cartwheels upon the hall floor."

"Thus the blest the genial day prolong, In feasts l, and celestial song. ' tun'd the lyre, the ' round With voice alternate aid the silver sound."

"As instruction in playing the lyre was a basic part of , men and women could employ the instrument for simple recreation, the accompaniment of dancing, music in wedding ceremonies, or singing at symposia. The lyre was also employed in contests, and boys are often pictured learning to play the lyre, face-to-face with their instructors. One of the most famous of these representations is the red-figure paining by on a of ca. 470 B.C.E. ... The lyre serves an emblematic function in mythological scenes or scenes of death. In the mythological scenes, the lyre may stand as a symbol for Apollo, Hermes, the Muses, , , , or youths pursued by Eos; in scenes of death, the lyre perhaps symbolizes the tranquility of Elysium."

"Being a complete instrument in itself it has no equal as an entertainment medium in the home, outdoors, or wherever people gather to enjoy good fellowship. During the past 15 years or so the accordion has risen to the top of the field as a best seller in the musical instrument market. At present, it threatens to replace the piano as the medium through which Junior or little sister are initiated to the delights and sometimes pains of a musical education."

"Since the accordion has so many attributes that are conducive to chamber music, it is particularly suitable for this medium of expression. In essence, the accordion has all of the prerequisites essential to small ensemble involvement: sustaining power, dynamic sensitivity, articulated response, timbre, and texture variance, and compatibility of sound with string and wind instruments."

"There are instruments known as free-bass instruments, or sometimes called the bassetti, where you have totally complete single pitches, simply like you would in the right hand, and you form your own chords. And you have a greater range in the left hand, some three to four-and-a-half octaves."

"Seventy-five percent of everything done throughout your life is the result of habit. Think of it! The way you walk, the way you eat, the clothes you wear, the places you go and...last, but not least, the way you play your accordion."

"The accordion fun? ....Sometimes. Not all the time. I find that it can be a frustrating instrument. The coordination involved is extraordinary and sometimes that coordination doesn't happen.... The use of the left hand and at the same time getting the dynamic range, the volume, is quite difficult. Other times it is fun if you're working with other musicians and you're doin' pieces that you really enjoy. It can really be fun!"

"I like the carillon very much and believe that it will assume a constantly increasing popularity and consideration on the part of musicians."

"It would be impossible to do anything with the carillon unless one had had a good background in piano, organ, and theory, and were able to transpose readily. I am convinced that one is as important as the other. The piano is essential for general foundation, for reading, touch, dynamics, and for interpretation; the organ for coordination between hands and feet; theory (harmony, counterpoint, solfege, at least) for arrangements. There is no other instrument of which I know that requires as much preparation for study as does the carillon."

"One's first impression of a carillon recital is apt to be rather an odd one, with some question as to whether or not the bells are truly musical instruments, capable of artistic expression. This, I feel, is due largely to the fact that bells possess very prominent overtones, which sometimes clash since there is no method in use of "damping" to stop the vibrations when the harmony changes. Also, to the unaccustomed ear, some of the bells seem to sound out of tune. However, after listening repeatedly to the carillon, one not only becomes accustomed to the overtones and "clash", but begins to appreciate its real beauty, which seems to me to rest in its magnificence, its stately dignity, and above all, its clear, ringing tone. Especially striking is the richness of some of the lower bells, as well as the almost "singing" quality of the small, upper ones when struck repeatedly."

"I enjoy composing for the carillon as (there is) a likelihood my music will be played. Whereas with music composed for an orchestra, the likelihood is slim."

"Here again I found myself in a country of carillons; I had indeed heard some slight attempts in Bremen, but in [Groningen] every half hour is measured by chimes."

"To achieve real harmony, justice should be done also to the small and tiny voices, which are not supported by the might of their weight. Mankind could learn from this. So many voices in our troubled world are still unheard. Let that be an incentive for all of us when we hear the bells [of a carillon] ringing."

"The piano had been developed in the first half of the eighteenth century as a modification of the harpsichord. The problem with the harpsichord was that pieces could only be played at a rather uniform loudness—there was no way to strike one note more loudly than its neighbors."

"Hannibal Lecter: I prefer the sound and feel of the harpsichord. More alive, the music arrives like experience, sudden and entire. The piano has the quality of a memory."

"The thing about the harpsichord is, the harpsichord is known as the instrument of death because the notes die, right? You pluck them once, there's no sustainment at all. It also was adorned often so that it looked like a coffin. Whereas the instrument of life is the organ, because the organ has got this nonstop flow of air. The very first meeting I had for Hannibal, and I only had two, up in Toronto, they asked me, ‘Brian, what instrument would you put with Hannibal Lecter?’ and I said, "The harpsichord"."

"I really think that the drums are as poetic and romantic as any instrument."

"I visit it by day, I visit it at nightfall. I always stand by the lamentation drum!"

"It's not like I don't know I'm playing loud. I mean, that's drumming. If you want polite, go listen to the MJQ. If you want soft, listen to . See, that's part of the ethic and whole world of drumming: drums are meant to be loud. It's like telling a piccolo player, "Don't play high" or telling a trumpet player, "Don't be so brassy" or telling a bass player, "Don't play so low." Volume, physicality, and aggressiveness are part of what drumming is all about."

"I lay my harp on the curved table, Sitting there idly, filled only with emotions. Why should I trouble to play? A breeze will come and sweep the strings."

"In Paradise they no more look awry; and though they make anew, they make no lie. Be sure they still will make, not being dead, and poets shall have flames upon their head, and harps whereon their faultless fingers fall: there each shall choose for ever from the All."

"21 And his brother's name was : he was the father of all such as handle the harp and ."

"7 Sing unto the with thanks- giving; sing praise upon the harp unto our God:"

"On the other hand, all the versions agreed that Angela Vicario and Bayardo San Roman had seen each other for the first time on the national holiday in October during a charity bazaar at which she was in charge of singing out the raffle numbers. Bayardo San Roman came to the bazaar and went straight to the booth run by the languid raffler, who was in mourning, and he asked her the price of the music box inlaid with mother-of-pearl that must have been the major attraction of the fair. She answered him that it was not for sale but was to be raffled off. "So much the better," he said. "That makes it easier and cheaper besides." She confessed to me that he'd managed to impress her, but for reasons opposite those of love. "I detested conceited men, and I'd never seen one so stuck-up," she told me, recalling that day. "Besides, I thought he was a Jew." Her annoyance was greater when she sang out the raffle number for the music box, to the anxiety of all, and indeed, it had been won by Bayardo San Roman. She couldn't imagine that he, just to impress her, had bought all the tickets in the raffle. That night, when she returned home, Angela Vicario found the music box there, gift-wrapped and tied with an organdy bow. "I never did find out how he knew that it was my birthday," she told me. It was hard for her to convince her parents that she hadn't given Bayardo San Roman any reason to send her a gift like that, and even worse, in such a visible way that it hadn't gone unnoticed by anyone."

"As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from one end of the keyboard to the other without a stop.”"

"Sometimes I can only groan, and suffer, and pour out my despair at the piano!"

"[T]he piano is the social instrument par excellence. It is drawing-room furniture, a sign of bourgeois prosperity, the most massive of the devices by which the young are tortured in the name of education and the grown-up in the name of entertainment."

"Play always as if in the presence of a master."

"When you play, never mind who listens to you."