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Music Arranged for Mechanical Instruments
By Robbie Rhodes

Rich, I'm impressed with your description of the Radio Seaway products
and your dedication to classical music.  The demographics and tastes of
your targeted audience is probably equivalent to our MMD membership, and
this gives me an idea:

Would you care to produce an occasional radio program featuring the music
which is unique to our mechanical musical instruments?  One category is
music arranged especially for the keyboard limitations of the small- to
medium-sized instruments, e.g., the Wurlitzer band organ with only three
bass notes.

Another category is the music box, in which the music is arranged
especially to capitalize upon the delightful glissandi and tinkling
unique to that instrument.  (In the symphony orchestra it can only be
approximated by the harp or the celesta.)

Yet another category is the piano-based nickelodeons and orchestrions,
which allude to "duplicating a small orchestra", but in fact have their
own unique character due to the limitations of the mechanical percussion.

The arrangements for these instruments were, and still are, accomplished
by Masters of the Art, and there are still a few Masters around, plying
their skills.  I'm not aware that this musical specialty has been
explored and presented to any radio audience.  The tunes themselves --
those heard on music boxes, organs, coin-pianos and orchestrions -- are
the familiar classics and pop hits of the day.

We certainly have the experts here at MMD who might help with production.

Sincerely yours,

Robbie Rhodes¶
Mechanical Music Digest

(Message sent Sat, 15 Feb 1997 16:06:58 -0800 , from time zone -0800.)

Key Words in Subject:  Arranged, Instruments, Mechanical, Music