Mellotronists

Knowing those notorious Genesis band politics,
I'm surprised Mike Rutherford didn't down tools
in a huge strop at the notion of Tony Banks daring
to play "bass" notes on his mellotron! ;-)


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rick Blechta" <rick@...>
To: "Mellotronist's List List" <Mellotronists@yahoogroups.com>
Sent: 23 March 2004 13:13
Subject: Re: [Mellotronists] sheet music for the mellotron...


>
> On Tuesday, March 23, 2004, at 04:40 AM, J.K.Beresford wrote:
>
> > Hi,
> > I think he just releases the key towards the end of the first
bar
> > allowing the rewind and plays it again at the start of the
next. It
> > isn't
> > continuous. Doubly difficult to do on the accordions anyway
as the
> > sounds don't last the whole 8 seconds (at least they don't on
mine).
> > Also it's just one bass note on the MkII and not 2 as it
Ricks version
> > cause theres not enough keys covered by the accordian sound.
> > John
> >
> >
> > So what exactly was played on the "accordion" side is an
interesting
> > point as a sustained F-sharp is not possible due to the
highly
> > controversial, and some would say, unconstitutional 8-second
rule.
> > It sounds like some sneaky altering of an F-sharp and an
octave
> > below or above (depending on where you start)
>
> Just to clarify: what I wrote out on the sheet music was the
way I saw
> Banks play it on the SEBTP tour (the only times I was in a
position to
> view his hands. I also wrote it this way because there are
certainly
> octaves in the studio version. (It pretty much sounds to me as
if he's
> doubling the tron parts on his Hammond.) I also knew that Nacho
has a
> 400, so he would need to play some other instrument along with
the
> mellotron if the intro part was going to have any chance of
sounding
> good (something that is also really helped by having octaves in
the
> bass clef part).
>
> John is right about the accordion sound, of course. I'l have to
listen
> to my copy of Genesis Live again to hear what might be going on
there,
> but I suspect he's right about the note being released. If I
remember
> correctly, Banks played the intro on the MkII in a much more
"angular"
> manner than on subsequent live performances using his 400, and
on the
> studio version. This would allow him to release the bass note
in order
> for the tape to rewind and not have the performance sound odd.
Try it
> that way and you'll see what I mean. You can also hold the note
for the
> first two measures without the tape running out (unless you're
playing
> really slowly), then release the key to re-attack the note in
the 3rd
> bar.
>
> When I played it live, regardless of what mellotron I was using
at the
> time, I always played the first section with octaves using the
lower
> manual of my B3 with the standard "bass" setting on the
drawbars (lower
> 3 fully out), after which I'd switch hands and play the
Moderato
> section completely on mellotron. Once I got the FX console, I
used
> octave choir for the descending octave notes (in the Moderato
section)
> and the MkII brass for the part in thirds (since the FX console
doesn't
> allow mixing of adjacent tracks). With the bespoke tapes
Martinge made
> up for me, I now have a mixed 3 violins/brass track which is
great.
> Also, playing the octave part using "Orchestra" or "Gothic" at
the end
> is REALLY effective.
>
> But whatever Banks played live, it was also REALLY effective,
and
> that's the key. The intro has to be as powerful as you can make
it.
> That means a lot of volume and as thick a sound as you can
manage.
>
> Rick
>
> PS Fritata, I'll answer your question fully this evening. I
want to
> listen to the sounds and think about it.
>
>
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