"Adventures In Sound!" - Ben tracks his own journey to find the digital devices that best re-create or at least evoke the classic theater pipe organ experience under modern screening conditions.

Topics

Ben discusses the “temporary” theme for the podcast, “Those Keystone Comedy Cops”

Ben’s instrumental evolution 

Learning to play the organLee Erwin, theater organist, as a mentorDifference in technique between piano and organExpanding colors and instrumentationDeveloping the Synth-Org (Sample sounds included)Synth(esized) sounds vs. Digital samplesLimited availability of real theater organsDeploying the Kurzweil PC-2 system with a MIDI pedal unitExamples from two scores for Edison: Invention of the Movies

Underwriting announcement: The Alice Howell Collection on DVD from Undercrank Productions

Ben’s musical journey continued

Jim Henry introduces Ben to the MiditzerAn excerpt from a Miditzer score Ben created for The PenaltyThe difficulty of recording and reproducing a real theater organ for home videoIntroducing the sound of the theater organ to the modern audience, the authentic sound of silent filmOrchestration is fun in theory, but...Graduating to Hauptwerk, courtesy Paramount Organ Works, and adapting it to a single 88-note keyboardPlease rename the system! And suggest how to talk about silent film without using the word “silent”!Scoring for home video as contrasted with a live appearanceThe piano is more suitable for the intimacy of The Silent Comedy Watch Party

Recommendations:

The Eye Film MuseumThe National Film Preservation Board

Links from the episode:

The Silent Comedy Watch Party, Sundays on YouTube“Those Keystone Comedy Cops” by Charles McCarron. Download a copy, learn the words, sing it with your friendsAppreciation: Silent Cinema Organist Lee Erwin - A four-minute radio story about Lee Erwin featuring some of his music.Watch Man Without A World directed by Eleanor Antrim at VimeoEdison: The Invention of the Movies distributed by Kino Lorber - With scores by Ben and many othersLearn about Ray Kurzweil, inventor of the music system and many other thingsThe Alice Howell Collection from Undercrank Productions, 12 rare silent comedies with a female star who foreshadows Lucille Ball, Carol Burnett, and the great women physical comedians.A review of the Alice Howell Collection which highlights the major contribution Ben’s scores make to the set.What is a “sound font”?The legendary Hauptwerk Digital Virtual Theater Pipe Organ

Recommendations:

The Eye Film Museum in Amsterdam. Explore the online offerings here.The National Film Preservation Foundation. More free fun here.Sign up for Ben’s e-mails here.