Played a Numa organ tonight

[JeffLearman]

I think there are a number of people who are quite good at both here. I have a lot of respect for that. Just not their silly opinions on stuff.

[SpikeKeys]

Almost everybody i've met that was good at reading music had trouble improvising. If i had to choose which to be good at i'd rather be able to JAM.

 

Have you ever heard of Chic Corea?

Nuff said!

 

Spike

 

[keyClicker]

Yeah, of course...

There are people that can read and improvise really well.

We don't even need to go for the monsters like Corea or Barbara Dennerlein or even Mr. Lord.

I know some mortals that read and improvise well.

 

But, talking about percentage here... I agree that in these last years I met a loooot of piano players that know how to read music and have a really a tough time when it comes to improvisation/jamming.

Or, to be fair... they knew how to improvise but their sound was really squared (if you know what I mean by that). You can really notice they don't play the wroooong notes, but there is something missing.

PS: I don't know if that expression 'it sounds square' really means something to you or if its something that makes sense in my country.

 

Ok... *IF* I had to choose between the two I would also go with the jam caravan.

 

Like my old time friend used to say... "be ready to play even if you go blind".

[Outkaster]

BY the way price drop on the Ventilator. It is now $449.00 at Sweetwater.

[Baldwin Funster]

they knew how to improvise but their sound was really squared (if you know what I mean by that). You can really notice they don't play the wroooong notes, but there is something missing.

PS: I don't know if that expression 'it sounds square' really means something to you or if its something that makes sense in my country.

 

In my neck of the woods the term is: Sounding "stiff".

[CEB]

Almost everybody i've met that was good at reading music had trouble improvising. If i had to choose which to be good at i'd rather be able to JAM.

 

You haven't met the right people.

 

But some of this may be in part due to many people who improvise and gig don't need to sight read anymore.

 

I used to read well. I did 14 years of formal study. But somewhere I stopped sightreading because I had no need to do it anymore. Nothing I needed to play was available on accurate transcriptions anyways. The only thing I have sightread in the last 15 years are lead sheets, Roman numeral chord charts, and Nashville notation.

 

To a certain extent if you don't use you lose it.

 

But that said there are certainly people who do well at both. It was through formal theoretical studies I learned the tools I use to jam. I just don't sightread much anymore and now I suck at it compare to when I was 22 years old. ( Dang that was a longtime ago now I'm depressed)

 

Life is a time allocation problem.

[engineerjoel]

If you RE-READ my post, I never said that "I" was the one who played Keith Emerson/Rick Wakeman Solos note-for-note...So I was not "bragging" on my playing ability...as many of you have chimmed. I wish I half the chops of those guys. Hell, I'm still trying perfect the keyboard solo to Van Halen's "JUMP".

 

I was trying to paint a picture of what the typical clientele the club attracts AND try to give Kudos to the feedback of how great the Leslie Sim in the Numa sounded as the Numa seemed to have fooled the musician'ed critique.

 

And while Im on a roll herelet me give credit at least to the soundman who too was blown away by the Numa organ: Davy MoireFOH engineer for Frank Zappa, Kansas, Peabo Bryson, Temptations and Four Tops, Terrance Trent D'Arby Jody Wately, Prince, Duran Duran, the Cranberries, Motley Crue.

 

For those of you that know Davy (and have worked with Davy), you know that Davy rarely ever gives compliments. And that night, after the gig, during teardown, Davy became abit confused as he went looking for the leslie cabinet to take the mics off the cabinet. Then he remembered, there was no leslie: it was the Numa Organ. Hey organ dudes, you cant get a better compliment than that.

 

Yes, if you microscopically listen to the Numa Soloed by itself, then, yes, you can hear the very suttle imperfections. But, once you get the Numa in a mix (in stereo), then it is very difficult to distinquish the real-from-the-fake.

 

 

 

[HammondDave]

Almost everybody i've met that was good at reading music had trouble improvising. If i had to choose which to be good at i'd rather be able to JAM.

 

Have you ever heard of Chic Corea?

Nuff said!

 

Spike

 

Just in case you have not...

 

[video:youtube]

[mate stubb]

Back to Numa:

 

There is one for sale on the Clonewheel list right now, $1550 brand new in a box. A US distributor on the west coast is getting out of the keyboard business.