Syzygys

Old news to some of you, but... I've had one of their albums in my
collection for a while now...

http://www.ne.jp/asahi/syzygys/official/eindex.html

An interesting question for us on this list might we what the heck they
did to modify their organ for Partch's tuning...

Rick

They might or may not be on the list and pardon if i jump the gun on this, but i seem to remember they had reeds just like HP, which they put into a conventional keyboard. it might have been amplified too i cannot remember and /or electric reverse pump as opposed to foot pedal.s
I might be wrong and this is from memory at seeing them at microfest quite a few years ago.
Rick McGowan wrote:
> Old news to some of you, but... I've had one of their albums in my > collection for a while now...
>
> http://www.ne.jp/asahi/syzygys/official/eindex.html
>
> An interesting question for us on this list might we what the heck they > did to modify their organ for Partch's tuning...
>
> Rick
>
>
>
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
> -- Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/index.html>
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU <http://www.kxlu.com/main/index.asp> 88.9 FM Wed 8-9 pm Los Angeles

Ahhh, Rick...

{you wrote...}
>An interesting question for us on this list might we what the heck they did to modify their organ for Partch's tuning...

I think you just didn't burrow down to the right page - check out:
http://www.ne.jp/asahi/syzygys/official/e43tone.html

(for those that aren't dialing up their browser, it says:)

"A YAMAHA electric reed organ, adapted and tuned into Harry Partch's 43tone tuning "in C". 61Keys. Originaly contained 1 and half banks of reed cell.

The process of adaptation for 43tone organ was :
first, all the reeds which were originally set in each cell-board were removed. A special tool given by my piano tuner was used to pull them out. New reeds were prepared to be tuned to 43 tone scale. 3 or 4 reeds for each 12 note are necessary; these can not be obtained with ease now.

Reeds were tuned by scratching the base of the vibrating flange to flatten, and scratching the tip of the flange to sharpen. A small file and a cutter was used. Thus, new reeds were tuned to 43tone scale and set in the cell board one by one.

Take a look at the photo and you 'll find some marks in pink above the keyboard. They indicate a C scale in pure temperament. And some stickers in each color stuck on the keyboard represent some "Syzygy Chords" which sound very exclusively. The keyboard is not changed in anyway,and a 43 tone scale occupies the distance from F2 (in YAMAHA term) to the highest F5. My organ has 61 keys, lowest 3 keys are tuned to C1,F1,G1 for the bass. There are 2 keys that doesn't work and the rest of 12 keys are tuned in 43tone as well."

Yeah, these folks have always been after my heart!

Cheers,
Jon

At 04:07 PM 12/15/2006, you wrote:
>Old news to some of you, but... I've had one of their albums in my
>collection for a while now...
>
>http://www.ne.jp/asahi/syzygys/official/eindex.html
>
>An interesting question for us on this list might we what the heck they
>did to modify their organ for Partch's tuning...
>
> Rick

I have this album. It's incredible. Any info on their setup would
be appreciated (I have none).

-Carl

Thanks Jon!!

-Carl

At 05:34 PM 12/15/2006, you wrote:
>Ahhh, Rick...
>
>{you wrote...}
>>An interesting question for us on this list might we what the heck
>they did to modify their organ for Partch's tuning...
>
>I think you just didn't burrow down to the right page - check out:
>http://www.ne.jp/asahi/syzygys/official/e43tone.html
>
>(for those that aren't dialing up their browser, it says:)
>
>"A YAMAHA electric reed organ, adapted and tuned into Harry Partch's
>43tone tuning "in C". 61Keys. Originaly contained 1 and half banks of
>reed cell.
>
>The process of adaptation for 43tone organ was :
>first, all the reeds which were originally set in each cell-board were
>removed. A special tool given by my piano tuner was used to pull them
>out. New reeds were prepared to be tuned to 43 tone scale. 3 or 4
>reeds for each 12 note are necessary; these can not be obtained with ease now.
>
>Reeds were tuned by scratching the base of the vibrating flange to
>flatten, and scratching the tip of the flange to sharpen. A small file
>and a cutter was used. Thus, new reeds were tuned to 43tone scale and
>set in the cell board one by one.
>
>Take a look at the photo and you 'll find some marks in pink above the
>keyboard. They indicate a C scale in pure temperament. And some
>stickers in each color stuck on the keyboard represent some "Syzygy
>Chords" which sound very exclusively. The keyboard is not changed in
>anyway,and a 43 tone scale occupies the distance from F2 (in YAMAHA
>term) to the highest F5. My organ has 61 keys, lowest 3 keys are tuned
>to C1,F1,G1 for the bass. There are 2 keys that doesn't work and the
>rest of 12 keys are tuned in 43tone as well."
>
>Yeah, these folks have always been after my heart!
>
>Cheers,
>Jon

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Jon Szanto <jszanto@...> wrote:

> Reeds were tuned by scratching the base of the vibrating flange to
flatten, and scratching the tip of the flange to sharpen. A small file
and a cutter was used. Thus, new reeds were tuned to 43tone scale and
set in the cell board one by one.

The Harmonium has infested traditional Indian music for some time,
much to the dismay of the purists. I wonder if anyone ever tried
retuning those things?

Haresh Bakshi sent pictures out of an Indian book of one manufacturer who added a buttom in the middle of each key to get the scale out to 22. I don't think he is on this list and can't find it at the moment quickly.

Gene Ward Smith wrote:
> --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Jon Szanto <jszanto@...> wrote:
>
> >> Reeds were tuned by scratching the base of the vibrating flange to
>> > flatten, and scratching the tip of the flange to sharpen. A small file
> and a cutter was used. Thus, new reeds were tuned to 43tone scale and
> set in the cell board one by one.
>
> The Harmonium has infested traditional Indian music for some time,
> much to the dismay of the purists. I wonder if anyone ever tried
> retuning those things?
>
>
>
>
> > Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
> -- Kraig Grady
North American Embassy of Anaphoria Island <http://anaphoria.com/index.html>
The Wandering Medicine Show
KXLU <http://www.kxlu.com/main/index.asp> 88.9 FM Wed 8-9 pm Los Angeles

--- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@...>
wrote:
>
> Haresh Bakshi sent pictures out of an Indian book of one
manufacturer
> who added a buttom in the middle of each key to get the scale out to
22.
> I don't think he is on this list and can't find it at the moment
quickly.
>
> Gene Ward Smith wrote:

> >
> > The Harmonium has infested traditional Indian music for some time,
> > much to the dismay of the purists. I wonder if anyone ever tried
> > retuning those things?
> >

Partch described one like that, "A third new instrument of this period
was the Indian Harmonium, suggested or ordered by one K. B. Deval but
planned and built by H. Keatley Moore, in London, as an example of
what might be done to save India from complete 7-White-5-Black
corruption. This had the usual white and black keys but in addition
eleven brass pegs, or studs, on the black keys and at the backs of the
white keys, giving the twenty-two just 'srutis' to the 2/1 of the
Indian intonational system, and one alternate key. The instrument
gives at least five tonalities capable of all identities through 9
(Otonality)" (394-395 GOAM, cites Clements, "Introduction to Indian
Music," 8n, 9, 90 (diagram of keyboard), 93) Also mentioned in "Moore
& Moore" at Robert Allan's book, http://tardis.dl.ac.uk/FreeReed/
English/organ_book/node16.html#enharmonic

A couple minutes after reading about Syzygys I read about the Gongs
http://www.imomus.com/thegongs.html and just noticed there's a sample
here http://www.darla.com/catalog/search.asp?id=5177

Clark

> --- In MakeMicroMusic@yahoogroups.com, Kraig Grady <kraiggrady@>
> wrote:
> >
> > Haresh Bakshi sent pictures out of an Indian book of one
> > manufacturer who added a buttom in the middle of each key to get
> > the scale out to 22.

H. K. Moore, Indian Harmonium, GB15,548, provisional specification
filed 1911.07.04
/makemicromusic/files/keyboard/
hkmoore.pdf

Reportedly had a short commercial life.

Clark