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Music for Magicians

Theatre Organ and Magic together -- two of my favorites!

After this morning’s American Theatre Organ Society concert by David Gray at Disney’s majestic El Capitan Theatre, I returned to the hotel and stopped by the ATOS record shop to see what treasures might await me. As you would expect, there were many classic Theatre Pipe Organ treats in additional to several new ones. These, I knew would be there because I was the LATOS volunteer who recruited the artists to send in their products. Several ATOS members also contributed used LPs to the record shop as well. As a student of magic performance, this title and cover art immediately caught my eye: Music for Magicians, by Verne Langdon.

I wondered why this title would be in the ATOS record shop? Perhaps it was accidentally included in a shipment? Then I turned the dust jacket over to read this line at the bottom “Featuring Verne Langdon at the Palace of Mystery Theatre Organ.” Now, I was really curious. You see, I am a member of The Academy of Magical Arts (AMA) and I currently serve as a Castle Knight at our club house, The Magic Castle, in Hollywood. We do have a “Palace of Mystery” but I was unaware that there ever was a Theater Organ (although it would not surprise me if we did). Seeing our founder’s names, Milt and Bill Larsen, on the album jacket clinched the sale. Fifty cents later I was the proud owner of this LP.

I was unfamiliar with Verne Langdon but found a tribute web site here and this playlist on YouTube.

I will post a link to AMA magic forums to see if I can learn more about the history of this album. Meanwhile, enjoy the dust jacket artwork and description.

Theatre Organ and Magic together — two of my favorites!

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Organ is the Bacon of Music

I enjoyed a delightful conversation with Jack Moellman on the bus trip over to the Wilshire Ebell Theater in Los Angeles.

Jack is an amazing theatre organist and he also has a Rodgers 340 which he has greatly enhanced and customized with everything from tuned ducks to tuned bottles and more. Jack was venturing encouraging and he freely offered many tips from his experience.

When we got off the bus, I saw a fellow organ enthusiast wearing a T-shirt that read “organ is the bacon of music”.

I’m not sure my family would agree, but I could wear that shirt.

🙂

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Voicing the Rodgers 340 Theater Organ

My first attempt to voice the organ with help from a friend

With most of the organ now restored and in playable condition, it’s time to start learning about voicing the organ. I understand that this is a process involves many variables, including the organ, the amplifier levels the speaker placement, listener placement and the room acoustics and probably a few more I have yet to learn about.

My initial goal is simply to do a first pass, both to become familiar the process, as outlined in the Rodgers 340 Service Manual, and to begin to hear what this organ is capable of. First, a quick video…

My friend, Edward Torres, from Old Town Music Hall, offered to help with the voicing so we made a day of it. In preparation, I went through and labelled the pots and racks on the organ to make it easy to find things.

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ThisOld340 A quick look at the Great Sostenuto

Look, I'm playing with no hands!

Another fun feature of Theater Organs, invented by Robert Hope Jones, is the ‘Sostenuto’. This stop is available on the Great manual of the Rodgers 340 Theater Organ.

Sostenuto is a switch located on the Main expression shoe that will cause the notes on the Great manual to continue to sound for as long as the Sostenuto switch is held – even after the hand is removed from the keyboard.

Here’s a quick video to see it in action.

Click the “continue reading” link before for additional instructions…

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ThisOld340 A quick look at the the Solo to Great Pizzicato

The Solo to Great Pizzicato

A fun feature of Theater Organs is the ‘Solo to Great Pizzicato’. This stop can be found on the The Rodgers 340 Theater Organ.

The Solo to Great Pizzicato is a coupler that causes the notes on the Great manual to sound momentarily, almost as if plucked or struck.

Here’s a quick video to show how that works…

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A quick look inside a Rodgers 340 Theater Organ

Have you ever wondered what's inside a vintage analog Theater Organ?

Here’s what you’ll find: a lot of wires, transistors, resistors, capacitors and coils all mounted on three (or more!) 4′ x 5′ circuit boards. Yes, feet, not inches. Here’s a quick peek inside my Rodgers 340 after I did some work on it. If there’s something you’d like to see, let me know.

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Rodgers 340 Schematics Library

My ongoing effort to catalog information about this instrument

Since I first acquired my 340, I have been on a mission to collect, organize, and eventually share information about this instrument — both as a way to serve others and to connect with fellow 340 owners.

When I posted invitations to share on the various organ forums, several people were kind enough to send me files to add to my library. One individual even shipped me a physical manual! I also contacted Rodgers for the “official” service guide, which turned out to be the same one that is already freely available in organ forums on the internet. This weekend I set out to catalog just the schematic pages I have many sources. I want to see what I have and how readable (many are scans of photocopies) and what revisions exist. Eventually, I will map this what actually in my organ, as there were several flavors of the 340 built.

I haven’t gotten very far yet but already I am finding interesting notes and learning by comparing versions. I’ve attached a PDF of my current catalog. It’s still very much a work in process. If you have information to share or if you are looking for 340 specific information, please get in touch with me.

20180122 – Rodgers 340 Schematic Inventory (INTERIM)

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Rodgers 340 Registrations

When I picked up my 340 I received a folder of old papers and receipts. I did not really know what I had but I recently realized that several of the pages contained registrations written down by the former owner.

Two notable names were written on the pages: Jonas Nordwall and Candy Carley — both are extraordinary organists. I do not know if they provided these registrations personally or how the former owner acquired them, but here they are…

I have not yet tried these registrations, but if you do, or if you have registrations to share, I would love to hear from you!

(Click image to download or view PDFs)

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First post

For the past several years, as I have been on this adventure to restore and play a theater organ, I have learned from many people and sites on the internet. I want to use this site to help me organize and share what I am learning and I want to try and connect 340 owners.

So I begin with this blog into which I plan to import a lot of content and stories of my 340 adventures.

Not much to see here just yet so I am not telling anyone the site is live yet. That said, sooner or later someone will stumble in. This is your virtual welcome.

Eric