Lets just Call this the "Cat, Organ, AND clock thread"

[Orgrinder010]

I was wondering if anyone was going to play some "scary" pipe organ music for the kiddies who go trick-or-treating.
I live in the boondocks, so I don't have a chance to scare anyone, but I though it would be fun to make a good list of "Scary" music to play for others.
(I always think of Lurch from the Adams Family fingering away at their pipe organ)

Uh...the problem is that I can't think of any. (not that I need it anyways)

[NYCFarmboy]

I have a few nieces and nephews who will venture back to trick-or-treat where my house is located (with the pipe organ)... I'll play the fun parts of the T&F in D Minor as they walk up my sidewalk.... full organ of course.

:)

[soundboarddude]

there's that T&F again!

The phantom of the opera overture is always a good one. I transposed it to start in E so when it goes down, it can hit the lowest C notes in the pedal. =D

[PeteKnobloch]

Over Halloween I open the windows to the pipe chamber and play scary music for the trick-or-treaters. They love it. I even hook up an auooga horn on the doorbell. You should see some of the faces on the children when I open the door.

Other music might be “Dance of the Macabre” or the music from the “Beetle Juice” movie. I was able to take these MIDI files off of the Internet and combine the tracks down into music that will play on 3 midi channels for the notes and 1 channel for the stops. The final MIDI file isn’t perfect but it’s a real treat to listen to.

[buzzyreed]

My four year old nephew has, for quite some time now, been requesting that I play, 'the vampire song' (Toccata and Fugue in d) and the 'sad, creeepy one' (Chopin's Funeral March) as I imitate "Count Chocula's " voice for him. He love this, in the day time. At night it gets a bit too scary for him.

On another note... do you guys have any suggestions for a cat that likes to hop up on the organ bench and play while you are playing. I guess it would be fine if he were any good, but he has the tin ear of an Episcopal or Methodist :-) so it sounds like chipers until I see this big, furry white paw on the Great hitting random keys. I tried closing the Music Room door, but he pounds until I let him in. Do I have to sneak Hippo Tranqs in his "Special Kitty" food each time I practice?

I'm not even that much of an animal lover, they just live here and so I tolerate them. Do you think tihs is the justification I need to get him 'put down?' Of course, Albert Schweizter played about as well as my cat and on one stuck an needle in his arm....


by the way, this is NOT a joke, it is a real problem that is driving me crazy. I hate hearing the damn cat whaller if I have the door closed, its just as bad as practicing in C mjaor and someone using our microwave which beeps at an 1/8 of a tone sharp of C major. Just drives me NUTS!!


Boy did THIS get off topic. Sorry

Damn, now I gotta go teach some tone deaf undergraduates. I always assumed all Lutheran's had absolute pitch. Boy, was **I** wrong!!!

[Orgrinder010]

My cat ALWAYS sleeps stretched across my pedal clavier on the Wurlitzer every evening. Usually it is dark and I do not see him on there, so when I go to turn on the organ, as the tubes warm up, the pedals start to blast and he runs of there like his tails on fire.
My other cat, however manages to climb behind the music rack and sleep all day, whether I am playing or not, he doesn't care.

Funny stuff, indeed.

[Hammond101]

I have moved the A100 & Leslie to the garage so I will be able to scare the crap out of all the nieghborhood kids with T & F in Dm. I'll also do a little minor scale pedal thing I came up with that seems to get them going as well. When I'm taking a break I play the erie sound effect section of Pink Floyd's "Echos" from the Meddle (sp) album. All this, organ included, hooked up to 5K watts of PA system complete with subs.

Buzzy, you know that cat just does that to piss you off. I have the cure........a German Shepherd Dog! Mine (dog) will occationally put a paw down on the pedals but never while I am playing. Dog are trainable, cats........oh well. Will your cat drink beer? Knocks 'em dead out! Probably cheaper than Hippo tranqs. I can also guarranty you the cat will want no part of the organ bench with a German Shepherd napping next to it! If the cat decides to comit suicide, no great loss, eh?

Best,

Rich

[buzzyreed]

LOL. I suppose beer is easier than telling him he has NO hope of getting into the Yale Organ Department.. oh wait...

;-)

[al]

I like the beer idea. You could get a dog. The howel might go nicely.
Now, the cats do keep mice away, don't they?
I understand mice like organ wiring. They also leave calling cards.
Get some catnip and beer. Then you'll both be happy.
The beer is obviously for the cat. I don't know who gets the 'nip.
Happy time!
Al

[andyg]

I now have a cat that does the same thing, but she got her comeuppance last week when she fell clean off the top of the speaker cabinet - see what a little polish can do (but probably not advisable on the keys!)
As for dogs, good for scaring off the cat, maybe (and unwanted trick or treaters!) but a long time ago I had three labrador retrievers. Wonderful dogs, but one decided that a 32 note AGO board was just the right size for his bed. Try playing on just a few inches of pedals!

Back on topic (finally!) Given the non-musical ear of most trick or treaters, they're usually happy with a few chromatically ascending and descending diminished 7ths.

Andy G

[Orgrinder010]

You know, Classical Music is actually GOOD for cats as seen here:
(Don't even ask where I get this stuff, I can't even answer that!)

Classical Music Calms Shelter Cats (http://www.catfancy.com/catfancy/detail.aspx?aid=23309&cid=3655&search=)

http://www.kenbmiller.com/satpostman/articles/classic_postman/classic_images/kit_cat_animated.GIF

[chchaisson]

Both of my cats love classical music! They sit on top of the piano when I'm playing.

[VivaVoce]

My cats, aka music critics in residence, recline peacefully under the piano bench or on the couch if they like what I'm playing, jump on the bench and nudge my arm with their noses if they want to join in, meow when they want to tell me it's time to stop playing and go to bed, or nip my elbow if they don't like the music. The little one is all black and looks like a Halloween cat.

[Orgrinder010]

Well at least we know our feline friends have good taste!

[soundboarddude]

My cat, which also happens to be completely black, has not a care in the world, and could care less what I was playing. Most of the time he's sleeping somewhere anyways... He hasn't given much care to the piano either... hmmm....

[AlanA]

buzzyreed
I have 6 cats. At least one likes to sit with me on the bench. Only once or twice did she try here paw at the keys. What can I say, she (and the others) love me.

My aggrevation is my 30 year clock award I keep on the shelving unit where my speakers are placed. It chimes every 15 minutes and each of the hours (1-12 times). I have muffled it but I need something more inside it to quite it enough to endure it. It is quartz. With no carpet it at full force can interrupt phone calls. Stupid me, why doin't I move it? Well I do like the case and the clock. I will stuff more paper towel or something in side it.

AlanA

[buzzyreed]

Hmmm.. I can top that one..

I love clock works and carillions so this summer I built my own carillion out of parts I bought on the internet, items I got from a Radio Shack going out of business store, and other things I plundered from various robot projects. Now I have a very loud carillion on our farm whose (are things 'whose?'--what's the proper possisive pronoun.. anywhoo..) the speakers are on top of our tallest silo and the chime can be heard for about three miles, which is a long ways out here. I used to love to hear it ring every 15 minutes.. until I got appointed to teaching only afternoons and eveinings. Now I sleep in until at least 2 pm and do all of my normal work during teh early morning hours before bed. So when the thing started up at 12 noon on weekdays and rang me awake every 15 minutes, I decided I'd switch it to only every hour chime and 3 and 5 pm 'presentations' of 10 minute concerts. I am not here at 3 or 5 so it is our township that gets 'treated' to Bach and (belive it or not) one Buxtehude carillion transcription, along with various sundry hymns, folksongs and such.

Point is: I know exactly what you mean about loving something that annoys you. I almost installed AC in the barn this summer to protect the carillion parts.

I am trying to ignore the cat. I decided to practice at school today, but some silly student was practicing. Nevermind that he is much, much better than me. I would have batted him with a rolled up news paper like my cat had the facutly handbook not specifically prevented me from doing so.

hmmph.

I also had the quartz clock problem. I duct taped the speaker.
I like the organ Alan, hopefully when I am grown up and tenured somewhere I'll be able to afford something other than my 'MOSsy beast"


I think we should call this the, "random off topic" topic. or somehting