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Email news to keyboardnews.com & keyboardchat.com Tel. 01639 642233 Check the weather |
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Visit to Britain's Oldest Wurlitzer
The players, and guests who went along with them, were made very welcome by the Church officials who provided tea and biscuits in the adjoining vestry. Ian Griffin writes about his visit The Church website Sunday Services are at 10:00am and 5:30pm. 9th February 2008 A Birthday Memory of Robert Hope-Jones - Wurlitzer Creator 
The visit to see the oldest Wurlitzer pipe organ in the UK coincided with the birthday
of the creator, Robert Hope-Jones, who was born in Hooton Grange on the Wirral on 9th February 1859, 149 years ago. He went to America and sold his name and goodwill to the Wurlitzer Company in North Tonawanda. It was this Englishman who revolutionised theatre pipe organs and you can read the full story via the links below.
ATOS Homage to the Creator of the Theatre Organ Tribute to Robert Hope-Jones by the LTOT Links relating to the players pictured above: Elizabeth Harrison's website Ian Griffin's website Ian Griffin's own personal news page - with interesting news and comments on the organ. 20.02.08 |
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New Lyme Bay Features - A Great Success There is always something new at the Lyme Bay Keyboard Experience. In the February event Professor Chris Stanbury introduced a new feature presenting new faces, while in the Tavern Lounge Sheila Bower conducted her handcraft card sessions for the ladies while their partners were at organ-keyboard showcases. John Willcocks, stage technician, did some clever work on the big screens showing 'hands on' keyboards during concerts - especially during the Keyklix show with two pairs of hands on four keyboards. The full board weekend was exceptional value for money with:Jean Martyn; Elizabeth Harrison; Chris Powell; Paul Carman; David Ingley; Ian House; Colin Ford; Chris Stanbury; Matthew Bason; Richard Bower; Ian Griffin and surprise guest, Mike Hall - not forgetting comedy genius Andy Oakley with the Keyklix Klan. See the new Lyme Bay webpage - with photos of the last event 17.02.08 |
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Organshow.co.uk --- Jean Martyn Video Michael Cull has produced his own website that includes some video clips of him playing the Wurlitzer at the village of Beer (see above for other reports on this organ). To see the videos, look out for the link: 'Out and About' at the foot of his home page. He told us that he has made a video of Jean Martyn playing this organ during the weekend of the Lyme Bay Experience and has put it on the following website: Rapidshare.de Michael adds: "If you haven't used Rapidshare before just scroll down the page and hit the "FREE" button, then wait for the clock to count down at Download-Ticket reserved. Please wait **.** seconds and then follow the instructions." It takes a few minutes to download the video which is of excellent quality. We must add that the aim of the video is to highlight the organ for a possible grant for refurbishment. 20.02.08 |
Down Town Dancing - News from Angie Diggens
Former electronic organist, Angie Diggens, will be producing her own musical show 'Down Town Dancing' at the West Cliff Theatre, Clacton on 17th and 18th May 2008. Shows are at 2:30pm and 7:30pm and tickets are £9.50 (concessions £8.50). Box Office telephone no: 01255 433344. Further details can be obtained from Angie on telephone No: 01206 823042.Angie's change in direction followed her appearing as a finalist in the 2005 'Stars In Their Eyes' on ITV - singing as Sarah Brightman. Further information of Angie's productions can be obtained from the link below:- Angie's Website 20.02.08 |
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New Name - Bargain Offer Lyme Bay - 17th/20th October 2008 
The Hollybush Hotel Group is being renamed Martyn Leisure Breaks and are offering special
discounts for 2008The 17th-20th October 2008 Keyboard Experience, with a special appearance of Nicholas Martin, is offered for £135 - a saving of £20 over the October 2007 price of £155. It represents the best value in organ-keyboard entertainment with accommodation and all meals included in the cost. It is a great opportunity to meet up with old friends and meet new ones. With optional cancellation insurance of £4 per person, everyone can book with no worries. Details and dates for 2008 If your friends are not on the Internet why not do them a favour and tell them about this bargain offer? Booking Hotline Tel: 01297 626800 For group bookings, and further savings, telephone Martin Jenkins: 0845 450 4496 (local rate) Request a brochure
The Lyme Bay video clips are another way of knowing more about these very special keyboard events. Details of videos to date LATE NEWS --- The October 2008 Keyboard Experience at Lyme Bay will be the last one there - DON'T MISS IT! It moves to a new venue in 2009. 13.03.08 |
YOUTUBE Star Rating Mystery
Further on you will read about possible star ratings for players and societies. It's a thought in order to evaluate quickly whatever the ratings are applied to. While we are waiting for comments, we must say that we are absolutely baffled with the star ratings on YOUTUBE. We thought that they may be linked to the number of hits over a specific period. But we are wrong. The Roland video clip put on 29th January had a five star rating after only four days with just 47 hits. Having said that, when Chris Powell played a Roland organ over a similar period, he had 342 hits with only a three star rating. Since then both sites have had more hits, of course.
If anyone has a clue about YOUTUBE ratings then please let us know. Star ratings with no basis for comparison seem worthless - in fact they can be misleading.
11.02.08 In order to get an understanding on this, we went to YOUTUBE to see what they had to say about this. This is what they said to the following question:- What does the video rating represent? A video's rating represents the average of all ratings it has been given by users since it was uploaded. Now you are wise as what we are! 17.2.08 |
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BBC iPlayer Has Link to KEYBOARDNEWS.COM We are delighted to report that the BBC iplayer has a link to this website - indicating that the BBC values our contribution to the music scene. The BBC iplayer enables listeners to hear weekly programmes up to seven days after they are broadcast, like, for an example, The BBC Radio 2 Organist Entertains. To hear the last edition of this progamme right now: Click here 03.02.08 |
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New Roland Ateliers Hear the sounds on YOUTUBE --- also on the demo video's mentioned below. Link added 29th January 2008 
Roland have launched 3 new Atelier organs. The AT900 which replaces the AT90SL, the AT800 which replaces the AT80SL and a new addition to the range the AT900C, which is a luxury contemporary/portable model.The models all feature a huge new high definition screen which make the instruments so easy to use. The next most obvious feature is the inclusion of real harmonic bars and waterfall keyboard on the lower manual. The AT800 also gains pipe and theatre tabs for the first time. There is a brand new sound generation system which makes even existing registrations sound unbelievably clearer and doubles the polyphony to 384 notes . As you would expect there are lots of new sounds including the new supernatural sounds( violin, cello, trombone and saxophone). All of the rhythms have been improved and there are many new ones. The AT800 will feature 500 new music assistant settings, as well as many new quick registrations. New technology is featured with the addition of D Beam and an USB socket. More details can be obtained from Swift Music Roland's demo Video's of the new Atelier 03.02.08 |
Greetings From Holland
Ian Griffin and Richard Bower, the Keyklix duo, have just returned from Holland after receiving VIP treatment from their Dutch fans. These email photographs will remind many enthusiasts of their younger days when they dressed up in costumes of various nationalities for their stage performances - showing what good sports they are. Richard always had the knack of producing the right accent to match the costume being worn.When wearing costumes was recently mentioned to Richard, his reply was that they are now too old for that sort of thing. These photographs, however, prove that the lads are still young at heart and are always game for a laugh. Its a funny thing, whenever they played in costumes the fun and laughter always came out in their playing resulting in standing ovations. Who knows what they will get up to next? The photographs were sent from Holland by Esquin Rijnaard. 28.01.08 |
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Star Ratings - are they of any value?
Those who have looked at the YOUTUBE website will have noticed the star ratings given to the different items. We must admit, after looking closely at dozens of sites, that we are baffled how they work out these ratings as some do not compare with others. If they are meant to indicate how popular an item is over a specific period (which does not seem to be the case) then it is a good idea. This brings us to our next point. Should UK players be given star ratings and how should they be worked out? The stars could relate to the player's entertainment value in relation to the fee being charged. If it were done by several organ society officials, who have no connection with players, would this be fair? We understand that a German magazine gives star ratings for concert performances. Would this be helpful in the UK for society officials who know nothing orlittle about certain players? It could avoid the current hit or miss situation that occurs with some booking secretaries. A star rating could perhaps encourage healthy competition with players - encouraging them to reach greater heights. How about star ratings for the societies themselves? This could be based on the number of members and the quality of their programmes and perhaps the class of their venue? We feel sure that some societies would be proud to be classed as five star. There are points for and against having star ratings for players and even societies - so sometime in the future we will reflect your opinions FOR and AGAINST. An alternative would be to put players (and perhaps societies) in divisions (catagories) like football teams, which would encourage players and societies to move up the ladder to have more recognition and publicity. An idea like this would surely bring more excitement into the British organ-keyboard scene. As for ourselves, we have an open mind and just want to create stimulating thoughts on the matter, knowing that any form of competition is usually a good thing. 21.01.08 |
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Is The Hammond Organ Making A Comeback? Going by the many video clips on the Youtube website this could very well be the case. America oftens sets the trend for the UK. Many enthusiasts have said that the Hammond Organ sorts out the men from the boys. With no gimmicks on board there is allot to be said for this comment. Click on the link below and see the results of a search on Youtube. Hammond Organs on Youtube. Star Players on Hammond YOUTUBE has a search facility that enables you to search for what you would like to see. For an instance, the following is the result of our search for some well known names at the Hammond Organ. Lenny Dee at the Hammond Organ Ethel Smith at the Hammond Organ Also see our discovery item: Playing the Hammond Fingerless 01.02.08 |
Lyme Bay Video Collection On YOUTUBE
The Youtube 'broadcast yourself' facility website has the bandwidth and software to show video clips in a way that cannot be done on artistes own web pages - unless it is on an expensive premium custom site.The Lyme Bay videos put onthe popular Youtube website have had tremendous results. At the last count, the number of hits was approaching 5,000. The number of hits by each player is clearly shown on the screen. The video clips give a glimpe of some of the concerts that take place at the Devon Holiday Village. Not shown (yet) are the masterclasses conducted by Professor Chris Stanbury and the dancing sessions with music by some of Britain's top organ-keyboard players. Also not shown are the dealer showcases featuring the world's top brands. In addition to the masterclasses, advice with hints and tips on playing are given by the dealers in their exclusive show areas, making guests aware that where they buy their instrument from is as important as the instrument they buy. Good part exchange values are given to those who want to upgrade their organ-keyboard and special festival offers are made for those buying at the event with home delivery being part of the deal. At the last event guests saw the very first Roland Atelier brought into the UK. More often than not, new products are first seen at Lyme Bay and are offered at special prices. The popularity of the Youtube video site was highlighted on Christmas Day by the Queen of Great Britain making her Christmas broadcast on it. View the Lyme Bay Collection Lyme Bay Festival - details and dates for 2008 Magazine Feature Page - Sound and Vision on the Internet World Wide Keyboard Festival First 
Click on the photograph to see the first Lyme Bay video put on Youtube.
20.1.08 |
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Visit An Organ-Keyboard Society When On Holiday Area Concert Guides Several Societies/Clubs have produced Area Concert Guides for members of other clubs and visitors. One society producing such a guide is the North East Derbyshire Organ Society (NEDOS), which covers South Yorkshire, Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire. "We are situated on the edge of the Peak District National Park and close to Chatsworth, Matlock, Bakewell, Sherwood etc." writes Darell Lomas of NEDOS. Those likely to visit those areas may obtain a guide from: Darrell Lomas 15, Holmley Bank, Dronfield, Derbyshire S18 2HP. An A5 stamped self addressed envelope would be appreciated. Darrell can of course be be contacted at: www.nedos.co.uk The guide also contains details about festivals and websites with useful information about organs-keyboards. The layout may be useful for society officials considering doing something similar in their own area. If advertisements are included (they are not in this guide) it could be a profitable enterprise. 15.01.08 |
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Don't Disclose Your Email Address Book To All and Sundry We have recently received some circular emails that have disclosed the full address book of the sender. We would advise sending bulk emails by just addressing them (TO) one person and put the others in the (BCC) Blind Carbon Copy box - this appears when you click on (CC) Carbon Copy. By doing it this way, the people receiving the emails do not see the addresses of the others. It's more secure and in the long run will lead to less SPAM. 07.01.08 |
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Yamaha Unfair to Music Shops? Many people will have bought a Yamaha keyboard from Tesco, Lidl or some other food supermarket for either themselves or as a Christmas gift for a member of their family. We wonder if it is fair for Yamaha to supply these keyboards to food stores at the expense of music shops who specialise in sales of musical instruments? Many organ-keyboard dealers are reluctant to tackle Yamaha on this matter because they are afraid it may prejudice their supplies. We applaud the dealer who put the following notice in his local newspaper sometime ago:- We think it reasonable to ask enthusiasts: Is it fair for food shops to sell keyboards? Is it fair and good practice for Yamaha to supply them to food shops? We support all dealers who look after their customers - who in turn should support their local music dealer. We must also say that it is unfair for customers to look around a music shop and get a salesperson to spend time demonstrating keyboards and then buy one off the Internet at a cheaper price. In the long run you get what you pay for in after sales service. When there is a problem a supermarket does not want to know, whereas a dealer will give a service and make sure you are satisfied. Where you buy a keyboard from is as important as the keyboard you buy. When you buy from a music shop you get more than a keyboard - you get service. And remember, if you want to upgrade to a better instrument or an electronic organ, a dealer will give you a good allowance on your old keyboard - sometimes the full value, depending on what you are upgrading to. In a food supermarket, or with an Internet supplier, you will get nothing. 27.12.07 |
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Simon Smith Tutorials Anyone wanting to improve their playing may find a visit to Simon Smith's web site to be worthwhile More details 20.1.08 |
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New Name and New Image for 2008
Martyn Harrison, Chairman of Hollybush Hotels, has just announced a new name for his group
of hotels, which include the Lyme Bay and Sand Bay Leisure Resorts - the venues for Britain's
leading weekend organ-keyboard festivals. The new name - Martyn Leisure Breaks, covers Special
Interest Breaks, Big Band Weekends and Themed Holidays.
Dates for Organ-keyboard weekend events in 2008 include:- SAND BAY - 4th April 2008 LYME BAY - 17th October 2008 See Martyn's newly designed website Request a brochure The Lyme Bay Keyboard Experience webpage 27.12.07 |
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ELECTONE More than just a name? In our magazine section we look beyond Yamaha's trade name for electronic organs - Electone. The UK Electone Society is making a big effort to promote the name, despite the fact that Yamaha is no longer exporting these instruments to the UK. Glyn Madden's online Yamaha Club has almost 4,000 subscribers, which indicates the tremendous interest by enthusiasts. In addition to this, there are other websites linked to the Electone name. Because no new instruments are available in the UK, one of Britain's biggest Yamaha dealers claim that second hand instruments are flying out of his showroom. Is Yamaha (Japan) right in their sales policy? Is it right that some players are forced to buy their Electones from other countries? Will this state of affairs encourage grey imports, when dealers buy them from other sources and sell them by the back door? You can read more about what is behind the Electone name in our magazine section. Details 23.11.07 |
Roland Atelier
Owners ClubWe would like to remind readers that the club magazine can be read online and a that an updated version will be produced in the near future. Further details can be seen in our magazine section. The members of the Llanell Electronic Organ Society are on the Roland mailing list and are updated on Roland products on a bi-monthly basis. We feel sure that Roland would be pleased to include others on their mailing list - if requested. Details of Roland and their Atelier owners club 26.11.07 |
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Electone Society Video on YOUTUBE A new video clip has been added to the Youtube website by the Electone Society. See if you can spot any familier faces and any Yamaha instruments that that can be purchased in the UK? Click to view 22.12.07 (updated) |
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Yamaha Electone Zone Compliment Roland The following comment has been taken from the Electone Zone website:- "The new Roland AT-900C ATELIER electronic organ seems to borrow more modern styling from the EL-900, making it the most portable ATELIER console organ ever." Is really a compliment? Read what follows on another page:- Details 25.10.07 |
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Yamaha News Our Peterborough correspondent has sent us the following report:- 
"Yamaha have produced a D-Deck - Dual manual keyboard with a 20 tonic pedalboard (first impressions are that it is the same size, dimensions and colour as TYROS 2 - with Memory Stick registration/song storage). The complete set is selling for Euros 4,990.00 (about £3,500) and is now being sold by Bauer Music in Germany. Web site is www.bauer-music.de if you have time to take a look. We heard it played by Chris Stanbury and it sounded great.
Yamaha have decided to introduce a model dedicated to organ players which I think, if made available in the UK, would be up there with the best of the portable models- particularly for those circuit professionals who are looking for ease of transportation." We should add that we mentioned something along these lines in our predictions for 2007 see details Japan Knows What Is Best for UK ......or so it seems! We referred the above report to one of Britain's biggest Yamaha dealers who alleged it was a grey import to the European market. He went on to say that there would be no Yamaha guarantee or after sales service with the product. Apparently Yamaha in Japan think there would very little demand for this model in the UK - so at the present time they have no intention of exporting it there. We consider that there are more professional keyboard players in the UK than any other European country - but it seems that Yamaha have other thoughts. We wonder if another manufacturer will make a portable instrument in 2008 along the lines of the one mentioned above and show Yamaha a thing or two? It is a fact that professionals would like something that is easy to set up and without all the wires necessary for current twin manual configerations. Read what the Electone Zone had to say in September 2006.
STAGEA 1.7 Upgrade Released Yamaha has released the highly anticipated version 1.7 software upgrade to STAGEA, bringing with it a number of new features. Perhaps it may be a waste of time reporting this, because this is another model not available in the UK. Chris Stanbury bought his in Singapore! Electone Society Video on YOUTUBE A new video clip has been added to the Youtube website by the Electone Society. See if you can spot any familier faces and any Yamaha instruments that that can be purchased in the UK? Click to view OUR COMMENT We cannot help wondering if this is part of a clever marketing plan by Yamaha (Japan) in creating a demand for a product before it is available. Maybe they have to do this after Yamaha (UK) demonstrators telling British enthusiasts that the way forward is the single keyboard Tyros2 and that no more Yamaha organs will be imported into the UK. This marketing policy has delighted Roland who have just brought out several new models. We must wait and see what happens. 14.11.07 |
Liverpool Echo Features Character Player
Not only we challenge you to guess his name - we want you to guess what he is wearing?
Quick-Link to the answers - and the full story. 26.7.07 |
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More About Fake Players It is true to say that we have more comments and points of view about Fake Players than any other item that has appeared on this web site. Over the past few days we have even heard from a professional who (believe it or not) changed his electronic organ to one that does not use WAV files to prove that he was playing live. Another professional player mentioned a certain player who gave himself away by playing on the organ keyboard in the key of C and the pedals in the key of G. One of our readers sent in an email see our INBOX and, at our invitation, followed it up with more interesting comments as you will see from the link below. He even suggests that 'fake players' could lead to the demise of the electronic organ. We feel sure that some enthusiasts will have a shock when they find out the players who are fooling audiences. We know the names of some - but we think that it is not for us to say. In fact it will be a challenge for some to find out for themselves.
NOTE Some readers, have asked: "What is a WAV file?" (referred to as a wave file) It is a computer generated source of data and is commonly used in the popular iPods in which hundreds of pre-recorded tunes can be stored. WAV files are a feature of the Wersi organ that uses the Microsoft Windows operating system and the player can make use this (if he or she so wishes) to set up the tunes he/she wishes to play. All the player has to do is select a tune from the list on his screen and press the play button. The player can then play along with the music or simply mime along with the pre-recorded notes. Other makes of organs have other means of pre-recording tracks of music (e.g. MIDI sequence files) and it should be made clear that fake playing is not confined to one brand of organ. Readers points of view page on fake players |
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