Hello... should I ask this here.. ?

abrogard

New member
I'm an old guy with almost zero musical ability who's nevertheless in the habit of trying to get a tune out of almost anything I can get my hands on.

Now I've got my hands on an electronic organ - a technics U50.

And it came with some music books supposedly to teach organ. Mainly 'The complete organ player' by Kenneth Baker.

I see the left hand uses chords right high up around and higher than middle C. In inversions such as GCE for Cmaj.

What tiny little bit of chord ability I've got uses the octave below middle C and whatever inversion I can 'fit in' under the hand in that octave, if you see what I mean.

So my question that brought me here is: should I stick to this 'middle C' type chord and those inversions?
 

Taggart

Sr. Regulator
Staff member
Sr. Regulator
It's a two manual organ so it makes sense to use the chords around middle C in the recommended inversions on the bottom keyboard and play the tune on the top keyboard. That matches what you would do on a piano if you were vamping along to a tune. If you're accompanying yourself on a piano, you have to play the chords lower down because the tune would be running from just below middle C upwards.
 

abrogard

New member
What I mean is do you think it makes a significant different using those chords that span middle C rather than those I've been accustomed to in the octave below it?
Seems to me they think it does for there seems to be a very definite attempt to get the chord as high as possible.
Yet I was sort of thinking we want things in the bass.
And with respect to that the pedals on this organ don't work.
So if this mode leans heavily on a bass line provided by the pedals I won't have it.....
 

Taggart

Sr. Regulator
Staff member
Sr. Regulator
In that case, drop the chords an octave and / or play an octave chord of the root note an octave below that to give a solid base i.e. for 4 beats of a Gmaj chord play a G octave, Gmaj chord, G octave, Gmaj chord that matches the way you can vamp on a piano.
 

abrogard

New member
Yep. Thanks for that. It's what I'll try. :)

Taggart. I vaguely remember that. Don't remember him looking like that though, did he? Is it worth watching, shall I dig it out...
 
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