Playing the Changes: Rediscovering the Lexicon of Electronic Organ Performance Practice from 1943 to 2015 CHRISTOPHER STANBURY A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements of The University of West London for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy February 2017 Christopher Stanbury Introduction 2 Contents Acknowledgements ....................................................................................... 4 Abstract ......................................................................................................... 5 Introduction ....................................................................................................... 7 Outline of Thesis Structure .......................................................................... 11 Chapter One ................................................................................................... 14 1.0 Introducing the Instrument, its Music and the Research Method ....... 14 1.1 A Summative History of the Electronic Organ .................................... 16 1.2 Bikinis, Safari Suits and Little Black Dresses: Icons of Culture .......... 20 1.3 Considerations of Technology, Recording and Performance ............. 36 1.4 Considerations of Methodology and Structure ................................... 45 1.5 Defining the Research Process .......................................................... 51 1.6 Statement of Methodology .................................................................. 54 1.7 Summary ............................................................................................ 58 Chapter Two ................................................................................................... 60 2.0 The Hammond Organ (1943 – 1962) ................................................. 60 2.1 The Development of the Hammond Organ ......................................... 61 2.2 The Development of the Leslie Speaker ............................................ 67 2.3 Presentation of Survey Results .......................................................... 69 2.4 Conclusions ........................................................................................ 94 2.5 Summary .......................................................................................... 101 Chapter Three ............................................................................................... 103 Spinet Organs by Lowrey and Hammond (1963 - 1973) ........................... 103 3.0 The Lowrey Organ ............................................................................ 103 3.1 Hammond Organs of this Period ...................................................... 108 Christopher Stanbury Introduction 3 3.2 Presentation of Survey Results ........................................................ 110 3.3 Conclusions ...................................................................................... 139 3.4 Summary .......................................................................................... 144 Chapter Four ................................................................................................. 146 Early Orchestral Emulations (1974 - 1984) ............................................... 146 4.0 The Lowrey TGS-1 ........................................................................... 146 4.1 Other Instruments Included in this Chapter ...................................... 148 4.2 Presentation of Survey Results ........................................................ 149 4.3 Conclusions ...................................................................................... 167 4.4 Summary .......................................................................................... 170 Chapter Five ................................................................................................. 172 Digital Multi-Keyboards (1985 - 2015) ....................................................... 172 5.0 The Yamaha Electone ...................................................................... 172 5.1 Presentation of Survey Results ........................................................ 181 5.2 Conclusions ...................................................................................... 189 5.3 Summary .......................................................................................... 193 Chapter Six ................................................................................................... 195 6.0 Conclusions ...................................................................................... 195 6.1 The Instrument ................................................................................. 195 6.2 Practice ............................................................................................. 197 6.3 Revisiting Literature .......................................................................... 199 Bibliography .................................................................................................. 209 Appendix A (Transcriptions and Excerpts) ................................................... 221 Appendix B (Transcriptions of Organist Interviews) ...................................... 279 Christopher Stanbury Introduction 4 Acknowledgements My thanks go to the many people that have helped and supported me during the course of this research. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisors for their help and guidance: Robert Sholl, who has provided exacting and inspirational assistance throughout, and Francis Pott, whose advice and patience benefitted the work significantly. I would also like to acknowledge with gratitude the support of Maria Pennells and the rest of the INSPIRE team at the University of West London. Some of my earliest memories are of my parents, Colin and Lynne, giving up their time to take me to organ concerts, exhibitions and countless music lessons. Their unending support encouraged an interest in me that was to form the basis of my professional life. I will always remember and be hugely grateful for their unquestioning confidence and generosity. I would also like to thank my sister, Alix, who provided assistance in the early stages of this project. Thanks are also due to my colleagues and friends who have found the time to listen to my ideas and offer guidance. In particular, I would like to pay tribute to the enthusiasm and interest shown by two dearly missed teachers: Tony Back and the inimitable Eddie Harvey. Finally, I would like to thank my wife, Natalie, for her help and understanding throughout the duration of this project. Her encouragement and faith proved essential for the completion of this work. Christopher Stanbury Introduction 5 Abstract This thesis explores the historical development of the electronic organ via the survey, analysis and comparison of stylistic practices heard in historic recordings. This project establishes that the instrument went through several significant stages of development since its introduction in 1935, which have hitherto been undocumented in scholarly work. As this thesis will show, the changing design of the instrument can be aligned with an evident expansion in the stylistic lexicon of musical arrangement and performance. This aural-based micro-genre of electronic music is rediscovered via a multi-faceted survey model that triangulates the results of transcribed recordings, reconstructive performance on period instruments and practitioner survey. This addresses the typical challenge of historical instrument study: that of defining the degree to which technology shapes musical performance. Chapter One places the instrument within a cultural context via a review of literature. The reason for the instrument’s lack of appeal to musicologists is explained as the result of an image problem: the instrument is often regarded as a dated appliance of home entertainment and exists within a method of practice which aligns more closely to that of jazz than Western art music. By removing stereotypes and establishing the displaced cultural values that the instrument embodies, it is possible to see the true value of the research process. Chapter Two begins to present the findings of the survey by examining some of the earliest recordings made on the Hammond organ. The chapter illustrates how certain design flaws in an instrument that was originally Christopher Stanbury Introduction 6 intended as a low-cost replacement for a pipe organ led to an entirely different trajectory than the inventor’s initial ecclesiastical application. Chapter Three details further updates to the original Hammond design whilst correcting and expanding upon previous definitions of features that are defined in literature. The Lowrey organ is also introduced, along with an illustration of why the unique features and tonal qualities of the instrument resulted in a different approach to musical arrangement and performance. Chapter Four documents the introduction of emulative voicing, whereby instruments of the nineteen seventies and early eighties were designed to imitate the sound of other acoustic instruments. The resultant change in arrangement and performance style is illustrated and compared to the results of previous chapters. Chapter Five details instruments made by the Yamaha Corporation that feature digital synthesis technologies. The vast distance between these instruments and previous models, both in terms of technological profile and resultant performance practice, is illustrated and discussed. Chapter Six provides a summary of the survey findings and re- examines