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roguemagic New user bizarre iowa 96 Posts |
Once again, I am conducting a seance in my home. I have sitting in the corner an antique Edison phonograph, similar to a Victrola. I am about to search for "records" that I might play to help set the mood for the evening while sitters are waiting. Any suggestions of old tyme music? Of course, it would be easier to locate "modern" media but what fun would that be?
Take care |
Bill Ligon Inner circle A sure sign of a misspent youth: 6437 Posts |
Does the phonograph play discs or wax cylinders?
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roguemagic New user bizarre iowa 96 Posts |
It plays the discs.
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chmara Inner circle Tucson, AZ 1911 Posts |
Some of us have old 78 RPM discs in our collection. Most often the first and oldest of these were voice recordings or artists like Carusoe and were made before "Compression" entered the industry giving very chopped mechanical highs and lows.
You can find many 78s recorded to increasingly better sound standards through the introduction in the 1950s of the 45 RPM record. E bay has many of these at $1 each as do old second hand stores. The problems with 78s were: the length that could be recorded - minutes.....so changers were invented. The sound quality and scratchy quality of the substrate could wear out quickly with a bad needle. When B sides were added, two songs per record was standard -- as with 45s which used vinyl -- but the storage needed for 78s albums was large. The clay-like 78 RPM discs would break if dropped. Just before WW2 a combination radio and 78RPM victrola was introduces in both console size and desktop size -- the console with a changer, the desktop usually playing only one disc at a time. So -- when doin music for a seance -- spaces between music as a changer worked -- weren't unusual. When a record ran out on a single plaqyer you got a Squich-squich bumop sound (on later discs) as a spiral drew the arm toward the labeled center. That spiral to draw the arm inward was created to trip the mechanical changer . The sound (in movies or on radio dram) of the squish-squish bump of the unchanged single became a dramatic signature of a murder or no one there to pick up the tone arm from the record -- and that something had happened in the three minutes that took the person playing the record away from the machine.
Gregg (C. H. Mara) Chmara
Commercial Operations, LLC Tucson, AZ C. H. Mara Illusion & Psychic Entertainments |
The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
Rosemary's baby "Lullaby" is very disturbing for a seance.
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Magical Dimensions Inner circle 5001 Posts |
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
It's a readaptation, the original version is far more disturbing.
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Magical Dimensions Inner circle 5001 Posts |
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
Yep.
Far more disturbing. |
mindmagic Inner circle London 1740 Posts |
Corinda suggests Bach organ music.
Barry |
roguemagic New user bizarre iowa 96 Posts |
Rosemary's Baby is indeed creepy. My dilemma though, is that many such songs were not available in the early 20th century. Most of the recordings that I have been able to sample, were quite upbeat, early jazz (think Bix Biderberck), gospel, or ragtime music. Although t is fairly easy to locate Edison records on the internet, whithout knowing and hearing the specific the specific tune, my job is rather difficult.
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The Curator V.I.P. Beware Vampire, I have 3909 Posts |
You can also record on wax cylinders, I've done that for a routine/show.
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entity Inner circle Canada 5060 Posts |
Requiems from any number of classical composers might fill the bill.
- entity
email: tomebaxter@icloud.com
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Todd Robbins V.I.P. New York 2922 Posts |
There were a number of waltzes recorded during the 1920's on 78 records. I find waltzes evoke another time and place, and set the mood for a seance even if they are not in a minor key. Many of the "sweet" (as opposed to the hot jazz) bands of the period recorded these waltzes. The can be a bit lugubrious and tweedy, and could be what you are looking for.
Go to youtube and put "78 waltz" and you will find an number of bands playing what I am talking about (check out Babette play by Jack Hylton). |
magicusb Inner circle 1135 Posts |
If you go to auctions that sell from people homes you may find records that will play in your machine. You may have to go week after week, but in country auctions they do show up. They go for next to nothing around here.
Good luck Dick Brooks
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jazzy snazzy Inner circle run off by a mob of Villagers wielding 2109 Posts |
Those Edison discs were much thicker (and scarcer) than the other 78's. You will have a problem with them wearing out too quickly. You might consider recording them to CD and playing them back with new equipment. - More convenient and preserves the original sound indefinitely.
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roguemagic New user bizarre iowa 96 Posts |
There is something special about having the old phonograph playing the original records. It would indeed, be simpler to re-dub the recordings onto, perhaps an iPod. But what fun is that? I have only one Edison record and when people visit, they love to see-hear the thing at work. "Ooooh, that's what record players used to be like."
The Edison records are a bit pricey on the internet, and I just want to be sure to choose something that I may actually use, before I lay down the money. I like the idea from Todd Robbins concerning the use of waltzes. It helps me narrow my search. Thanks. |
Victor Ian Smith New user Los Angeles 61 Posts |
Chmara...
OK, I just like saying "Squich-squich bumop" over and over again!!!!
"Do what you love...
...and you will never work a day of your life" - Confucius |
roguemagic New user bizarre iowa 96 Posts |
Todd,
Thanks for the reference to Jack Hylton on YouTube. He has a wide selection of recordings that I could listen to. It really makes my search for Edison records much easier when I know what to look(listen) for. Take care |
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