A Primer of Organ Registration by Gordon Balch Nevin

Author:Gordon Balch Nevin [Nevin, Gordon Balch]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Music, Organ
ISBN: 9780554721422
Google: BAU6AAAAIAAJ
Amazon: 0554721422
Publisher: BiblioLife
Published: 1920-07-14T23:00:00+00:00

Console with Inclined Manuals and Stop-Keys Controlling Speaking Stops and Couplers. (Austin Organ Co., Hartford, Conn.)

Chapter VIII

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Some Practical Suggestions

There remain some thoughts on registration which it has not seemed wise to include in any of the foregoing chapters, together with a few suggestions as to special but useful effects which should be added. These thoughts will be set down in no pre-considered order and must be regarded as hints to be referred to from time to time—especially during the frequent self-catechismal questionings which should be made a matter of routine by all musicians, young or old.

First. Endeavor to assimilate and incorporate in your work the principle of moderation in tonal changes; make it a cardinal rule to avoid unpleasantly sharp contrasts—laying-on or taking-off the color in thin layers, so to speak, rather than by applications of huge splotches thrown at the tonal canvas. This is, of course, only another plea for smoothness and technical finish, but it is a most important point.

Second. While bearing in mind the above point we would also advise the student to make a practice of sometimes totally changing the character of the tone in use—without necessarily changing its volume to any extent. As an example: during some selection you have been using combinations of strings and flutes for the most part; if the construction of the piece will permit, try using, during some passage, or passages, the totally different tone of the Swell Open Diapason, and note what an agreeable contrast is offered to the ear. Or, if you have been mainly using strings, try using the pure Flutes alone for a part of the piece; this occasional use of prime tones is a grateful relief to the ear and furnishes valuable contrast to the more constant use of mixed combinations.

At first glance it might be thought that this suggestion and the one preceding are of antipathetic nature, but such in reality is not the case; the explanation is this: gradual changes are best for use during the progress of sections of a composition, while the sharp contrasts naturally are most valuable at those points where the natural sectional divisions of a composition occur. To illustrate: a composition written in “song form with trio section” will call into play both principles of registration, for during the progress of the first two or three divisions the registration should be of a gradually changing nature which moderation will meet with an effective contrast if—upon arrival at the trio section—the registration be decidedly altered, both as to quality and volume, and a reinforcement of contrast will be attained by a decided return to the tonal methods of the first sections upon the re-statement of them in the composition.

The plan of contrasting tones at the principal points of division of a composition has the desirable effect of aiding the listener in grasping at least the elements of the design of the composition. An effective use of the Solo Tuba for phrase contrast (which is only an elementary form

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