Beatles' Use of Mellotron
Joanna Wyntjes
I remember a certain amount of confabulation regarding the intro to
"Bungalow Bill" as being an example of Beatle use of mellotron; this I am
certain is untrue---consider the stilted attack & lack of dynamic of the
keyboard as it is employed on 'classic' mellotron tracks such as "Court
of the Crimson King" & "Rain Song." Knowing that the Fabs had access to
the studio goodies first, the mellotron most likely seemed an
adventitious instrument as they could finance any musician support on a
whim; they seemed to figure the weird device as a novelty or a sound
effect & employed it as such---: I think I can safely assert its
presence on "Long, Long, Long," the opening chord to "Her Majesty,"
perhaps the oboe sounds on "Revolution I" & "Bungalow Bill"---but anyone
who has played even a 70's model 'tron can attest to the impossibility of
the 'spanish' guitar intro as being such. What I am at odds to discern
is that quavering 'siren' sound in "While My Guitar Gently Weeps": could
be either synth, mellotron or an organ through a cheesy phase-shifter.
Come to think of it, I'm not sure that anyone ever recorded a guitar for
mellotron use until the perverse 90's.
Regards,
---Clutterbuck & co.
Edward of Sim
: I remember a certain amount of confabulation regarding the intro to
The confusion here stems from this fact: That entire Spanish guitar lick
was a single loop on a single key of the mellotron rack; it was played by
holding one key down until the entire lick had played. This has been
attested to by more than one person who'd heard that standard loop on
the vintage mellotrons.
peace
Edward
--
Edward of Sim
tree...@netcom.com
"The claw. It moves."
Joseph Brennan
>I remember a certain amount of confabulation regarding the intro to
>"Bungalow Bill" as being an example of Beatle use of mellotron; this I am
>certain is untrue---consider the stilted attack & lack of dynamic of the
>keyboard
It's not that the Beatles played it note by note on a mellotron, but
rather that the whole thing is one of the tapes that were packaged
with a new mellotron at that time. It is a recording of a real guitar
played by an unknown person probably several years before 1968.
Joe Brennan Columbia University in the City of New York
bre...@columbia.edu ("affiliation shown for identification only")
http://www.cc.columbia.edu/~brennan/beatles.html
Daniel Caccavo
(Joanna Wyntjes) wrote:
> I remember a certain amount of confabulation regarding the intro to
> "Bungalow Bill" as being an example of Beatle use of mellotron; this I am
> certain is untrue---consider the stilted attack & lack of dynamic of the
> keyboard as it is employed on 'classic' mellotron tracks such as "Court
> of the Crimson King" & "Rain Song." Knowing that the Fabs had access to
> the studio goodies first, the mellotron most likely seemed an
> adventitious instrument as they could finance any musician support on a
> whim; they seemed to figure the weird device as a novelty or a sound
> effect & employed it as such---: I think I can safely assert its
> presence on "Long, Long, Long," the opening chord to "Her Majesty,"
> perhaps the oboe sounds on "Revolution I" & "Bungalow Bill"---but anyone
> who has played even a 70's model 'tron can attest to the impossibility of
> the 'spanish' guitar intro as being such. What I am at odds to discern
> is that quavering 'siren' sound in "While My Guitar Gently Weeps": could
> be either synth, mellotron or an organ through a cheesy phase-shifter.
> Come to think of it, I'm not sure that anyone ever recorded a guitar for
> mellotron use until the perverse 90's.
>
> Regards,
>
> ---Clutterbuck & co.
Since others have mentioned the "bungalow bill" intro (being one
performance on a key on the Mellotron), I won't get into that (but it's
true). But Bungalow bill has mellotron in other places - the mandolins
in the verses are mellotron, the instrument at the end playing the melody
is mellotron (the model BTW is a Mellotron MkII, which had two - 35 note
keyboards - the left hand keyboard was reserved for "rhythm section"
sounds, like on the bootleg "Aerial tour instrumental" ending). The
opening chord to "her majesty" has no mellotron - it is simply the last
note of "mean mr. mustard". It is not on "long long long" or "while my
guitar" - both are organ - but they used the wobbly "adt" tape effect to
get that sound. On "guitar", it has the "superimpostition" sound - two
pitches at once. It is a similar effect as to what is on Clapton's guitar
on that track.
Acutally, the Mellotron MK II did have an acoustic guitar! (one note
per note, not the "bungalow bill" thing).
SO - there is mellotron on;
1) Strawberry Fields
2) Flying (the melody in the 2nd "verse", and the "organ" in the third
verse, and maybe those flutes at the end)
3) Bungalow Bill
4) MAYBE those strings at the END of "glass onion".
...and that could be it, although I wonder what's way in the background of
the piano solo in "Lovely Rita". (If joe brennan is watching, maybe he
can tell me). -DC
Dave Haber
shos...@wwa.com (Michael Shoshani) wrote:
>Lewsohn mentions that "Revolution 9" has backward mellotron, but I
>respectfully disagree. When those mellotronic sounds are played
>backward they are not the sound of a mellotron but a *piano*. And I
>doubt that any synthesizer circa 1968 could reproduce the sound of
>strings being struck. :)
I can't comment on that detail of R9, but in regard to the Mellotron,
it was not a "synthesizer" as we commonly know them. As I understand
it, the Mellotron had the ability to store and reproduce sounds using
tape loops, and came with a stock of pre-recorded sounds in it's
software tape. Therefore, it could indeed easily, as you describe above,
reproduce the sound of a string being plucked.
-Dave
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Michael Shoshani
respectfully disagree. When those mellotronic sounds are played
backward they are not the sound of a mellotron but a *piano*. And I
doubt that any synthesizer circa 1968 could reproduce the sound of
strings being struck. :)
Funny, too..the sound is the same in stereo or mono. *ducking* :)
--
shos...@miso.wwa.com / i once heard the survivors of a colony of ants
Michael SB Shoshani / that had been partially obliterated by a cow s foot
Chicago IL, USA / seriously debating the intention of the gods
/ towards their civilization --archy
Greg90
Haber) writes:
> but in regard to the Mellotron,
>it was not a "synthesizer" as we commonly know them. As I understand
>it, the Mellotron had the ability to store and reproduce sounds using
>tape loops, and came with a stock of pre-recorded sounds in it's
>software tape. Therefore, it could indeed easily, as you describe above,
>reproduce the sound of a string being plucked.
>
>
The mellotron used a seven second tape loop. You could only hold a note
for seven seconds (which actually is pretty long) then a spring would
quickly rewind the tape so it could be played again.
I belive engineer/producer Chris Thomas played some of the mellotron on
The White Album.
Greg
Bob Stahley
: It was around circa 1965 --originally introduced by Lothar & The
: HandPeople in Greenwich Village at the NIght Owl Cafe...
I believe you're thinking of the theramin. That's the instrument that
was a staple of science-fiction soundtracks (you know, it went
"ooowwweeeeeaaaoooo"). The theramin was played by moving your hand about
in an energized field just above it, thus the name "Lothar and the _Hand_
People."
--
__ __
_) _) bo...@primenet.com
__)__) fenix, azirona Why is a raven like a writing desk?
wea...@mindspring.com
>replicating sounds... Relisten to Beach Boys' *Pet Sounds*
Sorry, the first record to feature a Moog is "Star Collector" by the
Monkees. "Star Collector" came out in 1967.
Perhaps you are thinking of the Theremin.
Sherman and Jenn Applegate
>it was not a "synthesizer" as we commonly know them. As I understand
>it, the Mellotron had the ability to store and reproduce sounds using
>tape loops, and came with a stock of pre-recorded sounds in it's
>software tape. Therefore, it could indeed easily, as you describe
above, reproduce the sound of a string being plucked.
>
You are correct. Although the original mellotron included a rack
of tape strips (not loops). This made it tricky for some keyboard
players as you could only depress a key for 10 seconds before the sound
would STOP!. As you depressed a key, a tape head would run the length
of the tape, reproducing one of the 3 selected sounds, played in the
correct pitch of the key being depressed. Each rack of tapes had 3
different sounds. I believe the "stock" version included violins,
brass, and choir. The Beatles used a rack that included flutes
("Strawberry Fields") and oboe ("Flying") as well. Other sounds (always
in 3's) were available by purchasing additional racks of tapes that
would clumsily mount into the mellotron chasis.
As mentioned earlier, one of the stock racks included the Spanish
guitar intro to "Bungalo Bill". As you held down one key, the entire
guitar intro played through.
Newer versions of the mellotron introduced in the late '70's did
evolve into tape loops. I believe these were called Birotrons. In some
cases 2 mellotrons were housed in one large cabinet so if you went
beyond your 10 seconds you'd merely switch to the additional keyboard,
or it allowed the keyboard player access to more sounds. Mike Pinder of
the Moody Blues used one like this.
In the Beatles Anthology you can see a new, state of the art
version of the "double" mellotron where Paul is sitting down at a
keyboard and begins to play "Strawberry Fiels Forever".
It's archaic, it's clumsy, it weighs a ton, it's too mechanical,
and it needs constant maintainance.... but I love it!
All The Best,
Sherman
P.S. Anybody ever compile a list of Beatle songs that use the
mellotron?
David J. Coyle
instructions on how to build a theremin. It says "make music like you've
never heard before."
|| DAVID J. COYLE / E-Mail: dc33...@oak.cats.ohiou.edu ||
|| Diversified Communications / "Sunset doesn't last all evening..." ||
|| Ohio University / --George Harrison, 1970 ||
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Biffyshrew
Empress of Cyberzantium). It's well documented that the electronic sounds
on the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds (on "I Just Wasn't Made For These Times")
and "Good Vibrations" were produced by Brian Wilson with a Theremin. The
only reference I can find that implies otherwise is in the book Electronic
Music by Andy MacKay, which mentions "Moog equipment" used on "Good
Vibrations." Now bear in mind that in the early '60s Robert Moog made his
pocket money by selling mail-order Theremin kits, and that the Beach Boys'
Theremin was brought in by Brian Wilson (i.e., was not a piece of the
studio's property). Putting two and two together, I'd speculate that
Brian bought a MOOG Theremin kit, put it together himself (which I gather
involved nothing more demanding than sticking pre-assembled circuitry into
a casing) and used it on the tracks in question.
As for Lothar and the Hand People, come on! The Theremin was their
trademark instrument! Of course, theirs may well have been a Moog
Theremin, too. Certainly, before the introduction of the Minimoog ca.
1970, actual Moog synthesizers were bulky, expensive items well beyond the
means of any club attraction like L&THP.
Just to get some Beatles content into this post: does everyone here
already know the story of Moog pioneer Bernie Krause's claim that half of
George Harrison's Electronic Sound LP is nothing more than a tape of
Krause demonstrating the Moog to George?
- -
Michael P. Dawson - American Composer
Visit me at http://users.aol.com/biffyshrew/biffy.html
"Louee, louee!"--James Joyce, Finnegans Wake
Bob Stahley
: Now bear in mind that in the early '60s Robert Moog made his
: pocket money by selling mail-order Theremin kits, and that the Beach Boys'
: Theremin was brought in by Brian Wilson (i.e., was not a piece of the
: studio's property). Putting two and two together, I'd speculate that
: Brian bought a MOOG Theremin kit, put it together himself (which I gather
: involved nothing more demanding than sticking pre-assembled circuitry into
: a casing) and used it on the tracks in question.
Doctor Moog may or may not have sold theremins, but the instrument was
invented by Doctor Theremin himself. See the recent documentary on the
good Doctor (Roger Ebert recommends it, too).
--
__ __
_) _) bo...@primenet.com Don' take life too serious,
__)__) fenamint, ricearoni it ain't nohow permanent.
Daniel J. Caccavo
app...@ix.netcom.com(Sherman and Jenn Applegate ) wrote:
>
>........ Each rack of tapes had 3
> different sounds. I believe the "stock" version included violins,
> brass, and choir. The Beatles used a rack that included flutes
> ("Strawberry Fields") and oboe ("Flying") as well. Other sounds (always
> in 3's) were available by purchasing additional racks of tapes that
> would clumsily mount into the mellotron chasis.
> As mentioned earlier, one of the stock racks included the Spanish
> guitar intro to "Bungalo Bill". As you held down one key, the entire
> guitar intro played through.
> In the Beatles Anthology you can see a new, state of the art
> version of the "double" mellotron where Paul is sitting down at a
> keyboard and begins to play "Strawberry Fiels Forever".
> It's archaic, it's clumsy, it weighs a ton, it's too mechanical,
> and it needs constant maintainance.... but I love it!
>
> All The Best,
>
> Sherman
>
> P.S. Anybody ever compile a list of Beatle songs that use the
> mellotron?
Hi Sherman! A couple of things to add - the mellotron that the Beatles
used did not have "racks" (that was the later Mellotron 400). This was
the Mellotron Mk II, which was a double-keyboard (35 keys each) tron,
complete with amplifiers and speakers. The left keyboard held "rhythm
section" sounds - bands playing in the same tempo, style, but different
chords on different keys. Really cheezy, by the way! The right hand
keyboard was the "lead" side, with flutes, brass, choir, guitar, mandolin,
piano, organ, and more. However, each side had six times the tapes that
the later mellotron had. How? The Mellotron could "fast forward" and
"rewind" to get 6 different sections of a very long tape. Amazing piece
of machinery. Mike Pinder later had his tapes customized to have "lead"
sounds on both sides.
As far as Beatles stuff, I can only detect mellotron on Strawberry
Fields forever, Flying (oboe or basson, and the "organ" in the second
verse,and flutes at the end), possibly the very end of "glass onion",
Bungalow bill (mandolin, bassoon, and yes, from the left hand keyboard,
that "spanish guitar intro"). I don't think I've forgotten any...but feel
free to add if I've forgotten!
Oh, and the Mellotron that Paul was playing was still an old one
(double keyboard, but with racks), but the tapes didn't sound like the
original flutes....
Unfortunately, I do not own a Mk II, but a lowly 400....-DC
>
>
Biffyshrew
>Doctor Moog may or may not have sold theremins, but the instrument was
>invented by Doctor Theremin himself. See the recent documentary on the
>good Doctor (Roger Ebert recommends it, too).
Quite correct, I didn't intend to imply that Moog invented the Theremin.
But why so formal? Let's just call 'em Bobby & Leon.
Michael P. Dawson - American Composer @}-`--}----
Bob Stahley
: Yeah, I saw that too. It got two thumbs up. It was the first time I ever
: heard of the Theremin. What the heck was it, anyway?
You must have come in late. It was best known for its use in Science
Fiction movie soundtracks, and probably its most well-known use in rock
was in the Beach Boys' "Good Vibrations." It was the part that went
"oooooweeeeahhhh ooooowaaaa."
--
__ __
_) _) bo...@primenet.com Don' take life too serious,
__)__) fennelroot, arividerci it ain't nohow permanent.
|/Slantman|/
The Theremine was invented LONG before 1965. As I understand it, it was
early in this century.
SL6 Daniel
In article <4csp0h$h...@nnrp1.news.primenet.com>, Bob Stahley
<bo...@primenet.com> wrote:
> I believe you're thinking of the theramin. That's the instrument that
> was a staple of science-fiction soundtracks (you know, it went
> "ooowwweeeeeaaaoooo"). The theramin was played by moving your hand about
> in an energized field just above it, thus the name "Lothar and the _Hand_
> People."
>
> --
> __ __
> _) _) bo...@primenet.com
Sean Courtney
> >Ooooooh.... I don't know... The Moog Synthesizer was pretty good at
> >replicating sounds... Relisten to Beach Boys' *Pet Sounds*
> Perhaps you are thinking of the Theremin.
Yup. Plus, it was used in "Good Vibrations." And a miniature synth-like
device was used by Mike Love onstage, and in the song "Wild Honey." I don't
think the Beach Boys used Moog synth until 1971, in the song "'Til I Die."
[Somebody--Dave Prokopy, especially--correct me if I'm wrong!]
> Sorry, the first record to feature a Moog is "Star Collector" by the
> Monkees. "Star Collector" came out in 1967.
The Moog has even THICKER presence in "Daily Nightly" from the same album...
Internet Email: dau...@prairienet.org http://www.prairienet.org/~dauber
... Well now I'm off to the White House where I wait in a line...
~~~ Q-Blue v2.1
Bob Stahley
: Yesbut.
: The Theremine was invented LONG before 1965. As I understand it, it was
: early in this century.
Yesbut we pretty much all know that.
--
__ __
_) _) bo...@primenet.com Don' take life too serious,
__)__) Weetabix, Monalisa it ain't nohow permanent.
Brent J Hooton
>The mellotron used a seven second tape loop. You could only hold a note
>for seven seconds (which actually is pretty long) then a spring would
>quickly rewind the tape so it could be played again.
>
>I belive engineer/producer Chris Thomas played some of the mellotron on
>The White Album.
I went home to check out Bungalow Bill, and yes, my suspicions were
confirmed: the spanish guitar solo is approx. 7 seconds - the
Mellotron manufacturers trying to fit as much onto the demo loops as
they could. However, Lewisohn says it was recorded separately and added
on (this could be true - it was recorded separately at the Mellotron
manufacturers...?).
He also says Chris Thomas was indeed the one playing Mellotron on
Bungalow Bill - the mandolin-type sound in the verses, and that other
weird sound in the outro. And, assuming it *was* a Mellotron loop, the
spanish guitar part. (No, not much of a job just pressing down a key,
but that's essentially all Mal "Organ" Evans did on "You Won't See Me",
and he even got an album credit!)
Brent
Daniel J. Caccavo
<bj...@mailserv.mta.ca> wrote:
<<And, assuming it *was* a Mellotron loop, the
spanish guitar part.>>
Yes - (not a loop, but a 7 second section of tape), it IS a Mellotron key,
it is called "Spanish Guitar Intro". I've played it myself, on a
Mellotron Mk II. -DC
Richard Looney
>> > Perhaps you are thinking of the Theremin.
>> Yup. Plus, it was used in "Good Vibrations." And a miniature synth-like
>> device was used by Mike Love onstage, and in the song "Wild Honey."
I saw the Beach Boys play "Wild Honey" and "Good Vibrations" in 1967.
I also built a Theremin in 1968. That *was* a theremin Mike Love was
playing, but it had been modified for easy use - rather than hold
his hand at certain points in the air near the "frequency" antenna,
(which makes hitting the correct pitch very difficult) a plexiglass
panel had been placed above the antenna at a slight angle, no doubt
with markings placed on it for the notes. As he slid his hand
along this (elecro-magnetically transparent) panel, his hand's distance
from the antenna changed, and the theremin's output changed accordingly.
--
"It's getting very near the end"
shelly bowers
>From: rlo...@csc.com (Richard Looney)
>Subject: Re: Beatles' Use of Mellotron
>Date: 17 Jan 1996 10:36:55 -0500
>Sean Courtney (sean.c...@hookline.com) wrote:
That's not fair!
I've seen Ben Vaughn play a Theremin on stage and he had no such
assistance.
Maybe that explains why Ben once wrote a song called "Kill Mike Love"
(contact Doug Sulpy for the bootleg :-) )
For a good sample of Ben's work on the Theremin, I suggest
listening to his cover of Bobby Fuller's "Our Favorite Martian"
on Ben's "Mono" album (or tune into NBC on Tuesday nights
at 7:30 - Ben does the music for "3rd Rock From The Sun"]
Tom Bowers
ki...@hic.net
"I don't know. I'm kinda broken up about this Monkees thing...
I think Mike Nesmith needs to put on his wool cap and get his ass
out there, don't you agree??"
- Ben Vaughn, at 23 East in the summer of 86
"I do
Jim Vegeais
In a previous article, dc33...@oak.cats.ohiou.edu (David J. Coyle) says:
>Some electronics do-it-yourself magazine has in its current issue
>instructions on how to build a theremin. It says "make music like you've
>never heard before."
>
There is an article on building one in the current issue of Electronic
Musician (Feb 96 issue). The article is written by Robert Moog. He
also gives a brief bio of Theremin, gives a "two thumbs up" for
the movie about Theremin, and gives suggestions on how to play the
theremin.
Mark Garvin
>>Some electronics do-it-yourself magazine has in its current issue
>>instructions on how to build a theremin. It says "make music like you've
>>never heard before."
In <4drafl$3...@madeline.INS.CWRU.Edu> dy...@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Jim Vegeais) writes:
>There is an article on building one in the current issue of Electronic
>Musician (Feb 96 issue). The article is written by Robert Moog. He
>also gives a brief bio of Theremin, gives a "two thumbs up" for
>the movie about Theremin, and gives suggestions on how to play the
>theremin.
Well, Moog should know about Theremins, of course. I think his first
published article on them goes back to 1956.
PAIA makes a Theremin kit, in case anyone is interested. I think
they are on the web, and probably can be found in Electronic Musician
magazine. Theremins are pretty sensitive and use two oscillators
operating at radio frequencies (RF). So I'd be tempted to go with
a kit if it were my first project.
Mark Garvin
mga...@panix.com