After Travis finished recording his performances we had time to record an improvisation. I was playing the organ, Pedro was playing the forte piano and Travis was singing. For this recording we placed the AKG C414s at the back of the church as per the suggestion of Malcolm the owner of the building. This was to capture the best organ recording possible. The organ is designed to work in tandem with the space it’s in. From the other side of the room the resonance of the church added a fullness to the sound which wouldn’t sound the same in any other room.

This was my first time playing an organ and I found the tones it can produce hypnotising. There are wooden plugs found on either side of the keyboard called stops which when pulled out can alter the sound of the organ. The stops on the right of the keyboard are used to change the timbre of the sound you make, ranging from flutey sounds to more brassy and brighter sounds. This is an acoustic version of additive synthesis. Their were 4 stops meaning their were many different combinations you could use to achieve different timbres. On the left side of the keyboard were stops that added different intervals, it was interesting holding down notes and playing with the stops at the same time. Some interesting sounds could be achieved if you pulled out a stop halfway for instance.

In the future I would definitely want to play and record an organ in one of my own pieces. I really like the soft woodwind sounds that are possible to be coaxed out of it. Playing with the stops also adds a whole other world of creative possibilities which I feel I could explore further.