MIDI is a protocol that allows many electronic musical instruments and computers to communicate with one another. I thought about it for a while and concluded that a similar effect could be achieved through adding MIDI functionality to the organ. He asked how we could make that happen with the M3. The vast number of opportunities for creative expression when one has virtually unlimited instruments at his or her fingertips is a very exciting concept to both Dave and me. This performer is able to control an entire orchestra of instruments while sitting at the keyboard.
Melody assistant rewire full#
I immediately got to work trying to figure out all the issues with the organ.Ī couple of days later, Dave showed me a video of someone playing a Wurlitzer theatre organ, which has four keyboards and can make the sounds of a full orchestra. Dave Greenspan, the managing producer of the audio studios, asked if I would be interested in leading the project, and I accepted. Initially, the plan was for the Duderstadt Center audio staff to restore the organ to working condition for users to play in the audio studio. See figures 1 and 2, which show an original Hammond M3 and a “chopped” M3 on a stand. Additionally, the organ was in poor condition, with many keys not functioning properly. It was a “chopped” organ, which means that the legs, foot keys, and built-in speaker were removed to make it more portable. In the summer of 2016, a Hammond M3 organ was donated to the Duderstadt Center at the University of Michigan. These goals raise questions of what defines an instrument and how one can be enhanced and redesigned without drastically interfering with its interface. This must all be accomplished while maintaining and expanding the playability of the instrument without hindering the opportunities for creative expression that it presents. The organ must first be restored to working order and made easier to repair in the future, and then each key must be turned into a MIDI trigger, and buttons, knobs, and drawbars will be added for extended MIDI control. Many facets of engineering, design, and creativity are at play, as this sort of rebuild hasn’t been done before. A team of students led by Mitchell Graham is working to restore the M3 to working order as well as adding modern functionality like Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) control. A Hammond M3 organ was donated to the audio studios in the Duderstadt Center at the University of Michigan.
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