Street Organ Player - Capt. Red, Alberta's #1

Typically..the street organ is played at an entrance to a venue or in the case of cafes etc, just outside the eating area, especially if there is a patio.
There are 300 tunes able to be played on the organ and sometimes requests from a song list are accepted. The tunes are pre-programmed so no more can be added.

It is a unique welcoming sound that is very popular in a lot of European countries and larger more elaborate street organs often play at entrances to amusement parks.

Music is derived from air passing through pre-determined notes ( think player piano rolls) and being pushed through a reed/valve by way of cranking bellows by the organ grinder. Stop cranking, stops the air flow and stops the music.

The street organ is a unique piece of equipment that is seen a lot in various countries in Europe, but just getting out there in Canada. There are probably less than 12 street organs available across this country. I believe I have the only one in Alberta.

I have spent a lot of time performing at the St. Albert Farmers Market the last 8 years, and was booked by the German Association of Red Deer to provide some welcoming music to patrons of their Oktoberfest.

I have also entertained at the German Pavilion at the Servus Heritage Festival at William Hawrelak Park on the August long weekend on 3 staggered occasions.

Most of the 300 tunes I carry in this wind blown instrument are familiar tunes to those from the "old country" and a few still nostalgic to those from North America.

Wickipedia: There are still persons today who own and sometimes operate a barrel organ on a street. They have very little in common with the calling of the organ grinder of yore. For instance, it is considered lucky for a couple in Denmark to have a barrel organ playing outside on the morning of their 25th wedding anniversary, thus creating a small niche for professional musicians or musicologists capable of tuning one of the few surviving barrel organs, and interested in maintaining an old tradition in their spare time.

Bender Melodies: There are very few organ grinders today who try to make a living at this activity anywhere in the world. Thus, the organ grinder you might see at a fair or band organ rally is there to entertain you with a bit a happy music and to keep alive interest in these old instruments and the music that they can produce.

Organ Grinder Lola: As industrialization gave rise to the big cities with their large tenements and countless workers migrating to their factories, the organ grinder was a common sight, playing in the back alleys of the tenements. Children, laborers, and domestic workers loved the strains coming from the organ, and soon sang along with new and old familiar melodies, not forgetting to compensate the entertainer for his labors.

Today, crank organs have become a rarity; the street singer, belting Moritaten alongside, even more so. Carrying on such an old folk art, is truly unique and worth cherishing, and may give new life to this old popular art form.

The organ is self contained, on a cart and easily moved. A small amplification system could be used to enhance the volume but the instrument is not made to be powered like the typical stage band sound. It is battery powered, as is the amplifier if necessary and can play for 3-4 hours on a batteries I carry with me.