-- non-subscriber, please reply to sender and MMD --

Hello Robbie,  I would like to introduce myself to MMD.  After retiring
from my job as consulting engineer on acoustics in 2004, I found in the
Internet an ample source of information about mechanical music and even
about a very small special field of activity: making my own music for
my Sankyo 20-note paper strip manivelle music boxes.  Searching a long
time I believe within the MMD I have now found a very good platform for
discussing and exchanging experiences with other music punchers like
me.

I started punching music in 1974.  At Christmas 1973 I received my
first paper strip manivelle as a gift from my wife.  Immediately I was
infected by "illness of punching".  In MMD Archives 1999.08.15.04 Manda
Clair Jost reported on her first punching fever resembling my infection.
The pre-dotted stripes of basic equipment were punched fast and the
very few blank stripes were used up soon in attempts of my own music.
I found a source for blank strips but never punchers like me.

Primarily my activities in punching were limited to German folksongs,
Christmas carols, etc. (that I got to know by singing in our mixed
choir), and simple pieces of instrumental music of early baroque
composers such as Michael Praetorius with his work "Terspichore".

I had to learn how to deal with the technical and musical limitations
of the little machine regarding its diatonic scale without any sharps
and flats and the limitation concerning the repetition of tones.
Several attempts only led to a limited success.  The beginner has to
learn it the hard way.  However, some of the compositions of the early
and several of the late baroque period are so ingeniously simple that
I basically only had to directly transpose the original for my paper
strip system, with only small amendments (such as J. S. Bach Praeludium
BWV 927).  The main work was, and is still today, to find out if a piece
is fit to be punched for my music box.  Those first simple pieces are
still very nice to listen to.

Later I developed a sense of rapidly detecting whether a piece is
viable for being punched, as I was participating as a chorister in the
performance of mostly classical music for choir, organ and orchestra.
Indeed, I got a lot of suggestions from musical patterns I got
acquainted with during the rehearsals of our choir (from simple choir
arrangements to big compositions with orchestra).

It has always been very amusing to hear a part of a just-presented opus
played once more on my paper strip music box at the party after such
choir or organ concerts.  As these pieces are directly recognisable,
they usually had a lot of success, but not only among the choristers --
non-members of the choir and other friends of music boxes enjoy them as
well.

In the meantime, my musical works have increased in quality and often
in length as well.  Punched stripes of 150 cm and more are not unusual,
but priority is of course given to quality.  I especially like my
punched tune of J.S. Bach's "Italienisches Konzert" 3rd movement (BWV
971.3) and M.A. Charpentier's Ouverture of his "Te Deum" (well-known
in Europe through the TV as the Eurovision's signature tune).  In my
punch, however, you can hear the two less known insertions that exists
in Charpentier's original and some added pretty musical ornaments that
do not even exist in the original.

In 2006 (Mozart's 250th birthday is in January this year) two tunes
adapted from Mozart's "Zauberfloete" will often be presented by my
music box: "Der Vogelfaenger bin ich ja" (KV 620 No 2) and "Ein
Maedchen oder Weibchen wuenscht Papageno sich" (KV 620 No 20) with
Papageno's typical melodies of Pan-flute and glockenspiel respectively
-- lovely to hear!

In most of the cases adaptations of Mozart's music on Sankyo 20-tone
paper stripes are unsatisfactory because flats and sharps, essential
to Mozart's music, are missing in the only diatonic scale of the Sankyo
20-tone machine.  However, the two tunes noted above work very well
and are nice to listen to; again, they are ingeniously simple!   I hope
I will find more thereof.  I will prick up my ears.

If there is anyone in the MMD forum who has mind to hear a test-taste
of my music,  or would like to learn more about my listed archive of
punched tunes (ca. 160 items, out of which in my opinion ca. 40 items
are of very good quality), then he (or she) shouldn't hesitate to get
in touch with me via MMD or directly contact me by e-mail.

Kind regards from Freinsheim in Palatinate ("Toscana of Germany")

Hans-Martin Meyer-Georges
meyer-georges@web.de.geentroep [delete ".geentroep" to reply]