What you will find on this site.

Who and What is AR Group?

The AR Group is a group of organ enthusiasts who play the Yamaha AR Electone Organ ... specifically either the AR 80 or AR 100. This Website has sections entitled General Discussion, Members' Section, AR Performances, Things You May Not Know About The AR, Tutorials, Playing Technique, AR Series Technical and so on. Members can post topics, give hints on playing etc. and our aim is to give encouragement to all those who play these instruments.

An example of a Performance played on the AR.

One thing about the AR which is different to a keyboard is the way in which playing a piece of music is "recorded". On a keyboard one gets a MIDIFILE which can be played on the instrument it was created on ... or any other "playing" device eg. a computer (although on a computer the sound card used will in all probability be a very basic soundcard so the result will not sound as intended. The MIDIFILE should be played in the instrument the file was created in). On the AR the floppy disk created is a DATA disk ie. it has no music information on it so can't be played on a computer. Instead, the Registrations are first set up into the Registration Memories of the AR, and then the AR "Plays" using those Registrations. One advantage of this is that one can use the Registrations set up for one's own playing.

Click the LINK below to download a Performance onto a floppy disk to play in the AR. Click "Run" or "Open" rather than "Save" to download and unpack the files straight onto a floppy in the A: Drive. As mentioned above, this will "Play" in the AR but not on any other device.

Musical Freewheel

Label the disk Musical Freewheel. These tracks have been specifically composed and recorded for the AR Group by Paul Dolman.

TRACKS

01. Going Nowhere
02. R U Key Bored
03. Beach Lazer
04. Piano Strings
05. Bowed Strings
06. Tone Bars
07. Just Breathing

An example of an AR STYLE

Again, download the files onto a Floppy in the A: Drive. Label the disk Variety 1.

VAriety 1

TRACKS

01. 70's / 80's 1
02. Fast Swing
03. Light Rock 3
04. March 2
05. Pop 2A
06. Salsa
07. Slow Rock 2
08. Surf
09. Swing
10. W' Waltz

An example from Things you may not know about the AR

I was talking to Paul (Dolman) the other day and mentioned the words Flute / Tibia (Theatre) which appear above the Upper Organ drawbars. I have only recently been aware of these words, as before I had had the "gold lettering" done these words were not even visible. Well, I assumed these were alternative words for an "organ" sound, but Paul informed me that the make-up of the sound depends on which Organ Variation you choose. So if Electronic or Jazz Organ the correct term is "Flute", as the sound is based on a Flute. If choosing Classical or Theatre Organ the sound is from a Tibia, or "Pipe" (and now I'm really confused as I have looked Tibia up in the dictionary and it says "the shin-bone").

Press the button under Organ Variation (to the left of the Tremolo tab) and choose an Organ Variation. Have the 8' drawbar at maximum, and put the others down to minimum ... and if there are any "Extra Voices" selected turn them off. Also make sure the Attack/Chiff is at minimum. Play a few notes, then do the same with one of the other organ Variations and it will be quite clear what is going on.

Then there's Attack / Chiff. Again not two words for the same thing. "Attack" is when the Organ Variation is Electronic or Jazz, and is a bit of a "thud" like an electronic piano. "Chiff" occurs with Classical or Theatre organ, and is the sound of the "wind" passing over the tongue of the organ pipe.

Choose an Organ Variation, put all the drawbars down to minimum, and and turn off any Extra Voices. Put the 4' Attack/Chiff up to maximum and the others down to minimum. Play a few notes. You'll hear the difference on the various organ Variations. And when on Electronic or Jazz you can alter the Length of the Attack which either gives a 'staccato' electronic piano sound or a held down 'longer' note. When choosing Classical or Theatre the "Length" has no bearing on what is going on, so none of the bars will light up.

So if you have an AR why not Register and join the group? You do not have to own an AR in order to join. And if you are already a Member and are reading this then you have not Logged On!

Hugh