Karlheinz Essl

T.U.M.P. (The Ultimate Melodica Piece)

for melodica and live-electronics
2025

Commissioned by the Non-Piano/Toy Piano Weekend, Hamburg

"Tump is an English word meaning a hillock, mound, barrow or tumulus."

If we think of the organ as a giant mountain, then we can think of the melodica as a kind of shrunken-down version of that - a tump.

In my piece, this weak and humble instrument is given a powerful voice so that it can match with her great ancestor, the organ. The play on a melodica is manipulated by a sophisticated computer program (written in Max) that expands the sound in many dimensions. It is controlled by the player while performing the meticulously notated score. However, the musical result is not just an "orgified" version of the melodica. It is full of microtonal deviations, harmonic shifts and glissandi that are difficult to achieve on an organ. In a mesmerising interaction between the melodica, the performer and the computer software, we can listen to the mysteries of the reeds...

In a certain sense, the piece can be heard as a parable, telling the story of weakness and strength through the language of sound.

qui habet aures audiendi audiat
Matthew 11:15

Requirements

Hammond Melodion PRO-44H V2
Apple computer with macOS 11 or later
Audio interface (2 in / 2 out)
Stereo PA system with two loudspeakers on stands

Setup

Connect the audio output of the Melodion with a jack cable to the 1st audio input of your audio interface.
Set the input level to about 80%. Note: no phantom power is required. Connect the two outputs of the audio interface (L,R) to the PA system.
Launch the T.U.M.P. software on your computer. At the bottom of the Max patch, select the name of your audio interface in "Input" and "Output". Then click on the grey „Audio is OFF“ field that will turn green and displays „Audio is ON“. When you are prompted to enable the microphone input, allow it.
To record the piece, click on the record button ("start/stop") at the top of the main window. Two sound files will be created: a stereo sound file "TUMP_xxxxxx.aif" containing the output of the piece, and a mono sound file "Melodica_xxxxx.aif" containing only the unprocessed sound of the melodica. When the piece is finished, click the toggle again to stop recording.

How to play T.U.M.P.

Playing Instructions

The Hammond Melodion has a built-in microphone, the output level of which can be adjusted using the knob located on the right-hand side of the instrument. This volume control is indicated in the lowest system of the score with a dotted line.

Connect the flexible mouthpiece to the melodion, then position the instrument in front of your Apple laptop.

Note: all rhythmic articulations are performed using your breath!

Start the piece by pressing the space key on the computer keyboard. As you play the piece, you will step through a sequence of presets according to the boxed numbers on the score. To move to the next preset, simply press the space bar.

Software

User interface of the live-electronic software for T.U.M.P.

This software is available on request...

Score

The score of T.U.M.P. can be downloaded for free. Please note that the music is protected by copyright.

Updated: 14 Aug 2025