Das alte Spinnrad (Music box, Folk)

belldu

There is an ancient spinning wheel
Lost in dreams by the fireplace
There I sit in the evening at twilight
When dark clouds are drifting
And dream with silent longing
Of days long gone

When in grandmother's parlor quietly
Whirring the spinning wheel by the old fireplace
I hear many a faded tune
As if in a dream through the twilight
And then the old time awakens, the long vanished
Childhood days and first love's happiness
Old spinning wheel, oh bring me back the hours
Of my youth once again

(translated from German)

Creative notes

One of my earliest childhood musical memories is the melody from a music box my mother bought on a trip to Switzerland in the 1960s before I was born. As a young child, I wound and played it countless times until one day the mechanism finally wore out and it fell silent.

Last year, while perusing Freesound.org for some foley effects, I came across some music box samples and found myself humming the melody I hadn't heard for more than 40 years.
I decided to recreate the melody from memory, suspecting it was an old Germanic folk tune.

Upon visiting my mother in England last summer, I was thrilled to find she still had the (still broken) music box.
I took a photo, turned it over, and smiled as I read the label. I finally had a name to accompany the tune.

Das alte Spinnrad was sung by many Germanic artists, with my favourite German version by (the Swiss) Herbert Ernst Groh, dating from 1934:
https://youtu.be/OVPOgkOBG6Q

I translated the lyrics, and smiled once again as the song finished with:
Old spinning wheel, oh bring me back the hours
Of my youth once again

Still assuming it was an old folk tune, I was surprised to find that the first version was published one year earlier in 1933, in English, with composition attributed to an American named Billy Hill:
https://youtu.be/augW_Tb99gg

The melody has since been rediscovered time and time again, and I like to think it has fufilled its destiny as a folk melody.

https://youtu.be/5AjAyFtaH5Y

https://youtu.be/Oem0QYbvCT8

https://youtu.be/u794pJtXYwk

One day I'll return to England (it's quite a journey from where I live in New Zealand), and I'll get the music box fixed, but for now all I can offer is my 40+ year old memory of what it sounded like.
My version differs from the Billy Hill composition in that I'm sure the music box only played the 'A theme', so I made up my own 'B theme' before learning of the melody's origination and different 'B theme' composed by Billy Hill.

https://soundcloud.com/user-154254/das-alte-spinnrad?si=057deb1e0ad54c3fbad1d53f073e39c1&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Playing by the rules
I thought it would be fun to try to play by the rules of music boxes but this was far more complicated than I'd assumed...

Firstly, I read that a vintage Swiss music box would likely have a 36 note range, so I started by ensuring my arrangement fitted (G2, F#5), and I only used 26 of the available notes.

The play time needed to be between 30 to 40 seconds, which I couldn't accomodate with the inclusion of my 'B theme', but it would have worked if I'd chosen to omit it.

https://musicboxattic.com/what-is-a-traditonal-movement/

So far so good, until I read about the 'repeating note problem'.
If a note is repeated while the comb tooth is still vibrating from a prior same note then it doesn't sound properly.
One way to avoid this is not to repeat notes until the comb tooth has stopped vibrating, and another way is to use different comb teeth for the same note.
Frequency also matters here with shorter vibrations for higher notes.
I decided to arrange for manageable repeats and didn't repeat a melody note less than two beats, and a bass note less than three beats. This wasn't particularly scientific but with 36-26 = 10 unused comb teeth I felt I had capacity for note duplication too if needed.

In a real music box there's also the possibility of unwanted harmonics from adjacent notes, and to solve that the notes are slightly detuned or ordered non-chromatically. I was sure the clever Swiss who made my mother's music box had got it all figured out, so I didn't give it any more thought.

Having mitigated a few complexities I was feeling confident, but then realised that music boxes play with variable tempo.
Music box tempo is regulated by a component called 'the governor', or alternatively 'the air brake'. Being English, I prefer calling it the guv'na.
However even with a guv'na preventing it from unwinding in a few seconds, there's some variation and the music eventually slows and stops, and I wanted to simulate a slowdown through a tempo change.

Cubasis lacks a built in tempo track, so I used my 'Tempo Controller' Mozaic script to make one:
https://patchstorage.com/tempo-controller/
I then had issues with the foley track as even if I used automatic time stretching on the audio it generated pops and crackles adjusting to tempo changes while playing.
Finally, I was dismayed to find that while tempo changes work on playback, Cubasis doesn't record tempo change when creating a mixdown.

I solved these issues by using the iOS screen recorder to capture video of variable tempo playback, muting the audio foley beforehand.
I then separated the musical audio from the video (using an iOS shortcut), reimported musical audio back into Cubasis, and re-added the foley audio.

For mastering, I applied a Smoov compressor and used Youlean LM Lite to keep an eye on db and lufs.

This piece is musically simple, but it was all about the musical journey that started 90 (or more) years ago, and if you've made it this far I hope you enjoyed my recollection of it.

ReneAsologuitar

Hi @belldu ,
I enjoyed every moment spent with your music.
Simply beautiful recording.
Thanks for sharing this.
Rene

GeoTony

Beautiful story and music. I love your attention to detail. Out of interest what is the main sound source for this ?
The Thorens name is of course still going , not quite at the peak they were a few years ago when they produced some great hi-fi turntables, they went through some difficulties in the 2000’s but are back making turntables again now.

LinearLineman

I didn’t realize till @GeoTony mentioned that itks the same company as produced the turntables. I really wanted in the 60s.

Great clarity and back story. Thanks for sharing.

belldu

Thanks for the feedback @GeoTony, @LinearLineman, @ReneAsologuitar.
I played my version of the tune to my mother recently and she said the music box dates from the late 1950s, and it brought back memories of her mother giving it to her.

The sound sources for this were:

https://freesound.org/people/folkman/packs/4540/

https://freesound.org/people/OrbitalChiller/sounds/171233/

https://freesound.org/people/Eelke/sounds/387198/

There was also a mechanical whirring sound but I'm not sure where I got that.

MadeofWax

You have absolutely captured the sound of an old music box and reading the story behind the music made for a captivating experience. I think it’s wonderful that you brought back your mother’s memories of her mother. Thank you for sharing this with us.

Svetlovska

@belldu : Wow! What an impressive piece of musical archeology! Reminds me of when people re-create ancient building techniques, or forge weapons using Bronze Age tech or whatever. It absolutely convinces as a real music box, and the story of its creation was fascinating, thank you Your mother must be very proud of you!

krassmann

This moved me so much 😭 Great example for the unmatched power of music to bring back emotions of the past. Chapeau.

belldu

Thanks @MadeofWax, @krassmann, and @Svetlovska. I'm glad you enjoyed the journey through history, I certainly did.
And, my mother emailed yesterday requesting a full step by step guide to becoming a follower on Soundcloud :-)
While this advances me on my (long) quest to become the most popular Duncan Bell on Soundcloud I fear I may start receiving requests for her favourite tunes from now on!