Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys! This is Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 593 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Graham. And he writes, Hi Vidas, First I would just like to say thank you for your informative videos on playing and teaching the organ. Your passion and insights are much appreciated. 1. I'll mention that I am a complete beginner to playing the organ despite my musical background. I am actually a jazz guitar player who is studying music at university but who has long been passionate about Baroque organ music as well as jazz organ and I decided to start learning recently. Although it isn't serious right now (but I practice a lot) I would love to be able to one day play some of North German music such as Bach or Buxtehude and develop a good pedal technique. For now I only have access to an electric organ (I have a spinet with 13 pedals) but will try to get a Hammond with 25 pedals for practice. So in short I would say my dream would be to become fluent in some North German repertoire (and maybe the opportunity to one day actually play it on a real pipe organ haha). 2. - First limitation is my current instrument. Since I can't really practice a proper two foot pedal technique on my 13 note spinet there doesn't seem to be too much that I can play from the German repertoire. (If you have any recommendations on beginner organ music with easy pedal parts that are real baroque music that would be very helpful!) - My current technique on the manuals is limited. Since I don't have an organ teacher it's hard to know if I am using the correct fingering techniques on the manuals. I know I should use fingers substitutions but it's hard to know exactly how when reading it from a book. There's way more about piano technique online than organ it seems so it can be hard to find someone demonstrating the exact techniques. - Last, would be an effective practice plan and a clear place to start. A plan that would help a beginner start to learn how to really play the instrument. Since I'm already a musician who must play and improvise all the time it can be frustrating when switching to a new instrument yet very exciting!! Thanks again for the great lessons, keep it up! Best regards, Graham V: Well, this is a long message, and I’m already tired after reading it. A: Yes, it’s a long message. Very informative. First of all, what struck me is that if he really wants to play Bach and North German repertoire, what’s specific about this repertoire is that it all requires quite well-developed pedal technique and to have a normal pedalboard. Because as you know, all these North German instruments had these well-developed huge pedal towers. V: Mm hm. A: And if he doesn’t have pedal tower, pedals for right now, I would suggest he would look more to the South German repertoire. V: Mm hm. A: Austrian repertoire. And he could try composers such as Pachelbel, who made a big influence to J. S. Bach. Or he could look at the Georg Muffat and his toccatas, because they require very few pedal. V: Hm. This is Italian influence. A: Yes, yes, yes. And another thing that sort of struck me a little bit that he talked about finger substitutions. Again, if you are playing baroque music, North German baroque music, Bach’s music, you don’t use finger substitutions. In very, very rare cases, you might need finger substitutions when playing, let’s say Bach - but not when playing, let’s say Buxtehude. V: Mm hm. The texture has to be really really thick to justify the need of finger substitution. A: Yes, and in general, you need to play that articulate legato, or basically, you need to detach every note. And for doing that, you don’t need finger substitution. V: Yeah. If you have two voices in each hand, you don’t need finger substitution. You can do it with early music fingering and keyboard fingering and playing detached note with articulate legato. A: Because you use finger substitutions usually, and pedal substitutions as well, when you’re playing romantic music, where you have to play smooth legato. That’s where it comes handy, but not in baroque music. V: Well, sometimes people get confused if they see a score, edited in 20th century… A: At the beginning especially… V: Mm hm. A: ...or at the end of 19th century. V: Or even in the middle of the 20th century. A: Yes. V: Some editors still did this, and they get the score, they love the piece, and they start to follow the directions - legato here, legato there. So to achieve legato, you need to use finger substitutions. But what they don’t realize is that those legato signs are editorial markings, not original markings. And just general thing to keep in mind: if the music is composed before 19th century, we generally play it with articulate legato. And we can apply early music fingerings this way. Most of the time, but not always, sometimes we use thumb on the sharp keys. A: Well, in Bach I do that... V: Yeah. A: ...quite often because... V: It’s complicated. A: ...it’s complex music. V: But not finger substitutions. They are more modern… A: True. V: ...like 19th century developments. A: True. V: Same for pedal technique. If you need to play legato, then you need to use heels. But not in early music. Not in music composed before 19th century. A: Well, and if he’s looking, Graham is looking at a suitable source that he could trust, and that I trust myself, I would suggest him to look at the Ritchie/Stauffer’s organ technique book. V: Yes. You can go to our website, and there is a link right on the front page of organduo.lt, with the cover of that book. I think it’s a green cover I think, Ausra, is that right? A: Yes, but I can think you can find it in other colors as well. V: Yeah. A: Because it’s had many, many republishings, because it’s very useful, very often used in colleges for students and teaching purposes. V: Mm hm. A: And it’s good because it has descriptions, clear descriptions about different styles, and examples - not only repertoire but also exercises. And you can compare how the modern technique and the early technique differs. And you can try and to see what works for you. V: Yes. And by studying this method, you become a well-rounded musician. You learn new techniques and early techniques as well. You learn to play with toes only in the early pedalings, but you learn to do all kinds of modern tricks with heels… A: Yes. V: ...in the later music. A: In the later music, yes. But for example, if you are only looking at the baroque music for right now, then you might want to look also at the book of Sandra Soderlund. V: Mm hm. A: She talks basically about early music technique, and she also includes the musical examples. V: Yes, Sandra Soderlund. Very useful example. I think we will link, we will add a link to her book in the podcast transcription so people can click and check it out. Okay! And remember that sometimes, we do play legato in baroque music, right? A: But these are very rare cases… V: Rare cases. A: ...and they have to be marked in… V: By the composer. A: By the composer, yes. V: Or, there should be a special genre of legato playing, like durezze e ligature, chromatic toccatas… A: Slow toccatas. V: Slow toccatas by Frescobaldi, let’s say. Italian baroque school from 17th century, even 16th century, you see lots of chromaticism and chords fixed texture, and they best sound when played legato, right? Although other things by the same school, by the same composer, are to be played with articulation. A: And what I also was very happy to read in Graham’s letter, that he likes North German music. I like it too, very much. And because he’s a jazz musician, I can see how he can, why he likes it, because it has that free improvisatory nature as well as in jazz. So actually, although these two genres are separated by a few centuries, they still have some features in common. V: Yes, the great jazz improvisation tradition is still alive, and people are creating in real time. Whereas in the baroque times, it was very customary to play on the spot, spontaneous organ music with pedals, without pedals, you know? A: So if Graham in the future will develop his organ technique, he might become an excellent improviser on the organ, in a different style. V: Yes, just have to study the old models. A: Sure. V: Thank you, guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying
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I hope you can join me in my online organ recital tonight at 8:00 PM UTC!
PROGRAM: Prelude No. 3 in G Major (Juozas Naujalis) Score: http://vargonininkai.lt/natos_naujalis.htm Prayer (J. Naujalis) Score: http://vargonininkai.lt/natos_naujalis.htm Schmücke dich, o liebe Seele, BWV 654 (Johann Sebastian Bach) Score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/organ-works-volume-2-sheet-music/2449981?aff_id=454957 Toccata on the Themes by M.K. Ciurlionis, Op. 5 (2011) (Vidas Pinkevicius) Score: https://secrets-of-organ-playing.myshopify.com/products/op-5-toccata-on-the-themes-by-m-k-ciurlionis-2011?_pos=2&_sid=756ab3767&_ss=r I'm playing these pieces using Rotterdam Sint Laurenskerk sample set by Sonus Paradisi of Hauptwerk VPO. The third movement of the Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 has delightful triple dance rhythms in its ritornello which creates a driving force. Hope you will enjoy our today's rendition. Vidas used his new Zoom QN2 4K video recorder to shoot the keyboards from above. It seems like he will get lost in his cables, gadgets and devices very soon and scream for help. That's where I come in, haha! Score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/bach-brandenburg-concertos-volume-i-arr-max-reger-digital-sheet-music/19376528?aff_id=454957 We have played this piece using Rotterdam Sint Laurenskerk sample set by Sonus Paradisi of Hauptwerk VPO. If you like our music making, you can support us on Patreon and get free organ CD's at https://patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying This charming Adagio features a dialogue between the solo oboe and violin parts. In this video the oboe is represented by the Krummhorn 8' and the violin - by the Principal 8. The bass part is played with Flutes 16' and 8' (right hand - one octave higher). Hope you will enjoy it! Score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/bach-brandenburg-concertos-volume-i-arr-max-reger-digital-sheet-music/19376528?aff_id=454957 We have played this piece using Rotterdam Sint Laurenskerk sample set by Sonus Paradisi of Hauptwerk VPO. If you like our music making, you can support us on Patreon and get free organ CD's at https://patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying This is a beautiful opening movement of Brandenburg Concerto No. 1. We started playing years ago and it has been in our duet repertoire ever since. It sounds best if played on a 3 or 4 manual instrument because all parts are pretty independent. Hope you will enjoy it! Score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/bach-brandenburg-concertos-volume-i-arr-max-reger-digital-sheet-music/19376528?aff_id=454957 We have played this piece using Rotterdam Sint Laurenskerk sample set by Sonus Paradisi of Hauptwerk VPO. If you like our music making, you can support us on Patreon and get free organ CD's at https://patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying SOPP590: My dream for organ playing: To be able to play with above average results for an audience6/4/2020
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys, this is Vidas! A: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 590 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Hervey, and he writes: “1. My dream for organ playing: To be able to play with above average results for an audience. 2. The three most important things holding me back: a. Not good enough at reading notes. b. Have to memorize music before it can be played. c. I consciously play every note instead of letting it flow freely from the mind.” V: “Above average results…” What does that does it mean in your understand, Ausra? A: Well, it depends on the person, because I, for example, think that I’m a little above average organist. V: Not genius level? A: No. V: But for him, if let’s say he’s not good enough at reading notes, or can’t really play freely from his mind, his goals must be probably more basic, not too advanced. Right? A: I guess so, and in this last section where he talks about that he consciously plays every note instead of letting it flow freely from the mind, I think it’s because he doesn’t feel comfortable at… V: Reading notes… A: ...reading notes. V: So the challenge, number 1 for him, is to get better at reading music. A: That’s right, and that’s, I think that the sight-reading course might be helpful for him if it’s not too difficult. V: I think it’s too difficult for starters. Yeah, you have to be a little bit… like reach a basic level of reading notes, first, and then be comfortable with slowly playing through the first exercise—very slowly, like half speed, like 30 beats per minute. If you can do that, you can progress through the course, probably not week after week with every lesson like we deliver it to your email inbox, but at your own speed. If we have 7 exercises that week, it doesn’t have to take 7 days for you. For each person it’s different. Maybe two weeks you will take. Maybe a month you will take for this first week of material, and that’s okay! Right? A: Yes, I think that’s okay. And what do you think would be a good collection for Hervey to sight-read. Do you have any suggestions? V: I think we have a course a little bit more basic about sight-reading. Let me check—not the “Sight-Reading Master Course,” but something a little more foundational. Let’s see… “10 Day Hymn Playing Challenge,” for example. Hymns are little gems of four part organ music! They last between 1 and 2 minutes, and they all have four parts in this little workshop. And we have ten hymns in this course, and it’s very very basic. I’ll teach you the same, basically, techniques that you need to master any piece of music, working through single lines, then combinations of two parts, three parts, and finally four-part texture, but we don’t start with “The Art of Fugue” like in “Organ Sight-Reading Master Course.” Instead, we start with simple note-against-note texture with one voice. So soprano plays quarter notes. A lot of people can do that. Even beginners—almost beginners, I would say. What do you think, Ausra? A: Yes, I think that’s a good suggestion. I think hymns are very handy for organists. Plus, because most of the hymns are familiar to us, so it makes things even easier. V: And after that, of course, you can check, Hervey can check if he has advanced substantially in order to be able to practice through the first week of the “Sight-Reading Master Course.” Maybe the next step for him would be to play and master my other training--”Left-hand Training” and then later “Two-part Training.” These are pieces taken from Bach’s “Trio Sonatas.” Exercises first in single voice in “Left-hand Training” and then two-part texture in “Two-part Training,” but instead of playing in the original keys that Bach writes, I have transposed everything starting from, I believe, C Major, and then going through all the keys through the circle of fifths. That’s how you advance little-by-little. What about this idea, Ausra? A: Sure, I think it’s a good idea to add extra accidentals with each try. V: And maybe “Left-hand Training” would be enough before jumping to the “Organ Sight-Reading Master Course.” I think, yes, because “Sight-Reading Master Course” starts with a single voice. So with “Left-hand Training,” you master this a-little-bit-intricate rhythms in “Trio Sonatas,” not only with the left-hand, of course, you practice with your right hand, as well, and maybe with your pedals, as well, those pedal parts, slowly, of course. And then you can be kind of ready to start a 40 week journey with “Organ Sight-Reading Master Course.” A: Sure, and another thing that I would like to add to what you just said is that in order to become a fluent reader of music, you need to do it on a regular basis. V: The minimum time, I think, is three times per week. Minimum. A: That’s a bare minimum. V: Bare minimum. Every other day, basically. A: I think if you really want to see progress and won’t get frustrated, I think you would need to do it every day. V: Every day, just a little bit. A: At least a little bit of it. V: 15 or 20 minutes, preferably more. If you can’t handle sitting on the organ bench for a longer time, take frequent breaks. Before you get tired, you stop playing, you take your walk, drink your glass of water, stretch, breathe, whatever is more comfortable for you. Then, after 5, 10, 15 minutes, you come back, and you feel refreshed. Right? A: Yes, that’s right. But I think this regularity is very important. V: Right. And don’t be frustrated if you don’t see results overnight. Right? It’s a life long journey. And be content with the privilege of sitting down on the organ bench. That’s all that matters. You are making progress, it’s just not apparent to the naked eye. You have to have a microscope, basically. But, if you check the piece that had been difficult to you at the beginning after one month of your studies, or three months, or half of a year, I can guarantee, if you follow our suggestions and tips and practice procedures, you will find that the first piece that was difficult to you, then after that period of studies will become much, much easier. So you will have advanced in organ playing, I think, quite far through that time. A: Excellent observation. V: Thank you! Thank you, Ausra, for helping me guide Hervey, and hopefully it was helpful to other people, too. Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying Today Vidas and I recorded our first duet on Rotterdam sample set. I was amazed at how easy it is to play on it and how clear this huge organ sounds despite its 6 seconds of reverberation. It's has so much colour that we had actually to spent quite a bit of time in choosing some of the stop combinations. I'm sure there could be tenths of other versions of this video and all would still sound very interesting on this sample set. Score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/mein-glaubiges-herze-frohlocke-sheet-music/21009786?aff_id=454957 We have played this piece using Rotterdam Laurenskerk sample set by Sonus Paradisi of Hauptwerk VPO. If you like our music making, you can support us on Patreon and get free organ CD's at https://patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying Buy me coffee: https://www.paypal.me/ausramotuzaite My Hauptwerk setup: www.organduo.lt/tools.html All of my friends had recorded the so-called "Good Luck Chorale" (Ausra and James Flores) and I thought it's about time I would do it too. Can you guess what combination for solo ornamented soprano line I'm using? Score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/oxford-service-music-for-organ-manuals-and-pedals-book-2-sheet-music/19516130?aff_id=454957 I have played this piece using Martinikerk/Groningen sample set by Sonus Paradisi of Hauptwerk VPO. If you like my music making, you can support me on Patreon and get free organ CD's at https://patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Let’s start episode 588 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Amir. He’s taking our Organ Sight-Reading Master Course. And when I asked him how his organ playing is going so far, he writes: “It was not that bad, my main difficulty are the unexpected changes in rhythms and jumping notes.” V: Hmm. I think this is a fairly common challenge. Right Ausra? A: Yes. V: Why is that? A: Because people don’t like to count. V: That’s what I suggested to him. Count out loud. When you’re playing, of course, it’s better to play really, really slowly, maybe half as fast—maybe at the 50% of concert tempo, or even 40% or 30% if you need. But more than that, you need to count out load. If you have a 4/4 meter, the best way for me to count out loud is simply divide the beats into 8th notes. “1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and.” Would that help, Ausra? A: Yes, I think it would be very helpful. Right now, I’m working on recording Buxtehude’s Chorale Preludes, and even after having the experience of playing music for...I don’t know for what… but really many years, because I started when I was five, I still have trouble sometimes if I don’t count, because what Buxtehude does, he likes to change the rhythmic formula very abruptly, suddenly and unexpectedly. And if you were not counting before, you might get in real trouble, because you sort of lose the sense of the rhythmical flow. V: Yes. I think the first one that you recorded, Chorale Prelude by Buxtehude, “Ach, Herr mich armen Sünder” I think. It has very intricate ornamented Chorale melody in the right hand. A: Well, and not only this one; I guess he likes to do it in most of his Chorale Preludes. Very few of them are even, but most of them are very varied. V: For me, what I last recorded, Brahms’s Chorale Prelude, “Mein Jesu der du mich” from Opus 122, this is number 1. And the rhythms are okay. They’re not… A: Yes, I think Brahms is pretty much very even in rhythms—at lease in these Chorale Preludes. V: Yes, unless you’re playing one of those Fugues, where you have to change between duplets and tuplets and triplets. A: Yes, that’s a different story. But now we are talking about Chorale Preludes. V: So I didn’t need to count a lot. At this stage of my career, it comes naturally most of the time, but sometimes I do need to double check. A: Well, I’m not counting Buxtehude out loud, but I do it in my head. V: But consciously, right? Doing it. A: Yes. Definitely. V: If the tempo is really slow, sometimes you need to subdivide it even more up to 16th notes. A: Yes, that’s what I did when I learned the *** Icarus. I subdivided into 16th notes. V: Instead of saying “one-and-two-and” you would say “one-ee-and-uh-two-ee-and-uh-three-ee-and-uh-four-ee-and-uh.” It’s like a tongue twister! What would it be in 32nds? People have asked me that, but I forget. A: Better not go there! V: If you need to subdivide in 32nds, this means you’re playing music that is too difficult, basically. Right? If you still need to do this. I think 16th notes are the limit for me at least. I wouldn’t subdivide into 32nds. A: Probably not. V: Right. So that would be helpful, of course, to Amir and others who are struggling with unexpected changes in rhythms. A: What about jumping notes? I am not exactly getting what he means by this question. Is it difficult for him to hit the right note after a big leap or what? Or to follow the score if it’s a jumping melody? V: Maybe both! Yeah, if you have leaps more than a fifth, yes, you can easily reach a note by a fifth because you have five fingers and an interval of a fifth requires 5 adjacent keys. But if you have a sixth or seventh or an octave or even above an octave, you have to switch position. How do you do that, Ausra? How do you adapt? Or do you not do it? A: Well, you know, if it’s Baroque music, then it’s very easy. You just have to articulate. You have articulate each note, and it shouldn’t be a problem, because you don’t have to stretch your arm to reach it to play legato. V: You move the entire wrist! A: Yes! V: But try not to do upward motion with your hand. Slide to the right or to the left. A: Yes, you need always to keep the contact with the keyboard. V: Touching! A: Touching it, yes, or almost touching it. V: You know, there was an account about Johann Sebastian Bach playing organ, and people have observed him, that he almost doesn’t depress the keys. The organ plays itself, basically, it seems, in his case. Right? Do you, can you elaborate a little about that? A: That’s a true mastery, you know, you have to be really economic about… V: Efficient… A: ...efficient about using your motions. It helps to play in a fast tempo, I would say, and to avoid mistakes. V: It doesn’t feel like work, then. It feels like a natural flow. Remember, we have observed a great Chinese cook back in the States when we were observing him prepare our steamed vegetables, I think, how he moves with his pan and with his vegetables and chopping knife, everything was so efficient, fast and barely noticeable. This is true mastery, right? A: Yes, it is. It’s interesting that you decided to compare Bach and a Chinese chef! V: Well, I mean if you do the same motion over and over again like a thousand or ten thousand times, you get really, really efficient! Right? You peel like an onion those layers of inefficiency. A: Yes, or you would get over use syndrome in your wrist for example. V: Yes, if you do it with tension! If you don’t relax muscles after using them, right way. Alright? So, Amir, with jumping notes, try to use this sliding motion with your wrists and then you will be fine! So guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying This Trompette stop sounds quite powerful and works perfectly for this little fugue from the Mass for the Convents by Francois Couperin. Score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/pieces-d-orgue-sheet-music/21679600?aff_id=454957 I have played this piece using St Pons sample set by Sonus Paradisi of Hauptwerk VPO. If you like my music making, you can support me on Patreon and get free organ CD's at https://patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying |
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
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