Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 571 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Diana, and she writes: “I’m struggling with keeping all fingers on the keyboard” V: Has this, Ausra, ever been a problem for you? Keeping all the fingers on the keyboard? A: No, it hasn’t. Have you had such a problem? V: Sure! When I was little. I remember that when I first started playing keyboard or piano, it wasn’t very obvious to me that I should keep all the fingers on the keyboard. A: But what do you mean? How can you play without keeping all the fingers on the keyboard? V: For example, your thumbs could be outside of the keyboard, you see, kids play like that usually at first if their teachers don’t correct them. A: Well… V: What about you? Did you always have a perfect posture? A: Yes, I think I was quite natural at the keyboard. Probably because of the structure of my hand, too. V: How is your hand structure different from mine? A: Just like J. S. Bach’s. I’m of course kidding, but you know, many years ago, before going to the United States, I worked at one private school for three years and taught piano there. And I worked with beginners—with first to third grade. So basically, I was the one who had to teach them how to play the piano, how to use the hand technique correctly, and what I noticed at that time is that all these kids had such a different type of hand! I never thought about it before teaching them. Because really, some of them would just sit down on the piano and place their hands so naturally, so well, shaped like a ball, as it should be… V: Or an apple… A: Yes, or an apple. And the thumb and the little finger would not stick out. But for somebody, I remember I had this one student who had really long fingers, and it seemed like he’s made out of jelly, maybe, or a gum, like a rubber. V: Yes. A: I could do nothing with his hands. They just didn’t work. V: Interesting. A: So… V: So it seems that Diana needs to hold an apple in her hand. A: Yes, and in general, I think when somebody asks questions like this, I think either their beginning technique instructions were taught to her incorrectly, or she simply doesn’t practice enough. Because it’s really a problem for just beginners. V: When I had little students who were practicing piano at school, I remember several children, most of them really liked the idea of holding an apple in their hands, or a ball, like a tennis ball. A: Shouldn’t it be a little…. Yes, I guess tennis ball, but for a small hand, V: For a small hand… A: Maybe it’s too big, a little big. V: Like an apple, you know? A: Well, you know, an apple can be various sizes! V: Yes! So I remember one of my students always asking for an apple. “Can I hold an apple please?” A: Just not to practice, yes? V: Yes. And I would always carry a tennis ball or a tennis size ball made from rubber, maybe, in the trunk of my car, and would bring it to class. A: I think I still have one of those balls in my book shelf in my classroom. V: Yes, it’s very useful. So Diana and others who play with random shaped palm position, and struggle to keep their fingers on the keyboard, one of the best pieces of advice that we can give is simply to hold a ball or an apple in their hand, and then try to imitate this position on the keyboard. A: But basically, I think this is a problem for beginners only, because as soon as you reach some sort of level, it should disappear, because your muscles will get used to that position. V: Obviously, yes. So it’s a temporary problem if she continues to practice diligently and build up her organ technique. Thank you guys, this was Vidas, A: And Ausra, V: Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen.
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Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 574 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Ruth. And she wrote an answer in return of my question in Total Organist community: How do you like Total Organist so far? And she wrote, In Total Organist I am learning a lot, from reading of the experiences of organists around the world. I appreciate the opportunity to ask questions of them and also to listen to recordings of some of them. V: Hm. Do you think, Ausra, that Ruth is referring to recordings of our Secrets of Organ Playing Contest, or what is she talking about? A: I’m a little bit misunderstood her question. Because I don’t know, what do you think about it? V: Sometimes organists who participate in our contests, like Jeremy Owens or James Flores, they publish links to their posts so that people could read their posts and listen to their contest entries. Maybe that is what Ruth is referring to. A: Could be. Of course, I think in general that it’s probably the most beneficial for any person, well, to practice more, and to spend more time at the keyboard, rather than reading or listening about what other people are doing. Don’t you think so? V: Yes, but you can augment that. Because when you are alone practicing, it’s just one thing, yes, you are practicing for your own enjoyment. But when you know that other people are doing it at the same time, and reporting their experiences, this is very powerful motivator, I think. A: Yes, but I think nowadays there is a danger of, sort of develop an addiction to social networks. V: What I mean - obviously you’re right - but what I mean is, for example this morning, James Flores recorded chorale prelude from Orgelbuchlein by Bach, Christ lag in Todesbanden. And I listened to his recording, and I got inspired to create my own chorale prelude based on this tune. If he hadn’t published this, if I hadn’t come across to this recording, then I might have missed the chance of creating. I’m not saying I will create it, or I have created in the past, but I am already thinking about it, and James has been the catalyst of this. A: But do you think everybody who will listen to that recording will feel the same way and will start to compose something or create something? V: You mean to James’ recording or my recording? A: To James’ recording, let’s say. V: No, no. A: Because you haven’t created on that tune yet. V: Yes, I mean, for everyone it’s different. They take what is inspiring for them, what their goals are. Not everyone is a creator yet, right? Some people are performers. And if they listen to Orgelbuchlein prelude like this, they might get inspired to perform it, to practice. The same piece, you know. A: Well, I wouldn’t agree with you that performers aren’t creators. I think we are creators. Because what we are creating, we are creating our own interpretations of the given piece. Because you can take the same piece and let’s say, 101 organists would record it, and everybody would play a little bit different. V: Of course you are a creator, I didn’t mean that. A: No, I didn’t took it personally, so, I didn’t take it personally. But you know what I mean. V: And you know what I mean. A: Yes. V: We know what we mean in our minds, so we basically don’t say it out loud, but people who are listening to this might understand something from this conversation that I mean, if you are creating your own music, that’s a different thing than you are interpreting somebody else’s, you know. A: Yes. You know, what I’m trying to tell, that there are sort of group of people who really want to participate in this organ life. V: Mm hm. A: And who attend every single recital in the area. V: Uh huh. A: But, you know, and they pretend that they know about organ a lot. V: Discuss things. A: Discuss things. But you know, if you ask them to sit down at a keyboard, they can barely play a scale for you. V: Mm hm. A: That’s what I’m talking about. Instead of, not wasting your time, but spending too much of your time listen to other organists, or other recitalists, you need to do something for yourself and sit on the organ bench and practice. V: This is why I always advise to do creative activity first thing in the morning, whatever it means for you. This morning for me, it meant that I had to create a performance of my Opus 1, Veni Creator Spiritus, on the keyboard that I have upstairs in my room. So, instead of surfing social media let’s say, listening to a lot of other people’s music - although, I listened to James’ performance first, I have to admit. But it was just for 2 minutes (laugh). You know what 2 minutes means for me. A: Yes, it’s at least 20 minutes, but it’s okay. V: Yeah, but I got up at 5 a.m., so…. A: Well so in this case, I am just feel so hopeless. Because most of my mornings, the first thing in the morning, what I do is to prepare a breakfast for you and myself. V: That’s a… A: And then I just go to school. V: But that’s later, that’s at 6:00 sometimes, right? A: Yes, that’s right. V: On a, or weekends, like at 8:00. So I am not saying that you should get up at 6 or at 5 like I do, because some people need more sleep. And maybe I need more sleep - we’ll see soon enough, you know? A: Yes, Vidas will end up in a mental institution because of overworking. V: Mm hm. A: And creating too much. V: Well, but it’s really exciting to see people create around you and being able to share your own pieces with them, and getting positive feedback, it’s intoxicating actually. A: But is intoxicating a good word or not? Because as you said it, it seems very negative. V: No, I meant addictive, addictive. A: Yes, thanks for clarifying that. In general, you know, I think that everything in life has its own measures, and everybody has to find their own way. And just telling that you really need to practice, and after that, you need to listen to other people playing and talking and creating. V: But before that, you need to have a goal while you practice, right? Before that, if you sit down on the organ bench and you don’t know why you sit down, it’s very hard to be productive. A: But still, I’m talking about people who have either church position, or are concert organists, or, who, have their organ as part of their professional life. V: That’s a good goal, yeah. Thank you guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: 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.
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 572 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Rebecca. And she writes: Thank you for your email. When I ordered the "Toccata and Fugue in d minor", by J.S.Bach, it would be nice to have a tutorial with you talking about certain sections of the piece. I studied with Roberta Gary at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music, and she introduced playing with a more 'detached' style or more suitable early organ music style of playing. With the Bach piece I am now working on, I don't know exactly how to play the opening section. I played the piece a long time ago, but it was before I studied with Dr. Gary. When listening to others play the piece, I wonder if I am making too much distinction between the notes by trying to accent the correct beats. Could you do a short tutorial on the piece to help me understand the correct articulation? V: So that was her first problem. And the second one is sticking with a schedule of practicing and time management. And the third one was pieces to play for an organ recital. Suggestions as to what would make a good program. I think somewhat limited in what I can play. I played piano during my early years, and I am semi retired at this point. However, I LOVE to play and I want to challenge myself to do a recital. I am thinking of the Bach piece, which has not been done in our recital programs in the last year and the "Westminster Carillon". Thank you for any input. Also, I didn't quite understand if I joined for 1 month of your study, would I have to continue if perhaps it didn't work out for me? V: She probably refers to the Total Organist program, and remember, the rule is that the first month is free. A: Yes. V: People can try out this program. If they don’t like it, they can cancel before their 30 days are up, and they won’t be charged. But if they want to continue, they can simply keep practicing and downloading the programs and scores, whatever they want, participating in Basecamp conversations, and there is nothing else that is required from them. So that’s answering the remaining part of the email. Now, starting from the top, about articulation on Bach’s Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, what can you say in general? What kind of advice would you give? A: Well in general, you need to consider the meter of the piece, the given piece. Because each meter requires certain way of prolonging the downbeat. V: Mm hm. Emphasizing the downbeat. A: Emphasizing, yes, the downbeat, For example, if you have a meter of 2/4, then you would emphasize only one note per beat, the first one, yes? If you have Common Meter, 4/4, then you will emphasize the first one and the third one. And if you have the 3/4 meter, you will emphasize the first beat, and just a little bit the third one. To have sort of like a spring jump to the next bar. V: But this is a second level, I think, of articulation. The first level is to simply imitate the detached playing style, but not too choppy. As you… A: Well, I don’t think this is the second step. I think this is the first step. Because, come on, it’s much easier to detach notes if you know you will lean down on the strong beats. V: It was difficult for me. I remember myself. A: But…. V: Maybe you are not as stupid as I am. A: Well, that’s why I noticed that some of your students play staccato everything. And you are sort of happy about that. But it’s not the way, it’s not the way it should be. I think you need to do the right thing right from the beginning. It’s much easier than to go back and to correct of relearn things. So I think the meter in baroque music is a crucial thing. V: I don’t disagree with you, but do you think that emphasizing the meter should be done right from the start? A: Yes, yes, I strongly believe that. V: Even for the beginners? A: Yes. V: I mean… A: Yes, definitely. V: Wait a second. Let’s say Roberta, not Roberta, Rebecca, right? Rebecca wants to play BWV 565. And this is not a beginning piece, this is, well, we call it an intermediate piece at least. So, obviously, by that time, she probably has to be familiar with meter concept and it has to come naturally to her. And when she is learning the articulation, I think for her, for her, emphasizing the meter right away might come naturally already. It wouldn’t be too difficult. A: Well, by her question I don’t think so. V: You don’t think so? A: Yes. That’s my impression that I got by reading her letter. V: Yeah. It’s like making consultation over the phone. It’s difficult giving prescriptions when you don’t see the exact person. A: Because look, you need to consider the meter first, because even the space that you will give between each of the notes will depend on that a little bit, yes? How your strong and weak beats in the measure falls down Another thing to consider would be, what kind of environment are you performing? Is it a dry room acoustic? Or it’s a large church acoustic, like we have at St. John’s? All these things are to consider. Because if you will play really staccato every note in a dry room, then it will sound unmusical. And unnatural. V: No, no, no. What I meant, it was just a preliminary stage. And then once you’re familiar with the notes, you can think of the meter, being more fluent and emphasizing the meter. A: I still don’t know how you are learning things that’s very fun. V: For myself it’s different. A: It’s like putting your trousers and then putting your underwear, don’t you think so? V: But didn’t you forget… A: Underwear comes first, and then… V: But didn’t you forget when you were little, like 6 years old. And you started… A: Well, I haven’t played organ at that time So, sorry I started to learn organ when I was 17 years old. And I was taught organ to play in Lithuania incorrectly. V: Yes, but by that time your piano technique was perfect. A: Well, maybe not that perfect, but it was good, yes. V: You could play all kinds of things. A: But you know, if she studies with Roberta Gary, who is one of the most renowned organists in the United States, maybe she’s not a beginner. V: Hm. A: Although when she asked how to put the, how to plan the recital program, it’s sort of… V: ...beginning question. A: Beginning question, and it cannot really be answered, because if we should tell her particular pieces, she would need to send us entire list of what she’s able to play at the moment. And then we could advise how to put, and what to play first and what to play the last. V: Well, okay. Let’s talk a little bit about, if we have time, I think this is maybe the question for the next episode, right - how to create a good recital program. Maybe we will run out of time for this episode if we talk right now. So maybe let’s sign out and let’s do one more episode. A: Okay. V: Thank you guys for listening. Keep your articulation detached, but not too detached. Emphasize the meter as Ausra says. Keep playing in a singing manner, a cantabile manner, if we are talking about baroque compositions. And let’s look forward to our next discussion. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 569 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Laurie, who transcribes our podcasts into text. And she is also a member of Total Organist community. She writes, Hi Vidas, I have set a goal for myself to give a solo concert at my church in May. So I have started to practice some new, challenging repertoire, including the Bach Gigue Fugue (I downloaded your fingering and pedaling!) and Mulet's "Thou art the Rock." (or Tu es Petrus) Sometimes, it doesn't seem like I'm making much progress practicing, and it takes so much longer to learn something in my 50s than it did in my 20s or even 30s. But.... My sight reading (and general playing) of our choir anthems is easier and better. And even my typing for your podcasts is going faster and smoother for me, since I started to practice slowly and carefully. So, yes --- when you practice, miracles happen. Thanks for all you do for organists around the world, even those of us who don’t often post in Basecamp or enter contests. Love to Ausra, as well. You are lucky to have her. More than once, I have wanted to object to something you say in your podcast, and then she says exactly what I was thinking. Perhaps I need to get her some coffee or decaf. Blessings to you both. V: Ausra, what do you say? A: What a nice letter for her to write. Thank you, Laurie - I am appreciating your thoughts. Well, I guess, being a woman, we can understand each other probably better. V: Do you think I don’t understand women? A: Probably not so much as women can understand women. Women organists. V: Mm. I see. So maybe you could start a podcast of your own for women only. A: Well, and what would I talk about? With myself? Since you are not a woman. V: Sure, but… A: Maybe I could interview organist women. V: Yeah, that would be a good specialization, I think. It’s a nice niche, because majority of organists in the world are men. A: Do you think so? V: Yes. And women are underserved. I think it’s evident from my Facebook fans, or friends, actually, who are only, I think 80 percent men. And most of them are organists, of course. But maybe that could be biased towards me, you know. When I invite some friends, or they try to friend me, men more frequently befriend men, right? A: Probably, yes. V: And women probably become friends with women more. A: But actually, I have more men friends on Facebook. Organists. V: Organists, yeah. A: Comparing to female. V: So this approximation might be accurate, actually. And yes, so when women need specific help, the specific issues that women face are different than men’s issues, then they don’t necessarily get the right amount of help they need, you know? They might get generic advice from me, or something, but not what their, basically their issues are. As you say, you understand women better. A: Yes. And what about age? Do you think it’s important to practice more when you get older, and is it harder for your to learn something at your age than say, comparing to 20 years back? V: Definitely harder. If I tried to learn the same amount of repertoire that I was pushing for in my student years, let’s say, or in my 30s, during my DMA program studies. But luckily, I improvise a lot. And this also counts as practice for me. And I don’t really pay attention too much if I am learning a lot on a specific day or not. My main goal is to sit down on the organ bench, not to skip a day without practice, although there are some days which I kind of regret, of not sitting down. That happens. But less and less, obviously. What about for you? A: Well, strangely enough, for me it’s a little bit other way around. Because what I remember my student years, I really spent a lot of time every day on the organ bench. And now I don’t have that privilege. So, because I’m still performing, I have to be really careful and focus a lot what I’m doing. Because, honestly, not every day I get a chance to sit down on the organ bench. But now I learn music much faster than I did when I was young. V: Why is it so? A: I think because I am teaching music theory disciplines. V: Yeah, harmony helps, of course, and theory obviously helps you understand how the piece is put together, when you sightread music, you, you probably know right away what is happening right away in the piece. What kind of modulations are happening, what kind of polyphonic techniques are being used. And this way, you can think like a composer who created that piece, maybe centuries ago. So I always advise people to deepen their knowledge and skills in music theory and harmony, even though those exercises might seem dry and unmusical sometimes. Like to play a sequence or a modulation. But to tell you the truth, I think if somebody can play a modulation, it’s just one step away from real improvisation of 19th century style, let’s say verset. If you can play a modulation, and it usually takes somewhere between 8 measures, around 8 measures, it’s one musical idea, what we call a period, and if you create two more modulations, you get a simple ternary form. Or even one additional modulation, like binary form, with recapitulation at the end. A: I remember myself 20 years back, when I would have to learn a piece, with, let’s see, four or five accidentals, it was a challenge for me at that time. Because the more sharps or flats the piece would have, or if the keys would change frequently, it would bother me. Now it’s, not really. For example, even in your compositions, you go from one key to another so abruptly, and so often. But it doesn’t bother me. V: Because you have been playing it for awhile now. A: Well, and I remember when I had to learn the texts, it came much easier. V: But I remember the moment when you first played, what was the piece we played together, maybe the Fantasia on the Themes by Mikalojus Konstantinas Čiurlionis, for organ duet version arrangement, and you were complaining about those keys a lot to me, because it was kind of new territory to you. But that was a few years ago. A: Well, I wasn’t complaining about keys, but I was complaining that you wanted me to play the right side of you, of the piece, and I didn’t want to do it. I wanted to play the left side. Because it’s your piece, and honestly, the first part is much harder. And we didn’t have much time for it, so I said that as the composer you have to be an honor to play the harder part. I think that’s fair. V: Excellent. When you are the composer, you will get to play the first part. A: That’s why I’m not composing! V: Is it? A: Just to avoid hard stuff. V: I see. But honestly, I would gladly play with you something that you composed. Even the first part. A: Okay. Maybe I’ll write something, just slow accompaniment, and whole notes for me, and then virtuoso 32nds for you. V: Yeah. Just write something to shut me up. A: True. V: All right, back to Laurie’s question a little bit. She really is on the right track I think. With the fingering of Bach’s Gigue Fugue. I haven’t done Mulet’s Thou Art The Rock, or as it’s called, Tu Es Petra, but it would be nice to do this. I have to double-check if the score is in the public domain or not. A: Yes, I think if somebody decides to play a solo recital, let’s say after a few years of not playing it, I think the wise thing would be to play mostly old pieces and old repertoire. V: And only occasionally add something new. A: So I think it’s nice that Laurie plays some old stuff, and then she includes these two new pieces. Because if you would select all new pieces, let’s say after maybe a break of 5 or 10 years, it might be too much. V: Mm hm. Yeah, you have to start not where you picked up, where you left, but actually a little bit on the easier side. Give yourself a few months to get to the level where you’ve been all those years. A: Because when you’re planning your recital, if all pieces will be challenge for you, then you will just collapse at the end of recital, or you will not be able to make it. Because while playing a recital, you need to have difficult pieces and more easier pieces that you could relax, at least a little bit. V: Right. I love the way she says that she appreciates our work on Basecamp and for people who enter contests. I hope Laurie will come back to our contests. She wrote something that she needs to figure out how to make a video, because her son used to do this for her, but he is now, I think moved to another town. But that’s not very difficult. The phones have now possibility to record and upload to YouTube. A: Yes, and since she is working on the repertoire for her upcoming recital, she might use the same pieces for the competition. V: Easily. Yes, that would be great. She could shoot two birds with one shot easily. We would really appreciate her coming back. Because the number of our contestants is growing, actually. Last week, we had, what - A: Eight? V: Eight, yes, eight. So now our goal is nine. (laughs) Great. Thank you guys for listening and applying our tips in your practice. Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 570 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Albert, and he is our Total Organist student now. He writes: “Dear Vidas, I was browsing on your website and just have a couple of questions. I just want to know if I were to subscribe to your program, there are two things I want to develop. My Technique (left and right hand manuals and both feet pedal playing) Sight Reading Learning Hymns faster What kind of materials will I expect to improve these from your programs? Also I currently have a 61 key Hammond Organ/Keyboard and a 20 note Hammond Pedal will this be enough for me to make use of your program to achieve my goals? Thanks Albert” V: Well, first of all, I wrote an email afterwards to Albert with the suggestion that he would become a Total Organist subscriber, so he did subscribe to the program, which is very nice. Hopefully he will get a lot of things out of this program like many other people are doing. But to answer his question, Ausra, what do you think? Sight-reading, for example. A lot of people seem to enjoy my Sight-Reading Master Course. A: Yes! I think that’s a great course based on the “Bach’s Art of Fugue,” and if you can manage that, then it definitely will help you to learn hymns much faster. V: Exactly, yes. Although his primary objective is playing hymns, maybe through sight-reading real organ pieces he will gain additional skills that will enable him to play real organ music later on. You see, when people say they want to learn hymns faster, they don’t necessarily mean that real organ music is not interesting to them. Maybe they don’t have the direct practical application to organ music, let’s say, during liturgy. But imagine if you were a church organist, Ausra, and you could play something from the real organ repertoire. Would you sometimes play it? Would you do it? A: Of course I would do it. V: As a prelude. As a postlude. A: Postlude. V: Why not, right? A: Or during communion. V: There are thousands of organists who don’t do this, and actually, the services then become a little much more boring, I think… service playing… A: I remember when I was serving as an organist in Lithuania before our studies in The United States, I would mostly hate the time of Advent and of Lent because it was the hardest time for organists in Lithuania, because you were not allowed to play solo organ repertoire during Mass. And we had to sing a lot, because most often, churches could not afford to have a choir or a soloist. That would leave congregational singing, so the organist would have to do it, and it was tough, really. After singing the entire Mass and all the hymns during communion, and the opening hymn, ending hymn, it was really hard. V: I think it’s unfortunate sometimes that people don’t play a real organ repertoire or improvise, let’s say, more sophisticated stuff, because after a while, you get used to playing hymns. You know all the hymns in your hymnal after a few years, and the cycle continues. You continue playing that in circles, and you no longer improve, actually, and it becomes boring, not only for musician who visit your church, as members of the congregation, or listeners, but to yourself, as well, because you’re not longer improving. And I ideally recommend making use of your sight-reading skills, and little by little starting to play preludes and postludes, and even communion pieces if there is a time for it in your congregations. A: What about technique? Do you think your courses are useful in developing technique of your hands and pedals? V: Well, I have this Pedal Virtuoso Master Course, which of course includes pedals scales and arpeggios over one octave, and two octaves. This is a really great course for improving ankle flexibility, which is the secret of perfect pedal technique. A: And what about the manual part? V: Well, for manuals I have Left Hand Training and Two Part Training! Those two courses are based on Bach’s Trio Sonatas. I transposed all those trio sonatas into all the different keys, and in the first course, Left Hand Training, I present them as just one single melody. So for people who want to improve left hand, they can practice with the left hand, but it’s not necessarily limited to that, you can practice with the right hand… the same melody, maybe one octave higher. You can even play with the pedals… the same melody. It would be more complex, but it’s possible, because let’s say in a trio sonata, there are three parts: Soprano, Middle part, and the Bass. I present all three of them in a specific order to play for a single voice for left hand, so there is no, let’s say, there isn’t any limitation for you to omit pedal playing for this. You can make it as a complete left hand, right hand, and pedal playing course out of it, if you want. And then comes Two Part Training. Two Part Training includes also different keys, much transpositions, but only for two voices: left hand and right hand, or for right hand an pedals, or for left hand and pedals. See? A: So I guess this course would be really beneficial for Albert’s needs. V: Yeah, sure! A: And then he asks if his organ is sufficient to practice these courses. What would you say about it? V: With manuals, there is no problem with 61 keys, obviously enough, but with 20 note pedals… 20 note… 2 octaves is 24 notes or 25 notes if you want to go up to treble C, right? So 20 note what… up to tenor G or something. A: It’s from C to G. It’s an octave and a half. V: Uh-huh. So you still can practice all those courses, but you sometimes have to drop either one note, or one motif or an entire phrase one octave lower, depending on which piece, or more musical. A: Yes, so you have to adjust a little bit, you know. V: And adjust your pedaling as well. Sometimes, if you drop a high note to a lower octave, it’s no longer useful to play it with your right foot. Maybe your left foot has to take over. A: But still, you can learn a lot even having such an organ with a short pedal keyboard. V: Definitely. Yes. So I hope this will be useful to Albert and to everyone else who is looking to improve their technique. So total organist is doing what it says to do, to try to develop total organist skills. Whatever you want to become, you can become with the Total Organist program. And not only that, it’s not limited. You can study music theory, harmony, and also improvisation training. You really will become a complete musician. Right Ausra? A: Yes. V: Thank you guys, this was Vidas, A: And Ausra! V: Please send us more of your questions, we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 566 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Dave, and he writes: “Vidas! I did your year-long subscription some years ago… and after that found a local organ teacher. I just wanted to let you know that after 40 yrs, I successfully accomplished (another) audition for going back to college to get a Bachelor's degree in Church Music with an Organ Performance certificate. I just started this new semester at a college here in North Carolina; where I have an opportunity to practice on a wonderful Fisk instrument (currently enrolled in Music History, Harpsichord and Organ.) Your course was very helpful in getting back to my “roots” and kick-starting this entire adventure. So, while I’m not currently enrolled, I do get your weekly messages (and even read them) and I do look at the weekly competitions. Just wanted to say “thank you” for your “nudge” back into the world of organ playing. Dave” V: What are your thoughts, Ausra, for starters? A: Well, I think you should be very pleased to receive a message like this, because it’s a direct praise to your work, and I think it’s a very nice letter! It’s nice to help people, and to get this feedback, because otherwise you would never know if your courses work or not. V: You know, what’s a amazing to me is that after 40 years, he got back to college! That should be done more often, I think, in the world, when senior people have more time in their days and can study things! A: Now it’s becoming more and more common, and let me correct you a little bit. I think that in the future, we won’t have seniors at all, because nobody can retire after the economy is changing so swiftly, and people are living for more years. So, let’s see… now in Lithuania we have to retire at the age of 65. Yes? V: Yes. A: But I think until the time we will be getting to retire, I think that age will be probably 75. V: Is it even possible? A: I don’t know. V: How will they approve it? A: But I think they will find their ways to do it in order to save money from the pension funds. V: Won’t the community protest? A: Well, who cares about community. But what I’m trying to say is that the life is changing basically everywhere, and people have to stay in business for more years, and therefore they have to change their major very often, or to find new possibilities to make a living and to earn an income. So I think playing organ can be one of the options. V: Especially if a person likes playing, likes music, then this passion can become a side income for him. A: Sure. V: Or her. Have you have ever heard Fisk instruments before? A: Yes, I have heard them. V: Where? A: In the United States, of course. V: I think I heard at Oberlin. Yes? A: Yes. V: We’ve been there. It’s actually been more than once. At Oberlin, it’s a French style instrument. And also, at Rochester. Remember? This church where Hans Davidsson played? A: The 3rd part of Clavier-Übung, yes? V: Clavier-Übung, yes. A: Yes, I remember that. Anyway, often the people who live in Europe think that America has no fine organ instruments, and they are so wrong! Because America has all these extremely good organ builders such as John Brombaugh, and Gene Bedient and Fisks, and Taylor and Boody, and now Martin Pasi is building all these wonderful instruments in America, and Bruce Fowkes, and all others! They are extremely professional, and their instruments are splendid! V: Yes. They all congregate under APOBA – Associated Pipe Organ Builders of America. Yes. A Fisk instrument, I haven’t played it before, but heard it a few times, and of course, we have heard recordings. A: Sure. Many times. V: Excellent. So it’s great that Dave is back in organ playing studies. What can we wish for him? That he participate in our weekly competitions! Yes, he does say that he looks at that. I think our contests give people opportunity to record themselves and to get better at playing different repertoire every week. For example, if he’s studying at the college level, bachelors degree, he might not be required to prepare a new piece every week. He can have a program for let’s say, one semester and then after the semester, he would play a jury or a recital or something. But with weekly contests, you need to prepare at least something—at least a short piece—a minute, two, three, four, five minutes, whatever you can, and this in time greatly facilitates your learning process, and with time you can learn longer pieces faster. Remember like @partitura, or Auke Jonbloed, was playing just a couple of minutes per week. Right? His recordings were really short. But now, he’s easily playing 5 minutes, and difficult trio compositions, and chorale preludes. A: Could he also submit harpsichord pieces for our competition, or not? V: Not for The Secrets of Organ Playing, but there is a Sonic Groove Live contest on Steem, that accepts all kinds of live performances on all kinds of instruments. A: But couldn’t he perform, let’s say, some of his harpsichord music on the organ and then submit to our competition? V: Oh, that would be wonderful! Yes! Sometimes it works. Cross instruments, yes! Wonderful, so that’s an idea for people like Dave who are following our messages, even reading them, and even listening to the people’s performances but haven’t taken the step towards submitting their own entries. Maybe they are hesitant, maybe they are afraid what others will think. We can assure you that we never criticize harshly. Right Ausra? A: Yes, that’s right. V: If we ever have to say anything about your performance, it would be a constructive criticism with points to improve on, which is really valuable, right? A: Yes, I wish so many times that people would tell me what they really think about my playing and not just telling me nice things. V: Okay guys, this was Vidas, A: And Ausra! V: 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!
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra V: Let’s start episode 567, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by John. And he writes: Dear Vidas and Ausra, How are you today? I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with the music distributors and the very unfair treatment you are receiving. I can't believe they are doing this to you. And it seems James Flores is also being harassed over copyright issues when his music is in the public domain. Thanks for your advice on the role of music director, and I look forward to your next podcast! I am working hard on Prelude in the Classic Style by Gordon Young, and I am finding I am learning it much faster than I expected! I remember one of your students from the Unda Maris studio played this piece and it sounded magnificent on the St John's organ! So now when I'm practicing I try to imagine I am there playing it at St John's! Take care, God bless John... V: Oh, that’s a nice message. A: Yes, it is. V: So, his first question was, ‘how are you today’! A: I’m fine. V: What are you doing today? How are you feeling today? A: Well, I will have one private lesson today, to teach, and then no class next week and I’m so excited about that. V: Mmm-mmm. Spring break? No. A: No, that’s a winter break. V: Winter break. A: Yes, we are still in February you know. V: Yeah. My plans today is to start composing a piece based on the choral tune for Lent, passion chorale; ‘O Sacred Head Now Wounded’, and I’m having a little bit hard time figuring out what can I do with a Lutheran choral like this, how it would fit my style, and I know that Gregorian Chant works well with my modal writing. And Ausra suggested that I do something with it. What did you suggest? A: I said that you need to embellish the choral melody and do it some more like Gregorian chant. Add some non-harmonical tunes. V: Mmm-hmm. We’ll see about that. A: And then your style will work for you, just fine. V: John writes about being sorry that DistroKid banned me from uploading my organ music to Spotify and other audio platforms. And since then I found another platform and it’s called Mixnauten and their business model is different from DistroKid, and actually they’re, actually interested in seeing their customers succeed because they take not subscription fee like DistroKid has. Once a year you pay a yearly subscription and irregardless if you’re successful or not, if you’re making a lot of money or very little money, you always only pay certain amount. For me it was thirty-six dollars because I have this double artist account for Ausra’s music too. But with Mixnauten they take percentage—thirty percent of your revenue goes to Mixnauten, so when you grow, the company grows. So it’s win-win for all of us involved, you know. A: I think that’s a very wise solution. V: Yeah. And it doesn’t cost me anything from my own pocket. A: That’s good. So we earn more and it’s better for you as well. V: Yes. A: Because I think DistroKid just treated you so unfairly. So I guess they will bankrupt in the future. V: Mmm-hmm. Yeah. I know. Spotify has some shares in DistroKid too, minor shares, but they are too big to care about their customers. And the copyright issues that James Flores is facing, sometimes it’s not exclusive to him. Sometimes my videos get copyright notices… A: This is just idiotic. For example, when somebody shows the complain about you playing Bach’s Invention #1… V: Yes. A: That’s total (expletive not included). Who could copyright that? V: Well, exactly. Somebody suggest that I would upload all my videos but not strait away like I would play them, but with a little bit increased or reduced speed-change and tuning, a little bit higher or lower, just a little bit. Then the copyright bots and software wouldn’t pick it up. What do you think about that? A: Well, maybe it’s okay, somebody who listens [to] you doesn’t have a perfect pitch, otherwise I don’t think it would be so well. V: I mean, it’s not like half a step, but maybe just a few cents. A: Mmm, well, I don’t know about that. V: Yeah, it’s just too much work. A: It is. V: If you produce, like one video per week, or one video per month, then okay, you can polish it and edit it and do all kinds of fancy things with it, but when I do several per day… A: True. V: It’s not worth it. I just file a dispute about copyrights and usually they release it. And James Flores is doing the same thing. So now, John is playing ‘Prelude in the Classical Style’, by Gordon Young. Do you remember this piece? A: Yes, I remember it very well. V: Our student Arnoldas played it. A: Yes. V: And it’s still available on Youtube to listen to. A: It’s a nice piece. V: Yeah, very popular. Even though organist and composer, Gordon Young, was living in the early 20th Century, the style here is really classical and sounds like from early 19th Century, I would say, like Lemmens. A: Yes. V: Remember ‘Fanfare’ by Lemmens? A: Yes. V: Same thing. It’s a very fun piece to play in public. Maybe to end a recital or begin recital. I think Arnoldas began our Unda Maris recital with it. A: Yes. I think it’s one of the pieces that sounds better and more complicated than it really is, more complex than it really is. It’s not a hard one, piece to learn, even for a beginner. So it really worth attention. V: Yeah. And since John was playing a recital and St. John’s before, he now can imagine that he’s back and playing on our organ, the piece by Gordon Young. A: That’s very nice. V: Wonderful. Thank you guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 568 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Paulius. And he writes, Hello! Vidas, do you have the pedaling of D major scale in the Baroque style? Paulius Vidas: L L R L R L R R D E F# G A B C# D R R L R L R L L D C# B A G F# E D V: Do you know what he’s talking about, Ausra? A: Who doesn’t know the famous prelude by J.S. Bach? V: Do you think that he… A: With passage of D Major scale in the pedal. V: Do you think that Paulius is playing this piece himself? A: I don’t think, I think he is asking how to pedalize the scale for his colleague and friend. V: Uh huh. Could be. A: It’s sort of very interesting sounding when you are asking people for other people. V: Yes. I would suspect that, too. You know, Lithuanians sometimes, they never ask us questions directly, or never truly engage with our content online. Have you noticed that? A: Yes. V: I’m sure they can read English, or understand English, or hear our voices. We don’t talk complicated English, they could understand most of it, right? Plus, it’s organ-related stuff, so it’s not that difficult. But for some reason, Lithuanians, I would say, ignore us, right? A: Well…. V: Or not? A: That’s, you know, envy. V: Envy? A: That’s always, that’s the main feature of Lithuanian folks, we are just very envious. V: Mm hm. For people who are more successful than them? A: Well, yes, I guess maybe even for people who are different. V: Mm hm. A: Who think outside of the box. And see outside of the box. V: Sure. And we are not talking about Paulius now. A: Yes. Definitely not. V: Paulius is our friend. So, playing D Major scale. I suspect it’s for D Major Prelude and Fugue, BWV 532, and the principle that I usually apply here, I hold this principle for every baroque piece, every baroque, up to, let’s say, 19th century. So, I don’t play everything with one foot, or with another foot, or with heels. The system is that you use alternate toes whenever possible, left-right, left-right, left-right, or right-left, right-left if in descending motion. But there are exceptions. Sometimes you play with the same foot. And the system was described in very easy terms by Harald Vogel in his preface, I think, to Tabulatura Nova by Samuel Scheidt. And I read it, and it made sense. Then later, of course, Richard Stauffer Organ Method book applied this extensively, and that’s where we had learned our early technique from. A: So basically, it’s common knowledge for people who are thinking about historical performance, or accuracy of historical performance. V: Mm hm. So, you play with the alternate toes, right-left, right-left, most of the time. But play with the same toe, same foot twice, let’s say, when there is change of direction, if the melody moves upward and then downward, you play with the same foot. Or, when there are longer note values, you can play with the same foot if there are half notes, let’s say. It’s nothing to worry about, you don’t have to play in alternate toes unless you want. And you play with the same toe when there is an upbeat before the stronger beat. It doesn’t have to be beat 1 of the measure; it can be beat 3 in 4/4 meter. Or in faster notes, like sixteenth note passages, like in D Major scale, it could mean every, it could be, the first note could be played with the same toe. D, E, those 2 notes of the scale, I would play them with left-left. And then alternate toes. It would be left-left-right-left-right-left-right-right. Because the last note is the strongest beat. Does this make sense, Ausra? A: Yes, and because the last 2 notes are already very high up… V: Mm hm. A: On the pedalboard. V: Of course, in this piece, there is no descending scale, but I wrote to Paulius anyway, I would start the same way, but from the right toe. Right-right-left-right-left-right-left-left. A: It makes sense. V: So, ascending will be D E F# G A B C# D, Or left-left-right-left-right-left-right-right. And descending will be D C# B A G F# E D, or right-right-left-right-left-right-left-left. Would you do this the same way, or a little bit different? A: Yes, I would do it the same way. I think it’s very adequate. V: This is not the same if you want to play D Major scale legato, in a modern style. A: Of course. It would be completely different. You will use heels as well. V: I would play, I would start with the heel, D, then the toe of the same foot, left foot, E, then F# would be right toe, then G would be left heel, A would be right heel, and then B would be left toe, C# would be right toe, and then heel on D. It’s like a heel, toe, toe, heel, heel technique mostly. You keep your heels together. That’s very easy then. Does it, is it something you would apply yourself, Ausra? I see your hidden smile. A: Well, you know, if you would have such short legs as I do, I don’t think you would be able to keep all time your knees together. So that’s, you know, we have different physiology. And for example, if I would have to play in romantic style, the D Major scale, the three upper notes I would play with my right foot. I would do the heel on the B, then the toe on the C#, and then finish with the heel. V: I see. You need longer legs. A: Yes. Could you buy them for me? V: Um (laughs) good question! I’m just looking at YouTube videos that I did, and it looks like my video on how to play the C Major scale with pedals on the organ has 75,000 views. It’s my most viewed video. But, D Major scale, D Major pedal scale has, guess how many views? A: Less than C Major of course. V: How much less? A: A lot. V: Only 4,737 views. A: Very few people care for D Major scale. V: Yes. It pays to play with zero accidentals. So, you can look it up, by the way, if you are interested in looking at my feet and seeing how I play D Major scale. But this is in legato style. A: Yes, definitely. So you would not apply it for playing… V: Mm hm. A: Bach’s D Major Prelude and Fugue. V: And by the way, if you need guidance and you need to perfect your organ playing pedal technique, I really recommend Pedal Virtuoso Master Course. We have exercises in playing arpeggios and scales over one and two octaves, and what it gives is, provides you, helps you create, develop your ankle flexibility. And this is the secret sauce of having perfect pedal technique in any style, of course. It’s based on legato style, so it doesn’t work for toes only technique. But just think, just something to keep in mind if you want to perfect your pedal technique. It’s really worth it. Okay, guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. SOPP564: Important to me is to take songs which are outside of the Church or Classic repertoire2/15/2020
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra V: Let’s start episode 564, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jason. And he writes: Hello Vidas, Thank you for your email. My dreams are to be truly expressive in whatever I play. I want to do my own arrangements and improvisations to pieces. Important to me is to take songs which are outside of the Church or Classic repertoire. With these songs I would create interesting organ pieces with real musical depth, I’m talking about arranging music like Jimi Hendrix—Voodoo Child, David Bowie—life on Mars there are so many. Sticking with more standard pieces then new stuff like Hans Zimmer—Interstellar pieces would be great. But above all the knowledge and ability to arrange and play modern pieces. What is holding me back is my brain over complicating music theory. Thank you Jason V: Music theory is always a drag, right? A: Yes. V: Can you create arrangements and improvisations without knowing music theory? A: I don’t know, unless you are a genius, probably. V: Yeah, you can do intuitive things without knowing what you are doing, but then you cannot explain to others. A: That’s right. So I guess that knowing music theory is a crucial thing. V: Mmm-hmm. Of course, if you always can explain what you’re doing, it’s not always that interesting, right? A: True. V: It has to be some mystery. A: I know, but I think in nowadays there are no problems in creating sort of transcriptions. Because basically what he is talking about, Jason, it’s basically transcription. And I think that many of music software nowadays can do that for him. Or at least help to do it. V: Well, yes. For example, let’s take a song by David Bowie or Jimi Hendrix, right? Or Hans Zimmer. If he can get a hold of the score, like original score imitation, and then put it into Sibelius or Finale, any other software that does arrangements automatically, and with the press of a button he can specify how many voices does he want to have in each hand, how many stave mutations, if its suitable with pedals or without pedals, things like that, and he can specify the style, actually, and that would be produced automatically. I’m not sure if that’s the best result, but for starters it’s no-brainer. A: And I’m not really sure that’s a legal thing, because all these authors that Jason mentions in his letter, I guess they are still alive, still living, and I don’t know what about copyrights, and do you have a right to do arrangements with their music. V: Yeah. Jimi Hendrix and David Bowie, they are not with us anymore, but obviously copyright holds, uh… A: Yes, because I think it was hold like seventy-five years after death. V: In some countries seventy-five, in some fifty, after death. A: But still, you know… V: But of course copyrights can be renewed after that, so you have to be really careful. And license your arrangement. You can purchase licensing actually, and then do this legally. A: Sure. V: Can you do this for your own enjoyment, if you don’t share the music anywhere, just for your private use, legally? A: I think so. V: Do you think so? A: If it’s for yourself, yes. V: I am not so sure. I’m not a copyright lawyer, so don’t site me on this. Better to consult copyright lawyer on this, even for private use, if you’re creating like a cover song as they call it, if you create your own arrangement of the original copyrighted popular music song. That’s really complicated and guarded very, very fiercely by copyright holders. A: Yeah. And you know while talking about all this kind of music that Jason mentions, I’m not sure that organ is the best instrument for this music to be played on. V: Yes, for us. A: Some if it might work but some of it might just sound ridiculous. V: You know this is our taste and people have other tastes, you know, and what works for us not necessarily works for Jason and vice-versa. People enjoy for, example, listening to Queen’s Rhapsody in Blue. Not in blue... A: (Laughs). Bohemian Rhapsody. V: (Laughs). Yes. Who created Rhapsody in Blue? Gershwin. A: That’s right. V: Yes. Bohemian Rhapsody on the organ. Some people enjoy that. That’s not what my taste prefers though, but I don’t judge other people, not at this point in my life at least. What about you, Ausra? A: Me too! V: Freedom of expression should be available to all on earth, whatever they want to do. A: But let’s say that if Jason wants to do everything from the scratch by himself and he definitely needs to know music theory. There is no way to escape that. V: Well, that’s a good point, yeah. Something to think about if you’re serious arrangement and improvising based on those arrangements, you have to know what you’re doing and music theory helps to see the ideas behind music that composer or songwriter, in this case, have put into the piece. A: And you know, I guess because we are talking about popular music now, I think we have a little of their version of music theory too. So basically what applies to the common period may not be applied to the popular music. V: That’s right. A: So this is all another world. V: Yeah. Yeah, you have to do many experiments and do trial and error before you find what works and what doesn’t. That’s the best teacher, I think. A: Yes. V: Thank you guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 563 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Daniel, and he writes: “Hello Vidas and Ausra! I have a question about fingering and practising in a very slow tempo. If I do the fingering early I often have to choose another solution when I know the difficult parts better and can play them in a ”final” tempo. So the question is: When is the optimal moment to decide the fingering? Thanks for all good inspiration!” V: Hmm… that’s a good question, Ausra, right? A: Yes, it is a good question. V: What I do, I can say first and then you later share your version. A: Okay. V: Nowadays, I sit down on the organ bench, and I sight read a piece of music. At the same time, I record or even live stream the video with the camera pointed from above to the keyboards, so that hands, fingers, and even pedals would be visible. And once that’s done, I submit this video to my team to transcribe the fingering and pedaling for me. So basically, what I’m doing is using complete fingering right from the start. What about you? A: So it means that you have a very good notion of fingering and feel very self confident, yes? V: Not always, though. Of course, there are some elements which need editing, and I edit them later. But for most of the time, especially early music, it’s no problem. A: Yes, it’s the same for me with early music. I have a pretty good sense of how to finger it automatically, but I remember when I was a student in my early years of organ studies, I realized that it’s probably not a good thing to sit down and to write fingering right away after picking up a new piece, because I realized after you’ve spent hours and hours fingering it and then you practice, and after some time you see that some of those fingerings simply don’t work for you, and you have to rewrite it. So what I have done since that time, I would play a piece a few times, and only after that, I would write down my fingering. V: Makes sense. Recently, I’ve been going to church and practicing well known pieces, and also at the same time recording them later, but not as a sight-reading, but as a finished composition—finished performance, basically, ready to upload on YouTube and any other streaming platform. But it takes, for me, maybe ten times to play it slowly and faster to get ready, and especially if the piece is a little bit harder and faster and longer, and it might take a few more days to do it. But then, I suspect my fingering would be maybe a little bit different if I record it the last take—the tenth try, or the twentieth try, or the fortieth or fiftieth try, and then try to notate my fingering based on that video. Make sense? A: Yes, it makes sense. I think that the worst thing you can do is to play the same keys each time with a different fingering. That would slow down your progress of improvement. So I guess at some point, and quite early in learning the piece, you have to decide finally on what your fingering will be. V: Yeah, maybe you can choose... If Daniel, for example, wants to choose something in between what we are doing... we are having two opinions. Ausra suggests first to practice a few times and then notate fingering, and I… not recommending to do it like myself—write down fingering right from the start—but I’m just sharing what I’m doing, because I have that much experience. So maybe you could do something in between, right? Maybe play a few times and see if you’re comfortable with sitting down and writing down fingering then. Would that be helpful, Ausra? A: Yes, I guess everybody has to choose for themselves. What works for one might not work well for another one. V: Exactly. And it comes with the experience. After five, ten, twenty years, it will take less and less and less time to figure out the right fingering for you. Maybe you can do it right away when you sight read the first time. A: Right now, for example, I’m working on “Pièce D’Orgue” that Vidas fingered, and this is probably one of the pieces that I took a score with fingers in it... V: Vidas fingers! A: ...after a very long time, and I noticed that everything is just fine for my right, but not everything is just fine for my left hand. So basically, most of the places I ignored what is written in the left hand and created my own fingering. V: Why is that? A: I don’t know? V: Think. A: Well okay, let’s not go there. V: Maybe you have one extra finger. A: I don’t think so. V: There are people who have six fingers, actually. A: But I have only five on each hand. V: Hannibal Lecter had six fingers, you know? A: Vidas is in a mood, as you can hear. V: Good. So guys, choose what works for you. Right? We’re sharing what works for us, and probably the right answer will be somewhere in between for each of you. Thanks guys for sending these thoughtful questions, we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. |
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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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