Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 565 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Allen. And he writes, Hi Vidas and Ausra, It is great to read other people's problems and challenges and I would love to hear your responses to mine. I took up the organ seriously in 2015 after retiring and I am now 71. I practise every day for at least two hours and my latest piece (which I have just mastered) is the Bach Toccata BWV 538 (Dorian). Unfortunately, I do have the occasional BAD day when everything goes wrong, even bars that never went wrong before. I soldier on but it often gets worse. Do you ever experience this? If so, what do you do? Hoping to hear from you, Allen V: So, it’s very common piece and wonderful, Dorian toccata that Bach wrote, but I’m not sure if he is playing the Fugue or not. A: Well, anyway, I think this kind of problem, I have experienced it quite a lot actually. Many times. Because when we are talking about toccatas, we have this repeated patterns, motivic rhythm, at fast tempo, and while playing a lot of it, it might be overplayed, so to say. So the best thing for me is just to take a break and maybe to drop that piece for one or two days. Or even for a few days. And then to start to play it again, but at a slow tempo. V: Why is that, why do you have to take a break? A: Well, because you know, if I will force it, I might ruin it, and I might not want to play it anymore. V: And another answer might be probably that you have to let the unconscious do the work for you, while you are sleeping, while you are doing some other things, your mind still works subconsciously on that piece. A: I think that’s a very good point. V: Mm hm. And sometimes, subconscious practice is more beneficial than conscious practice, right? If we always force it and do it over and over again repeatedly, 100 times, 1000 times and with no results, maybe yes, we can take a break for a few days and then come back, and then the piece will start to sound like from scratch, like a fresh piece. And we will find many interesting new things in it, after we haven’t been, having been away from it for awhile. A: Because, you know, I get this feeling all the time when we are getting ready for our recitals. That you cannot practice every day in a concert tempo, because you ruin the piece. \ V: That’s very obvious, yeah. A: And the closer your recital comes, the better you are with your pieces, the more careful you need to be with it. And you need to take breaks, and you need to practice in a slow tempo. V: Yes, because it’s very tempting to play fast and… A: Yes, because everything is ready, you know, you know everything. V: It’s tempting to pretend that the recital is today. For example, we are recording it on Saturday, and our next recital is a week from tomorrow, on Sunday, A: Yes. V: In Sweden. And therefore, we have to try to peak on that day. Not today, not tomorrow, not in the middle of the week, but on the right day, and even on the right time. It will be like at 6:00 PM, and we have to get ready so that people in Sweden, in a city called Örebro would be listening there and enjoying it the most. A: True, so I guess the best timing is very important, and when you are learning and improving your skills, you need to find a pattern that works for you. V: And sometimes, it’s the opposite true, yes? Sometimes you can play slow and the easy way, and the calm way for too long, and then when the recital comes, or public appearance comes, you don’t know how you can handle the stress of the real tempo, because you never tried it. A: So I guess, you need to play in the concert tempo, that’s for sure, but after you reach that concert tempo, and you feel really comfortable in it, then you need to go back to a slower tempo. V: Well, for cases like that, they always recommend recording themselves, for people. And listening to those recordings. And when you press the record button, you always feel a little bit of stress, like, you can’t repeat a mistake, you can’t stop. You have to keep going. And that’s like a little bit similar to a real situation when people are listening to you live. And that’s very very helpful, if you really know the level that you are in right now. If you really mastered the Dorian toccata or not. Maybe it’s just in your mind that you have mastered it, but if you record it, maybe it’s another story. You have to check it. A: And recording yourself, I think, helps also to overcome performance anxiety. V: True. Exactly, because you are getting through these multiple levels of stress many times, and it’s not that stressful anymore, right? A: True, and the more you do it, the easier it gets. V: Although, this week when I recorded, I think the Spring from The Four Seasons by Vivaldi in the church, it was on Monday, I think, I was really nervous. Because I haven’t recorded anything from the score in a long while. You know, I usually livestream my improvisations, but that’s not the same, right? Because you can make up notes. Or if I perform modern-sounding music, people don’t know what kind of notes there are. But if it’s really popular classical piece like the Spring from Vivaldi’s The Four Seasons, everybody knows this piece inside out, and I was having a really stressful time calming myself down and focusing. Because I was actually livestreaming this piece when I was recording it. But, I had a fail-safe button on - I pressed the privacy level to “Private.” Nobody could hear it at that time. And only when I was happy with the performance, I set it on “Public.” A: So you were cheating a little bit, yes? V: I was cheating, yes. But the next time I recorded live, it was later on, the different piece, let’s say Bridal March from Lohengrin by Richard Wagner, I did it live. And actually played it three times. Nobody noticed, actually, on Facebook. All three times were good. But I chose the best version, the last version, for YouTube, for example. I edited it later. A: I guess you perform so much, so many times, and you livestream on Facebook, that nobody pays attention to you anymore. V: No, people usually listen to the beginning, and send “likes” and hearts, etc., and comment, for example, but not too many people listen to the end. A: Yeah. V: It’s the same on YouTube, too. Ok, guys. The best advice we could give, probably, is to practice slowly, and record yourself in this case. And then you will know your right, your exact level, and probably the bars that you occasionally play with mistakes can be fixed. A: And I really advise you to take a break. V: Oh, that’s good advice. I forgot about it. That’s like going on a trip, and missing your family, for example, if you go alone. And you come back, you miss your family, you start to appreciate it even more. A: Yes. So that might happen for Bach’s Toccata, Dorian. V: And play the Fugue, also. Fugue is worth the trouble, too. Our friend Jeremy Owens, practiced this piece, Toccata and Fugue, and Toccata, I think, was easier than Fugue for him. A: I think that’s always the case with Toccatas and Fugues. V: But he finally mastered this piece, so I have no doubt that Allen can do this too. Thank you. 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 559 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Arthur, and he writes: “Hello Vidas, I resigned up for Total Organist in August and was just trying to download some music that you have composed tonight and for some reason I can’t download it without paying extra for the music. Is this the case for Total Organist members? Are the compositions of yours and music which has had fingering applied to it something that we have to pay extra for? Looking forward to hearing from you. Arthur” And I wrote to him: “Thanks Arthur! Up until now my compositions were not available for Total Organist community. If you think they might be interesting to people, I can add them to the list. Please let me know.” And Arthur continued: “Hi Vidas, I didn't realize that they weren't part of the Total Organist "package" as it were. I listen to and watch your youtube improvisations as a way of studying what you do with harmony and have gained very much from doing this. I recently heard a recording of one of your works that was put on Contrebombarde.com - which is a site where organists from all over the world post music which they have recorded on a Hauptwerk virtual organ. This particular piece of yours was posted there by Carson Cooman. I really enjoyed the piece and wanted to study the score to analyze it and learn about some of your composition techniques from this process of analyzation. The particular piece of music was ‘Meditation in D, Op. 35’. Here is a link to the post: http://www.contrebombarde.com/concerthall/music/36764 For me it is one thing to learn by listening but there are some things that I learn more easily from looking at the music. On the other hand, I understand the need and desire of a composer to make an income from their music so I'm not asking you to do something that isn't part of what you have already set up. Sincerely, Arthur” And I wrote: “Thanks Arthur! I hope you will enjoy playing this piece.” and I sent him the score of my ‘Meditation in D, Op. 35’ to which he replied: “Thank you very much, Vidas! I really appreciate it and know that it will be a piece that I'll play for our church here in Pleasant Hill, California more than one time - so many people here will enjoy it as well. Warm regards, Arthur” So, Ausra, what do you think? Should my music be available to Total Organist subscribers? A: I guess because you are an author it’s for you to decide! V: What would you do if it was your music? A: Well, good question. I would have to consider it very seriously. V: What points would you have to consider? What would the consideration imply? I mean, what are some pros and cons? A: Well, I probably would include them to the Total Organist package. V: Expand the value of the entire program. A: Yes, and that way, you also will become more popular as a composer, I think. V: You know, you’re right in some part, of course. The reason I haven’t included in the past is that I didn’t know that it was a need. You know? Nobody really from the Total Organist community inquired about that. That’s one point, and another point is that with Total Organist, we teach people how to play the organ, and the needs for this group is different than the needs of organists who are looking for new music that I create. But sometimes they overlap, like in Arthur’s case. A: Yes, I think is the kind of piece that is well suited for church music, and it’s not that hard to learn, so it might be beneficial for church musicians. V: On the other hand, yes, I have played most of my pieces in liturgical settings, and they worked in my church, so there is no reason they shouldn’t work in other churches. Right? Except that sometimes they’re too difficult, sometimes maybe the requirements of our organ might be too great for what they have. If they have one manual and it’s a three manual piece, let’s say, but I think in my catalog, there are a variety of pieces that he could choose from. And there are really playable one or two manual organs as well, and three manual also. It’s really a good point that Arthur is asking, right? A: So how many opuses do you have now? V: I think… let me check… A: You have lost the number? V: Yeah. Let’s see. I have my catalog up in our Secrets of Organ Playing store, and there are collections of various scores and training programs, and one collection towards the end of the page is Vidas’ compositions. So that’s what I put all my music in, and let me sort these courses by date from new to old… and the newest is “Echo” from “Organ ABC.” Before that, “Dulcian” from “Organ ABC,” “Contrabourdon” from “Organ ABC,” and “Bellows” from “Organ ABC,” and before that was “The Advent of our God", Op. 70. So I guess Op. 70 is the latest one, complete opus, because what I’m doing with “Organ ABC” is I’m releasing separate parts so that people could play, beginners basically could play, with fingering and pedaling written in—those simple one page pieces. But later, when it’s done, I will compile them into one collection of all 26 pieces that are like a part of the Latin alphabet. But that will be later, and the opus number will be assigned, probably, at a later date. So I guess opus 70 for now is the last one, and right now I am transcribing my organ improvisation based on the “Silent Night” Christmas carol from 2016, I believe. It was improvised during the recital—Christmas recital, I think, on Christmas carols. And just recently, our friend and student John Higgins from Australia sent me an email asking if I would consider transcribing this piece, and I thought it would be a nice composition to have, because it worked for me as an improvisation, it’s a beautiful tune, and people could play it for next Christmas. So I’m working on that and basically taking audio dictation from my audio recording and notating what I hear on Sibelius notation software. It’s a slow process, therefore. I need to repeatedly listen to a small fragment over and over. A: I guess it’s much easier for you to improvise than to transcribe your improvisations. V: Definitely! You know, I have this fantasy that somehow this technology development would advance so much that I could upload an mp3 or another sort of audio file, and automagically the nice score would appear after improvisation. That would be really… A: I don’t think it will happen the near future. V: If I played a piano keyboard instrument with no acoustics, no sound distortion, that would be much simpler, but with organ and different registration, what the software hears is multiple octaves and overtones. It’s simply, for now, too difficult to process sound. But I think it could get there. It would be magic, right? You play in the church, you record, and then go back at home, upload the file, and in a few minutes you have a score, and next time, the next day, you can improvise something new and release the score an hour later. Wouldn’t it be great? A: Yes, but I’m a bit afraid of that, because we would be overloaded with your improvisations. V: With my...? A: Yes! V: Not only mine, perhaps. I always wondered why so few great French improvisers notate their improvisations. In Paris, there are quite a few people improvising, but very few of them are real composers. I suspect it’s because it’s easier for them to play than to write. But if the process was facilitated, imagine how this would benefit the organ world in creative ways. Right? A: Yes. Who would learn all that music? V: People like Arthur who would rather play somebody’s music than to learn to improvise. You see? I am always amazed when people play my music, especially at the Unda Maris studio, for example. Last time, somebody wanted to play my music, and I said why don’t you learn to improvise, too, and take my composition only as a starting point, maybe as a model, but grow from there. A: Well, I don’t think that people in Unda Maris studio have that ability to improvise yet. That’s my opinion. V: Ability to improvise, everyone has that, but just what kind of level. Right? And I don’t think they have the desire to improvise yet. That’s the most important thing. Some of them do, like my Unda Maris member Maris, but he has to learn to play from the score, too. Without the scores, it’s pointless. A: I have nothing to add to this. V: Okay guys, I guess we will end this conversation with the question for all of you. If you think that it would be helpful for the Total Organist community to have access to my organ compositions at no additional cost, please let us know, and if there is enough demand, we can really start uploading those scores into the Total Organist training material file. That would be easy, right? A: Yes. V: And for now, I have just uploaded this work to one person who asked, basically Arthur. 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! UPDATE: Upon careful consideration I decided to offer my compositions without extra cost for Total Organist members. Not only I hope this will expand the value of the program immensely but also many more people will have the chance to enjoy my music. So when you sign in into our Basecamp communication channel for Total Organist and click on "Announcements" you will see this announcement about my music as a separate post with the coupon link for free downloads. Enjoy!
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 561 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Andrei. And he writes, Thank you very much! My organ playing is improving and has improved drastically. I'm especially thankful for your sight reading course. It's great! V: I guess this is Andrei’s answer to my question of how is his organ playing going on these days. A: Yes, I think so too. V: Very glad that sight reading course is working for him. Do you think people can learn, Ausra, from sight reading various voices and voice combinations of a collection of music, like The Art of Fugue of Johann Sebastian Bach, from which my organ sight reading master course is based on? A: Yeah, I think that’s a great course. And I think that in general, sight reading is a very useful skill that any musician must have. V: Mm hm. A: Because it’s very beneficial, especially if you are working a church, you have to produce a new music for every Sunday, then I think it’s necessary that you would be a good sight reader. V: Let me ask you this, Ausra: If you could choose, would you choose superb sight reading skills, or superb improvisational skills? A: Hm. That’s a tricky question. V: I know. A: But let me say this. I think that these two qualities that you named, they don’t contradict each other. V: They support each other A: I think they support each other. Although, I guess that people who in general improvise more probably don’t like to play from the musical score so much. I know that because of you, too, because at one point you almost gave up playing from the musical score. V: That was a few years ago. A: And I had to put quite an effort to lead you back to playing repertoire as well. V: Mm, there is some side effects in not playing from the score and only improvising, is that you will not gain knowledge of the music created before you, right? And you will not apply that knowledge in your improvisation. Basically, you will start, I don’t know, producing music which is increasingly influenced by your own imagination - or limited by your own imagination. A: I would say that it’s limited - it’s more accurate term to name it. V: But there is another side to this. Some people prefer to improvise without copying anyone, without being influenced by anyone. And that’s what I mean. A: Well, you know, simply, what is my opinion, that’s, well, how original can you be? Yes, you can be original to some degree. Because still, you know, you are using ideas that you have heard somewhere. But maybe you heard them in another organ. V: Maybe you heard them in your own key. A: That’s a possibility, but anyway, all music is made out of, what, 12 tones. V: Twelve pitches, you mean. A: Twelve pitches, yes. V: Yeah, sometimes when I improvise, I catch myself playing the same intonations, the same melodic ideas, in a different order maybe, different texture, different form, or registration, the mode. But they’re all mine, you know, part of my language. And I guess that’s normal and natural. But… A: But for example, if you are improvising, let’s say in the Dorian mode, yes? It’s still not a mode created by you. You still borrow some ideas from all around of the musical world, don’t you think so? It’s just how well you arrange them, you know. V: Yeah, yes. There is a saying that it’s best to borrow from the dead. From the people who lived long before you. Then it’s not stealing, and actually being influenced by those masters. That’s why we play early music as well. Not only to just enjoy it, but to see how it could be recreated in a new context, right? A: Yeah. And if you would look at your musical history, you could see that each new style is sort of wants to deny the previous style, but wants to take over the ideas from another style. Let’s say, let’s make this clearer. For example, if we are talking about baroque, you know, after that the classical period came who denied baroque, sort of. But we took ideas more from the Renaissance. But when the romantic period came, we sort of denied the classic. But we took ideas from the baroque time. V: What do you mean, from the baroque time? What kind of ideas? A: Well, I don’t mean that we copied the baroque ideas. V: Uh huh. A: But let’s say J.S. Bach was almost forgotten during the classical period. Nobody cares about his music so much, except maybe for Well Tempered Clavier. But then when Mendelssohn found all his great choral music, all his cantatas and passions by J.S. Bach, and it gave him new license - I believe that Mendelssohn in his choral compositions also used some of Bach’s ideas. V: Absolutely. A: So that’s what I mean. But of course, nowadays, composers take ideas from all those previous periods. V: Mm hm. Even from Middle Ages. A: And it’s all very very eclectic. V: From Middle Ages, from exotic places, from cultures that are not western-oriented. From various historical periods, of those places, you know, study of music, let’s say, of Japan, but not of 20th century, but let’s say 17th century Japan, whatever they can find out about that, of course. But if they can, they could, they would study the music of ancient Hindu rhythms and modes and apply it today. Mix them with different other influences, like bird songs, or Gregorian chant, and you get, what? A: Messiaen. V: Olivier Messiaen. It’s all very personal now. Whatever you meet in your life, it could be your influence, correct? A: Yes. V: For better or worse. A: Yes, you know my students, one of my students just last week, he asked me about academic music - composing academic music, and I asked him what kind of music that is. Do you mean professional music? He said, “Well, maybe…” Then he explained that he wants to become a composer, but he doesn’t want to compose ugly music. And I asked him what he means, ugly music. And he just said “be be be be - that’s it” -- that’s how he described ugly music. And I realized that it’s probably something very atonal and not pretty for him. So I asked, “What do you want to compose music for?” And he said, “Well, I like some music composed for the movies.” And I told him that he needs to find, to get online and to find out about places that sort of prepares you for writing such kind of music. V: Oh, you can get a master class now online, from Hans Zimmer, probably the most famous living composer of cinematic music. Besides John Williams, of course. And he teachers his own techniques online. A: Is it free? V: No, it’s not free. It’s on a platform called MasterClass.com. A: Well, I don’t think he would be able to pay now. He’s just a minor yet, so. V: Yeah. A: But I told him that there are places, let’s say in the United States where you could go and study composition that specializes in making music for the movies. And they help you to understand how different effects are created. V: Mm hm. A: Fear, love, drama. All that kind of stuff. V: Horror. A: Yes. V: Yes. So, we started this conversation in a completely different mindset, talking about a sight reading course, and finished about movie music. I guess the recurring heme is to get better and better every day, start practicing. Like your student, if he wants to do something with cinematic music, he doesn’t want to wait. Doesn’t need to wait to graduate and go to college. Maybe he can start creating himself - not necessarily for movies, but for videos that he creates, composes, right. For videos that he produces. Or something else that is available to him, not necessarily getting permission from others, but taking initiative, and doing, taking the first step. And Andrei, the same thing for you. For sight reading and playing, and improving your organ playing, I believe this: whatever you do today, you will thank for this a month later. 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 560, of Secrets Of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Maureen. And she writes: Hello Vidas and Ausra, I think now that I have received a few items of fingered music from you, I would love to be back on the organ bench playing confidently and also with feeling for the music; to be accurate and musical. I had dreamed of playing the Widor Toccata. It is not easy to access a church organ in my area. Maureen V: So I think Maureen is writing about her dreams and the obstacles in achieving those dreams. So the first one would concern about the thing of getting back, getting back on the organ bench, basically, and playing confidently. What would be some advice about this, Ausra? A: Just go back and play, practice. V: I think before playing confidently, she has to play without confidence first, for a while. A: I think confidence will come with time. You need to practice on a regular basis. V: And perform in public. A: Yes. V: Without that, your practice is kind of limited, without real life applications basically, only for yourself. When you practice only for yourself you don’t know how well you’re really playing. A: Yes, and she also talks about feeling for the music. I think that some can feel music better, some don’t. And I think to get the feeling for the music you need to listen to other performance, and not necessarily organist. In general, you need to listen to music performed. V: To get an intuition, right? A: Yes. V: To get musical taste. A: Yes. Because for some people that comes more natural. For some it’s harder. I think it’s probably depends on the qualities that you receive during the birth probably. It’s all genetic. V: The good thing about listening to music is that you can do all kinds of activities and simply listen in your ear with earphones while streaming music for example today. Or from CD recordings in your house, and really do something else with your time, which still would count as listening... A: Yes. V: and studying. A: Because I guess there are sort of two ways; either you know you are very good at the music theory and you understand how the music is composed, how it’s put together, the other cadences and all that form thing, and then you do all this with your mind. You sort of build up the piece and you register it and perform it accordingly, your mind, or you are very good, you have very good musical intuition, and you can do the same things even without thinking about them. V: Then of course you would have a very hard time explaining this to other people. A: Yes. I think, if you want to be a good teacher, yes, then you would have not only have a good intuition but to know exactly how the things work and what you can by you think that the things must be played in such a way and not another way. V: Yes, and no. Depending on what kind of student you have. A: Yes. If you will have a student of good musical intuition then you wouldn’t have to work hard on those things. V: For such a student you would only need to be an example, right, like a role model. And they would take it from there themselves. They’re learning by doing and basically by looking up to you. But not necessarily looking from you for the directions, what to do, what steps to take. But other students want you to take them by the hand, hold them all the way up and to take them through the various obstacles and uh, challenges. Then you really need to be a good motivator as well as explain things very clearly. A: I guess that it depends on what age group we are talking and what kind of personalities we are talking. Because I think that for kids, for example, at an early age, it’s easier to imitate what you are doing. You just play how it should be played and they try to repeat what you have just done. Because I think for them, might be too hard to understand all this language thing, explaining about how piece must be played. I think it works better with adults. V: Mmmmm, yeah. And not all of adults also progress to the levels where they are willing or able to practice independently. A: Yeah, that’s true. V: Some people really need a coach, like athletes. A: Yeah, I guess so. V: Without a coach, athletes wouldn’t reach high results. So now Maureen wants to be accurate and musical. So musical, we talked about that. A: Yes. Yes, we talked about it. V: Accuracy comes with experience and really from failing a lot, I think. You have to first make many mistakes before you can play with accuracy. A: Well, I think that accuracy comes with slow practice. That’s what I think—the slow practice, diligent, slow practice, comes the accuracy. Because if you will play fast and sloppy I don’t think you will gain accuracy. Even if you will play that for hundred times. V: I didn’t mean that, of course. You’re right. And she wants to play Widor Toccata, and we have a score with fingering and pedaling provided for her. And I hope this is useful for her, fingering and pedaling. A: Yes, and she cannot easy access a church organ, as she writes. But if she can access piano, for example, then I think that she can practice quite a lot on the piano, when talking Widor’s Toccata. V: Definitely. A: And when talking about any piece of French music. V: Definitely. I think most of the work can be done on the piano with such a music, and even if you play the pedals on the floor, imitating the spots where you have to press them for specific notes, this will greatly improve your progress when you will have access to real organ. A: True. And I believe if you can play this piece on the piano with imitating pedal part and if you can also sing a pedal part, that would be very useful too. Then I think you will have no trouble preforming it on a real organ. V: Yeah. For men it means that they can sing mostly in their range. For women mostly, it means they have to sing octave higher. A: Yeah, I explained that to my students all the time. Because we always have these questions, for example, a girl asked me, ‘how do I sing in this low register?’ I’m telling you don’t have to sing in it. V: Mmm-hmm. A: What do you expect of all the boys after mutation? To sing what, in the second octave, when the music is written like that? V: Right. They have to figure it out. A: Yes. V: Thank you guys. We hope this 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 557 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Monty. And he writes, Vidas, I'm slowly going through the Orgelbuchlein. Because of a very late start, my playing resembles one of your slow-motion videos, but nevertheless I greatly enjoy it. A wonderful thing about music is that there is something great for everyone. One thing I especially appreciate is that you mention things, and dozens of times they've turned out to be very useful. For example, I use the Wayne Leupold Orgelbuchlein edited and fingered by your old teacherQuentin Faulkner. It is a treasure. Had you not mentioned Faulkner I probably never would have been introduced to his books. Another example. A while back you mentioned that you were going to interview Frank Mento. I didn't know anything about him but I went right to Amazon and picked up his two new consolidated volumes. While my Hauptwerk organ has a harpsichord sample set (without of course realistic touch), so far the pieces work for organ. This is a beautiful progressive series, thoughtfully created by someone with an obvious dedication to education. As mentioned near the beginning of the podcast that I just started, it required a huge amount of work to produce. The books contain hundreds of nice period pieces. Advanced organists who already play well and understand early fingering might find the series to be too elementary, but I'm getting a lot out of it. In particular, there is a strong focus on shifting hand positions. Maybe to give one more example, someone was once having trouble with Bach and it might have been Ausra who suggested that maybe they should try Pachelbel because his works were more approachable. So I picked up the Belotti edition from Wayne Leupold and, sure enough, it was full of very nice fugues that can be played by ordinary people. The year is almost at an end and I'll wish you and Ausra a very Happy New Year. ~Monty V: First of all, Ausra, where is the question? A: It seems like it’s more like appreciation, and it’s very nice and very thoughtfully written, and we truly appreciate it. It’s very nice to receive a feedback from our listeners and our readers. V: That’s right. I read it through and was looking for something to click, but I didn’t notice any specific concern that Monty is having, other than his wish to thank us. A: Yes. And it’s very nice that he mentions Quentin Faulkner, who was our professor at UNL, and it’s really nice, it’s a remarkable person - he worked in both directions, as an educator, and also as, I could call him a philosopher even. If you would read his book, “Wiser than Despair,” you would know what I mean. V: Mm hm. A: Because his ideas about how human mentality developed during the centuries, it’s really interesting. V: Yeah, it’s a book about evolution of the ideas around music and the church. Specifically, not about church music itself, but ideas around music and the church. I heard he is almost done with his new publication. What it’s about? Registration of Johann Sebastian Bach’s work maybe? Organ works? A: Yes, and do you know if Wayne Leupold is going to publish it or not? V: Not sure, but it’s possible. A: It’s possibility, because they have collaborated a lot during the lifetime. And in general, Wayne Leupold name was mentioned a few times in this letter, and I think it’s worth mentioning, because he’s really one of the most outstanding editors in the organ field. V: And I was lucky to interview him for the podcast, too. A: Yes. V: I remember holding the laptop on my knees and sitting in our former summer cabin. A: Yes. And he’s remarkably good with all the commercial stuff. I think if more musicians would have his skills, we would all be much more rich, richer. Wealthier. V: He’s good, you mean, with selling his music. A: Yes, yes. Remember how his demonstrations would go? Talking about his music when he publishes. V: He has a good quality of a salesman, too. A: Sure. V: Which could only be admired. And taken as an example for some of the musicians who are maybe either shy, or for some other reason, don’t bother marketing their music. A: Yes. And actually, it’s sort of a joke, but he reminded me a little bit about that turtle from the Ice Age… V: Oh - who could sell anything! A: Yes, yes! And it’s sort of, really good at what he is doing. But you know, I am talking this because of admiration. Because what he’s selling, he’s selling the good stuff. We have tried it many many times ourselves. So we can really advocate for it. V: Yeah. First of all, you have to be good at what you do, and don’t sell crap. I mean, there are organists online who advertise themselves basically shamelessly. Much more than a real good organist do. But their music is, well, let’s say below average. Right, Ausra? A: Yeah. V: Have you seen them? And I think they spend more time marketing themselves than playing organ. And in their particular situation, I would reverse, reverse the efforts and practice more and market less. A: Sure. V: And for some other organists, maybe do the opposite: market more and practice less. A: (laughs) V: But that’s, of course, very, very personal. What else can we say - Frank Mento, right -you haven’t met him when we visited Paris. No? But I talked with him for three times, I think, on the podcast, about his harpsichord method, and highly recommend it. I’m glad that someone like Frank started doing it for the harpsichord, because there wasn’t anything available online. And his age, I mean, he’s a senior, and already retired, and to do this online work is not easy for seniors. And he of course has good health, collaborates with probably someone with more technical knowledge. And that’s very good advice. If you’re not equipped technically, find someone who is. A: But I guess now, age is not an obstacle. More and more elderly people discover the internet, and even I have heard that teenagers are leaving Facebook because their grandmas actually are sort of taking over Facebook. V: Have you met grandmas who sell harpsichord methods yet? A: No, but… V: That’s what I mean. They usually are users of the platform, but not creators. That’s a little different level. And from time to time, one or two people also reach that level. But it’s rare. A: Yeah, it’s rare, but I think it will become more often the case. V: I mean, it’s not rare if you did this your entire life, and you gradually discovered the internet, and share your work there. Because you’ve been sharing it offline all your life - it’s not that big of a difference. But if you haven’t done this before, to switch the mindset that you can be a creator online at this age, this is truly rare, I think. A: Yes. But I think it will become more and more popular. Don’t you think so? V: Absolutely. There is no other way. Because if there are...it’s just statistics. The more users there are, the more creators, too. A: Because now the new generation will grow up, who were born with smartphones and the internet. And they had it together with mother’s milk, so to say. So they don’t have to learn it in middle of age, as we did, for example. V: Yeah. A: Or as elderly, as there are some people now. So it will be natural to publish your work online, and to share your work online. V: The different thing with us is that we went to the United States, right, early enough. And we picked up new ideas from there. And when we got back, we could talk similar language with the teenagers, because those new ideas were just getting transferred to Lithuania. But not necessarily picked up by the people of our age, but only by the people of earlier generation, right? A: Yeah. V: Okay. And of course, Monty likes Pachelbel, and we highly recommend Pachelbel as well. A: Yes, he’s an excellent composer. I have done many of his pieces in church. V: I haven’t… A: For liturgical purposes. V: I haven’t played Pachelbel for awhile now. Maybe I should prepare some slow motion videos and give our team to transcribe for fingering. A: Yes, I think that’s a good idea. It’s very useful for church musicians. V: Yes, and easier than Johann Sebastian Bach. Like a preparation for Bach. A: True. V: Good. Thank you, guys. Thank you, Monty, for your thoughtful message. We really appreciate it. And please keep sending us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. SOPP556: Could you suggest a piece of music for organ which could be shared with a violin player?2/4/2020
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra V: Let’s start episode 556, of Secrets Of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Maureen. And she writes: Dear Vidas, My brain won’t work!… Could you suggest a piece of music for organ which could be shared with a violin player. Fr. Benedict wants to play his violin at a Gaudy night which is usually on Epiphany Sunday. I’m not sure of his level of playing. I would take a guess and place him around grade 6 of Royal Schools of Music. He could be much higher but a monk who has a lot of responsibilities and little leisure time. Thank you so much; I do appreciate your help. Maureen V: Have you ever played with a violin player before? A: Yes, I did. V: What did you play, Ausra? A: One of the Bach sonatas. V: That’s right. You played the keyboard part. A: Of course! I cannot play violin. V: Oh, right. A: But my violinist I think couldn’t play violin too, so it was really a bad choice of I dread. And after that semester, my teacher told me, maybe you will find yourself another soloist. V: (Laughs). Funny. Do you think this piece might qualify as a grade six piece? A: Well, maybe… V: Slow movement. A: Yes, that’s what I thought. Maybe just pick up a slow movement and then it will be just fine, because fast movements might be too difficult for the third grader. V: Basically it has probably maybe three movements… A: Mmm. V: Fast, slow, fast, and you can pick the middle one. And there are several violin sonatas. A: Sure. At least six that I know, but there might be more. V: And you can pick; the good thing is that this piece doesn’t require pedals of course. It’s a keyboard piece. Could be played on the piano, on the harpsichord, on any keyboard instrument including organ. A: That’s right. V: With the violinist. Um, I have played before with a Swedish violinIst—Magnus Wasenius. But that was many years ago. We shared a concert in Gothenburg. And he had four or five pieces from Swedish composers, Romantic and Twentieth Century composers that they needed to learn before coming there. A: How did you like them? V: I liked it. Swedish music is, kind of, was kind of unfamiliar to me at the time and I liked this Nordic atmosphere. He expressed an interest to play with me again in the future so, not long ago, so maybe we’ll have another chance. Um, yes, so, but I was thinking maybe something closer to home could work also. Not everybody can access Nordic music, you know. A: Yes, I guess so. V: Something more classic. Um, what about some hymn arrangements? A: That could be done, of course. V: Or choral arrangements by Johann Ludwig Krebs. They are written for the organ and oboe, or for the organ and trumpet, could be. But Father Benedict could play the choral tune and the organist could play the three lower parts—it’s like a trio texture then. A: That’s a possibility. Also I guess that most of the footwork also work for violin. V: Right. So Bach’s fugues, sonatas also work in this case. I’ve played them all and they are as beautiful as violin pieces. A: Actually Carl Philip Emanuel Bach also wrote some sonatas for organ and solo instrument. V: Very nice. So that’s, that are some of the ideas which could help Maureen, and others who want to collaborate on the organ with a solo instrument. Doesn’t matter if it’s a wind or string instrument, the repertoire could overlap. A: That’s right. V: But sometimes not. Sometimes they’re very instrument specific directions. For example, for example, Petr Eben modern Czech composer wrote, for example, a piece Landscapes of Patmos, for organ and percussion. It’s for percussion. You cannot play with melodic instrument. Right? A: But I guess even many arias for the soloist, let’s say soprano arias, would work for organ and violin too. V: Oh, that’s right. For example from cantatas, Bach cantatas. We are playing some of the duets in our repertoire too—recently played the Christmas recital, Christmas with Bach, and those are pieces from Christmas oratorio, and now preparing for Easter oratorio arrangement. And what do you think about some of our duets? Would they work for organ and, let’s say, violin? A: Yes I think it would work pretty well. Maybe you, if because you know that you will be playing on Epiphany, maybe you need to find some of the Bach’s music that related to Epiphany. V: Like "Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern"? A: Yes. V: Cantata. Right. Okay guys. We hope you can try those ideas yourself. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Please send us more 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 555 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Kirk, and he writes: “I know church organists push using organ shoes but I have been using just socks on the pedalboard I find it is easier to find the notes when practicing. What do you think about those organists that either use stocking feet or bare feet while playing? I find some of them around here, they are very good organists, some of them told me they just got sick of the shoes.” V: Ausra, do you know some organists who play with socks? A: Yes, I know some. V: And are they good organists? A: Yes, they are, but actually, you need to be able to play both ways, because I just simply can’t imagine if you are performing at the recital hall, fancy recital hall, and you would go to the organ and be barefoot on the stage where people could see you. It would be a hilarious look. V: That’s a thought. If you are hidden in a practice room or at home or on a church balcony, nobody can see you, and… A: Then that’s okay, and it’s fine. V: It’s fine, I guess, in situations when you can get away without heels. Right? A: Well, yes, but some people can play with heels also without using the shoes, but it’s harder for your ankle, I guess. V: Last Wednesday, when we had the Unda Maris organ studio rehearsal, I wonder who played without shoes… Some of the students, anyway, and it was the first time that she discovered that it’s not really comfortable, because she needs to bend her ankle too much when using heels. When using toes only, it’s kind of okay. And it could be a quite sensitive and pleasant experience, but if you play a piece which is composed later than 18th century, you definitely need heels, and in this case, playing with organ shoes, proper organ shoes, makes sense. A: Yes, because it hardly makes sense, for example, to play, let’s say, Symphony by Louis Vierne or Suite by Duruflé without organ shoes! It would be very uncomfortable. V: What about Dupré’s Chorales, sort of shorter pieces, maybe educational exercises like that? A: Well, but still, you need heels, so… V: Yeah, Dupré definitely describes heels in his edition of 79 Chorales. A: But sometimes it’s really handy to be able to play without shoes. When you’re traveling, for example, and trying different new organs, and you simply don’t have your organ shoes with you. V: I wish we had a sort of replacement for real organ shoes when we travel. You could put on only a leather heel on your socks like slippers, sort of, but tight slippers, and then attach a heel to it, maybe some kind of hook or something which could slide in or something, and it would really not take a lot of space. A: Great idea! You work on it, and we will copyright it and we will be come rich, because all the organists will buy your new invention! V: No, I think since we’re talking about this in public, I think somebody will already do this faster. A: Well, and I know what Kirk means that he feels the pedal keyboard better when he plays in socks. That’s true in some sense, but what I found for my self is that actually my feet have more weight when I’m playing with organ shoes, and that the pressing moment of the pedal board is more exact and more accurate when I’m with my organ shoes. V: Oh, that’s another thought I haven’t considered before. Exactly! Your shoe’s weight gives some weight to the feet, and you don’t need to use so much muscle. A: That’s right, and that’s very important for me. V: Right. Maybe for some people it kind of doesn’t matter. Right? But for some it does. A: And especially I feel it when I’m playing on a mechanical, on a tracker organ, and when I have to reach really low pedal notes, and really high pedal notes on the edges. Then I’m more comfortable when playing with organ shoes. V: Okay, so I hope this was useful to Kirk and anybody. Keep in mind that dancers’ shoes also work for organists, not only specially designed organist shoes, but dancers’ shoes, which are very similar to organists shoes as well. So, you can look around if you don’t have organist shoe store in your area, you can often find dancers’ shoes, because ballet and dancing is more common in the world than organ playing. A: Yes, and maybe that’s a good thing. V: I know in Lithuania, in Vilnius, for example, there is no shop for organists’ shoes and organ supplies, but there is a shop for dancers’ supplies. Okay, 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 552 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Joanna, and she writes: “Dear Vidas, The little finger on my right hand is giving me problems. It has been like this for a few years. I am afraid I will have to give up organ playing in a couple of years’ time because it is stiff, and it clicks and makes a jumping movement at the knuckles. It is a problem to play fast passages because of it. Is there anything I can do… practise more? Practise less? Exercises? Joanna” V: Have you ever encountered, Ausra, such a condition? A: No, actually I haven’t. And what I would advise to Joanna is that she might consult a physician first. V: Yeah, because it might be unique to her situation, and since we haven’t encountered it, we cannot really advise anything specific. A: Yes, but I would suggest definitely not to practice more, because it might do things even worse. So she really needs to consult her physician and to see what he or she will say. V: Right. But practice less, probably is a good idea. A: For right now… until she will get that consultation. V: Sometimes these problems might be because of overworking certain joints. A: Yes, it might be. But definitely, she needs to consult a physician because she hadn’t had that problem earlier. She was developing it for the last few years, so… V: And I think she writes the little finger of her right hand is giving her problems. I would suggest maybe doing a test while playing only the right hand part, and doing it really really slowly. It means probably that her little finger is quite tense. Maybe she can relax it, see if she can relax it and place it on the keyboard instead of lifting in the air. That helps. A: Yes, that’s often the case, that the fifth finger is sort of looking… V: Like a piglet's tail, right? A: Yes. V: Curled. So if she can relax it and place it on the keyboard, maybe the tension can also diminish somewhat. Right? A: Yes, that’s a possibility, but I think it’s wise to check up with a doctor to see if there’s a serious problem with it. V: Right. But for example, I have a thumb, for example, and my condition of the thumb is that it’s kind of curved in the wrong direction. The tip of the thumb is looking outward, not inward. And this is because from an early age I was taught to play correctly, but I didn’t pay attention, and today, if I want to correct this finger’s position, I need to do a very conscious effort, and it’s not natural to me. You know, I have to even probably hold my hand a little bit in order to relax it. So maybe Joanna can also see with her left hand, feel if there is a tension on her right hand little finger. Right? A: Yes. V: And then see if she can relax it and place it on the keyboard. Maybe Alexander Technique would be helpful to her, right? A: Sure. V: Okay. 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. SOPP548: My goal as an organ player is to be able to play organ for worship services regularly1/28/2020
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 548 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jake. He writes: “Vidas, My goal as an organ player is to be able to play organ for worship services regularly. The three things that are holding me back the most are: 1-lack of consistent practice. 2-lack of knowledge of what to practice. I need help building a practice schedule based on an organ method book. I’m using the red book by Roger Davis. But I do also own the little organ book by Peters 3-lack of access to a working organ.” V: Let’s say, Ausra, you only had those two books by Roger Davis, and by Flor Peeters. Would that be enough? A: Well, I don’t know Little Organ Book by Peeters, actually, but I know that by Roger Davis, we own it as well. So I cannot talk about Peeters’ book because I don’t know it, but I can talk about Roger Davis’ book. It has good repertoire, but actually, I wouldn’t suggest you use the Baroque pieces from this book, because definitely, they are not edited in a historically accurate manner. V: Yes. A: So basically, if you really need a good textbook for your practice and both sides of like Romantic and Modern and Early techniques, you need to get the Ritchie/Stauffer book because it’s very comprehensive, and it has a nice selection of pieces, and it’s a really good book. It gives a good idea how things need to be played. V: It’s like a treatise, basically. Nowadays, people don’t write treatises, but before, let’s say, the 20th century, there were a number of organ performance practice treatises written, let’s say, for playing flute by Joachim Quantz, for playing violin by Leopold Mozart, for playing Clavier by, let’s say, C. P. E. Bach. Those are very thick volumes and are very comprehensive. They encompass a variety of topics—basically everything you need to know as a particular performer, and even creator. They talk about creative issues as well—improvisational issues for performance, practice, styles… So, the same is with the Ritchie/Stauffer book. It’s very complex and comprehensive. I think if you get this volume, you will stick with it for several years at least, until you finish, plus you will regularly come back to it, like a compendium, like an encyclopedia in a sense. George Stauffer and George Ritchie have different personalities. Stauffer did the musicological research, and George Ritchie did the organ exercise parts—performance, practice, research, and they both cooperated really well. A: Yes, I think it’s a really successful book, so I strongly recommend it for anybody that wants to learn to play organ well. Another thing about consistence of practice, well, you cannot succeed if you will not practice consistently. And if you want to play a service regularly, then do it! And this will push you into consistent practice, if you will have worship to play every week, every Sunday. And maybe if you will start to play at the church regularly, you will get to practice on that instrument regularly, and this will solve your problem number 3, the lack of access to a working organ! V: Yes, but you have to still have basic skill in order to be invited to play for services. A: Yeah, that’s true. V: Before you have this skill, maybe you could volunteer. You could volunteer from time to time, like once a month, let’s say, not once a week, it’s too much, but maybe once a month you prepare a few hymns, maybe a prelude and postlude, and that would be your goal for one month. And, little by little, you get acquainted with the congregation this way, you get known in the congregation, you build reputation within that circle, people start to trust you, and sometimes they even ask you to play more regularly. Right? And by the time that happens, you will have acquired a decent skill for service playing, I think. A: That’s right. V: That’s what our student and friend John Higgins from Australia has done. At first, he volunteered just basically… he started from scratch! He didn’t study in the music school or the conservatory, he started studying with us on line, and then became our Total Organist student, was very curious, asked many questions, we created many training programs based on his ideas and struggles, and little by little, not only did he start playing in services, but he started playing recitals, A: Yes! V: And in recent years, he even came to Vilnius to play a recital on the largest pipe organ in Lithuania! A: He published his DVD as well! V: Yeah! This is an example of what you can achieve if you set your mind to it. If you have a, let’s say, a growth mentality, and not a limited mentality. A limited mentality is like you say, “I lack those three things,” or “many things,” “seven things,” “eight things.” And, “I’m frustrated.” And growth mentality says, “Yes, I have those struggles and challenges, but with consistent practice, I can overcome anything.” A: True. Consistency is a very useful tool. V: But, well, let’s be honest, it’s not easy to do it, and because it’s not easy, a lot of people quit half time or haven’t progressed at all. They quit before they even start seeing the results. Right? Because if you start seeing results, you get hooked. It’s easier to continue. It’s easier to continue when you start playing for the church service and people start to compliment your playing in a nice manner, even though you feel you’re not really worth it. But sometimes people see the good side in your playing as well, and even a relative beginner can play very simple things relatively well from time to time. Not always, because many time you will panic or slip or freeze. But from time to time good things will happen, and the congregation will notice! So, it’s important for Jake to have this growth mentality and, I think, to say that anything is possible. And actually, to have a higher goal. Not only to play for church services, but something a little out of reach. I would say it’s very good, because if you reach for the stars and only get to the moon, it’s not so bad. A: Yeah, true. V: What can you add, Ausra, to my long spiel? A: I think you are right! I couldn’t agree more! 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 553 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Agnese. And she writes: Dear Vidas! Your advice is great! My dream for organ playing is to do some improvisation and to be able to sight-read the score. For some practical reasons--chorals within church service, for example. I have seen Your videos about improvisation on Major and Minor chords and rhythmical canon. These were pretty simple and I could try them. I got very inspired afterwards, thank You about that. So, answering question—what is holding me back from my dream—lack of experience (for sight-reading), lack of ideas (for improvisation) and lack of self-confidence—in general. But I am pretty sure, that experience, techniques and ideas I can get from You or some other smart person. So—advice for improving sight-reading and some more simple (easy understandable) improvisation ideas would be really great from You! With best wishes - Agnese. V: I think we could say that some of those videos that I put on Youtube that I maybe share with people from my improvisation experience, might be helpful, right, and Agnes is saying that major and minor chords and rhythmical canon are helpful to her. What can I say? Do you like major and minor chords? They’re the basics, right? A: Yes. That’s a good question. V: Have you ever tried to play a C Major scale, C Major scale, but harmonized only in major chords? A: No, I haven’t. V: But you know how would it sound, right? A: Yes. V: Imagine. A: Yes. V: It sounds very weird but this weirdness is quite colorful. Or minor chords. Imagine—C D E F G A B and C. Instead of playing only with white keys, you would C Major chord on the note C, D Major Chord on the note D… A: Yes, yes, I imagine that. But since I’m teaching the harmony course of the common period it’s kind of strange for me. I wouldn’t let my students do that. V: I actually did exercises with them. We sang in three voices—soprano, 2nd soprano and alto, I think—for kids voices. And we would harmonize the scale up and down this way. Or maybe I think we would sing an exercise like a melody, harmonizing in major or minor chords. That would be weird but they wouldn’t protest. A: I guess that’s why you are not teaching at school anymore. V: Why? A: Because of all these experiments. V: What do you mean? A: Well… V: Say the truth. A: It’s not on the program. V: It’s not on the test? A: Yes, that’s right. V: I know. You know, but what’s on the program might be, might be not always something that I wanted to do, you know. A: But rules are rules, so program is program. V: Do we always have to live by the rules? A: Hmm, well, not always, but, work I guess, yes. V: In our work, yes. That’s very particular school which really emphasizes the rules. But yes, major, minor chords, that would be very simple way to harmonize a melody but creatively, not in tonal harmony, but something that would be weird. I think I’ve written a few compositions like that. In particular, variations on the Christmas tune Adeste Fideles. It was dedicated to our friend Paulius Grigonis. I remembered when he was planning his recital at Vilnius Cathedral, and I offered, ‘Paulius would you like me to create some music for you?’ And he said. ‘okay’, you know. And I was so excited and created six variations out of major and minor exclusively. And of course they were too difficult for him and he didn’t play. A: Yeah. Nobody values your great ideas. V: Nobody from our close circle of friends, that’s for sure. But there are others who live farther away, maybe across the ocean. What about, Ausra, what about canons, rhythmical canons? She means, Agnese means that it’s not a direct canon like, one voice would strictly follow another voice by a certain interval or a certain rhythmical pattern. But I mean that the melody can be similar but a little bit different. Intervals might be a little different but the rhythm has to be strict. Just like Franck would do, would have done, for example, in some of his organ works. It’s not a strict canon but rhythmical canon. Have you seen that? A: Yes, I have seen it. In many cases I think that’s a great idea to improvise on it. But of course if I would be a beginning improviser I probably would choose variation genre. It seems the easiest way for me to improvise something. V: You’re right. Canon requires more focus on two voices. And variations can be quite simple, less complicated that canons. Although when you only have two voices that’s not too many things to think about, right? Two voices. Right hand and left hand. And let’s say it’s in 3-4 meter and right hand starts with three notes in quarter notes and then stops for entire measure. And at that moment the left hand enters and plays three quarter notes. And then stops again but at that moment right hand starts to move, you know. It’s like a dialogue. A: I know but you might get bored after a while by playing only two voices. And if you are doing variations on them, variations might be based on that kind of canon. V: Yes. Just one variation. A: Yes. V: Mmm-hmm. Exactly. If you do canons for a long period of time, let’s say more than two minutes, then it’s very difficult to keep it interesting, right, unless you spice up the meter, or spice up the rhythms, add the more intricate combinations of rhythmical values, syncopations, dotted notes, even rests. Not necessarily all the quarter notes—one, two, three, one, two, three. The interest would be bigger. Of course you can do more interest in tonal terns, right Ausra? You can add different keys, you can add different colors, which might be… A: Yes, yes, that’s possibilities too. V: also interesting. You know there are seven elements of music, right, which generally comprise any tonal musical composition, composed up to, let’s say, beginning of the Twentieth Century. And after that it’s more varied than that. There are various other elements involved in various other techniques when composers got beyond tonal style. But those elements are what, melody, rhythm, harmony—what am I missing—dynamics, on the organ, registration, let’s say texture and then there’s seven for this form. Those seven elements are inherent in any, let’s say, keyboard composition or organ composition that we play today. And if you think about each element separately and keep it interesting, let say, interesting rhythm, interesting melody, interesting dynamics, or interesting form, then in general your improvisation or composition will be more interesting too. A: Yes, but you know, I wouldn’t agree with this sort of point of interesting form. I would say that clear form is better definition for me at least. Because what you mean by interesting? V: By mean, yes, those, are two different things. Clear form could be A-B-A. A: Yes. V: Three part form, right, with recapitulation. A: Usually that’s what I like about the piece of music that I can understand a form of it. Because if it’s too interesting I might not be able to comprehend what it’s about. V: But what if the form is complex enough, but on the edge that you could still understand where the recapitulations are. You know there is like, there are maybe two themes which are reoccurring from time to time and your attention is drawn to them from time to time and you are not lost. But besides that, what composer does, or improviser does, inside of the piece, is quite strange, you know. It’s difficult to analyze but you hear some thematic re-occurrences which you can recognize but it’s difficult too. But that’s what I mean by saying it’s interesting. A: Okay. V: Convinced? A: But I thing for a beginning improviser it would be too difficult to achieve. V: Yeah! The easiest form is probably to deal with A-B-A form, when you present one idea, and then present another idea, and then go back to the first idea. Strictly or a little bit more variation if you want more interest. Yes? A: Yes. V: And never underestimate the value of improvising on just four notes. Pick any four notes and play anything you like on those four notes for let’s say, ten minutes, and see what happens. Of course, try to keep it interesting. A: What else can I say? V: You can say that I’m right! Can you say that? A: Maybe not. V: Not today? A: Not today! But as Agnese talks about sight-reading, lack of experience, I think she just needs to practice more. V: Yeah. With time it will come. And she acknowledges that. She simply needs to focus on the now. A: Yes, yes. V: Not on the long term results which are not visible yet. But on today. A: And I think when she will practice more, she will get more new ideas. They will come up to her during her practice. V: Yeah. It’s like eating breakfast. Before you eat breakfast you might not want to eat breakfast, but once you start eating breakfast, you want more and more. Right Ausra? A: I don’t think that this is such a good comparison, but… V: It works for me because I’m hungry. I haven’t eaten breakfast and it’s early in the morning. So, guys, I hope you will find this conversation useful. Apply our tips in your practice. Let us know how it goes. Keep sending us more questions. We love helping you grow. And I will go to eat breakfast. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: 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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