Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra V: Let’s start episode 543, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by several people. And maybe even answers to our community on Basecamp, members of Total Organist, where I asked them: ‘How do you like Total Organist so far?’ The first to reply, Jeremy. He wrote: Jeremy: I enjoy that there is a place that I can find encouragement. Being an organist and pianist, I spend a lot of time alone with little insight from other people. That occasional "Boost" makes the days sometimes more manageable, and I like that people post the same problems that I am having. We are not alone! Vidas: I wrote: I also enjoy seeing people supporting each other. It's one thing for me to connect with everybody through email but it's an entirely different level to give like-minded people an opportunity to connect to each other. Ruth jumped in, in the conversation: Ruth: I enjoy the diversity of persons who write in Total Organist. I am learning a great deal from their writing and experiences. I appreciate the energy and work that all of you are putting into your organ practice. Of course, you inspire me! Vidas: I wrote to her: This diversity is enormous! From amateurs to concert organists, from elderly to young, from underprivileged societies to developed countries. We all are different and have different needs but also share some of the commonalities also and are able to speak the same organ language. V: What can you add, Ausra, to this conversation? A: Well, it’s inspiring to read it. V: Mmm-hmm. Imagine if you are a Total Organist student, Ausra. What would you say? A: Well, probably something similar to all of those. V: Starting with, which side struck you the most, first? A: Well, while reading all of these responses, actually the thought that came into my mind, was, all these supporting groups, in general in life. Like you have Alcoholics Anonymous and other groups like that. I’m not wanting to compare organists with alcoholics but it just came into my mind. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So and groups like this, I think it’s nice to be in your own community that people share similar ideas and share the same and similar problems. Then you feel not alone and you can solve your problems much more easier. V: You know, but there is another side of this. Not all of the people want to get involved, right? Some are very, I don’t know, shy or maybe introvert or maybe they prefer to solve their problems on their own. Like when somebody signs up for Total Organist, I immediately add their email list to the group of Basecamp channel, right. So that they could sign in and jump in and take advantage of all those support that we give to each other. But a lot of people choose not to, right? You can see what kind of people respond, and there is a certain group which are very active right, which is very active. But another portion of our community is not active. So why do you think is that? A: I think that everybody probably enjoys in general social media, so all these Facebook and Twitter and all that kind of stuff…. V: Mmm-hmm. A: and Basecamp, actually reminds to some people of that, I think. And maybe somebody don’t want to join because of this. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Mentioned before this AA group, yes? V: Mmm-hmm. A: I think there are much more drinking people. And not everybody attends those group meeting. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Much(?) to everybody it helps, not everybody, so maybe this is something similar. V: Right. I would probably go to such group if I had a problem with this. Would you? A: I don’t know. I just know about these all groups from the movies that I watch, because so often there are like especially in the comedies. V: You know, we, you and I, we’re, we have different personality types probably. I prefer speaking my mind out loud in public for example, right? And in to some degree you prefer to speak either to yourself or among ourselves, right? A: Um, yes, that’s right. V: So I think, I suspect people similar to you would find some of your advice also helpful by listening to our conversation right now, because you are different than me, right? People can relate to me who are extroverts let’s say, right? And people who are introverts can relate to you more. A: Yes, because extroverts they get energized while talking with other people and sharing their ideas and taking their ideas back. But introverts, we just get tired and exhausted after conversing with somebody. V: Of course, we have to keep in mind that in my days, there is not so much talking involved outside my online activities, right? A: True. V: For as for you, you spend a lot of hours talking in school. A: Yes, a few hours a day, at least. So after speaking for so many hours you just want to be quiet. And in general I think the organ is an instrument for introverts, not for extroverts. V: You think so? A: I think so. I strongly believe so. Even if you think most of the times in church, organ is not standing up in front. We standing back in the balcony, on the balcony. V: You this, hearing you makes me a little sad because what should I do? I have to options now: quit playing the organ or become introvert, right? A: I don’t think you can do either of these two things. V: What can you suggest? Please, O master, teach me! A: Stop making fun out of me. But in general, I think in general organist is alone. So and maybe because you are an extrovert as you imagine yourself, that’s why you need all the social media and to put you on the Facebook on a regular basis. V: Mmm-hmm. A: But that’s okay. V: I have the right to exist you mean. A: True. V: (Laughs). Even I have the right to exist. Good! Um, so, yeah, whatever your needs are, I think Total Organist can be of use to you. Whether you decide to join Basecamp channel and stay active in there, replying to daily questions about your activities, about what you’ve been working on, what things you find inspiring, or what things are you struggling with. Those questions you get frequently. But you can also be an introvert like Ausra says and enjoy observing other people, reading perhaps, but not getting involved. Ausra, we don’t know exactly who’s reading, right? A: Yeah. V: We only know who’s responding. A: True. V: Maybe, yes, let’s speculate that a portion, at least a significant portion of people not actively involved in conversation, are listeners, readers, right? A: That’s a possibility. V: That’s right. Look at our email subscribers, right? We have thousands of subscribers but we don’t get thousands of messages everyday, right? So majority of people are reading, and passively participating, not asking questions, for example, every day. They might send questions from time to time. So yes, I haven’t thought about that, that some people enjoy observing other people. A: That’s right. V: Mmm. Nice. Alright guys. Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. Whether you are an introvert or extrovert, doesn’t matter. Our goal is to help you reach your dreams, not complain. 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 535 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by James, and he writes: “Thank you for your podcast, it has been a great help. I have played the piano for 25 years and the organ at my church for 17, but was only able to take organ lessons for the first 2 years, the rest has been essentially self-taught. Your podcasts have been very informative. 1. my dream for organ playing: I know I will never be a concert organist, but I would like to be able to really make my church organ sound great, and select unique registrations throughout the Mass. 2. The 3 most important things holding me back: a. over the years, I have basically settled for just a handful of different basic registrations for hymns, etc. without much variety b. my church has a relatively small, 22-rank, 2-manual Zimmer pipe organ, installed in 1999, which is almost completely enclosed inside an alcove, and doesn't "sing" very well. The church is the size of a cathedral, but I'm afraid the organ is too small for the space. c. I have never had formal instruction in the theory of organ registration, other than what I have learned on my own. I know the basics of building a principal chorus, understanding overtones and harmonics, etc., but my registrations are still very "boring" in my opinion. Again, thank you for your podcast and teaching, and I look forward to any advice you can give me. -James” V: So, Ausra, James has a problem with registration. He wants to make his organ sound great, and his registrations to be unique, so to say. A: Well, don’t we all want to do something beautiful, and to register nicely. But the problem is that I think that when you are asking about registrations and about how to register a certain piece, or in general how to select the best registration, actually, you need to give us the specification list of your organ. Because otherwise, you know, we might be talking about different things, because it’s sort of hard to suggest something without seeing the actual stops. And even when having the list of stops, you still might need to adjust something, because you really need to listen to the organ in the real situation. But, I guess if his church is the size of a cathedral and he has only 22 stops, it might be too small for such a room. Another thing, you know, when you register, you also need to think about reverberation—if the room is reverberate or not. It also means a lot. But I thought about his asking how to increase sound of the organ, so basically what you could do, either to add the manual couplers, or in some cases, you would probably need to play things an octave lower. That also might help sometimes, because, for example, we have so many organs built in Orgelbewegung style, that have these screamy, ugly, sound mixtures… not all of them, of course, but most of them actually have them. So it sounds nice when you play things an octave lower when it has more of a sort of a round and nice sound. V: Yeah, I’m not sure if this applies to him, because we don’t know the specification. We don’t even know the composition of the mixture—if it’s a low mixture or if it’s a high mixture. But in general, what he can do is to thicken the texture a little bit. Play with… I don’t know how his organ technique is—well advanced or not—but he could play in more than four-part texture. More parts per chord. Right? Is that necessary? A: That’s a possibility, but it doesn’t always work. But, you know, he thinks that he sort of registers pieces the same all the time, like hymns. But I think it’s not a bad idea. You know? Because, I think when you are working as a church organist, you develop some sort of routine, and this is good. Maybe you don’t want to experiment every time, and you need to be ready in advance. But of course, what you could do, and we have talked about it, actually in our previous podcasts, that you could project, let’s say, the Cantus firmus, on one manual, and play other voices on another manual. And your Cantus firmus could be either in the Soprano, as most hymns are written, but you could also play it in the tenor voice, and even in the bass sometimes works, too. That would be also a possibility to do something different. V: Yes, not only his registration should change, but maybe the manner of playing! A: True. V: Spice things up. Make it more colorful and interesting. Maybe add some non-chordal notes, like passing tones and neighbor tones, suspensions, re-harmonize. A: Yes! V: I don’t know if he has some skill in that or not, but that could certainly be a possibility, and a 22 rank 2 manual organ might sound like eight stops per manual plus additional stops in the pedals. So, if you have something like 8 stops in the manual, this could be something like 8’ Principal, 8’ Flute, maybe a Gamba, maybe 4’ Principal like Octave, maybe a 4’ Flute, then maybe a 2’ Principal, probably (a Super Octave), Mixture, and a Trumpet, probably. What else… maybe instead of a string stop, he might have a fifth stop (2 2/3’) instead of that on the first manual. I’m just guessing, of course. A: Yes, this is just a hypothetical thought, because we don’t see the specification lists. What else could he do, because he wants to find new registrations? Sometimes you might use only 4’ Flute alone in some soft interludes, for example. It works nicely if you have some sort of canzona-like piece, which is a little bit polyphonic, and it has a joyful character—a joyful, sweet character. You might try the 4’ flute alone. V: Or 4’ Principal. A: Yes. Or sometimes 4’ and 2’ stops, if they are soft enough—if the 2’ is not too screamy. V: If it has a Trumpet, you could play the harmony with the Trumpet, as well, in a festive situation. A: Yes. V: Or, if you have a Cantus firmus in the soprano, you could solo it out, take it on another manual with a reed stop, or a Cornet stop would work on the second manual, for example, in general, taking it on two manuals, not on one, gives more colorful options. Then, of course, your solo stop could be played in the tenor range, with the left hand. A: That’s right. And we don’t know if he has a 16’ stop on the manual, but if he does, he might play some music also on two manuals, and he could accompany with his left hand, with the 16’ and 8’, and then add some higher pitched stops on the other manual for solo voice. V: Or even re-harmonize the four voices or three voices, soprano alto and bass, and play the pedal with the reed, if he has an 8’ Trumpet, and in the tenor range, not in the base range. A: And in general, if he has some assistance, it would be really nice if he could go to listen to his organ from the side. V: Record himself. A: Or yes, if he doesn’t have help, he might record himself, and to listen to those various combinations, and then he might decide what works, and what does not, and in general, if he has a big hall during Mass, for example, then of course, he needs to consider that he needs to use more stops than if playing in church alone, because people will just eat up the sound. V: Right. He doesn’t say that he wants to be a concert organist, but it doesn’t hurt to play pieces that could be supplemental to the liturgy in addition. That could be part of the concert repertoire, but that could be liturgical chorales, or chorale preludes. And with these, you could experiment with even more colorful registrations. A: That’s right. So, I think that a 22 rank instrument is fairly enough for experiments. V: Yes. Hopefully, he can take advantage of this, and share his music with the congregation, and hopefully get feedback—nice feedback. A: I know, but also, you don’t have to do experiments like play with mixture stops alone. That definitely wouldn’t work. V: No. People hearing it will scream. A: So, I guess the organ in general is quite a conservative instrument, so you need to apply certain rules, and not experiment too much. V: Alright 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. SOPP532: In recent years I had to give up organ playing in public because of my physical health12/26/2019
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 532 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Maureen, and she writes: “Dear Vidas, I am a graduate from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London which was for piano playing.. I have never sat any organ exams nor played music for the organ at that level. My foot work was not at such a high standard. In recent years I had to give up playing in public because of my physical health. I have a condition called Fibromyalgia which is a painful and debilitating one. Playing the organ was my first love and made my debut in my hometown when I was only 13 years old. I played at a Sunday evening service in the Protestant Church of Scotland and later asked to deputise for my music teacher who was the church organist. Good organists were scarce as was money so choices had to be made as to the disciplines which would be most beneficial to me. I chose piano, singing and cello. Organ was almost an extension to the piano lessons. I loved playing in Church for all the various Sunday services and for Mass. Hymns were particularly important to me and practised diligently each day before I started my teaching. Voluntaries were also played daily in preparation for services. Funeral music was always being worked on and it was my delight in investing in a variety of suitable music. Weddings over the years have dwindled as many people do not favour the sacrament of holy matrimony as once they did in my teenage years. I can have access to a small organ in the nearby monastery of Pluscarden Abbey, Elgin Moray where there is a healthy community of Benedictine monks. They sing plainchant which I love doing when I attend Sunday Mass there each week. I have no transport to attend daily Mass when I could be staying on to play the organ. The nearest I get to practising an organ is on my own personal Klavinova which I can attempt to mimic a near enough pleasant enough sound for the organ. I would like to think that I was more than competent as a regular organist who accompanied Church services. To put a grade on it would be one for my hands and a different level for my feet I think... Thank you for reading this account.” V: And she continues writing later: “The most important fact which I failed to tell you about was the loss of use in my right hand and arm. My hand wouldn’t open out without pain and tightness in the palm of my hand. Pain went through the whole of my arm constantly for five years! Over time and with acupuncture my hand and arm became pain free. Nothing showed in x-rays and nerve tests. What I still find is a reduced dexterity in my hand. The muscles are strong there was no damage to be found only excruciating pain. I would appreciate your advice on which type of exercise I could do daily. Hanson for piano is my mainstay at present. Thank you, Maureen” V: First of all, I’m not familiar with Hanson, maybe she means Hanon. Could be. A: Could be… V: I don’t know. To summarize her situation, I think she had this Fibromyalgia, and the remaining result is that her muscles are not… the fingers are not fast enough on her right hand. Did you understand the same way? A: Yes, that’s what I understood, too. V: So, right exercises, probably, should be done with more care than left hand exercises. A: That’s right. I would suggest for her to take supplements of vitamin B. It’s crucial for muscles, too, and I think that in order to strengthen those muscles, maybe she needs to strengthen other muscles as well, because everything in our body is connected in between, so I guess the physical exercise in general is a good idea. V: If she has no pain in her knees and legs, maybe she can walk—start walking. A: Yes, and you know, when we actually play on the organ or any other keyboard instrument, we need to think about that not our hand is doing it alone, but actually that we have a long arm, which is connected to our back, and actually that our back is even more important than our hands, because the back supports the entire arm! V: In this case, you mean that the hands are an extension of the back. A: True. V: And we have to play with feeling even the back muscles. A: True, and sometimes if you have a muscle problem in your hand, it might mean that something is wrong in your back. So my suggestion would be probably to do some Pilates. V: Pilates. A: Yes. V: Yes, Pilates would be good. It’s moderate intensity exercise, not to be very dangerous, and see how she feels. A: Because you know, if you will do only manual exercises, playing, let’s say, scales or arpeggios or something, and you will play extremely a lot of them, you might hurt yourself. V: Yes. I think with organ playing at this time, she should be moderate. Take moderation into account and not to extend herself, and maybe take care of her general health issues more carefully, and just slowly build up her technique, not expecting results overnight, or over a week, or over a month. Just her goal has to be, I think, just keep practicing, and stopping, probably, before she gets tired, not to hurt herself—not to feel exhausted—and to rest for a while and then playing some more if she wants. A: Yes, and you know, this Fibromyalgia is sort of a very mysterious disease. I read about it, but I still could not understand it, and I don’t think that doctors can, either. V: Okay, guys, 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 539, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Kirk. And he writes: Vidas: I have been practicing 2 hours a day on my full console organ. A couple of questions for my organ only has 25 pedals, so what does one do when running in organ music that is above the range of that pedalboard which runs down to 2 octaves below middle C up to Middle C on the piano. Also, I have been working out of my hymnal breaking up my practicing on the hymns down from soprano, alto and tenor and the bass part separately. With the Marcel Dupré book, I am working on one piece at a time, and working consistently on one section at a time in piece until I get my coordination and phrasing right before I go to the next phrase to work on. Kirk V: Mmm-hmm! So, Ausra, do you understand what kind of pedalboard does Kirk have? He has from Bass C to the Middle C, like most of the early organs? A: Yes, yeah. V: Two octaves. Two octaves plus one note. Well, sometimes we would have 27 notes like up to D, right? Which would facilitate a little bit. But for example, in a church where we both worked, which is called Holy Cross church, it does have only… A: Holy Cross. V: Holy Cross. it does have only pedalboard going to treble C. A: Well, it was sufficient for church music. Because, anyway you wouldn’t play virtuoso pieces on that particular instrument since we had only one keyboard there. So it was good for him and for some liturgical pieces. So I guess, well having such an organ, you have to select your repertoire accordingly. V: More early music? A: Yes, more early music. That’s right. V: I doubt that Marel Dupré’s 79 Chorales go above C too often. A: Well because it’s also sort of liturgical music. V: Plus it’s a beginners book. A: That’s right so it’s not for like, very advanced organ music. V: Yeah. He might get into higher notes from time to time but not very often. A: But then he can play them an octave lower. V: An octave lower. And the way we do this is not dropping just one note, for example. If there is a note, treble C in your score, right, and then right next to it is D. You have to think strategically. Dropping D one octave below sometimes would sound unconvincing. A: True. Maybe then you have to play lower, both notes, C and D. V: Or maybe entire phrase. A: Yes. V: Or see how can you rearrange the parts and the intervals. For example; if there is an interval when you drop downwards, if there is an interval of fourth and fifth, it’s okay, right? Second, third is also okay. But about a sixth? Sixth is also okay downwards. A: Yes, sixth is okay I think. Seventh is not okay. V: I think seventh is okay if you go downward but seventh upward is not okay, right? A: Anyway I think if we are talking about functional harmony you need to avoid the interval of the major seventh. V: Major seventh. Not a good... A: Major seventh yes. It’s really bad and you need to avoid augmented intervals. V: Uh-huh. Augmented meaning like Bb to C#. A: Yes. V: Augmented second. A: Going up. I mean, yes, doing augmented interval. If you would go below from that, you would have like diminished seventh, which would be worse. V: From Bb to C#. A: That’s right. V: Diminished seventh. Or augmented fourth is not good. Make it diminished fifth. A diminished fourth is better than augmented fifth. A: In general, that’s a rule you know. V: Mmm-hmm. A: In functional harmony that you avoid the leaps of augmented intervals. V: The second part of this question, he writes about those chorals from Marcel Dupré’s book. He writes that he’s working on one piece at a time and working consistently on one section at a time in the piece until he gets his coordination and phrasing right before he goes to the next phrase to work on. Can we suggest to memorize, like Marcel Dupré says? A: If he has time then yes. Why not? V: I think he has to find time because he uses Marcel Dupré’s book. And Marcel Dupré specifically states that after you can play the piece very slowly, both hands and the pedals, then you practice each phrase separately, and do it from memory—basically memorize it. But his method of memorization is very curious—you take a phrase of four measures long, and then you practice repeatedly the first measure, always starting and ending on the downbeat of the next measure, right? And you do like maybe five times while looking at the score and the five time without looking at the score. And then you do the same for the second measure, and then for the third measure, and then for the fourth measure—separately. Sounds boring! A: Yes, it does. V: But that’s what master recommends. A: Well, yeah. V: And then guess what comes next? Next comes two measure fragments. Measures one and two, two and three, three and four. And then you memorize one, two, three, and two, three, four together. And only then you memorize one, two, three, four together. A: I’m glad I wasn’t Marcel Dupré’s student. I would might have just died because his method is so boring. V: So let’s see if Kirk can survive that. A: I guess Marcel Dupré was famous for his discipline and for strictness to his students. V: Yes. And some people don’t like that. And that’s okay with me, because I’m not Marcel Dupré, and he’s dead. A: I know. Remember once we did those tests for fun, to tell us which of French… V: Uh-huh. A: organists we are. V: On Facebook. A: Yes. It was just really funny. V: I was Marcel Dupré? A: No. I was Marcel Dupré. And you were Cochereau. V: Pierre Cochereau. A: Pierre Cochereau, yes. V: I wonder why. A: Yes. V: There was one answer about Charles Tournimere. Who was Charles Tournimere? Our friend Polish maybe. A: No. He was also Marcel Dupré. V: He was also Marcel Dupré. Mmm. Interesting. Yeah. I guess you can only admire old masters or modern masters, up to certain point. Never try to become a master like Marcel Dupré. Be yourself, better. If you see your own character trait which is different from Marcel Dupré’s, develop it further. It will become your unique point of personality. And nobody can imitate you this way, which is more, I think, valuable than imitating masters in today's world. Because there was already Marcel Dupré, there was Pierre Cochererau already. But there is only one Ausra and one Vidas. And we’re still alive and still kicking. A: That’s right. V: And there is still one Kirk, and he needs to become also the best version of himself. 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! SOPP536: How can a self-taught organist become proficient and get to the master level of the organ?12/13/2019
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra V: Let’s start episode 536, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This questions was sent by Kirk. And he writes: Vidas It has been a long time since I have written you. How are you doing? I am working out of Marcel Dupre 79 Chorales for Organ. Talk about working on coordination, for me to do them I am practice between 50-60 MM. And if I mess up I go to the measure and practice at least 10 times just to start. Question besides having a teacher, how can a self-taught organist become proficient and get to the master level of the organ? V: Well, Ausra, I guess our website is all about being self-taught and getting help, not from a physical teacher but from online sources, right? A: Yes, true. If I would be in Kirk’s shoes and I would like to learn organ, to play organ, to be proficient, I would gather information that I need, let’s say from our web site or in general, books, and get the scores that I need. Then I would keep working and following those guidelines. And then of course I would record my work and listen back to it. Because I would have to be teacher for myself so I would have to listen to my recordings and be critical about them and then try to improve them. But of course, it’s always nice when somebody else will listen to your recordings and excites you. V: Then you need to have a teacher—online teacher, right? A: Yes, online teacher. V: Mmm-hmm. Get online coaching. I guess with technology today it’s possible to live in one side of the world and be taught on another side of the world, or get access to a teacher if you are living in an area without teachers. Right? It’s all about just being open to new possibilities. But as he says, practicing each measure ten times at least to improve and avoid mistakes, is a good start. A: Yes, it is. Although I myself never count how many times I have practiced certain measure or certain spot. I’m not a number person so if I would have to count each time how many times I played certain measure, I would just give up practicing at all. V: You know, there are all kinds of people who prefer methodical learning, counting the repetitions. Some don’t because it’s boring for them. Some prefer scales and arpeggios and exercises. Some want to go straight to music. I think a person has to choose whatever works for them and stick with it. Any method will work. Maybe some methods work better than others but as long as you keep practicing regularly and diligently, you will keep doing progress. A: But you know about this playing, let’s say certain measures, certain numbers of times, yes? V: Mmm-mmm. A: I think it doesn’t work. You know why? Because I don’t know any of piece of music that would be equally hard from first measure to the last measure. There are always easy measures in the piece and there are always harder and very hard measures in the piece. And if you will play exactly the same number, each measure, then certain spots will be harder for you to play. You will never master it. You will never be comfortable with entire piece. V: But I can write to you equally well designed measures and you can practice them ten times. A: No thank you! V: (Laughs). It would be very boring. For example, I’m practicing right now the two Bach’s chorales from Eighteen Great Preludes, or Leipzig Collection—Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 660, and BWV 661. And at first I started really counting repetitions and being very methodical about that. But after about third day, I understood that it won’t last with me—this kind of method, because I’m not a beginner anymore and I can master things naturally, really. And now I’m just enjoying myself and still making progress. Would you say, Ausra, that this is more beneficial to my situation? A: What, counting or not counting? V: Not counting. A: I think it’s more beneficial. V: Mmm-mmm. But for some people, they do like to count. They do want to feel the need to see a progress. Maybe they don’t understand if they’re playing better or not but if they count the number of repetitions, they feel that they’re progressing. It’s maybe a different thing. A: But still you need to work on some starts more than on the others. Because, believe me, for example, now I know that sort of repeating the Wachet auf, from Bach’s Schubler Collection… V: Yes. A: The famous C flat major, which is the work that Bach himself really done from his Cantata 140. V: This is BWV 645 in Schublers Collection. A: Yes. And it has this common form for most of the Lutheran’s chorales. He has a bar form which has an A section repeated and then the B section which is a new one. V: Bar, meaning like B-A-R, right, the word? A: Yes, B-A-R, and it has, if I would have to draw a form of it, it would be like A-A and B. So you have the A section repeated. V: And B is usually longer than A. A: Yes, that’s right. And because I don’t have much time to practice so usually I play it, well once a day… V: Mmm-hmm. A: And now after practicing it for what, three weeks, I notice that, that A section goes just so well. V: Because? A: Because I play it twice. Because that’s how the music is written. But the B section is much harder now. V: And longer. A: And longer. V: Mmm-mmm. So naturally if you repeat some things more times, you learn it better than other spots. Yeah. So I hope Kirk would take advantage of that, will take advantage of our courses that we have to offer because you can only learn so much from those free conversations that we provide. And if he needs more specific guidance, we have many training programs and scores with fingering and pedaling which will save him tons of time too. Thanks 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! SOPP523: I must get moving soon or I will not be qualified to call myself an organist any more12/7/2019
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 523 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Robert, and he answers my question where I asked him how is his organ practice going. He writes: “Oh I wish you hadn't asked. Not well I haven't practiced in a very long time. Health and other things are preventing me. I must get moving soon or I will not be qualified to call myself an organist any more. I do read and soak in and enjoy and certainly appreciate receiving the emails and all the good instructions. Hopefully soon I will be applying it. Thank you for asking. Best regards, Robert” What can you say for starters, Ausra, to Robert, who hasn’t practiced in a very long time? A: Well, a term “very long time” is sort of relative, because for some people a week without practice might seem as a very long time, but for others, half a year might not be a long time. So, I wish people would be more specific about terms like this. V: True. He writes about health and “other things,” which is also not specific. A: True. So we can just imagine things in all that, because if it’s health, then you need to know if it’s a constant problem or it’s a temporary problem, and other stuff. V: But he writes in the next sentence that he must get moving again or he will not be qualified to call himself an organist anymore, which means that he can start practicing. Right? Even though health and other things are preventing it. So it’s subjective challenges that are bothering him. A: I think it’s not only for Robert. I think it’s true for everybody, that we try to find excuses if you don’t want to do things right away, sort of we are trying to procrastinate. V: Do you think that Robert needs a little push? A: Yes, a push might help. V: Like extra encouragement and external motivation; you know what I mean. A: Yes, to schedule recital to play in. Then you have to move. V: Oh, no! No! That’s too harsh for people who haven’t practiced for a long time. I think our Secrets of Organ Playing Contest would be helpful. Just one video a week. It doesn’t have to be long… A: You know, for somebody, one video a week, that’s a real challenge. It might take too much energy and time to do it. V: Imagine just one hymn a week, then. It still counts! A: Well, as you say. V: I think so, yeah, if he wants it badly enough. First of all, he has to be willing to sacrifice the comfortable feeling of being where he is now. In this situation, he is comfortable. Even though he hasn’t practiced in a very long time, he is in a known area, a known environment, and when he starts practicing, he will become progressing somewhere he doesn’t know, and this might become uncomfortable. So first of all, he has to be comfortable with being uncomfortable to extend his comfort limits. Don’t you think? A: Yes! What would be other options without your competition and steam platform? V: That’s a tricky question, because it helped me, it helped people who participate… A: Do you think that like a regular church service on Sundays might be something, too? V: No! Obviously it’s a big motivation to perform in public even in a church service, yes! But what’s easier? To find a church service and start playing in public, or just to take out a cell phone and record yourself? A: Well, but thinking about the future, and about all those perspectives, I would think finding a church to play in is more… V: More beneficial. A: More beneficial. V: Because when he plays in church, he still can participate in the contest, too. A: Sure, so you could, so to say, shoot two bunnies with one shot? V: To shoot two bunnies with one shot. Exactly, yes. A: Not a very nice idiom, but I think you get the idea. V: Two birds, maybe, English speaking people, say. A: It could be. V: Lithuanians don’t hunt birds, only bunnies, it seems. So, this is our advice for Robert and many other people who are sort of stuck in a state without practicing for some time. It could be a week, or more, or it could be in between projects, in between recitals… A: Well, sometimes we have to take time off. V: How much time is needed? A: It depends on the specific situation. V: Plus or minus. A month or less? A: Two weeks, I would say. V: Two weeks? A: Because sometimes one week is not enough to have a rest or break. V: Yes, you need to adjust and during that week maybe you can plan things ahead. A: Well, planning is also a work, so… V: Okay, two weeks without any organ practice, any thinking about organ… does reading about our conversations and podcasts count? A: I guess! V: So people could still read them, but take two weeks off if they deserve it. Right? A: Sure. Maybe somebody doesn’t need it… doesn’t need to take breaks. V: Excellent. 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 520 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. A few weeks ago was quite a difficult trip to Vabalninkas for me to demonstrate pipe organ to bunch of 8th graders and 9th graders. And from that trip the most difficult thing was to get them to play this 19th century organ. They were very shy. Too shy, I should say… So, Ausra, this is my question. Right? How to get young kids to be more excited during such events and willing to try things that maybe are difficult for them, or overcome their fear of other teenagers, their friends. A: You know, the question that I have raised in my head while reading your question was, “why are they so shy?” And I think that the answer might be smartphones. V: You mean they are not accustomed to be active socially with normal people? A: Yes, that’s what I’m thinking. I remember last night we were driving your car and were stuck in a traffic jam, and I noticed there was a bus station nearby, and I could observe those people for a few minutes. There were like maybe 12 people standing and waiting for a bus. All the young ones were holding their smartphones and surfing through them, not paying any attention to the outside world. V: But this is Vilnius! This is the capitol! This is the center of Europe, maybe! A: Well, do you think that kids, let’s say in a province, are much different than kids in Vilnius? I don’t think so! They also have this dependence on modern technologies. V: It might make sense, so, maybe eliminate phones from their lives? Maybe that would be the solution? A: Well, yes, but I think unfortunately it’s impossible to do. It was just a dream. But what I’m thinking, is that probably for the youth, all these demonstrations should, if we want to attract them, they should be probably more technologically based. V: Oh, I see! A: Yeah, and interactive. That’s probably what modern kids would understand better. V: Interactive. You mean that kids should be a part of that lecture/performance/storytelling event right from the beginning, not at the end, right? A: Yes, plus I think you should involve the modern technologies more into your demonstrations. V: What kind of technologies, Ausra? A: Well, at least PowerPoint. V: Ah, visual material. A: Yes! V: But it’s strange… they are already seeing what I am talking about in front of them. It’s not like I’m talking to the blind audience... A: Well, I think because it’s not on the screen, it’s not affecting them. V: But how do you explain the fact that in my other demonstrations, kids were more active, more engaged? A: Well, what about age difference? Were they the same age? V: I’ve done most of my demonstrations for kids—for very little kids—or for adults. For Kindergarten or primary school, elementary school kids. But for teenagers, I’ve done a few, not so much. But I’ve done recently from Vilnius International School. One teacher brought me English speaking kids. So they were very active and willing to play four-hands and even 6-hands at one time. A: Well, let’s face it; it’s a big difference between Lithuanian province teenagers and kids from the International School. Basically, kids in the International School have a very different background. They have much bigger interests in life, and much bigger expectations in life, because I think the kids in our province are basically abused kids in many ways. V: Right. A: And I think that for many of them, the closest friend, the biggest friend is their mobile phone. V: Very interesting. A: That’s my guess. And when you are, for example, giving a performance and demonstration for kindergarten kids, they are still curious about things. They are still not so much affected by all the negative things and technological things, because usually parents strive to avoid their kids using too much technology at very early age. V: So, for example, you, Ausra, if you had an opportunity to go to Vabalninkas before me a few weeks ago, and you knew this would happen ahead of time, very shy kids, perhaps, not so engaged… even then, the question is, “Is there any way that you could engage them with the means that you have at hand?” You will not be able to bring a PowerPoint there, right, probably? A: Sure. But you know, I still don’t know why they didn’t want to try that organ so badly. Maybe their teacher just scared them before the event and told them just to be very quiet and polite. V: Could be! Yeah, the teacher might be one of the reasons, too. We don’t know. A: Were they noisy during your demonstration or were they very quiet? V: No, quiet! Quiet. There were one or two instances when they maybe wanted to engage with themselves a little bit, but not that this would be a disturbance of the demonstration. A: Another thing is that probably that in the teenager years, your social life is organized in some sort of gangs. Yes, it’s like in wolves! V: A wolf pack. A: A wolf pack, yes. They have one leader and everybody follows the rules, and everybody plays their role in this sort of gathering. So maybe that’s the same with those kids. V: I needed to identify the alpha male? A: Yes, maybe the leader just said, “This is all bullshit, don’t do it!” And nobody could do it because maybe they didn’t want that others would laugh at them all alone. That’s my best guess, but maybe I am wrong. I don’t know. V: But why did two people from one group and one person from another group play the organ, then? A: Well, there are all these people who do not fit into those groups. They are basically outsiders—losers, probably others would call them. V: Hmm… Strange. Okay, that makes sense of course. In one group, one boy was encouraged to play by the music teacher, and then she said, “You are very gifted, show off yourself.” And then, he played. But in the first group, two friends played four hands, and not badly at all. They explored the sounds and made some rhythmical arrangements of a popular song they knew. It was interesting. A: So, this case also shows that they sort of lack better musical education! Because those two kids who played the duet, and another kid whose teacher encouraged him to play had some musical training. Extra musical training, compared to the other ones. And maybe they just felt too shy to play anything, because they knew that they couldn’t do it. V: Yeah, lots of things to think about. A: And well, you know, if you are not well educated musically, then you don’t have interest in that thing because you cannot enjoy it. Because, let’s face it. To enjoy music, you still have to have some sort of musical pitch, and at least some kind of musical training. Because the things that you cannot understand and comprehend, they usually don’t attract yourself. V: Or, it has to be very interesting and engaging technologically for that kind of age group. A: Yes. Yes, I think so. Some sort of thing like… I don’t know… the keyboard that plays itself… nowadays, there are things like this. V: I have some hope about the paper organ when it arrives next year in February, and maybe if this project gets funded and Wolfram Kampffmeyer produces this instrument, it’s like a modular kit organ you can assemble your several pipes with a balloon and the balloon blows air, it’s really fun from the video that he produced. So maybe this kind of small, basically game instrument, would be fun to show them in addition to the real thing. A: Yes, that might help. V: To get them more engaged. You know? A: True. V: They would play with their hand on the paper organ, and maybe on the real thing afterwards. A: Yes. V: And break my paper organ! A: That might happen, because a paper organ is so fragile. V: Right. Excellent, guys. Alright, we’ll see in the future how it goes next time. Thanks for your questions… well, that was my question. A: Thank you for this question. V: Excellent. And please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. Do you like helping me grow, Ausra? A: Yes. Very much. V: And remember; when you practice, A: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 517 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Lee, and Lee commented on the YouTube video of mine where I talk about articulate legato touch in early organ music. I demonstrate how it sounds vs. normal legato. Normal legato is when notes are connected, and articulate legato are where there is some detachment between the notes. Right? So he asks: “"How would "articulate legato" be notated in a score vs. normal legato? Thanks."
A: Well, this question makes me smile a little bit, because articulate legato is supposed to be played for… it’s intended for Baroque music, for early music. So, if you are playing, let’s say, a piece by J. S. Bach, or Dieter Buxtehude, or other early masters, you simply know that everything that is written, and it’s written in a normal score without any articulation marks should be played in articulate legato.
V: Right. But… A: But…. You only play legato whose parts are specifically written in. V: Ah, I see… A: Plus, you need to find a good edition. It means, if you will pick up, for example, an edition made by Marcel Dupré, you can simply just throw it away, because it’s all marked in legato and other articulation marks, but these are not original. These are added later by Marcel Dupré. V: Yeah, and Marcel Dupré legato fingering and pedaling are dated. They are basically not used in historically informed early performance practice style. We don’t, of course, have CD recordings from the Baroque times. A: From the 17th and 18th century! V: Yeah. But remember, Ausra, we do have, for example, several pieces recorded on a mechanical clock from the 18th century—Handel’s Concerto, for example—with multiple virtuosic embellishment. A: Yes. That’s right. Plus, you know, the greatest evidence that we have are surviving instruments. Simply, if you would play legato on the Baroque instrument, it wouldn’t work. V: And we just have to look at other instruments which share the same articulation. Strings, winds… A: Yes, and you know, we have also many treatises from that time survived about playing various instruments, not necessarily the organ, but let me just mention, probably, the few famous ones such as C. P. E. Bach’s “The True Art of Playing Klavier,” then the big book of Joachim Quantz on playing a flute, then Leopold Mozart on playing violin, and basically, if you would read all these books, you would find the sections talking about articulation, and you will see that baroque music was all about articulation. V: And similar to keyboard, string music, like violin music, also had a similar articulation done with bowing. A: Yes, and the bow itself was shorter than it is in a modern violin or other stringed instrument, so obviously, you had to articulate much more. V: Exactly. And you know, when you change the direction of the bow, there is a slight break between those two notes, and that’s what creates this ideal articulation! A: Yes, but for many beginners, when they start to articulate baroque music, they simply start to play it too detached. It sounds just like staccato, and it makes me laugh, because it really sounds like a comedy. V: Artificial! A: Artificial. It’s not like it needs to sound. V: The principle is that you sort of play with one finger but as legato as possible. A: So basically, to master this ordinary touch, it takes time. It takes time, and it takes effort, and it takes to listen carefully to what you are doing. You cannot do it in one night, or in one year, I would say, too, unless you are really sufficient in your practice. V: What about the wind instrument, tonguing? Is it also similar, too? A: Yes, it’s very similar. V: ...to what we do? A: Practically, they had to tongue each single note in most of the cases. V: Unless it’s written “legato.” A: Yes, that’s right. V: or staccato. Then it would be shorter. A: And wind instruments and organ have so much in common, because they both have pipes. So, I guess this also suggests to us that the correct way to play Baroque music is to articulate it. V: So guys, if you want to find out more about articulation of early music, check out those three treatises. We will link them in our description of our conversation—the one with the treatise by C. P. E. Bach about playing keyboard instruments, basically Klavier, as he says, and the next is by Joachim Quantz about playing the flute, and the last one is by Leopold Mozart (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s father) on playing violin. A: Yes. V: And those three treatises, will give you a great, great introduction, not only to this idea of ordinary touch, or as we call it today, articulate legato, but also to all kinds of performance practice issues including fingering, ornamentation, for example, diminutions—all those details that make your Baroque piece sound like it might have been performed back in the day. A: Yes, and the biggest counter argument that I heard about why we need to do it nowadays, they most simply are the modern instrument and so on and so forth, but even if you play articulate legato on a modern instrument, it still sounds better in this kind of music, at least for my ear. V: Obviously, yes! It’s more difficult to articulate on a modern instrument, because the keys are wider and longer, and the feeling of the keyboard is different. Right? But if you apply this ordinary touch right away, you don’t have to relearn it if you ever have a chance to practice on an historical instrument, or a copy of the historical instrument. A: True, and that’s what I think it is that separates just an ordinary musician from an excellent musician, is that you learn in time. Because, for example, the older generation, for example our professors, Quentin Faulkner and George Ritchie, they had to relearn it, because as young people, they were taught to play legato, and to do only some articulation in Baroque music. But later on, all this big discovery basically based on German organists such as Harold Vogel or Ludger Lohmann became famous throughout the organist world, and some of the older generation didn’t want to accept it. I have met some of them personally, and they would be complaining, “Oh, there are these youth that nowadays play all Bach non-legato, and they call it ordinary touch, and they say that this is the way that Bach played...” V: And this youth was over 50 years old! A: Yes, but that guy who told me that, I think at that time he was more than 80 years old already. He was a pupil of a famous German organist, Karl Straube. V: Yes. A: And Straube was the same in Germany at the time as Marcel Dupré in France, so really a leading figure. And of course, he taught this guy that I knew to play legato, and he trusted him because he was such a renowned organist who worked widely in his days. But life is changing, and new discoveries are made. So our professors, Ritchie and Faulkner simply relearned everything. V: Yeah, and as long as you keep learning, you postpone the aging process, which is really good news. A: And anyway, when you hear one performance and another one and you compare them, then you know right away which is the right one, because your intuition tells you that. And after trying that ordinary touch, you will never go back to playing Bach legato. 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 533, of Secrets Of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by May. She’s our Total Organist student. And he writes: Hi Vidas, I read from your post that you classify BWV 565 as advanced level. Actually, which part of this piece do you think is the most challenging? I personally find the fast passage towards the end (especially that part to be played by hands only with alternate hands. I find it very difficult to play each note evenly and clearly. Is this the most difficult part of this piece in your mind? What do you suggest I can do to improve my playing of such fast passages? Vidas: Do you like playing Hanon exercises, Bach Inventions and Sinfonias? May: Thanks Vidas! I wish I played more technical exercises before. The fact is, my piano teachers never instructed me to do so in the past (when I was a teenager). My piano at home is now awfully out of tune. I seldom play it ever since I started learning organ. To be honest I would rather spend time on compositions that require pedals. I always choose compositions that require more hands-feet coordination and less manual techniques. This doesn't mean I do not want to improve my manual skills. I just don't want to spend too much time on manual only pieces like Bach's inventions and sinfonias. I have little knowledge of Hanon exercises. How many of exercises does it have and how many shall I work on? I assume I'll have to practice them on the piano... Thanks again, May Vidas: How about Bach's Orgelbuchlein? How many chorales have you mastered from this collection? May: Hi Vidas, With the Orgelbuchlein, here's the list of pieces I have played in the Church and that I am fairly comfortable with. BWV 609, 610, 621, 623, 625, 627(verses 1,2,3), 631, 636 Below is the list that I believe I have mastered. BWV 599, 602, 605, 606, 613, 626, 630, 639. I am quite comfortable with BWV 659 and 645. V: By the way, 659 is Nun komm from Eighteen Great Chorales, the first one, and 645 is "Wachet auf" from Schubler collection. May: I have been playing them in Church during the advent season in the past few years. Any advice from you will be greatly appreciated. Thanks, May Vidas: And I finished my writing to her like this: Thanks May! There are 45 chorale preludes in this collection. It's worth mastering them all. Also the Schubler chorales. Do one per week. In fact, you can record one piece every week for our Secrets of Organ Playing Contest. This would quadruple your results. V: What do you think, Ausra? A: Well, I think that you never give up a chance to advertise your competition on the… V: But it’s our competition. A: Well, it’s more your competition than mine. But anyway when May mentions that she struggles with D minor Toccata by J.S. Bach, I thought that she really needs to exercise on the piano and to do the manual part because those spots that she indicated shows the lack of muscle strength, strength from on her fingers. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Because I think that D minor Toccata in general is the piece suited actually for piano performers, because it doesn’t require a lot of pedal technique, but it takes good finger work. V: What about the fugue? A: Well the fugue is already more complex piece. V: Mmm-mmm. Toward the end of the fugue there is this passage or couple of passages with a little more pedal involved. But yes, it’s sometimes difficult to play in a fast tempo reliably those passages in the hands which have echo between the hands, alternating hands. You jump from manual to manual. This is difficult for me too. So, yes, playing exercises like Hanon, wouldn’t hurt for her. But if she wants to play something with pedals, I definitely recommend Bach’s Orgelbuchlein and Schubler Chorales—all of them. A: Well, you know, I love Schubler Chorales, but to be honest, some of the Orgelbuchlein Chorales are boring for me, for example. Of course I’ve played them all but… V: What do you mean, boring? A: Well, they are, most of them are not exactly like concert level pieces. They are well suited for liturgical purposes. V: Mmm-mmm. A: And for in general studying the style of Bach, and baroque figures too. But it’s not the most exciting collection Bach composed. V: But in her situation it would work, wouldn’t it? A: Yes, of course. And she has learned already quite a lot of them. V: But she only had mastered one, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight. Eight out of forty-five. A: Do you think it’s crucial to master all of them? V: I think it wouldn’t hurt, yes. A: But I always go back to that question and ask myself ‘why Bach hasn’t finished composing this collection’. V: And, your answer is, what? A: That maybe he got bored with himself. V: Like you are bored with… A: In that collection. Is that possibility? V: He clearly didn’t think it as a priority at the time. He got distracted by more important projects, probably. A: Well… V: But these pieces which were created, right, only a third I think from the planned collection. There should have been much more, many more. Those which are created would serve pedagogical level very well because in every piece pedal is completely obbligato. A: Yes, that’s right. And there are some really, really tricky pieces, like Hilf' Gott, dass mir's gelinge, BWV 624 for example. V: Mmm-mmm. A: He used various polyphonic techniques and it’s quite challenging. Actually I would find some of those chorales actually even more challenging than that spot of D minor Toccata that she describes. V: Definitely! A: So… V: And if she masters all of them once a week, in let’s say, in a year or even less probably, she can come back to D minor Toccata and check how she is doing with that difficult passage. My guess is, it will not be as difficult any more. A: Yeah. Could be. V: Thank you guys, for listening, for 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 512 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Alex, and he writes: “Hello Vidas, My dream as a long-time pianist/harpsichordist and new organist is to be an excellent performer of early music and hymnody. The three biggest obstacles: 1) Pedal technique 2) Lack of practice time due to graduate school (in choral conducting) 3) Physical limitations in my neck, back, and arms which keep me from being able to practice more than about 90 minutes per day. Thank you for receiving feedback. I absolutely love all the content on your wonderful website. God’s blessings on your excellent musical endeavors!” So, Ausra, Alex wants to be an excellent performer of early music and hymnody! A: Well, that’s a nice dream. V: But, so far, he lacks pedal technique, A: Which is natural, because he played piano and harpsichord before now, so he’s a new organist, so that’s natural. V: Two, lack of practice time, because he is in school, A: Well, I think we all need more practice time, and we all lack time in general. V: And then, he can’t practice for a longer period of time over 90 minutes. A: Well, since his dream is to become an excellent performer of only early music, I would say that 90 minutes is plenty of time to practice on a regular basis, if you play only organ. But of course, if you have to divide this 90 minutes between all three of these instruments that he has, it’s not enough. V: Piano, harpsichord, and organ. A: Yes. V: Out of these three obstacles, I think pedal technique is the least important. Don’t you think? A: Why do you think so? V: Because, if you keep practicing, you will advance in your pedal technique with time. A: True, if you will practice, which is the most important thing. V: And, the physical limitation in his body prevents him from practicing for a longer period, but as you say, it’s quite enough for early music to practice that much, with breaks, probably, too. A: Yes! And, you know, if you have some sort of physical limitations, it means that you need to find time some how to improve your body’s state. V: Yes. A: And maybe to strengthen your muscles, which, in the long term, would allow you to practice for longer periods of time. V: Why do you think people lack practice time while they are in school? Because being in school is one of the best times in life, I would think. A: Well, I don’t know what his position is, what else he does, if he only studies, or he has a part time job somewhere, or he works on campus, so it’s hard to tell, but yes, I remember my study years, and I haven’t practiced so much now as I had during my studies. V: Me, too, because when you graduate, all kinds of life things get in the way, and not only things, but problems, challenges… you have to think about feeding yourself and your family, perhaps, so you have to find a stream of revenue—preferably several—in order to feel secure, and this occupies a lot of brain space. A lot of thinking goes into this, and a lot of energy. A: So, I guess while being a student is an excellent opportunity to build up good organ technique. You will appreciate it later. V: Yes, whatever you build up right now will become the foundation for you later on. Can you advance after school? A: Yes, you can, but you will need to double your efforts to achieve that. V: Because school is designed to help people stay motivated and keep on track with deadlines and due dates and exams. Basically, all the thinking is done for you—all the curriculum—so you just have to follow the path. It’s not the most realistic path, of course, in life. When you graduate, you become sort of on your own. You no longer have the support of professors and other students. You might have support, but you have to seek it out actively in other ways. A: And the worse thing is that so many people nowadays work in something else, not in the field of expertise. V: Yes. So their profession becomes like a hobby to them. A: I know! Like for example, how my parents hired one man who did some work at their house V: With metal? A: With metal, yes. And he actually graduated...his major is architecture. But he doesn’t do anything like that, because he wasn’t able to find a job according to his profession. I hear many cases like his. V: Right. I think just yesterday, I was in my church in the morning, preparing to record a sample with experiments in organ sound, how two Timpani pipes sound, and how the organ sound is disappearing when you turn off the organ blower while still holding the chord. We were doing this together with one artist from the art academy—it’s part of our collaboration between the university and the art academy—and I asked her, she’s an instructor at the art academy, and I asked her, “What about other students at the academy? Are they building their portfolios while they are still in school, or are they waiting to get their diploma?” What I’m referring to is, of course, if they are putting their work online, where people can find them, therefore their reputation would grow over time if they kept posting and uploading. You know what I mean, right Ausra? A: Yes. V: And it appears that this instructor, this artist, says that most of them are waiting! Just maybe 1% of them are doing something with their work, and putting them online, outside of what is required. You know? A: They are waiting for a miracle after studies. I remember when we came back from the United States and wrote to our professors, Quentin Faulkner and George Ritchie, that we only received a position teaching at Čiurlionis National School of Arts in the Music Theory department, that Quentin Faulkner wrote us back that it would be a dream job for most Americans who graduated from the university in Fine and Performing Arts, and at that moment, I thought, “Wow, I have a Doctoral Degree in Organ Performance, and I have to satisfy myself with teaching basically in the arts school, which is not even at the university level, it’s more like at the high school level, a specialized school. But now, after teaching there for 14 years, I understand what he meant. And seeing life around myself and meeting other people who work doing, let’s say, not what they have studied, I feel that I’m really lucky. V: Me, too. Even though I no longer teach at school. Maybe that’s why I’m lucky. Alright guys, please send us more of your 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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