Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 509 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Diana, and she writes: “It’s difficult for me to know how much time it’s best to leave for learning new music and how much time - for refreshing previously mastered material. Most often I spend too much time on new pieces and too little time - on pieces learned earlier.” So, Ausra, do you know Diana from our Unda Maris studio? A: Of course I know her. V: Yeah, she is now practicing various manualiter pieces, namely Chorale Harmonizations from Krebs’s “Clavier-Übung”, but only outer parts—soprano and the bass—and she is now starting to practice Bach’s inventions, and in addition to that, she is transcribing fingering and pedaling from Lemmens’s “Short Trios” and playing them, as well. So, it depends on her choices, probably, what she needs to do on the goals, right? A: Sure, because from her question, of course, I know her personally, but if I didn’t know her, I would still understand that she is just a beginner, because usually this is the kind of question that might arise from a beginner. Because, for an experienced musician, it’s clear that it’s impossible to keep under your finger all the repertoire that you have ever learned all the time. V: Impossible? A: Yes. Well, unless you have learned only maybe… I don’t know... V: ...five pieces… A: ...90 minutes of music, then yes. But you know, if you have mastered hours and hours of music, then I think it’s impossible, and it’s not your goal to keep everything under your fingers all the time. Then you will have just played from morning until night every day. V: So probably, for beginners like Diana, her goal should be to learn as much new music as possible. Right? A: Yes, I think so. I think she would benefit more from that after just repeating the old stuff. Of course, she needs to think what kind of pieces she liked from her repertoire and she would like to play in the future, that has some artistic values to her, and maybe to play them time after time. But I think her main focus needs to be learning new repertoire. V: It’s like for babies, right? Babies grow up so fast, and for example babies’ clothes no longer fit them after a few months. Is that a good comparison? A: Well, yes, I think it’s a good comparison. I would never think about that myself, but yes, you could say it like that. V: So Diana is like a musical baby, and she needs to change her clothes constantly—musical clothes. A: Repertoire, you mean. V: Yes. A: So, what about you? How much repertoire is under your fingers, for example, in a given moment? V: Well, I’m different from most of my organists that I know—my friends, because I improvise in public, and that’s a big difference from just playing something that is written and keeping that under your fingers. So I’m generally thinking about learning new music for my upcoming recitals if I’m planning something to play from the repertoire, not only from improvisations. But right now, I have two recitals coming up which are improvisations, two recitals with you which are organ duets, or four duets, actually—two in Lithuania and two in other countries—and then some organ demonstrations, as well, so I have to be constantly ready to play in public, basically. My situation is different from most people, I think. A: But I guess if you are an organist and you are somehow related to the church, even if you don’t have a regular position, or to the universities, I think you need to keep some of your repertoire ready at any time. So maybe while learning new and difficult pieces, you need to have sort of a basic repertoire that you could be ready to refresh right away if you would receive any calls that you need to replace somebody and to play for some occasions, such as weddings, funerals, Mass… V: A collection of short pieces. A: Yes. V: Two or three minutes each, or even one minute is okay, probably, for starters. So, it reminds me of the examination requirements of the American Guild of Organists, where they have this test for the service playing certificate. They have requirements to play a few preludes, a few offertories, a few postludes, and a few communion pieces, and a few funeral pieces, and a few wedding pieces. So maybe a total of twelve pieces for this test. And for this occasion, maybe if you’d add six categories, so one or two from each category would be a good place to aim to learn for your constant repertoire. Don’t you think? A: Yes, I think that’s a good suggestion. V: Until you become a good sight-reader and can sight-read this kind of music on short notice. 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!
Comments
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 525 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Roland, and he writes an answer to my question, how is his organ playing going on these days? He writes, Very well thank you. As I studied in the Netherlands and before that in Austria I was nervous of becoming too one-sidedly Dutch/Germanic in my repertoire and my approach, so am now preparing French repertoire and have tuition in Paris with Prof. Cauchefer Choplin (with whom you have recorded the interesting interview) in the coming period. V: So, Ausra, it seems that Roland wants to now become more balanced organist, not only focusing on the German side of the repertoire, but also the French side of the repertoire. First of all, before you say something, do you think that German and French sides of the organ historical playing schools are the only ones that needed to be taken into consideration? A: No, that’s what I wanted to say. Because I think that the sort of beginning of music itself is not in Germany, and it’s not in the Netherlands, it’s not in France, it’s in Italy, probably. V: Yes. A: So that’s, you know, you should consider Italian school as well. All those Frescobaldi pieces, and other masters. And there is also Spanish school, which is also fascinating with its chamades. And music, especially the baroque music was quite polyphonic at that time. V: Yeah. A: So it’s also worth of consideration. Plus, also English tradition - all those virginalists. Of course, if he knows the Netherlands music very well, so went through Sweelinck, of course he gets an idea of English virginalists. So, I guess sometimes we spent too much focusing on these two countries: Germanic and French. V: But, professor Cauchefer Choplin is a renowned figure when it comes to improvisation, for example, and French repertoire, so it will not hurt him in any way. Obviously, it’s very nice that he has listened to the podcast conversation with Professor Sophie Veronique Cauchefer Choplin, that I recorded. I think it, at the beginning of the time when I was just starting doing podcasts. A: Yes, I remember that time when you were taking an interview. V: She was on the jury of Ciurlionis International Organ Competition in Vilnius four years ago. A: That’s right. V: Which will start also in two weeks I think, or less than two weeks, almost in a week. So, we will try to also to listen to some of the organists, and maybe to interview some jurors too, if they agree. A: Sure. And you know, talking about Roland, I think it’s important when you are study, during your study years, as he now obviously is, to experience as much countries, and to try as many instruments and as many traditions as you can. But I guess at some point in your life, you have probably to choose which area will be the area of your concentration, of your main focus. V: Do you think it’s necessary to do that? A: Well, I guess if you are sort of like freelance musician, then probably not. But if you consider to work, let’s say in the university, let’s say in United States, then yes, I think it’s necessary. Because when I think about any professor back in the States, each of them would have their main focus of studies. Don’t you think so? Because I don’t think it’s possible to know everything in depth, because organs, there are so many countries with different traditions and so many organ composers, and such a wide range of repertoire starting from the Middle Ages and finishing nowadays. I don’t think it’s possible to be equally good and knowledgeable in each of those spheres. Don’t you think so? V: Well, there are a few ways to be successful in organ playing, not just one. To specialize, yes, this is one. One way to become the best in your area, in the small area, right, rather small. For example, you discover a very curious composer who didn’t receive much appreciation when he lived, or perhaps he is living now, and you could record everything that that composer wrote or writes. Become the go-to person, the expert in this music, right? And you will be known for that very, very narrow topic. That’s what Ausra is talking about. Another way is to become the first. Become the first inventor of something. For example, let’s say Harald Vogel, right? A: Yes. V: I don’t know if he was the first, but to me he is the first in re-energizing focus and attention to early organs in… A: Ostfriesland. V: Yes, area of The Netherlands and North Germany called Ostfriesland, with fantastic instruments and music from the manuscripts, tablatures, early performance techniques. Maybe there were other people involved in that, but he’s the most prominent figure in leading this movement - Harald Vogel, right? And what’s the third one? A: I don’t know. You wanted to tell us, so tell us! V: Okay! A: Or you forgot while talking about two others. V: The third way is to become different. Different from anybody else that you know. For example, okay - Guillou. Jean Guillou - is he an expert in the French music? Yes he is, but so are many others. So what is he, or what was he most well-known for? Improvisations, and his own compositions. A: But many French organists are very famous for their improvisations, so how is he different from others? V: His style is different from others, you see? A: Well, yeah… V: You know that? A: I know that, yes. V: So be yourself. You can easily be yourself. But the problem is that you have to be yourself or stick to one particular path, one, two, or three, for a long time so that people will start noticing you. A: True. V: Because at first they will ignore you, then they will laugh at you, then they fight you, and only then you win. A: Yes, and I think the worst thing that might happen, that after graduation you play only the pieces you learned during your study years. I know many organists like that. Especially in Lithuania, that we have learned, let’s say 20 pieces during the study years, and we keep playing them all through life, not trying anything new. I guess you just have to keep your curiosity going, even after graduation. V: To keep a beginner’s mind, always be prepared to accept that you don’t know everything. A: Yes, I think that’s the main, the most important thing. V: And be hungry for, learning new skills. 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.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 504 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Vitold, and he writes: “Good day! This is Vitold from the organist school. Can you send or recommend literature to better understand organ harmony? Because I write those notes and I can't understand where and how those intervals are calculated. The hardest part I ever studied was the harmony I never understood. I played mostly from hearing and finally I would like to learn. Sincerely Vitold” So Vitold is a student from St. Gregory’s organist school, where I teach, this semester, Harmony. And there are something like 14 students in this course. Two are on the second level, and the rest of them are at the beginner level. So Vitold is at the beginner level, and during the first lesson or class, I gave them five hymns to work on, but I didn’t ask them to supply 4-part harmony, yet. Only to supply the bass line to the soprano melody. But, I asked them to think about the sweet-sounding intervals of sixths, and thirds, and octaves and fifths, but to avoid parallel octaves and fifths, and mostly use sixths and thirds in alternation. And, in order to avoid forbidden intervals, aim for contrary motion between the hands. When the soprano goes up, the other voice has to go down and vice versa. So this the general instruction. A: So basically, you are teaching it, not more like a harmony, what I understand is harmony, but more as about counterpoint. V: That’s right. We are starting from there, because before there was harmony, there was counterpoint. A: But, I think as an advanced musician, you need to understand that counterpoint in general is much more complex and difficult than harmony. V: If you take it into consideration the next species of counterpoint, not only note against note, but two, three, four, five mixed counterpoint, right? This is difficult, but from what I assigned, they only have to supply one note in the bass against one note in the soprano. A: But you know, what I understood from Vitold’s question, I think he is in much bigger trouble than he… V: ...realizes… A: ...realizes, yes, because he cannot calculate intervals. It means he doesn’t know what a certain interval is. And, it means that he really needs, probably, elementary music theory, to learn before taking any courses of harmony. V: That’s why I didn’t start with four voices. You know? And the next lesson when we meet, maybe I have to refresh what intervals are, what kind of intervals you can use… A: But then, you know, other guys in that course that know what intervals are will be bored! V: Yes! Yes, that’s true. A: I guess they need to do some sort of entry examination into this organ school. V: They didn’t. A: I know! I remember, I taught there last year for a half a year, and then I quit it, because I had like 18 students at very different levels, and I had to teach all of them harmony. V: So, to help Vitold and others who don’t know what an interval is, I took my camera yesterday and recorded a video about intervals, basically listing all those intervals from the unison up to a perfect octave from the note C, and I calculated their distance in terms of half steps and whole steps. A: Another thing that I was thinking while reading Vitold’s question was that he seems to have some musical training in the past, but hasn’t learned much out of it. So these are the hardest students, I believe, that have some formal training but haven’t learned anything, because, they seem to like to complain about things, resist things that you are offering them, and it’s just really bad. V: If he were a fresh beginner without any training, like a blank sheet of paper, you could write on a blank sheet of paper. But if you have a paper with something written in, you have to first erase incorrect things on that paper, and then rewrite everything from scratch. A: That’s right. So good luck for you, Vidas. I’m glad I’m not teaching harmony there this year. V: Yes, you can laugh at me, now. A: No, I’m not laughing. I feel really sorry for you. V: Or you can build a monument for me. After this semester. A: You haven’t built a monument for me after last year! V: Let’s build a monument for each other. A: Yes, ok. But anyway, harmony is not such a hard thing. If you can count to ten, you can learn harmony, too. V: Obviously, only the first twenty years are difficult. Afterwards it’s easy. A: But, you know, by having an understanding of harmony and about chords and how they are connected and all those things are a big help for a church organist. I cannot imagine being a good organist without having at least a basic knowledge of harmony. Especially if you are working in a Catholic church. V: In Lithuania. Because in more civilized countries, musically, they have hymnals and supplements, and harmonizations of melodies they have to play, and people sometimes can get away without harmonizing things. But in Lithuania, there are only a few hymnals with harmonizations, and the rest is up to an organist. A: So basically, if you are a church organist in Lithuania, you need to be an organist, a conductor, a composer, and cantor. V: Total organist, right? A: Yes, basically Total Organist. V: Like we teach! Excellent. So 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 502 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Terry, and I asked him about his “8 Little Prelude and Fugues” practice. So, he writes: “Hi Vidas! Thanks for asking. The pedals are not second nature to me yet, unlike, say, doing scales on a piano. I made great progress with your pedal challenge courses but I need to get in some sort of regular pedal practice like doing my daily Hanson exercises, which I have not sorted out yet. I am also unsure of registration and tempo. Finally, remembering to practice articulate legato in both hands and pedals requires focus. Your fingering and pedaling suggestions, however, are a great time saver, although I do make some changes that seem to work better for me. In any event, practicing these works is a great joy with only a year under my belt. One other thing: it is hard for me to figure out a gradual progression of compositions to practice within your guidance of beginning, intermediate, and advanced groupings. I also stated with the “Orgelbuchlein” compositions, so I started with BWV 599 and will go from there. A small confession: I started with the Widor Toccata as my first piece, quite foolishly, although it was a thrill and I stayed with it through memorization. Maybe I will actually be ready for it with appropriate technique in a few years, but at age 71 I can’t wait too long. Playing these works of the masters is tantamount to coming in direct contact with the Divine, before I pass through earthly bonds and come, hopefully, face to face. All the best, Terry” A: What a nice letter! V: It is! Even though Terry is 71 years old, he still strives to improve, which is really nice. A: True! V: More people should challenge themselves at this age. A: That’s right. V: I think when he writes that he can’t wait too long because he is 71, and he started playing from Widor’s Toccata as his dream right away, I think people should understand that dreams can change! They can adapt. A: That’s right, and being 71, you could think that you are only 71, because you never know how much longer you will live! Maybe you still have quite many years ahead of you. Nobody knows, actually. V: Yes. So better, probably, not to postpone your dream, but to live it today. Right? A: Well, I didn’t mean that, but I meant that being 71, you might still have a lot of time ahead of you. That’s what I meant. V: And be able to master Widor’s Toccata later. A: True. Actually, and this episode about Widor’s Toccata reminded me about that new girl that we have in our studio this year, V: Right… A: In our Unda Maris studio, who is desperate to play “D Minor Toccata” by J. S. Bach, and this is the only one organ piece that she recognizes. But she has never had any formal musical training whatsoever, and basically what she does is she plays for a church here in Vilnius, but basically she plays everything by ear. So what she hears, she plays that, somehow. V: I told her to discover more organ compositions beyond “D Minor Toccata.” A: And I was convincing her that it would be beneficial to play “8 Little Preludes and Fugues,” but it doesn’t seem that my ideas and thoughts touch her. V: I was not so progressive with her. I just recommended “6 Short Trios” by Lemmens. And, she played the right hand part of the first trio together with 4 other ladies quite nicely, so I thought they could master the first trio within several weeks, I think. But she still wants to play “D Minor Toccata” now. Who knows? Maybe she can play in her own time, but now I hope she will study Lemmens, as well. A: I think when you pick up a piece that is much too difficult for you, you might ruin the piece forever. So, it’s better to go step by step. At least that’s my opinion. V: Right. So from those “8 Little Preludes and Fugues” that Terry is working on, the easiest one is probably not the first one! Not C Major. A: No. V: And obviously, the gradation should also take into account the fugues. The fugues are much more difficult than the preludes because of the polyphonic writing. A: Could you learn the preludes first and then do the fugues after that? V: That’s how my Bach’s Mastery course: “Bach Organ Mastery Level 1” course is constructed. First we learn “8 Little Preludes,” and then we learn 8” Little Fugues.” But we’re not starting with the “C Major Prelude,” we are starting, I think, from either F Major or G Minor, I don’t remember now, but those two are the easiest ones. A: Well, but I started with G Minor, and the pedal part wasn’t so easy for me at the beginning. V: That’s why always…. A: Although, the tempo was slow, so… V: Yeah, it has more voices than three, that’s why I recommend easier pieces like trios—short trios like exercises of 8 measures long—like Lemmens, maybe. A: But when you are talking registration of these preludes and fugues, if you have no idea how else to register them, you can just play them using Organo Pleno, I think. V: And Organo Pleno is full Principal Chorus with mixtures. A: That’s right. And if you find it too much, you could just play with principal 8’, 4’, and 2’, and maybe some with just principal 8’ and 4’. V: Yeah, basically use principals, depending on the character. If it’s a solemn character and bright tempo, then maybe use mixtures. If it’s a slow movement and a meditative character, maybe one principal would be enough. A: That’s right. V: And register the pedals accordingly. You don’t need always to play with Posaune. Posaune fits well with mixtures with the hands, but if you only play it with one principal in the hands, maybe you only need 16’ and 8’ in the pedals. A: True. V: Excellent. Then Terry asks about “Orgelbüchlein” gradation. Obviously, 599 is the first one, Nun Kommt der Heiden Heiland,” but the easiest one is… A: Probably “Ich Ruf’ Zu Dir.” V: Probably, yeah, with a trio texture. And there are a few more like that, not with trio texture, with four voices, but which are less difficult to play than “Nun Komm”. They are at the beginning of the collection, too, but not right at the beginning. A: Plus I think that “Orgelbüchlein” was maybe written according to the liturgical year, but not according to the difficulty of pieces. V: No, no. That was intended as a collection of all the ways you could play the chorale for the liturgical year, and Bach didn’t even finish it. A: True. V: So postpone, Terry, the “Widor Toccata,” until you are ready for this, and have fun with the Bach pieces—easier Bach pieces first. And, if you are interested in the gradation of those “8 Little Preludes,” take a look at my “Bach Organ Mastery Level 1” course, and you will start from the easiest prelude, go through the more difficult ones, and then graduate from the easiest fugue through the most difficult fugue. And of course, this program is available without additional cost, like anything else we create, for Total Organist students. 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!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 499 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Joanna, and she writes: “Dear Vidas I bought a copy of Vieux Noel by Cesar Franck from your website. I wanted to ask you something which I do not understand. What are the numbers at the beginning of the piece...number 1, number 4 and number 0 in a circle? Regards and thanks Joanna” V: First of all, Ausra, we’re approaching soon episode 500! This is exciting! A: True, it is exciting. V: The next will be 500. A: I didn’t think we would survive for such a long time with our podcast. V: It’s a small milestone to celebrate. How will we celebrate? A: I don’t know, maybe practice something on the organ! V: No! I already practiced on the organ something today. A: You can’t practice too much! V: Maybe I’ll eat a cookie. A: That’s a good idea. V: And you? A: Then I’ll eat a cookie, too. V: My cookie? A: No, another cookie! V: We have enough cookies for both of us. A: True. V: Okay. So Joanna bought a copy of one piece by Cesar Franck from his cycle “L’Organiste.” This collection is created to be played on either pipe organ or harmonium—French harmonium. In other countries, they are called “reed organ,” or in German, “Phisharmonium.” Basically, they’re a little bit different, but the idea is the same. You pump the two pedals, and therefore your two feet are busy. You cannot play with your feet as with pipe organs on the pedal board. But, I have seen, actually, an electric harmonium which has an electric blower, and then you have a pedal board. You have seen this, too! A: So, how is this different from the organ then? V: Because it doesn’t have pipes, it only has free reeds vibrating, like in a harmonium. A: Harmonium actually reminds me of an accordion. V: Yeah, it has those bellows, and the same type of reeds. You know where we saw this instrument… I’m not sure if you were there… in the house of the priest/organist, Gracijus Sakalauskas. A: No, I haven’t seen it. V: You haven’t been there? A: No. V: He was, for a long time an advisor, I think, for an organ building company from Marijampolė, and he also is a priest, but he is, or was, trained as an organist as well. So, I think during one concert of our organ studio of professor Leopoldas Digrys, a few of us went to perform at some church in that region, and we had a dinner, and we visited this priest’s house, and he had this electric harmonium. This was nice. A: So, what do you think about the collection? V: So the collection… before last summer, I started sight-reading these pieces and recording them on videos, and putting the cameras above the keyboards, so that the hands would be clearly visible, with the hope that people would find the fingering useful that later, our team has transcribed from those videos. And apparently, Joanna wants to learn a piece from the suite suitable to be played for Christmas time. It’s, I think, in the middle of this collection, and this Noël is just one part of this suite. It’s a very interesting collection. It has, I think, seven suites in seven keys, major and minor keys. So the first is C, the second is C-sharp, the third is D, and the fourth is E-flat, and so on. It goes up chromatically. And in each suite, you have, I think, seven pieces suitable to be played for liturgy. Six pieces, plus either offertorium or the Sortie. A: I think it’s a wonderful collection for church musicians, because the pieces are easily done, quite easily done, but they sound like solid pieces of music. V: Yes, they are not crappy compositions at all. A: They are really aesthetically pleasing, and you know, it’s worth it to have this collection if you are a church musician—a church organist. V: And you could be a highly strained organist, but you can still sight-read them, and your congregation would definitely enjoy them. A: So now, could you explain about those numbers, what they mean? V: The numbers refer to the stops on the French Harmonium. In this particular Vieux Noël, there is #1, #4, and 0. So, I copied those numbers, indications of those stops, on the French harmonium from the collection, and one is Cor Anglais 8’. Cor Anglais is a reed sort of similar to the oboe, maybe, but only in the bass register. Right? Because French Harmonium has a divided keyboard: Bass from C to E1, and then treble from F1 to C4. So basically, #1 is Cor Anglais 8’, and #4 is Basson 8’ level. So here you have two stops of 8’ level. And then 0 means “Forté.” 0 means “Forté”, which basically I adapted to pipe organ and wrote my own registration suggestions using only 8’ stops. You obviously have to adapt. You don’t have to play everything with reeds here. What do you think, Ausra? A: Sure, of course! Not every organ has reeds at all, so… V: Maybe I should just mention other numbers. #2 is in the bass. #2 is Bourdon 16’, #3 is Clairon 4’, #4 is Basson, as I said, #5 Harp Aeolean 2’, and then is Forté. In the treble, #1 is Flute 8’, #2 Clarinet 16’, #3 Flageolet 4’, #4 is Hautbois 8’, #5 is Musette 16’, and 0 is Forté again. A: So what if you don’t have a divided keyboard as it is on the Harmonium? V: Then sometimes you need two keyboards. A: Two manuals. V: Two manuals, yeah. But not on this piece. Probably not on this piece. I have to double check, though, but not all of them required separate stops for the solo voice. So yes, having those markings in your head, you can adapt to any pipe organ that you want, even on an electronic organ. You just have to be mindful of the pitch levels: 16’, 8’, and 4’, and dynamic levels. If it’s 0, then it’s forté, and you can also sometimes find the letter G in the score, and G means Grand Orgue. Grand Orgue means like Tutti. A: That’s right. V: So most of the stops together. Okay, so that’s the idea of playing this piece. Alright, guys, please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. This was Vidas, A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen! SOPP524: I can still play but things feel different. I have reduced feeling in my fingers.11/6/2019
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra V: Let’s start episode 524, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Mark. And he writes: Hello I am 63 years old and have had a stroke on my left side. I fell and banged my head and had a further brain injury. I can still play but things feel different. I have reduced feeling in my fingers. I am trying to retrain myself. My muscle memory is just not there. My sight reading is much harder. I have a Rodgers organ at home so I have no trouble practicing. I sometimes feel like I am beating a dead horse. I have Hauptwerk and can play a nice Father Willis organ with it. Any suggestions for something I could do? V: I wrote him a short answer: Thanks Mark! Look forward to our answer on the podcast. In short—don't overextend yourself and enjoy every moment of your practice, even if it seems slow. V: What can you add, Ausra? A: Well that’s a sort of a very difficult issue to discuss because I’m not a medical doctor but I think our brain is remarkable in that way that it’s very flexible and it tends to recover. V: Mmm-mmm. A: Even after such a serious illness as a stroke. So I guess you just have to take things easy and take a slow steps, not rush yourself. And I think eventually you will regain your abilities that you had before the stroke. Maybe not one-hundred percent but still I think it will become easier and better with each day. I think the worse thing in the situation like this what you could do is to do nothing. V: Or to push yourself too hard. A: Yes! That’s two extremes that you should avoid—doing nothing and to doing maximum out of yourself. I think you need to be somewhere in the middle. But anyway I think that in a rehabilitation process the physical activity is crucial. You will not recover without it. So I think also in addition to practicing organ, you need to do your physical therapy as well. V: Mmm-hmm. All kinds of exercises. A: Yes but of course you need to consult your doctor. V: Yeah. We don’t know exactly what works for you. A: But I guess you have to find the right balance for yourself in your life, how much can you do and what you need to avoid. V: You know, people who have suffered a stroke or a heart attack, for example, those severe life threatening situations, and if they recovered like Mark, for example, they need to take life not so seriously any more. Don’t you think? Maybe let themselves enjoy a little. A: I guess it’s easier to say than to do. V: Why? After this experiment, experience, right? A: I guess nobody of us knows what is waiting of us. So I guess we just have to receive every day as a gift... V: Mmm-hmm. A: and enjoy it, and live it. V: Yes. It would be a mistake to try to fight the situation and say ‘okay, I will push myself even more, and my muscle memory will return faster, and my sight-reading will become much better really fast, next week’, for example. That would be a mistake, I think. A: I think enjoying the moment… V: The moment, yes. A: is most important thing and the further we live, the more obstacles we get in our may, the better we understand this crucial thing, that we need to really enjoy the moment. V: He sometimes feels like he is beating a dead horse. It’s an expression saying that he doesn’t feel any progress probably. A: Well, but even if he only trying to do it is already a progress. Because think about all those people after stroke who either die… V: Mmm-hmm. A: or they just become… V: Inactive. A: inactive at all, and they stay on their bed for many, many years. V: Mmm-hmm. A: I know people like that in my relations, my relatives. V: Mmm-hmm. A: We have a women who is now probably seven years lying in bed. So I guess if you can move after [a] stroke and do something, it’s still very, very good. So you don’t need to rush progress and I think you will get stronger and better with each day. V: You’re not a physician. You’re not a doctor, but do you think that walking would not hurt him? Talking walks, you know. A: I think in general, walking is the most beneficial exercise for people who have trouble with their physical health. V: Unless they have knee problems, hip problems… A; Of course, but in general… V: Those mechanical. A: I think for people who have heart conditions and other problems, I think walking is very beneficial because you can, you regulate the tempo of your walking. You don’t need to rush. You may walk slowly and maybe with time to increase the speed of your steps. V: And the distance too. A: And distance too. And now we have all these Fitbit sort of… V: Smartwatches. A: smartwatches, and you can see what your pulse is and how it reacts to the tempo you are taking. So you can regulate it much, much easier, than in any other physical activities. So I guess the walking is the most harmless exercise, as least I understand it. V: Will we go for a walk today? A: Yes, I guess. V: After this recording. A: True. But of course if you have trouble walking, maybe swimming might be useful too, or some exercises in the swimming pool. For some people especially if they have leg joint problems... V: Mmm-hmm. A: the water smooths the damage to the joints. But you can still exercise. V: Does reading help? A: What do you think about that? V: Well, you are the smart one here! A: (Laughs). Well I think that walking or swimming helps more in such a case. V: Than brain activity? A: Of course you have to combine both things but… V: So organ playing is also a combination of mental and physical activity too. A: But of course you need to take things slowly and easy and not to overwhelm yourself with either physical or mental exercise, especially after such a difficult events... V: Mmm-hmm. A: and serious ones. V: Always remember that practice is privilege, like our professor Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra used to say. A: But I guess playing organ is a good idea for people like this because it really works on your coordination and on your brain and on your muscles. On your motor motions. V: Yes. So please guys, 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 521, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This questions was sent by Diana. And she writes: When I play an organ I look too much at my hands. So sometimes I lose where I play. And it makes trouble when I need to play in Mass or concert (not only this week). V: Hmm. Interesting question. It’s probably very common among beginners to look at their hands. A: Well, true because if you are beginner, keyboard player as Diana is, then yes, you look at the hands a lot. But then if you are experienced keyboard player but you start to learn to play organ then you look at the pedal a lot. So these two problems are kind of similar. But I guess when she will reach certain level on playing the keyboard she will naturally stop looking at her hands. Because, do you look at your hands a lot while playing keyboards? V: When I improvise, yes. Because where I supposed to look? There is no music. A: Well, yes but we are talking if you have a musical score in front of you. V: Ah. I see. Not so much of course. No. I have to look at the score… A: I know. V: because I don’t know what to play then. A: Sure. V: Do you think she needs some extra attention of looking at the score and not looking down at the fingers or it will just come naturally to her? A: I think is should come naturally. For example, I look at the keyboard early when we are playing duets. And you know why? Because when I’m playing solo I sit in the middle of the keyboard but when we are playing duets, I most often play the upper part but sometimes I play the lower part, and then you sort of have to change your body position and you sit either far right or far left of the keyboard. V: Yes. A: And then the keyboards shifts because of the position of your body and it’s sometimes a little bit hard to coordinate the distances, yes. V: You don’t know which key you will hit. A: Sure. V: Which octave you will hit. A: Yes. Because you are sort of decentralized. So that way, yes, I have sometimes to look at the keyboards because we have such a laughs, that for example, I start to play everything what is written but let’s say a third above or a third below, and it’s so funny, sometimes. V: And we can transpose them. A: Yeah. V: Very nice. I like transposition. A: Yes. So I guess it all comes with experience. Because its often a problem for young organists when they just start playing organ, that they watch at the pedalboard a lot. And then they lose the text. And since Diana is playing violin I guess she is new at the keyboard so that gives her a problem but I think she will overcome it with time. V: Do you think giving herself this idea of really focusing on the score and not on the hands would help her concentrate more and not to look down, like actively looking at the score and not at the hands? A: Yes, I think it would help. V: And remembering not to look down, sort of. A: True. V: Or reminding herself not to look down. A: That’s right. But another problem that some of the new musicians experience; I remember teaching many years back, I had fifteen first graders to teach to play piano. V: Mmm-hmm. Fifteen? A: Yes. Fifteen. V: Oh. A: I had like one lesson with each of them every week. V: How many minutes? A: Maybe two lessons but like a half an hour with each time. V: Wait a second. Half an hour, right? A: Yes. V: Each time. A: Maybe twenty minutes. V: Twenty minutes. A: I’m not so sure right now. I think we had like one academic lesson switched into two hands, divided into two hands. V: Do you miss these days? A: No! No, no, no, no… But that’s a good experience. You have to experience life. And I started to teach them on the First of September, and before Christmas that year, I had to make a contest with them and everybody of them had to perform. V: In front of their parents. A: Yes. So it was really tough. And not only parents but also director of the school. V: You mean principal. A: Principal, yes. V: Mmmmm. A: So, it was really tough. But what I wanted to tell, that some of those kids really didn’t want to read music... V: Mmm-hmm. A: from the score. I was really, probably for half of them the hardest thing to read the score. And what they wanted, these kids, they wanted that I would show on the keyboard how it goes, and they memorize from my hands what is happening. V: They would mimic your hands. A: Yes. Just like apes, you know. V: Monkeys. A: Monkeys, yes. V: Chimps. A: Chimps. V: Ohh. A: And they wouldn’t watch to the score. It would be there for them just to follow their finger… V: Mmm-hmm. A: on the keyboard. And one suddenly realized, ‘it’s just like computer’. V: Mmm-hmm. A: You also have to press a key and then he liked it, actually a lot. V: Because he likes computer. A: Yes. V: Uh-huh. So what was your solution with them? A: Well… V: How did you manage fifteen first graders to play in a Christmas concert in front of their kids, after maybe sixteen, fifteen, weeks of training only? A: Well, we did actually pretty good because what I found out while working with them, that these little kids, they are very observing, observing all the new information and they learn very fast actually. And one of them actually I suggest for his mother to take to a musical school and she did. And he was accepted to study to learn to play cello. And I just recently found out through the social media that he became a professional musician. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And he lives now, I think in Cyprus. V: Really? A: Yes. And he performs sometimes with one colleague from our school, Eugenius. V: Cyprus is an island in the Mediterranean. A: Yes. So I guess my understanding about his talents was real and I’m glad that he chose that way. V: Uh-huh. But you don’t have good memories about your principal, right? A: Well, yeah. V: She. Um… A: Well, she didn’t do anything bad personally to me… V: Yes. A: I think she gave me a job when I really needed and I really appreciated that. V: But? A: But being musician herself and knowing what the horrible station for musicians was in Lithuania at that time, she used us all, I think. V: Mmm-hmm. Employed you without, um… A: Without Social Security? V: Mmm-hmm. A: Yes. So now I don’t have any benefits from those. I was teaching for her for three years. V: Three years? A: Three years, yes. So I guess when I will reach my senior age I will be very sorry that I worked for her for those three years. V: Uh-huh. You could get retirement three years earlier. A: That’s true. But now I will have to work… V: Three more years. A: Yes. V: You see guys, sometimes, musicians, when they become in a position to organize some kind of school and employ other musicians, they abuse those musicians… A: True. V: which are below them. A: Because I remember one teacher that our colleague in Lincoln, back in the USA had. And the sign on that T-shirt said, ‘Unemployed musician. Will work for food’. V: Uh-huh. A: And that’s so true, actually. V: Maybe not necessarily abuse but exploit musicians, exploit her… A: True. V: workers. A: True. V: Right. Wow. So we started talking about Diana’s hands. Nice. Alright, guys, please send us more of your questions. And we will talk about your questions and troubles in our podcast. And maybe we’ll share some of our experiences in a way to create a story out of that. Alright. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 522 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by me, Vidas, answering what I have been struggling the most this week. And my answer was, This week, I’ve been struggling the most with having an 8 hour sleep at night. Used to wake up quite early.. A: Well, I guess this problem applies to many people, not only you. When I was starting to teach at the 1st of September, I don’t get 8 hours of sleep almost every night. I don’t get it just because if I have to get up early to school, I simply, there is no way I could sleep 8 hours before that. V: You know, there is a trick. To get to bed earlier. A: But if you will get to bed earlier, it doesn’t mean that you will fall asleep right away. V: No? A: Yes! V: Maybe that means that you’re not enough, not tired enough. A: Well, or you are too tired. V: Oh, you’re… A: I think it’s for me, it’s probably most often that I am too tired to get, to fall asleep. V: I can feel what you mean. Your head is full of thoughts right? A: Yes. V: And they don’t let you fall asleep. A: But also, if I will do more physical activities in the second half of the day, you know, in the evening, then I also won’t be able to sleep. V: Do you notice that you sleep better when you take a walk? A: Well, yes, it helps a little. But not always. Actually, what helps me most is not to have to go to work. If I don’t have to get up early and go to work, then I sleep much better. V: Aha. We’re recording this conversation on Wednesday morning, so we are not going to work today, right? A: Well, we will work, of course, but not teaching. V: Yes. You don’t have classes. A: No, I don’t have classes. V: So, did you sleep well tonight? A: Yes, I think I slept 8 hours straight. Almost 8 hours straight - maybe 7 ½ . And that very rarely happens, actually. V: I see. But me not so much. I, yesterday I, before, you probably fell asleep around 10:00. A: Yes. V: And I spent at least 45 minutes of writing a post, a blog post. A: Well, I think your problem is that you spend too much time with technology. With your phone, with your computer. Then, I’m sort of wondering how you can sleep at all. V: (Laughs) Sleep at all! A: Because if I would be so technologically engaged as you are on a regular basis, I would not sleep at all. V: Mm hm. Yeah, it’s very tricky to disconnect actually. To disconnect long enough to relax. Some kind of breathing exercise might help, but I have to find to incorporate it in my day, maybe in the morning and in the evening. A: I think to find the right balance in your life is a challenge for everybody. That you would have enough mental activity but also enough of physical activity. V: You know, I no longer consider myself employed by other organizations, right? I always consider myself employed by myself. For a long time, even when I was working at school, I still was considered running my own business as a priority. You know, basically, Secrets of Organ Playing. And when you do that, when you have your own business, small or large, it doesn’t matter probably, you feel responsible. And it’s like running your own school, imagine. Do you think your principal sleeps well? A: Well, actually, I don’t care! V: But… A: I don’t care about it. It’s my last concern. V: Really? A: Sure. Do you think my principal thinks about how I’m sleeping? V: (Laughs) A: And if he does not, then why should I bother about it, and even think about it? V: Maybe not principal, maybe your supervisor, let’s say, or someone else. A: Well, who cares a shit, actually. V: Mm hm. But, you see what I mean, right? A: Yes, yes. V: When I have to deliver content constantly and do technological calls on the computer to maintain the business side of things. A: I think this is the reason why so many people, so many talented people, don’t want to start their own businesses. Because we’d better be part of something, and we don’t have to do all this stuff that you’re talking now. V: So is it a good thing or a bad thing? A: Well, I guess we need both kinds of people. V: Are they missing out on something, or are they protecting themselves? A: I think both of these sides have their own advantages and disadvantages. V: Mm hm. A: There is no white and black in life. Everything is somewhere in the middle. I guess if you are sort of your own boss, you have advantage of being able to organize the work the way you want. Maybe you don’t have to get up at 6 a.m. every morning. But also you have the responsibility to do things… V: Mm hm. A: That nobody else will do for you. V: That’s what I’m talking about, yes. I have to think about what I’m going to do next. Because there is no schedule set up for me. A: But I guess because you are not that kind of person that would like to do, somebody that is told to do, then I think it’s better for you to run your own business. V: That’s what I needed to hear. Thank you. A: So I guess everybody has to find the right path for them. V: Yeah. Finding your own path is crucial. Being stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time is making things, making you miserable, right? A: True. V: Mm hm. A: But I think sometimes it’s the quality of your character that you know that this might not be good for you, but you have no inner power to change anything. V: You know, there is some solution to this problem of not, not being able to disconnect myself for long enough to relax. I need to find out what 20% of my efforts give 80% of results. A: Yeah. V: This 80/20 rule. And this is called Pareto Principle. And then focus exclusively on those. And maybe neglect everything else which just sucks my time. A: Well, yes, but you know, when we did those psychological tests a few years back in school, and the speaker of that, he told that there are no way that people could jump from one character to another one. That it’s sort of like predestination - if you have this psychological portrait, you cannot become another person. And remember, you were like, Enthusiast. V: Uh huh. A: And I and my colleague, we were these so-called Loyal Realistic. V: Uh huh. A: Realists. And so another colleague of ours made a joke that me and my colleague, we will never quit the school because of that. V: Uh huh. A: Unless we die. So, that’s not so funny actually. That’s pretty sad, but that’s who I am and I cannot change that. V: This is called Myers-Briggs test. A: Yes. V: With 16 personalities. A: Yes. V: Mm hm. A: So you can do it for fun if you want to find out more about yourself. V: Yeah, it’s interesting to find out your own personality type, because then you might discover something too, about yourself, what you really value, right? About other people, maybe, who are close to you. A: Well, it’s good to know your strengths and weaknesses. V: Mm hm. A: Because I think all of these personality types have their own strengths and their own weaknesses. V: Do you think that this test is accurate enough? A: Yes, I guess it is, because from what I see about your character, you are real Enthusiast. V: Mm hm. Extrovert? A: More extrovert than I am. V: There are more gradations than just introvert/extrovert in that test. A: Sure, sure. V: Because there are 16 kinds of personalities. A: But you know, sometimes, I remember myself taking the test and answering some questions, and I had doubts sometimes, which one answer to select. It means that, you know, I might have other personal qualities as well. Not that the only one. V: Mm hm. So, lots of things to think about. If you want to find out your own personality test, check out Myers-Briggs test. It’s available for free online obviously. A: Yes, because I think our personality types also determines the way we practice the organ. V: Definitely. A: And knowing that, also can help us to improve the quality of practice on the organ. V: Yeah. For some people, doing this very strict practice of counting the repetitions, and eliminating mistakes, and practicing scales and arpeggios is too rigid, right? A: Yes. V: They want to be more free and more independent, and to feel artistic inspiration. But for others, it’s the opposite, right? A: Yes. V: They want to be strict. A: It’s a pain. V: Yeah. When somebody tells you, “You can do anything,” they don’t know what to do. A: Sure. V: And when to other people, you say, “No, no no, you cannot do this. Only do this: 1, 2, 3, 1, 2, 3.” It’s too restrictive, and they feel very limited. A: And I guess also because of the personality types, for one person it’s easy to sit down on the organ bench and to practice for a few hours straight, but somebody might get tired after playing for like 15 minutes. V: Right. Thank you, guys, for listening. For applying our tips to your practice. We know they really work. It’s difficult to apply them, but when you do, it’s really worth it. Please send us more of your questions - we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. SOPP519: I’m learning quite a bit of French music to play during upcoming visits to Paris10/25/2019
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 519 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. In this episode, we would like to thank Richard Knot, who sent us his generous donation of £10. And he wrote: Dear Vidas and Ausra. Enjoy a coffee on me!! Best wishes, Richard So then, I wrote to him a message thanking Richard. I wrote: Dear Richard! Thank you for your generous donation... It's very kind of you. How is your organ playing going? ~Vidas And he wrote: Dear Vidas, I thought you’d both like a coffee! My playing is going ok thanks, although I’m finding it harder to learn new things quickly and efficiently. I’m learning quite a bit of French music to play during upcoming visits to Paris. Although I have an excellent teacher from the Royal College of Organists, I’m thinking of joining your Total Organist scheme to give me more skills for good effective practising. It’s a lot of money though. V: And I wrote to him: Thanks, Richard! Having a goal to be prepared for organ trip in Paris is an excellent motivation. If you can wait until Thanksgiving, Total Organist will have a 50% discount. To which he replied: Thanks for letting me know about that, Vidas. It’s very good of you. I can certainly wait for Thanksgiving and your promotional emails! A: Well, so this is what I like about this message that Richard translates that even though he surely had professional training with a good professor at a well-known institution, he still wants to improve himself. And that’s what I think is very important for each of us. Because no diplomas, no the best professors can set you up for entire life. You still need to improve on yourself throughout your life. And you still need to learn new things and to find out about new things, to find new ways, to try new instruments. V: And this is especially nice if he goes to Paris. A: Yes. V: In Paris, he will find many unfamiliar instruments, perhaps famous instruments. And if he ever has a chance to try them out, inevitably the time comes when he needs to play something. And playing something well on these instruments makes the entire trip more enjoyable. And then... A: True. V: ...then that’s where we come in, helping people reach their goals, and helping them achieve better results than they would be doing on their own, alone. So, we’re very grateful to Richard who enabled us to have some coffee. A: Yes, we will. Maybe next week. V: Yes. Coffee is a good drink. We drink decaf coffee, right Ausra? A: Yes. We are very Americans in that way. V: Yeah. A: Almost nobody in Lithuania understands us. We are just asking to them, Why do you drink coffee at all, if you drink decaf? But now there are more and more places where we can get coffee like this. V: Yeah, lots of younger generation people are starting to convert to decaf tribe. A: That’s right. And plus, in Vilnius, we have lots of foreign tourists who also comes from various countries, and they want to drink decaf. Not all though, of course, but we get, I think, more and more American tourists. V: You know what I was surprised about, when we visited various European countries and sat in restaurants? Yes, you could order decaf coffee, but ordering alcohol-free beer was very difficult. Finding a place with… A: Non-alcoholic. V: Non-alcoholic, yes. A: Yes. Well, I guess Europe is drinking a lot alcohol. Which is maybe not so bad, if you are from the southern part of Europe. I don’t think they have so much trouble with alcoholism as we in northern Europe have. There are all these nasty jokes about Swedes, or Finnish people, you know, taking the ferries, to, for example, Estonia. And then not to be able to get out, because the alcohol is cheaper on the Estonian ferry, so we drink a lot. V: I think one Finnish travel agency got into trouble by advertising trips to Italian as a cheap alcohol place. A: And in a way, it’s not like it’s really cheap, but it’s much cheaper still than in Finland or Sweden or other Scandinavian countries. But I guess there is something, I don’t know, something about our genes, that we are all in the northern part of Europe, well, don’t hold the alcohol very well, and become alcoholics way too often. Compared to, for example, Italy or Spain and France. V: But you recently heard a theory that if people lived 300 years, we would all become alcoholics at some point. A: Yes, there is that theory that there is a sort of limit of alcohol that you need to drink, and after that, you will become an alcoholic. So even if you drink very little, like for example, Vidas and I do, if you would live for 300 years, you would reach that limit of becoming an alcoholic. V: To which I might reply, if we live for 300 years, all our subscribers would become organ playing virtuosos. A: Yes. V: Every single one of them. A: And I just thought about how many organ, maybe I could learn entire organ repertoire that’s written if I was to live for so many years. V: Oh, yeah - we would need to write more! A: Sure. V: I wrote two pieces this week already. A: I don’t think you would feel the lack of organ music, because there are nowadays composers that write a new piece every single day. V: It’s a good habit, though. A: Well, yes. You know, before that, I thought maybe you don’t need to bother and to write just, let’s say, average music. But I read a book by Elizabeth Gilbert, Big Magic… V: Yes. A: About living creative life, and she said that even if you write, she talks mostly about writing literature. If you will create on a regular basis, then there is a chance that out of your, I don’t know, 10 books, one will be really good. V: Mm hm. A: Maybe at least one would be so good, but in writing them, you will develop yourself as a writer. Improve yourself as a writer. V: And she’s known for saying there is a book you need to publish, and there is a book you need to write, and those two books might be completely different books. A: Yes, and this is so exciting when I’m starting to talk about her, because I read this book on his recommendation. V: My social status has improved, right, Ausra? A: Yes. V: Nice. I’m starting to be an influencer. A: That’s right. So if I would be going to Paris to try different organs, I would probably bring with me Cesar Franck’s L’Organiste. I think it’s an excellent book, if you would just want to get familiar with French organs. V: Mm hm. It’s easy enough to sight read, if you can. But it’s beautiful enough to be able to sound authentic on these instruments. A: Yes, and plus, because in Paris, you wouldn’t find authentic Baroque organs. They were most of them built till right after the Revolution, because so many wonderful instruments were destroyed - Baroque instruments - were destroyed during the Revolution. So I guess, the Romantic or Modern music would work much better on those instruments. V: Mm hm. And by the way, we have prepared many suites by Franck from this collection of L’Organiste with fingering, and even registration suggestions for pipe organs. Because originally, the registration suggestions were written for French harmonium, which are different. We had to convert them. So you can check them out. Okay, guys. Very interesting discussion today. We hope this is useful to you. We would like to thank again to Richard for his kind donation. And now, we will go to have some coffee. A: Yeah! V: Please send us more of your questions. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra V: Let’s start episode 518, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And this questions was sent by Oluwadotun. He’s a new subscriber of ours and he answered the question; when new subscriber after maybe two weeks, they get this question from us: ‘what are your dreams in organ playing right now and what are the challenges that prevent you from reaching your dream?’ And he wrote: Dream of playing MUSICAL scores or pieces at sight. V: And he writes further: Oluwadotun: I need training on my sight reading ability and skills. I also want to improve my sight playing. V: So basically, it’s all about the same thing. A: Yes. All three sentences are basically the same. V: Synonym's of … A: As I read them, yes. V: He basically wants to play musical pieces without practicing them and play them very well, probably, like sight reading. A: Yes. I can disappoint him right away, that it’s impossible for anybody. I wouldn’t know a person who could play any given organ piece at sight, let’s say, in a concert. Do you know? In a concert. Difficult! Difficult! V: Ah, difficult. A: I’m not talking about like Frescobaldi’s Fiori Musicali that you play for church if you need something… V: Mmm-hmm. A: right away. V: So you probably mean that some scores with easier technical difficulty level could be learned to sight read without mistakes. A: Of course! Of course. But still, you wouldn’t play those in a concert probably. V: Or maybe if you would play some of them in a concert, you would still definitely need some difficult music to play. A: Sure. Of course, you would need to know to play various music during your recitals. Probably because you cannot play just very, very hard pieces, all of them, because you would collapse at the end of recital. V: Mmm-hmm. Or, you playing very, very easy pieces isn’t a good idea either. A: Everybody would either sleep or leave. V: Mmm-hmm. Has to be some balance. A: But I guess that if we are talking about sight reading, those pieces that you play in a regular like liturgical setting can be easily sight read, and that I think it’s okay. Still, if you are just a beginner, I would never suggest you just simply sight read it during church service. Because you might get fired. V: Beginners cannot even sight read hymns. A: True. Especially because of the pedal line and left hand tenor voice. V: They all of course, not always know the trick to playing only the soprano and the bass parts, the two parts, outer parts, which sound pretty nice without the inner parts as well. A: But anyway, in this question, I see this guy, he wants to take a shortcut. But I can really disappoint you that there are no shortcuts in playing organ and playing it well. Of course if you are play on a daily basis, year after year, decade after decade, yes, at some point you might notice that it’s very easy and everything is just so natural. But before that, achieving that you need to spend a lot of hours on the organ. V: How many hours. Let’s disappoint him even further. A: Well, I guess you love to count so you tell us a number. V: Okay. In Berlin Conservatory, or Academy of Music maybe, there was this experiment conducted when researchers went and made a survey of students who are winners of international music competition—basically they are in a very, very world class level, very high class level, not just students who simply keep themselves afloat but at the best of their class—and asked them how many years, have they practiced their instruments, violin, piano, anything. And all of them appeared to have been practicing more than ten years, which also gives an average of ten thousand hours. Imagine! But obviously ten thousand hours is not just a number that you need to reach. Each hour, each minute, basically, on your organ bench, for example, has to be, what we call deliberate practice. Deliberate practice means that in each practice session, you have to set a goal, what you are doing today and try to reach this goal. Strive to make yourself at this skill or art, better every day. Is it clear Ausra? A: Yes. Clear, frankly for me. V: Otherwise, it’s just fooling around, like sight reading pieces which helps with certain elements of your sight reading skills, for example, but sight reading skills alone don’t get you win in international musical competition. A: That’s right. V: Right! Or play recitals, let’s say. It’s a part of that skill and there are many more things involved like being very good at music theory and harmony. A: True. Because it’s essential, also if you want to sight read things easily. Because if you won’t have any knowledge of music theory, then I think it still will be very hard for you to sight read even after ten years of practice. V: Well, in this case, like a person who just sight reads, sight reads, sight reads every day without giving a thought about what that music means in terms of musical ideas, keys… A: Style. V: and chords, chord progressions, they’re simply doing the same thing like reading a book in a foreign language, let’s say in Japanese, in very exotic language probably, and without even translating anything, without knowing what they’re reading about. A: Now I thought about such a ridiculous example, for example, how I would compare the organization is sort of just reading, sight reading day after day without any thought. It’s like cooking for pigs, yes and it’s like cooking in a renowned restaurant. V: But pigs are very happy, you know. A: I know. V: Every morning they’re squealing for breakfast. A: But still do you vary menu for pigs? No. You just mash whatever, potatoes and some other stuff in it, day after day, but they are still happy, yes? V: No steak? A: No steak! V: No cake? A: No cake! V: Alright. So you get the idea probably. A: And I guess that in this modern world full of these smart technologies, it becomes a real issue for people and a real problem for people to stick to something and to do something on regular basis, to study something that takes effort for out of you. Because everybody just wants good results right away without putting any efforts, or putting just a minimal efforts. V: Like fast food. A: True. V: Mmm-hmm. Which tastes good but is not healthy. A: That’s right. V: So in organ playing you would do very well if you set a goal for each practice, if you sight read. Even sight reading has to be deliberate, playing at a certain tempo, right?, and thinking about what’s going on in the music right away. A: And for example, if your goal is to be an excellent sight reader, it’s your sort of like a final goal, yes, long term goal. It’s not enough. You need to have some short time, short period goals too... V: Mmm-hmm. A: for each day or for each week or each month because only going step by step you will be able to achieve some progress. V: All things that we are talking about seems to take years and even decades, right? And the people who want fast results might get sorely disappointed. But, let’s console them a little bit. What about enjoying moment to moment practice and the process, not the result. Result might come after years, but the process itself might be enjoyable too. A: True. I think you just have to setup some sort of stable routine for yourself, and enjoy the moment. V: Because practice is privilege! A: True. V: Like our professor Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra used to say. So, 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! |
DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.Thank you!You have successfully joined our subscriber list. Authors
Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
Categories
All
Archives
July 2024
|