Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 465 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Fedor, and he writes: Hello Vidas, Thanks for your helpful video and advices. I'm not a musician, but have primary music education on piano (7 years of music school). Many years I'm fan of organ music and play something in piano transcriptions. But, at one side, these transcriptions is often so difficult and I should simplify them, whereas in organ scores the musical tissue looks transparent, at second side, transcriptions still don't reflect power of originals, and, at the third side, I always dreamed to study playing on the king of musical instruments. Finally, I got an opportunity to assemble home midi-system with my Yamaha keyboard (88 keys) and midi pedalboard (Nord pedal Keys 27 keys), and I started to master original organ scores. I should say that it's not easy, but wonderful simultaneously! Due to your and others videos, I mastered correct sitting and simple playing on pedalboard, but it's more difficult for me to combine playing my feet with my arms. So I would like to kindly ask you to tell and show in more details exercises for the development of the pedal technique and methods of quick connections with hands score. Answering your questions: 1. I would like to learn to play masterpieces of baroque music (Buxtehude, Bach, Bruhns, Clerambault and others), 2. As music is not my profession, the main problem is in free time, but I try to practice regularly. At this time I should navigate on pedalboard as freely as on manual and make quick connections my feet with hands. Also, it would be useful to show the principles of correct legs changing and selection of heel or toe, on examples from Orgelbüchlein or something else. Thank you again for education. With my best regards and appreciation, Fedor A: Well let me start to answering Fedor’s question. It seems to me that he enjoys baroque music V: Yes. A: More than other organ music. So, if he’s really going, you know, to play baroque music, then he really doesn’t need to use heel on the pedalboard. V: Mm hm. A: Because in baroque music, actually, baroque technique is to play only with your toes, not your heels. So I guess this might be also something that might help him. And if he plays correctly by using only toes, it might help him to connect his hands and feet, to coordinate his hands and feet. Don’t you think so? V: Obviously, playing with heels is not necessary for baroque music at all. A: True. Because if you would play on the baroque instrument, you would see that it’s basically impossible to use your heel. V: Mm hm. And other people say, Well, I don’t have baroque keyboard or pedalboard in my home, so I don’t need to practice with early techniques. A: Well, but you need to get a nice baroque articulation if you are playing baroque music. V: Plus, you never know. If you travel, you might get access to an early instrument. A: Because, if you try to use modern techniques while using heels, and let’s say playing legato, you will see that on the original instrument, it will just sound simply ridiculous. V: It’s possible to play on the modern organ with early techniques. But it’s very, very difficult to play on the early organ with modern technique. A: True. V: It doesn’t convert the other way easily. A: And you know, since it’s hard for Fedor to play feet and hands together, I would suggest for him to work more in the combinations: right hand and pedal, left hand and pedal. Don’t play, don’t start to learn everything together. V: And even subdivided into 2 voices. The right hand might take 2 voices, and left hand might take 1 voice, and the pedal will take the 4th voice. But if you play right hand with pedals, you already have 3 voices, it might be too much for starters. A: Well, I think it’s ok if you have well-developed piano technique, then it might. V: But he said… A: But he, you know, he finished musical school, 7 years of training. V: When? A: Well… V: Yes? Many years might have passed since then. A: Well but you know, if there are 2 voices in your right hand, and you will play them separately, what might happen eventually, you might be learning it to play it with… V: Incorrect fingering. A: Incorrect fingering. That’s true. So that’s what I would suggest. Do not subdivide in a single voice. V: But preludes from Orgelbüchlein for example. If he used our fingering and pedaling, that would work. A: But still, position of hands would be different. So really, I would play right hand with 2 voices if it has 2 voices. V: All right, guys. Here we have different opinions, and you can choose which one you like more. A: Choose mine! I’m usually right. V: But if you choose mine, I will give you 100 Organduo coins. You don’t know what I’m talking about. Maybe I should explain. A: Well, maybe not, because when you start to talk about all this cryptocurrency, I believe you should, you know, stick to the organ. V: All right. But by the way, if you participate in our Secrets of Organ Playing Contest, you can submit your videos to our contest, and as a participant, you can claim our 100 Organduo Coins for each entry. A: True. V: That’s the idea. All right! That’s the help we would like to give to Fedor, and we wish success for him and others who are on the same path. Wonderful! And everybody, please keep sending us your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
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SOPP462: I want to learn Carillon of Westminster by Vierne, which I purchased score from you7/16/2019
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 462 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by William, and he writes: I want to learn Carillon of Westminster by Vierne, which I purchased score from you. I can play pieces like the Te Deum of Langlais. Dupre Cortège and Litany. Do you think I would be capable of learning this piece if I practice one page for a week or two very slowly? I am working now on relearning 8 little preludes and fugues. I don’t want to take on that much. Do you have any suggestions? Does it help to practice Vierne on piano? I have to start very slow practice to learn a piece. If I know it well, I can play any speed. I am 79 years old and still have full time cathedral job. Thank for any advice. ~Bill V: Bill is our long-time customer, and he recently purchased Carillon of Westminster by Vierne and now he is a member of our Total Organist community as well. A: That’s a wonderful piece to have in your repertoire list. V: I didn’t imagine he was 79 years old, actually, and still has a full-time cathedral job, which is really wonderful. A: Amazing. V: Mm hm. A: But you know, well, I just talked recently with my neurologist, and she told me there is strong evidence nowadays that people who started to play musical instruments when we were children don’t have so much chance of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s, or other neurological diseases, or if we have them, we sort of have a milder version of them. V: Mm hm. A: Because obvious, neurons in your brain, the coordination that requires musical instrument, and probably music itself, too, has a very good effect on your brain. V: Well, you’re right, Ausra. A: So we probably shouldn’t be surprised that Bill is 79 years old and still holds full-time organist position. It’s wonderful. I think he should be an inspiration for others. V: Definitely. You’re never too old to practice organ playing, I think. A: True. V: And set yourself a goal, maybe a lofty goal, maybe unreachable a little bit goal, but definitely goal like that, to learn Carillon of Westminster by Vierne is something that Bill could certainly have in his short-term plan, I think. A: Well, and I think answering his question, I think it would be very helpful to play this piece on the piano. I think it’s helpful to play any piece by Louis Vierne on the piano. It’s very helpful. When I was working on his First Symphony, I played it on the piano a lot. V: Mm hm. Definitely. Piano sort of is tricky to play because the sound fades and you have to be really precise at your depression of the keys. With the organ you have to be also precise with releases of the keys, right? And the resistance of the mechanical piano action is sometimes even more difficult than mechanical organ, I would say. And obviously… A: It depends on what kind of organ you play. V: Mm hm. And obviously almost always more difficult than electronic organs. A: So if you know, you play on the piano, you give work for the muscles, which I think is a good thing. V: It’s a bigger workout for your fingers and palm muscles. A: But usually people have more easier access to the piano than to the organ, so if you can practice on the piano, too, you can spend more time practicing. Maybe you have piano at home, so you don’t have to work every time at the church to practice, you can work or do at least some work at home. V: Mm hm. If I’m learning a piece like that, I would probably aim for one page a day. But at the age of Bill, I think it’s normal to take it one page for a week, or two weeks, even. To slow down and take it at a comfortable pace. A: True. V: Right? Then this piece, I mean, you will still learn it. Maybe not in a month or so, but you will still learn this year. A: But of course, when you’re learning a new page every week, let’s say, you need to repeat the previous pages too. V: Yes. A: Because otherwise, maybe when you will practice your last page and you want to be repeating, you know, other pages, you might start all over from the beginning to learn it. Of course, it will be easier than learning it completely from scratch, but still. V: Exactly. And I think it’s really great to sometimes practice from the last page. Take the last page, then 2 last pages, 3 last pages, starting from the ending, don’t you think? A: Yes, that’s good too. V: Especially if the beginning is easy. A: True. V: In this particular piece, I think beginning is not so easy, because you have those double sixths right away, double intervals, and your right hand still needs to work pretty hard. A: But you know, since you have learned it, I think this sort of formula will keep going throughout the piece. V. Mm hm. A: So. V: Yes, definitely Bill can put this piece on his list of things to learn this year, I think. A: Sometimes, learning music like this and playing on the piano, I love to sing the pedal part while playing on piano the manual part. V: Mm hm. And if he has a full-time cathedral job, then imagine how will his congregation appreciate one day to be able to hear this piece as a postlude, for example. A: Yes, I think it’s a wonderful postlude. V: It might not come, you know, soon, but after a number of months, it’s possible I think. A: Sure. V: Mini-recital, maybe a couple more pieces. That would be great. Like we have in our cathedral of Vilnius, every Thursday during summertime, we have series of lunchtime recitals of 20-25 minutes long, and tourists and visitors of the cathedral will love this place and it’s always full, attended very well. And you only have to play like something like three pieces all together. A: Yes, I think such recitals are very good, especially for tourists. Because usually, if you would play an hour long recital, probably not many tourists would stay throughout it. And it would be very distractive if people would start to leave, or to change between themselves in the middle of your playing. V: All right, guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please send your wonderful questions in the future. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 461, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Guinn, and Guinn writes: Good Morning, I purchased 10 Day Organ Pedal Playing Challenge last night. I have a flat Baroque 27 note pedal board, normal for Baroque which is what I play. I cannot possibly play those exercises as indicated with toe and heel. Most of them have the incorrect clef marking. Treble clef is marked, this must be an editorial mistake. What must I do? How do you direct students with a normal Baroque pedal board? Thank you, Guinn V: Well, remember the day that we did this challenge? A: Yes, I remember it. V: We took um, do you remember where those exercises were taken from? From ear-training-- A: Yes, I remember that, yes. V: From French method book. And therefore it’s not a mistake of course. In ear-training, they write everything in treble clef. A: Yes. And of course it would be original organ piece, you would definitely use the bass clef. But the thing is, what you do with treble clef? You just play it an octave or two octaves lower. And that’s it! V: Yes. Which means that you could do the opposite—if you encounter something written in the bass clef, you can play an octave or two higher and you could practice with your hands. A: Yes. It’s not like sight-reading the C clef. That might be challenging for some musicians, but basically to go from bass clef to treble clef, it shouldn’t be a problem I think for any musician, even non-professional. V: Mmm-hmm. Exactly. So the first advice would be to practice those exercises one octave or two octaves lower than it is written. A: And another thing; I don’t think these exercises are intended for Baroque organ or Baroque pedalboard. It’s for, intended for more modern instrument. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And not for a flat pedalboard. Of course you can do some of those with Baroque pedalboard but I think intention is not to play it on the Baroque instrument. V: Well, it is written, in Day 1, actually, even when people get Exercise #1 in Day 1 it is written; ‘taken from Solfege Method Books by Frederic Boissiere from 1877, and in the parenthesis I write ‘feel free to practice the exercise in the tenor and or bass octave’. So… A: So, I guess it just shows how people don’t read instructions. V: Mmm-hmm. And you even can feel free to sing these exercises which could improve your musical pitch, right, Ausra? A: True. True. V: Not only your technique as an organist but also your ability to differentiate different keys and pitch levels. What we do in ear-training classes, we sight read things. And organist would benefit from this skill as well. A: And this Exercise #1, I think it can be done on the Baroque pedals as well. V: Except when you have heel written in. A: Yes. You need to use toes… V: Toes. Yes. A: of course if you are playing Baroque pedalboard. V: Whenever you see heel, you could maybe use toes for that, but there are some delicate instances where you need to change things completely, but I don’t think it’s necessary. You could simply, instead of heel, use the toe. Don’t you think, Ausra? A: Yes, definitely. Because on the Baroque instrument you wouldn’t use heel… V: Mmm-hmm. A: on the pedalboard. V: And therefore you would actually play not entirely legato, in articulate legato style. A: Of course. V: So, I think that would be suggestion for Guinn, who likes to play Baroque, probably music, on the flat Baroque 27-note pedalboard. A: And actually, I not quite got the last question in his letter, ‘how do you direct students with a normal Baroque pedalboard’? What’s the normal Baroque pedalboard mean. Do you mean that only Baroque pedalboard is normal, or you have Baroque pedal, one that is normal and another that is not normal? V: I think he, if I understand correctly, I think he maybe implies those exercises suitable for non-Baroque pedalboard but what to do on the Baroque pedalboard, like he has. A: So I guess you already answered it. V: Yes. A: That you have to adjust it a little bit. V: Mmm-hmm. A: But definitely, if I would need to learn some, or to improve my Baroque technique, on the Baroque instrument, I might choose exercises like J.S. Bach’s Pedal-Exercitium. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And things like this. V: Well exactly. So we hope this was useful to you. Try out this exercise system. It really helps. It’s not a long thing, just ten days. It’s like a mini-course. And in ten days you will certainly feel much improvement. A: But definitely, I think it’s intended more for modern music, for later music, for romantic and for modern music. Because Baroque music is not so much pedal challenging as later music. V: Mmm-hmm. Yes. A: Don’t you think so. V: Yes. Do you think it’s possible to play with heels on the Baroque pedalboard? A: I wouldn’t do that. I would not recommend to do that. V: Do you remember when were in one conference at Eastman School of Music, and somebody told that they had one student who practiced and maybe even mastered Sonata by Reubke on pedal clavichord. You remember it? A: Yes, I remember that, it is some sort of experiment. V: Mmm-hmm. A: It could work, but is it a rule? I don’t think so. V: And maybe it’s even counter-productive, because if you have this flat pedalboard, and practicing with heels… A: I’m afraid you might injure your legs, and it’s not good for your feet. V: But also, if you then switched to real Baroque music, you might start to feel like playing with heels, that kind of music on that pedalboard, which would defeat the purpose, I think. A: True. V: So, for Guinn I would probably switch to toes only technique I think. Could work easily, I think. Alright! Let us know how it goes, and keep sending your wonderful questions in the future. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: I hope you will be able to practice today. We practiced in the morning and we are now feeling that our day was well spent, right, Ausra? A: True. V: And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen! SOPP457: I do have to work on my pedaling some more work on my coordination between hands and feet7/12/2019
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 457 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Bass4Art, and he writes: “Hi Vidas I have a Kawai Electronic full console organ here at my house. While I took some time away from practicing, I have been taking piano lessons, in fact, I am up to advance level 5 and beginning level 6 and still plugging away at it. Now I have gotten myself up to that level, I like to push my organ playing up to that level as well. I do have to work on my pedaling some more work on my coordination between hands and feet. While I have gotten rid of a lot of the organ music I had. I still have a full pile of it. So how would you advise? Not this coming up month, but more towards the end of the year. I do plan on purchasing your organ training course to help me with those things.” V: So, Ausra, he seems to be able to play at the level of 5 and 6 in piano, so maybe that’s grades 5 and 6 in some systems. A: Well, I’m not sure, you know? V: Me, either. A: In what kind of system is he training? Because, if he would be like our old piano students are at my school, at this grade, he would be quite advanced already. V: Yeah! A: Because we are playing really difficult repertoire at such level. But, the thing that concerns me is that it seems he wants to proceed probably with both instruments at the same time, and I think it might be quite hard, because although both these instruments have keyboards, they are quite different, and they require quite a different approach and different techniques to be developed. And finally, you still have to decide what you are. Either you are an organist or you are a pianist. You cannot be both at the same time. V: At the same level. A: Yes, at the same level. V: Yes, yes. This is wise, to choose at some point. So, he has to ask himself what he values more, and what is more important to him. But, if he wants to advance in organ from this level, I’m not sure again—it’s speculation, because we don’t know exactly what pieces he’s playing. Right? But presumably, in the piano area, he has some finger proficiency. It’s not level one, but it’s 6. But it’s not level 10, so maybe somewhere in the middle, depending on actually reality. Sometimes, people say they can play that level, but it’s not quite clear if they can perform at that level. Right? For example: if I’m practicing Chopin Etude at home, it doesn’t mean I can play Etude at the recital. A: True. V: So… maybe some basic organ works would suit him—short chorales from “Orgelbuchlein,” maybe, A: Yes! V: We have plenty of fingering and pedaling for that. A: True. V: Not too long pieces, I would say. And, it depends on his preference of style. Maybe he likes legato stuff more, then maybe he should take a look at Romantic composers—a little bit easier pieces. But with pedals, probably. A: Definitely, if you want to play the organ, you need to learn to play pedals. V: Alright! And of course, pedal technique will advance much further if he took our pedal virtuoso master course. So, we hope this was useful to you. 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!
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 459 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Blackstone, and Blackstone writes answers to my question about the dream in organ playing and three things that holding back from the progress. 1. My dream for my organ playing is to spice my music creativity with some great organ sonic vocabulary. 2. The 3 things hindering my progress are: (i) Inadequate practice, (ii) lack of instructional resources, (iii) Don't have my own instrument. V: So this is rather unspecific to me, this dream. What about you, Ausra? Can you decipher for me this: “To spice my music creativity with some great organ sonic vocabulary…” It’s like a riddle for me. A: It is, it’s very sophisticated. V: It might be that he is… I don’t know if Blackstone is here or not, but let’s call…. I dunno. “Creativity” means maybe, like, composition or improvisation? A: Could be both. V: Could be both. Something like… creating, not performing? A: And “sonic vocabulary…” Does he mean to add some sound effects? V: Some sound effects. Maybe some organ stop combinations? Or… A: Well, anyway guys, we are not so sophisticated to be able to solve riddles. V: …read your mind. You need to clarify things. But let’s presume that organ composition and improvisation is what Blackstone is after. So, we could talk a little about that, right? A: Well, I’m not so sure. V: But then, let’s keep reading. A: The second half of the question is much more clear to me. V: “Inadequate practice, lack of instructional resources, and don’t have my own instrument.” It doesn’t say like, it doesn’t imply composition or improvisation at all. A: True, but in other words, practice is related with that, I think, he doesn’t have his own instrument. V: Mm hm. And we have talked many times about that before so, if you’re serious about organ playing, you can do two things: 1) invest in your own instrument, electronic probably, and 2) get in touch with the local church organist and, by offering something in return to that church, get access to the organ. A: Yes, because if you will not practice, you will not improve. That’s obvious. V: And once you have that instrument available, then you can practice adequately, meaning that you have to practice regularly, going to that instrument on the organ bench multiple times during the week. Probably slow practice is important, repeated practice is important, maybe practice in fragment is important. Think like that, for starters. A: True, and that point, the lack of instructional resources, do you think it’s easy to overcome this obstacle? V: With our seven years of online experience, or even more years (we started in late 2011), just look at our site, search what’s available for free, what’s available for purchasing, and you can find more than enough for many recitals by now. And hymn playing as well. Whatever’s interesting to you. I think he doesn’t mean probably, composition, because his three things listed aren’t related to composition at all. A: True, but it’s hard to say. I don’t know what we’re talking about here. V: Yeah. Let’s talk about air. Isn’t it hot today, Ausra? A: Horrible. V: We’re recording this in the morning. 7:00, and it says, what the temperature says outside… 30 degrees? A: Yes. V: Celsius. It’s approaching 100 in Fahrenheit, I think. A: I know we are sort of like northern Europe, geographically, but it feels like we are in the southern part. I think it’s not so hot in Spain right now. V: Exactly. Alright, guys, thanks so much for your questions. Please be more specific, though, if you want more specific help. A: Otherwise, we will be able to talk only about air. V: Yeah, but if you’re too specific like “How to play note C in measure 5 in this particular piece,” then it’s not interesting to others, right, it’s just for you. A: But we still can answer questions like this. V: Yes. But be specific and also general enough so our group of organists from around the world could relate to. 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 458, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Alessandro, and he writes: Dear Vidas "The Total Organist" has the taste of being very intriguing and complete. But from your video I have not well understood: 1) The total duration of the course 2) The total price of the course 3) If one has to master every section of a level before passing to the next level, or the pupil can choose exercises by carefully looking at what he can already do and knows and what are still his/her weak points? 4) The pace of tuition: if I'm a slow learner what happens then? May I see and re-see the videos again and again? May I also write an mail asking for explanation (I'm sure that I may, since I did it in the past) 5) Can i get in touch with other learners Sorry for bothering you, but I need to Clarify these points Thank you very very much for your answer Alessandro V: Well it’s nice, Ausra, that the people are wondering about Total Organist, and we need to clarify some things probably. A: Yes, and I think you are the best who could do it, so please be so kind and explain us. V: But you don’t go away. I might also ask you some feedback. A: Okay. V: Alright. So number one was the total duration of the course. It’s obviously open duration. It’s no set ending. Once you start the course, you freely progress through the trainings that you have chosen. And you can unsubscribe at any time, by the way. Two: the total price of the course, right now, is in two options: if you pay monthly fee then it’s 69.00 dollars per month. If you pay a yearly fee, then it’s 699.00 dollars. Number three: he wonders about passing to next level—how to choose the level probably, right? A: Yes. V: So the level you choose, it’s written in several layers. The first layer is beginning level, then comes the basic level, then intermediate, and then advanced level. So, if you are considering yourself, let’s say a basic level organist who can play some things but not very well, then this section is for you and you can freely choose anything from that section. If this is, first you try for a couple of days, right, and if it’s really frustrating, then you need to go back one level and practice from the beginning level. Or, if it’s too easy for you, then jump to the intermediate level. That’s how you decide what’s suitable for you. I think that’s what he means, right? A: Yes, I think so. V: Number four, the pace of tuition. I mean, he is worried about, if for example he receives weekly trainings in his email inbox and he’s not able to master each weeks exercise on time, can he progress at his own pace? A: I think he can do that. V: Yeah! Of course he should archive those emails, not throw away, and practice at his own pace, and sooner or later he will master that particular course, I think. And the same is with videos: you can watch many times, as many times as you want, anything that is available. Alright, and the last point is ‘can he get in touch with other learners’? And that’s why we have Basecamp. A: Yes. I thought you are going to talk about Basecamp. V: Basecamp is wonderful because they have this ability to chat, which is called Campfire. And people can really make wonderful discussions there. Not only like, not only myself when I announce something for everybody, but people can really go at it and say some things to the group. Alright. Wonderful. Do you think this will be helpful to Alessandro and others who are hesitant and not sure about Total Organist? A: Well, I hope that it will be useful. V: And if not, keep sending us more questions, more particular questions about that and we might clarify and focus even more. Thanks guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen! SOPP454: My dream for organ playing is to be able to play classical pieces like the professionals do7/6/2019
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 454 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Abraham, and he writes: “Thank you Mr Vidas Pinkevicius for this wonderful opportunity... First and foremost, my dream for organ playing is to be able to play classical pieces like the professionals do, and also to be able to play church hymns with varied hymn harmonies or alternate harmonisations... I'll also be glad if you could share me PDF files of hymns with alternate harmonisations, and hymns with varied harmonies... 2. The 3 things holding back from practising hard are (a) it takes me weeks to be able to practice and memorize a classical piece which always pisses me off....I do ask rhetorically, how long does it take professionals to learn and practice a particular classical piece and memorize it? This has always given me much concern. (b)Unable to gain access to worship materials... Here I mean, I don't have full access to practice on the organ, and this also makes me feel discouraged.. (c)Inability to play the organ pedals like a professional because i don't have access to the organ.. Thank you once again Mr Vidas for this wonderful opportunity... I look forward to hearing from you” V: Well, let’s start, Ausra, with his dream. Right? With everyone’s dream. He likes to be able to play classical pieces like the professionals do, and supply alternate harmonizations for hymns. How difficult is it to achieve this goal, do you think, Ausra? A: Well, I think it’s quite demanding! Of course, it depends on at which point you stand right now. You know, how advanced are you, or not? Plus, how much are you willing to practice every day? V: Yes, he didn’t write that. A: Well, but what I noticed most from his message is that he asked how long it takes for a professional to learn a given piece of music. Well, it depends on how difficult the piece is! If it’s an easy piece, like some piece of music from, let’s say, Franck’s “L’Organiste,” then it’s almost sight-readable. Maybe you need to play it twice, and you will be ready to perform it. But if we are talking about a difficult, complex piece, like a big Prelude and Fugue by J. S. Bach, or a chorale by César Franck, or Chorale Fantasia by Max Reger, then yes, it will take a while, even for a professional. V: That’s right. I think it also depends on the level of the professional’s ability, because there are various kinds of professionals, who can sightread well, and who are not so good, I think, even though they’re professionals. Professionals, meaning playing organ in public for a living. A: True! V: What I think is important to understand here about Abraham’s question is, he writes that it takes him weeks to be able to practice and memorize a classical piece, and he gets frustrated. Right? Well, I think this is normal to practice and memorize for weeks. Not necessarily overnight. A: True! I will have another question. Why does he need to memorize it? Because, not very often do organists play from memory, and you don’t need to memorize each piece that you are learning. It might give you more time to practice new pieces instead of memorizing old ones. Don’t you think so? V: Obviously! At some point, I also had to make a decision whether I would memorize a certain number of pieces or if I would like to do something different, and I chose not to memorize, because, as you say, it takes a lot of time, and during that time, I might learn something else. A: Because people might wonder why a concert pianist would play from the score, but nobody will wonder that about the organist. V: It’s a tradition, I think, and pianists also, from the beginning of public performance didn’t always play from memory. The earliest instances, of course, included playing from the score. And I’ve seen people still play from the score—even pianists, today. It’s unusual, of course, but it happens from time to time. A: Especially when they are playing modern music, I think, because usually it takes too much time to learn it, to memorize it. So, another thing about playing pedals. That’s what frustrates most beginners or not-advanced organists. But the thing is, if you will not practice with pedals every day, you will not improve. It’s as simple as that, because you need to polish your coordination. V: So there are two choices, I think. Either you get some access to the local church and get to know the local organist, and this way make connections and gain the possibility to practice on that organ, or you save some money and invest that money, your savings, probably, into some kind of instrument with a pedal board. A: And it depends on your situation in life. Because, if you eventually want to make some money with the organ, you’ll have to invest into accessing an instrument. V: It’s like both options require sacrifice, I think. This option of buying your own pedal board and possibly keyboards, as well, requires an up-front investment. It’s very obvious. Right? If you don’t have money, you can’t buy an instrument. But, the first option, where you get access to the local church’s organ, is also a trade-off. I think it’s rare to expect that the church will give you access for no reason. Right? For a person from the street, basically, unknown to their congregation. You have to be either a part of the community, and being part of the community means doing something for the congregation. Volunteering, most likely. A: So, I guess getting access to an instrument is crucial for Abraham, because if you won’t practice, you will not become a professional. V: But, he writes that it takes weeks for him to practice. It means that he is practicing somewhere, right? Somehow… Maybe not with pedal board, but still, he has some keyboard, probably access to the keyboard. So, those are things to consider about how serious you are about your organ playing commitment in the future. A: True, because I don’t think there is an easy way or a shortcut. V: This is true. And the same is with PDF files of hymns with alternate harmonizations. If we had those, we would gladly give it to you, but there are options, of course, to buy from music publishers, and those collections we can recommend, of course, but another path would be to harmonize yourself! A: I think so! I think this would be the better path. V: Exactly. If you…. A: Maybe you could buy a couple at the beginning, to see how they look, and what they are like, and if you like them or not, and maybe if you like some of them, you could do something similar to the other hymns, and make your own alterations. V: Right. But, I wouldn’t rely too much on alternate harmonizations as well as on hymn books, as well, because this will not teach you to harmonize. Probably you need to take a pencil and eraser, and get to the staff notation, and try to harmonize for yourself! And if you need some help, we have courses for that! A: True! I think music theory is important. V: Right. This will open up a lot of doors for you. A lot of musical horizons, because then, you will be able to see what kind of chords and keys are being used in your own pieces that you play. Basically, then you will be able to understand the composer’s mind, and this is a wonderful opportunity. Okay, thank you guys for these questions; we love helping you grow. We hope this was useful to you, and please keep sending us your feedback and questions. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. SOPP455: I found a Facebook video of an organ student of yours playing the Dupont Meditation7/4/2019
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 455, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Kiel, and he writes: Hi Vidas, I found a Facebook video of an organ student of yours playing the Dupont Meditation. I have two rhythm issues I’m wondering if you can help me with. One being the 5 against 4 sixteenth notes. This is when the melody is on the moves down to the great and are on off beats. The way I’m currently playing it is the f’s are together, g flat is two by itself, three four and five are with the remaining three sixteenth notes. Is that correct? The other spot being the six measures of two groups of three triplets against the four sixteenth notes. Would you be able to explain where the sixteenth notes fall against the two groups of three triplets? Thanks. -Kiel. V: I’m looking at the score from Petrucci library now. Do you remember how Egle Rudokaite, my student played this piece? A: I have heard it once, once or twice. V: Yes. It was her application piece for music academy, I think, when she just graduated our school to learn this national arts school. And let’s take a deeper look. Five against four sixteenth notes—let’s take a look. Can we find this? Not on the first page. Yes, on the second page, second system, second measure, the right hand part plays five sixteenth notes on the second beat, and at the same time left hand plays four sixteenth notes. A: So, could you explain now, what has to come together and what does not, in general, when you have four against five? V: I think four and five are so close together that nothing is really, only the first note is together. A: And the same when you play four and three too—only first of those falls together. V: And the same is when you play three against two. A: That’s right. V: Only the first note of the group is together. Which of course is a challenge if you have five against four. You need to play both hands separately—a lot. A: But don’t you think that you have to know mathematically exactly which comes after which? V: Maybe you have some ideas. A: I think, but you have to do that. V: Well it is visually possible to see, which note goes where or not. A: So the first comes down together of course. V: Uh-huh. A: Then the second of the fifth comes, yes? V: Of the right hand, the second note… A: If we are looking at the same measure. V: Mmm-hmm. A: If we are all looking at the same measure. V: Yes. The second note goes a little bit earlier than the second note of the left hand... A: That’s right. V: sixteenth note. Then the third note goes a little bit after the second note. A: Yes. And then comes the third note of… V: Yes. A: left… V: Then the left hand, the third note as you say, and then right after that comes the fourth note of the right hand part. And then… A: The fourth note of the left hand, and then right after that, the left, last of the five notes. V: It sounds really complicated, but in general, because the right hand part is a little bit faster, then you squeeze those extra notes in between of those left hand notes. A: How would you practice—piece like this? V: I would practice very separately for a while. Not like the left hand alone, and then do it 100 times. No! I would do right hand alone just one beat and then right afterwards, left hand alone, just one beat. But alternate between right and left—right and left. And then at some point they will connect. Does this make sense, Ausra? A: Yes, it does make sense. That’s what I would do, too. V: Uh-huh. We’re thinking similar things. Let’s take a look at some other instance. Are there any other instances of four against five? On the third beat of third page there isn’t any. But on the fourth measure there is six against four, right? Six against four. Let me check if this is the case for the concern that Kiel has. A: No, I think he mentioned four and three. V: Four and three you say. A: Yes. That’s what I remember from his question. V: Me too. Me too. Let me check the question one more time. He writes ‘the other spot being the six measures of two groups of three triplets against the four sixteenth notes’. So yes, three triplets against four notes. So basically six against four. That’s what I understand. Do you agree, Ausra? A: But six against four is the same if you would play triplets with duplets. V: Yes, it is very simple. A: It’s the same yes. It’s very simple. V: It’s very simple. If you divide—we’re looking at the fourth page—the first system, the first measure. At the last beat of that measure, right hand plays four sixteenth notes, and the left hand has sextuplets. A: But basically it’s like triplets against… V: Yes. You subdivide those sixteenth notes into two groups of two notes. A: That’s right. So the first beat comes together, yes? V: Yes. A: And then left hand follows and then comes right, and then left again. And then, when you play the third note in the right hand, it falls together, the fourth note of the left hand. V: Yes. This is much easier than the previous instance... A: True. V: five against four. Because you can think about duplets and triplets. A: That’s right. V: Alright. But in general those special grouping of notes are tricky to practice, right, in modern scores especially. Alright. We hope it’s been useful to Kiel. So there are many other pieces like that in modern music, so keep… A: And not necessarily modern music. In Romantic music as well. V: In Franck. A: Well, and even in Bach’s music. V: In Bach’s music also? A: Well, don’t you think, like for example, that ‘Vater unser’ from the 3rd part of the Clavierubung is quite rhythmically challenging? V: Yes, it is challenging. A: It is! So you can find things hard rhythmically to play even in Bach’s music. And then think for example about Franck’s music too, like Fantasy in A Major. V: Yeah. A: We recently listened to it. It also has fourth against three. So it’s… And of course modern music is mentioned. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Unquestionably it’s the, probably the hardest thing, this modern music is to count it right. V: Four against three is even, I think, more difficult than three against two. A: Definitely. It’s harder. It is hard. V: But the principle is always the same to learn—first play one part and do the other part, and alternate between those two parts, this sort of fragment. A: I think if you can master three against two, you will be able to master others... V: Mmm-hmm A: as well. Because you will find the sort of… V: Key. A: Key. V: Alright. Thank you guys. This is interesting discussion. Please keep sending us your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice… V: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 456 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Gavin, and he writes: G’day Vidas, Thank you for your work. My dream for my organ playing is to really enjoy playing well. What’s holding me back from this I think is good practicing…and not just in the amount of time, but also in how practice is done. I know that there can never be one solution that fits everyone, but guidelines are difficult to come by! Cheers, Gavin Well, let’s talk, Ausra, about what are some basic guidelines for efficient and effective practice? A: Well, that’s a very good question, I guess. Because, if you know would have like universal rules, probably you could win the Nobel Prize. V: Oh, really? A: True. Because I think what suits one person might not suit another one. But of course, there are some common features that can be adopted by many of us. V: Mm hm. A: And I think the rule number 1 is, stop practicing all your pieces from beginning to the end. V: Why? A: Because, each piece has easier spots and harder spots. And if you only play them throughout the piece each time, it means that harder spots stay harder spots, and that’s not a very good thing to do. V: What Ausra means, probably, is that if you play the piece from the beginning until the end, the easy spots will get easier, right, because you’re mastering them. And you’re not making mistakes in easy spots, and you’re making mistakes probably in difficult spots. So, if you’re playing from beginning until the end, those difficult spots are not really improving because you are always making similar mistakes. A: Maybe they are improving, but not efficient enough. And not as fast as it could be if you would work more on those difficult spots. V: And in general, our psyche is conditioned to be pleased when we do something right, and not when we do something wrong. So when we play the pieces from the beginning to the end and make many mistakes, we obviously are aware of that, hopefully, and the feeling is not very pleasant, right? We are not satisfied with our practice that day. It’s better to keep conquering new spots of music without making extra mistakes. Which leads me to another point – start practicing really slowly, and then you will not make so many mistakes. A: Yes, I also wanted to tell about the tempo, but first of all, I also wanted to tell the second step would be not to play all the parts together right from the beginning. What people always like to do, too. You need to work in voice combinations. Because, it’s not piano, it’s organ, you have pedal board attached to your instrument, and it’s important, too. So you have more things to think about while playing organ, comparing to the piano. V: Mm hm. A: So you really need to learn the separate voices first. V: All right, so let’s recap a little bit. Playing… A: …hard spots first. Playing in combinations. Then parts together. V: And then playing slowly. A: Playing slowly, yes. I guess these are three keys. V: But there are more keys. A: Of course there are. V: Let’s talk a little bit about how often should you practice. A: I would say every day. V: Every day. Okay, daily practice. Then, the next point should be, when you play in those fragments, do you play them only once, or several times, or multiple times. A: Well, it depends how well you’re able to do them, and how hard they are. If they are easy, maybe it’s enough to play once, but I highly doubt it. V: I would say at least three times. But make sure those three times are correct in a row. And if it’s not correct, then you go back and correct those mistakes, and aim for three fluent repetitions in a row. That would be ideal, I would say. A: True. And also, you need to know what you are doing. Because very often, people just practice for the sake of practice, but we don’t have goals. V: Such as? What an example of the goal might be? A: Well, let’s see… I’m playing, let’s say, Trio Sonata, yes? And I’m working on left hand and pedal. And let’s say this time I will play through and I will really think about my articulation – am I doing it right or not? V: Mm hm. You mean probably that it’s not possible to learn entire Trio Sonata in one sitting. You have to think about goals for each day. A: That’s right. Or let’s say today I’m working on F Major Toccata by J.S. Bach. I know that the cadences are the hardest thing for me to play in that toccata. So maybe today I don’t have much time, so I’ll just go through the cadences for a few times. V: Which leads me to another point. When you say cadences, you have to understand what a cadence is, so probably it’s beneficial to know a little bit about music theory and harmony. Or even if you don’t know, study it. Study it right from the beginning, right from the start. A: And maybe when you start to learn the pieces of music, it’s beneficial to look at it from the scientific point of view, and to analyze it a little bit. To analyze structure, the keys, how they change, all the structure, it will be helpful for you while performing it and learning it. And then of course, if you have your performance coming not far ahead, maybe you want to work on the right tempo, to check it if it’s even throughout the piece. So there are various aspects of practicing. V: And also, fingering, pedaling. Those… A: Well, yes. But this comes from the beginning of learning the piece. You will not check your fingering and pedaling right before recital. V: Ornamentation, phrasing, registration, all those things need to be considered. What about, Ausra, when you practice an organ piece, and memorize. Is it healthy to try to memorize some pieces? A: Yes, sometimes it’s helpful. Maybe not entire piece throughout, but some of the spots definitely. The most difficult spots, or places where you need to turn the page. V: We would need to probably record an entire episode on page turns, how to do them. But that’s an important consideration to think about in each practice that you do. So, what else, the final ideas, would you have for Gavin and others who want to learn to practice efficiently? A: Well, you know, your head needs to lead, your mind, your mind needs to lead your practice, not your body. And if you feel tired, you cannot control your body, then you better stop practicing and get a rest. Because there won’t be much of the benefit of practicing just for practicing. V: I would agree on this one. I usually finish my practice before I am getting tired. And I’m never tired. A: Good for you. Not everybody can do it. V: Yes. 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 451 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by David, and I asked him how his organ practice is going, and he wrote: “Very well! And I played a full service - as substitute organist - last Sunday. And they applauded after the postlude. Miracles really do happen (when you practice)! Played ‘Lobet den Herren mit Pauken und Zimbeln - Alla Händel’ by Karg- Elert (also listed as ‘Festliche Musik Alla Händel’). For the prelude, I played ‘Heut‘ Triumphiert Gottes Sohn’ - using your very helpful fingering! This is the first time I’ve played as a substitute organist at a different church (beyond my own church) for many years. So it really is possible to relearn to play the organ (at age 64)!” V: What do you think, Ausra? A: Well, it’s very nice when people experience something new, and they try different churches, and they see that people appreciate what they are doing. It’s really like a miracle. It shows what the diligent practice can do. V: Exactly. I thought it’s wonderful that people applauded him, that they showed their appreciation! Sometimes, when I play at St. John’s’s church during Mass, when they ask me to substitute for a band or a group of young people performing popular music, I always try to perform solo organ compositions, improvisations as well, so people have this tradition of applauding after the postlude, which is really nice. A: True, it really shows appreciation. V: When he writes, “so it really is possible to relearn to play the organ at age 64,” what do you think the biggest challenges are at this time of life? A: I think probably the biggest challenge is to convince yourself to believe in yourself, that you can do it. I think that’s the main obstacle that you have to overcome. V: Mhm, because if David is practicing at age 64, it doesn’t mean everybody is doing something with their hobbies at age 64. Right? Sometimes, well, it’s almost retirement age! In some countries, it’s already retirement age, and people don’t get much ambition after retirement, which I think could be the opposite. A: Yes, because I think that if you keep going and doing some things that you like, or learn new things, or relearn things, it will help you to stop your aging. V: Yes, at least postpone it. Slow it down. And, I think the key to this feedback of David is that he played it in public. Right? And he had this motivation to learn a few pieces when people could hear him. At he just practice at home, which would be nice, of course, but probably the results wouldn’t be as great, because you really need to push yourself when you are preparing to play in public. Even more than when you are playing for your own enjoyment. Don’t you think, Ausra? A: Yes, I think that the public performance is our final goal for each musician. Not necessarily an organist. V: And of course, to help you motivate yourself during your organ practice, to sit down on the organ bench to practice strategically with a goal in mind, we have created the secrets of organ playing contest, which runs every Monday, and people who participate, of course, only a small number of them—3, 4, sometimes 5 people—but it’s growing! In recent weeks, we’ve seen interest increasing in this contest, because participants started to talk about their real motivation boost of this contest, and when they participate, they really tend to show bigger motivation to practice, and don’t skip any days, and they tell us these things, which is really nice to hear. So, do you think, Ausra, people like David, not necessarily David, but who also who are over 60 years old, for example, would benefit from such a contest? A: Well, yes, I guess, because it would be sort of a live performance, too, because you have to record yourself, and to share with your audience! V: And, perhaps the largest challenge to overcome here is technology. Right? To find a tool to record yourself, and then upload it to YouTube. A: But usually, if you have a smartphone nowadays, it’s not a problem. V: Exactly. I was observing people on the street—everybody has a smartphone of some sort. Not every smartphone has a good microphone, but I think good enough microphone for us to hear what is being performed, it’s quite satisfactory. Right? We’re not talking about CD quality or radio quality here. So, it’s possible. It’s just a matter of saying to yourself, “I can do it.” A: True, I think this is the most important step. V: So, if you guys want to participate in this contest, go ahead and write to me your preferred username on the Steem platform, and I can create an account for you with this username, and delegate a little bit of Steem for 90 days to start your journey on Steem, and then once you keep posting and keep earning Steem, you will be able to continue and to go on your own. Thank you, guys, this was Vidas! A: And Ausra! V: We’re really grateful that you are sending us your questions, so please continue doing that. 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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