Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 453 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Abraham, and he writes: Good to hear from you Mr Vidas. Is it possible to follow these steps and master any organ composition a week before performance? I just have to clarify this question probably. Abraham wrote an answer to my email when I sent him the video of How to Master Any Organ Composition. After the first day when subscribers come to our community, they get this video and start learning this 10 day mini-course on learning to play any organ composition. So, he probably watched this video, I suspect, and has this question: Is it possible to follow these steps (that I taught probably in this video), and master any organ composition a week before performance? Do you think, Ausra, he means that his performance might be a week from now, and he has just started playing the piece, or learning the piece now? A: Well, I’m not quite sure. What about you? What do you think? V: It’s not clear to me. But if it is, then obviously, it depends upon the skill of your ability. A: And it depends on the piece, too. V: Yes, how difficult it is. How advanced are you in organ playing? How good are you in sight reading, those things. And improvisation probably too, I suspect. And harmony. It all comes together in the final performance. So, in most cases, I would say no, right Ausra? A: Probably yes. V: In most cases, it’s too little time. A: It’s too risky. V: Yes. Remember we always advise people to… A: To be ready, you know, a month ahead of time. V: Now I’m saying two months ahead. Just to keep people from stress, you know? A: But anyway, I think you still get some stress during actual performance. Even if you will get it, I don’t know, three months ahead. But if you will do everything that’s possible that’s in your power, then at least you be, you know, won’t feel guilty if something went wrong. V: Mm hm. And if your performance is a week from today and you are just starting, then it’s probably something wrong with the planning process of the preparation. I mean, you have to prepare well in advance and plan well in advance. A: Yes. I remember our classmate in the Academy of Music, he took the last piece of Max Reger. I don’t remember now exactly which one it was. V: Sonata, I think. A: I think it was… V: One of the two sonatas. A: Yes, one of the two sonatas. And I think he counted pages, and it was what, like 30 pages long? V: Thirty pages, yeah. A: And he, OH, I have a month before the performance, so I’ll just have to learn one page per day, and I’ll be ready! Guess what – he never learned that piece and never performed it. V: He learned maybe five pages or so. A: I know, I know. And he saw that it’s a hopeless business. V: And now he is no longer playing organ, by the way. A: Yeah, but he is building them, so. V: Mm hm. A: That’s good, too. V: So you know, I would say that, imagine if somebody asks you to play a week from today something, then you have to play pieces that you already know well in advance. Maybe you can repeat from your last performance, right, Ausra? A: True. V: A week from today, it’s possible to refresh something that you learned, let’s say a month ago or two months ago. I think it is possible. A: Yes. V: If you learn it in a systematic way. But what happens if somebody asks you to perform a week from today and you don’t have anything ready? A: Well then, you have either to improvise or… V: To say no. A: Yes, to say no. V: Yeah, improvising sometimes it’s easier than playing from the score, but not... A: Not necessarily. V: Not for every person. A: If you have never done it before, then just, you know… V: Yes. Just next time, gather your repertoire ahead of time and you will be more secure, I think, when the time comes. A: I think it’s important for organists to keep, sort of like a master repertoire, of what has to be on your list, some music that fits wedding, some music that fits funeral, some music that fits service, and probably like, what, 10-15 of the most common hymns? V: Good idea, Ausra. This is what they would require for Service Playing Certificate at AGO. And this is, I think, well thought of situation, and the most common things that organists have to play. A: Sure. And then, you know, do what you have to do to refresh these pieces, to keep them alive, let’s say. V: Once in awhile. A: Yes. V: Maybe this much of repertoire and hymns would probably take half an hour to play, I would say, once. But if you do this just like once a month, after learning them thoroughly and mastering, I think you would be prepared to play on a short notice. A: That’s right. V: Okay guys. Thank you for your wonderful questions. We love helping you grow. This was Vidas… A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
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Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 448 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Christianna, and Christianna writes: “My dream for organ playing is to be able to play, at very least hymns and sightread intermediate organ music. The three inhibitors at the moment I think, would be: 1. Lack of a teacher, 2. Having to drive fifteen minutes to play on an organ and, having to deal with the fact that it's not available on weekends, 3. None of the music stores in my area carry any sort of organ method or scale book. I think that might help at first as I work on figuring out the foot pedals and stops, even though my organ only has four stops for each manual.” V: So, Christianna wants to be reasonably good at intermediate organ music and playing hymns. That’s a very decent goal, I think. A: Yes, for a church organist, it is. V: And I think her problems or challenges can be overcome, right? Lack of teacher. What would you suggest? A: Well, nowadays, there are so many sources on the Internet! V: And, isn’t that the reason why we started our podcast and blog and training courses? A: Sure! I think you can find lots of material in our resources that would help for you to become at least an intermediate organist. V: Yeah, no doubt about that. And, of course, this question that Christianna is answering is sent to her after about two weeks of being here in our community, so she’s kind of new. She needs to explore a little bit more what’s available—what free materials are available, what courses are available—and definitely, she will find something for her. The second, obviously, challenge is with the organ itself. A: But she only has to drive 15 minutes. Do you consider 15 minutes to be a long way to find an organ to practice? I find it a funny distance, 15 minutes. V: 15 minutes? It’s a reasonable distance. If, for example, you are living in a city, then it’s really not that far. It’s like going to a gym, basically, right? A: Well, it takes us longer to go to a gym from the place where we live. V: And it takes longer for us to go to the church from where we live. A: Definitely. So I think nowadays, when people are driving really long distances, for example, to work every day, 15 minutes doesn’t seem a long time. And if you don’t want to waste those 15 minutes, you may listen to some useful stuff while you’re driving. V: For example…. A: Well, you can learn learn languages. V: Or listen to Maltese music. A: Well…...yes…. V: I need to tell the background of this joke for people to understand. When I went to Malta to play there for 200 tourists from Paris, “Le Figaro” newspaper, I saw one person playing a mandolin in 60 languages, and I asked for him to play something and sing something Lithuanian, and he did one of our most well-known songs, and obviously, I bought a CD from him with his music, Maltese music, where he played mandolin. So that’s the origin of this joke. Obviously, you could listen to books on tape, or podcasts, or as Ausra says, organ music… A: But anyway, 15 minutes of drive is not a long distance. I wouldn’t consider it a problem. V: A little bit of a problem would be if she cannot practice on that organ on weekends. Right? The organ is not available, she says. So on those weekends, maybe practicing at home on the table would help, if she doesn’t have any other instruments, like a keyboard. What else? A: True! That might help. V: Definitely. A: Because, I think if you have a goal, and if it’s important for you to reach the goal, you will always find possibilities to do it, and if you don’t maybe that goal wasn’t so important for you. V: And if it’s important to you, maybe with time, start saving some money, investing some money for a keyboard to have at home. A: True! V: Number 3 would be, “None of the music stores in my area carry any sort of organ method,” which is also related to the first question, lack of teacher. A: True, but today, if she can use the Internet, it means that she can order things online. V: Obviously, yes. A: And there are so many things you can get on the Internet. V: And, if she just looked around, we have so many courses, and practice courses for fingering and pedaling, it’s a good starting point, I think. A: I guess nowadays, it’s not so hard to find the information that you need, material that you need, as I think it’s hard to decide which one to buy! V: Oh, it’s called, “information overload.” A: That’s what I think is more common nowadays. V: When you have 50 sources to compare, and you don’t know which one is better, then you basically are stuck, and freeze in your mind. I think the best way to start is wherever you are—whatever is in front of you. It might not be the best method, or the most comprehensive method that you wish for, but it’s a good starting point, and it will lead you someplace, and after you reach that intermediate goal, you can go to the next level. A: Sure. Do you think the Hymn Playing Workshop would be helpful for her, from our teaching materials? V: Yes, we have those hymn playing workshop videos and hymn scores in that, so yes, it will give her a foundation on how to master those hymns, and after those videos, she will have the knowledge to apply it to any other hymn, which is good. A: And because it has videos, it sort of replaces the real teacher. V: Yes! The real teacher would also be, maybe, more strict with her, giving external motivation, because she would be maybe embarrassed to show up unprepared. With videos in our courses, there is a different motivation, which is basically inner motivation. That’s what we value the most. Right Ausra? A: True, and I think that inner motivation is the most important, because look; even if you go go to college or to university or academy of music, or a conservatory to study music, your studies won’t last forever. Eventually, you will graduate from the institution and you will be left on your own! So if you won’t have that inner motivation, then what can you do? You will start practicing! V: And we’re seeing people quitting playing after a while, because they lack motivation. So, I think it’s good to find some sort of external motivation in the form of public performance opportunities, maybe in the same church that she would practice, she could give public performances during services, maybe—preludes, postludes, communions, offertories—or if she is really good, later on she could prepare a post service appearance. A: And Christianna also says that her organ where she practices is probably not a large one. It has two manual, each having four stops. I think it’s a reasonable size organ for practicing. It’s more than enough, I think, to become an intermediate organist. V: We have two stops at our home organ. Yes. A: True. V: That’s enough, I think. Whatever more that you need, you can pretend you have. If you need a swell box, you can pretend you’re using it with your right foot. If you need toe pistons and studs, you can pretend you are pushing them. Right? Thank you guys for those wonderful questions. Keep sending them! 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 452, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by May, and she writes: Hi Vidas, What are the prerequisites to Organ Hymn Improvisation Master Course Level 1? For example, what kind of chords do I need to know in order to study this course well? What level of music theory should I have before starting this course? Also, what are the expected outcome of this course? Thanks, May V: Maybe you could ask me some questions about this and I could explain it a little bit further, right? A: Don’t you think May asked enough questions in one question? V: Yes. A: Maybe you need to start in a row and answer them. V: I will start from the beginning but if you need some clarification, just tell me. A: Okay, sure. V: Okay. Prerequisites to Organ Hymn Improvisation Master Course Level 1, is very simple; you need to know only intervals. A: No chords then? V: No chords because it’s a course for two voices. A: I see. V: And each hand plays counterpoint. One hand plays a melody, hymn melody and another hand plays counterpoint to it, and then they switch. Therefore no chords are built in this course. So prerequisites are really simple—you just need to be able to play two notes together on the keyboard without pedal. Alright? We talked about chords—no chords are needed, and what level of music theory? About intervals I could talk about a little bit, right? What kind of intervals? Well of all the intervals until an octave, up to an octave, perfect octave. So, a unison which is an interval of repeated notes, like C and C. This is a unison. It’s called perfect unison because it has no vibrations. Then major and minor seconds, then major and minor thirds, perfect fourth, a tritone which is, could be augmented fourth or diminished fifth, perfect fifth, minor six, major six, minor seventh and major seventh, and then the last one would be perfect octave. Does it mean that you should use all those intervals? How do you think, Ausra? A: Well I don’t think so, because there are good intervals and bad intervals. V: Yes. But you have to know all of them… A: Sure. V: in order to avoid bad intervals. A: Sure. V: And so we primarily sweet sounding intervals which are major and minor thirds and sixths, but then occasionally use octaves and fifths. But then there are some rules to avoid parallel octaves and fifths. A: What about fourth? V: Fourth is allowed. Fourth is okay. A: What about second? V: Second is a dissonance, therefore it’s a, not sweet sounding interval, and therefore we don’t use it in this style. A: Okay. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And I guess then you don’t use seventh as well, yes? V: Seventh is an inversion of the second, so yes—no seventh. Would you like to know, Ausra, what are [is] the expected outcome of this course? A: Well yes. I think it would be good know before starting the course. V: I think you could also guess what people could do after practicing. A: Well after practicing these counterpoint intervals, you could start practicing chords too. V: Three voices. A: Three voices, yes. That would be then next step, to add another voice. V: Mmm-hmm. At first we do note against note—counterpoint for two voices, then two notes against one, then three notes against one, then four notes against one—those kinds of things. So therefore the next level could be also note against note for three voices and then note against, two voices against one, for three voices. Gradually complicating, making the texture more complex so to say. A: Do you think it’s important to start from this level one if you are just a beginner? Or you could skip it and start with harder courses? What would be your suggestion? V: Your goals. Depends on your goals, right? If you are trying to learn improvisation on the hymn tune and you want to [do] a methodical method, a systematic method, then yes, probably starting from two voices, note against note is very beneficial. And sometimes even too hard for really, people who just started playing organ today. Maybe they can play only with one voice. Then okay, play just the hymn tunes, for right hand and left hand alone. And then, after that you will be ready to supply the second voice. A: Excellent! V: Right! So we hope with Ausra, that May can benefit from this course as well, and others who are interested in learning hymn related improvisation, which could lead to further discoveries and complications, like fuguettes, and also chorale preludes, and also chorale fantasias later on. A: Excellent. V: And once you learn this course you will be able to learn and play maybe ten or more variations on the same hymn tune because of the progressing complications of the variations. A: It’s very beneficial, especially if you have long service. V: Yeah. You could play… A: If you have to prolong your playing time. V: You could add interest with registration of course, but it could be an excellent piece for communion, for example. A: Sure. V: Or a prelude. Good. Thank you guys for sending these 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 449, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Patricia, and she writes: Dear Vidas and Ausra, Thank you for contacting me regarding your program of Organ tuition and assistance. I studied organ at Trinity College in London and also at the same time I studied the French music from Jean Dattas at Notre Dame in Leicester Square. I was working in London at the time teaching English to students at Morden Girls Secondary in Surrey. When I returned to Kingston, Ontario in Canada, I worked as an organist in a Lutheran Church called St. Marks for 5 years. My mother got an illness which the doctor's said was incurable. They said it would be better to take my mother to Australia to help her but that was not a good idea as she died soon after arriving. I live in Melbourne and have a Johannes organ in my house. I am very bad at practicing and need some help to get started again. I need to master some on my favorites such as the Bach toccatas and other organ preludes and fugues which I played before. I am trying to teach myself the Widor Toccata. V: Can we help Patricia with those goals, Ausra? A: Well, I hope so, but as I talked in a previous podcast, inner motivation is the most important thing. So if Patricia has it, I think everything will be just fine. V: Mmm-mmm. A: Since she was quite advanced organist, because she now is not learning to play the organ from scratch, but she just has to refresh her skills, and to renew her ability to play the organ. What would you suggest for her to do? What would be the best choice and the first step? V: Well sometimes when you repeat previously mastered material from the past with the gap of many years in between, sometimes your old habits come back and those old habits might not be the best habits, you see. And that’s something to keep in mind. Sometimes it’s better to learn the same piece but in a new way. Like completely from scratch, with a new articulation, with a new fingering and pedaling, from a new score, let’s say. I think that would be more productive. What do you say? A: Yes. I couldn’t agree more. Because when I’m trying to refresh some of the old pieces that I played, let’s say many years ago, and I remember the spots that were hard for me in that time, they are still hard for me, today. It means that I wasn’t working in a right way... V: Mmm-hmm. A: At such time. V: But is it true from your early days, you got a decent foundation, and even if you refresh those pieces, those old habits are not the worst habits, I mean, for you. A: Yes, they are not the worst habits. V: At least some of them you can keep. A: But still nowadays when I’m starting to repeat an old piece, at least I won’t be playing it from the beginning to the end. I start to work on the harder spots right away. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Because I’m already sort of respecting myself and my time. I don’t know that I don’t have much of it, so I want to use it as productively as I can. V: And Patricia writes that she’s very bad at practicing. Can you interpret that in some way for us Ausra? What to you suppose she means? A: Well, it’s hard to tell what exactly she means but I could say what in general I consider is a bad practice. Probably the worst practice is not practicing at all, or not practicing enough. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Or practicing unproductively. Because sometimes you can sit on your organ bench and play for four hours straight, and it will be still bad practicing. V: I suppose that’s true Ausra. I always said that the hardest part of practicing the organ is sitting down on the organ bench. Which means, if you practice enough you will get better. But, sometimes, I can observe my Unda Maris students practicing and practicing and over and over again and not getting… A: Any better. V: Any better, sooner than they wanted. They are getting better, but really slowly. And I know why. I know how I would practice differently. And I tell them to slow down. And I tell them, let’s say to practice separate parts multiple times, and they don’t do that, you see. And that’s how they get the same result every time. Maybe a little bit better, because with time, even stone can be furnished with drops of water, enough drops of water. But it really, it takes ages and we don’t have that time. A: But I would think that Patricia has organ in her house. It means that she can easier find time to practice because she doesn’t need to go anywhere to the organ loft. V: Mmm-hmm. True. So those are general ideas to get started. I suggest she would take a look at my organ practice course. And we are talking about also in some courses about organ practice. Maybe she could just take a look at the category of courses in the Organ Practice category in our Secrets Of Organ Playing store. And she will find useful materials there. A: Do you think it’s wise to work on several old pieces at the same time, or not? How would you do it? V: Several pieces, yes, but not too many, maybe three, for starters. A: But do you think it’s important only to repeat the old repertoire or to learn something new as well? V: Definitely something new to keep her going forward. And definitely something from different stylistic periods. Let’s say she likes Bach’s Preludes and Fugues, and also she tries to learn Widor Toccata. That would be different choices. But maybe something slower than Widor Toccata would be nice too, like a chorale prelude, or a romantic piece in Adagio tempo, or slow movement from the same Widor symphony. A: Well actually, I always thought that all French people just love French composers. V: Mmm-hmm. A: But as we performed at Alpe d'Huez in French Alps last March, actually the man who actually is one of the main organizers of that organ festival, he told that ‘very good’ that we are not playing Widor and we are not doing the famous Toccata. Because actually what happens when organist playing Widor on the program, people start leaving. V: Uh-huh. A: And it was actually a big surprise. I was slightly shocked when I heard it—that French don’t like Widor, especially this toccata. V: Maybe the listeners have heard it enough times. A: Could be, that it’s already, it’s up to... V: Uh-huh. A: Up to your throat. So but it was a surprise because the audience is like 99% French in that church. V: Mmm-hmm. And older age, I would say. A: Well, yes, I would say. So maybe you could do not only like Widor Toccata but practice some pieces by Louis Vierne. V: Yes, and softer pieces, not necessarily loud. A: Yes, not only fast and, because I think this toccata is one of the most mechanical organ pieces… V: Mmm-mmm. A: that are written. But it’s good for wedding. Usually people quite like it, and order to play it during wedding time quite a lot. V: She says she likes toccatas and organ preludes and fugues by Bach. What is your favorite toccata, Ausra, by Bach, today? A: Probably C Major Toccata, Adagio and Fugue. V: Uh-huh. A: I think it always was my favorite, and it still is. What about you? V: I like very much E Major Toccata… A: I like it too. V: but transposed to C Major. A: It’s sort of Buxtehude style. V: Uh-huh. A: Reminds, it would be my second choice. V: Good! And what about organ prelude and fugue, by Bach? What would you take with you to the island without any people around? A: I think you know which one. It would be E Flat Major from the first part of Clavier-Übung. (????) V: E Flat Major? A: Yes. V: BWV 552. A: That’s right. But I also like C minor Prelude and Fugue. V: I like A Major. A: I like C Major. V: Which one? There are a few. A: The one you played in America. V: 547. A: Yes. I’m no good with numbers. I really need to learn to memorize Bach’s catalogue that I could tell these numbers as well as you. V: You know what’s the best way to memorize the catalogue? Is to sight-read each piece and then you will know the numbers by heart. A: Yes. But also what I would suggest for Patricia to do, to play some of Bach’s chorale works because I think they are great too. V: Yes. That was our first suggestion. A: And with age I even start preferring Bach chorale based works. V: So guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice… V: Miracles happen!
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Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 450 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Mark, and he writes: Vidas and Ausra, 1. What is my dream for my organ playing? Answer: to be able to play all the hymns of my church (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints) and Sunday organ solos as needed using the foot pedals. I'm a "recovering pianist" who started playing the organ at age 62. I haven't yet been able to master the skill of playing the foot pedals along with both hands. I can play the bass part of most hymns using the foot pedals alone. As soon as I try to play the pedals and manuals together, everything falls apart. Instead, I use an electronic bass coupler on my church's digital organ to automatically play the bass voice while I play the manuals with my hands. 2. What are 3 most important things that are holding me back from realizing my dream? Answer: 1) lack of time. I also work a full-time job, exercise at a gym, and I'm preparing 3 to 4 hymns every week for presentation each Sunday at church. I'm the only organist in our congregation so it falls on me to have all of these hymns ready to go each week. 2) having to be at the church building in order to practice playing the hymns on an organ. I do have a full-size digital keyboard in my office that I use to practice playing hymns with my hands only, but it's not the same as the organ manuals and, of course, it doesn't have a pedal board. 3) lack of knowledge of an effective and time-efficient method for a pianist to learn how to play the organ manuals and pedal board together. Thank you for making the Total Organist program available and for asking the above 2 questions. I look forward to your answer. Sincerely, Mark V: So, basically, let’s start from the beginning, Ausra, right? A: Yes. V: Remember, Mark wants to be able to play all the hymns for his church, and organ solos on Sundays, with pedals as well. And the foot pedals are holding him back, right? So, let’s start with the lack of time, first of all. He has a lot to do, but he has to also prepare three or four hymns every week. How to manage this if he’s only a pianist? A: Well, in a way, we definitely are not magicians, and we cannot make Mark have more time, since he’s working a full-time job and exercising at the gym. I would not suggest for him to quit his job or stop exercising. I guess he just has to plan his free time more efficiently. V: Mm hm. And I would add that, with time, he will get better in preparation for the church with his hymns, and that will require less and less time. A: Well yes, I think the main problem, you know, is he doesn’t have an instrument with a pedal board, other than when he’s at the church. And since you are not practicing with the pedal all the time, you will not improve very fast. So what I could suggest him probably to use the artificial pedal board made out of paper, like some of your students from Unda Maris studio does. V: Yeah. Let’s see how people can download it. It’s very easy. If you go to our homepage, organduo.lt, on the sidebar, you can see our picture, right? And above the picture there is this email subscription form. But below that, there are some entrances and some information about us, and just before the end, just before the button for RSS feed, there is this question: Don’t have an organ at home? Download manuals, paper manuals and pedals. Print them out, cut the white spaces, tape the sheets together, and you’ll be ready to practice anywhere there is a desk and a floor. Make sure you have a high rise chair, of course. So this is really simple. Let’s see if it works. I’m trying to download it. Yes, the manuals are clearly visible, and the pedals work as well. So this is a good starting point for people, Ausra, who don’t have a, let’s say real pedal board, right? A: Yes, because if you won’t practice with the pedal, you won’t improve. And in Mark’s case, I think he lacks coordination, which is very common for people who play piano but haven’t played organ. For beginning organists. V: Mm hm. A: So, he really needs to work in combinations. Not try to play everything together, but to play right and pedal, left and pedal – probably pedal alone first of all, and then to try to put all things together. V: Well, exactly. It’s no wonder he struggles with pedals if the only thing he does is practice the hands and then adds the pedals, or practices the pedals alone and adds the manuals together. I think it’s the last step, but we need to have fifteen steps for four-part hymns. A: True, and if he will practice at least with the artificial paper pedal board, he will be able to coordinate much better, because you will know when you have to do something with your feet all the time. V: Yes, so to answer the third challenge that he’s having about the lack of knowledge an efficient method, right, how to play organ manuals and pedals together, he could take advantage of our courses. A: True. Although, you know, about time efficient methods, everybody wants to get fast results, good results, but that’s absolutely impossible in the field of making music, you know, playing nicely. Because there are some steps that you cannot skip, and some things that you cannot do as fast as maybe you wish to. V: Absolutely. You have to gradually proceed to the next level without skipping anything in between. A: Of course, you can make your practice more efficient, you know, and use right methods that will make your practice more efficient, and you will achieve results faster. But still, you have to take each step. V: I could compare something that other people could really understand – like working out, for example. I’ve been doing this pull-up routine on my hymns, not hymns, but rings in our garden, on the apple tree. And before I went to Poland to play my recital in Torun at "Pro Baltica" Music Festival, I could do 18 or 17, I forget, maybe 18 pull-ups, I think. A: 18, I think. V: 18, yeah, it was my record. Barely, of course, it was really difficult, but 18 is a good number. But then, a second trip came up to Malta, and I didn’t do anything during that time, and afterwards I was kind of tired and besides lazy, and only this weekend I’m starting to pick up my pull-up routine again. And I cannot do 18 of course, but I can do 13. So, I’m starting where I am right now, and gradually, the pull-up number will increase. I’m not worrying about that. A: But when you began it, tell everybody that you could do barely one. V: No, I couldn’t do one. A: So… V: I couldn’t do one last August when I started. I could only hang on the pull-up bar, for, I believe, 10 seconds. Yeah, 10 seconds was my first try. Then gradually, a week later, it was 20 seconds, one week later 30 seconds, and then I started doing one pull-up afterward. A: So I guess the same is with organ practice, no? You cannot play entire hymnal book right away. You need to more gradually learn each of them. V: Good example – thank you, Ausra. Also Laurie, who has transcribed this podcast conversation has this idea for Mark: "I might suggest to Mark to use his cheat-button for 2 of the hymns each week, and concentrate on learning ONE hymn each week with pedals so it is not overwhelming. This is similar to what you told him - small goals are more achievable." V. So, I hope this was useful to you guys. Apply this in your practice and you will reap good results. We hope to receive more of your questions very soon. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen. SOPP447: I bought shoes from Organmaster but I didn’t quite like it. Do you have any recommendation?6/15/2019
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 447 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by David, And he writes: Hi Vidas, I bought shoes from Organmaster but I didn’t quite like it. Do you have any recommendation? Regards, David Well, what would you say to David, Ausra? Because I have my own recommendations. A: Well, if I would be, you know, Mr. Bennett, from The Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin, I would say it seems like a hopeless business, but since I’m not… Well, I don’t like the Organmaster shoes myself so well, and why I don’t because they are not made from genuine leather, except of the… V: Soles? A: Soles, yes. V: Really? A: Yes. And that’s why I don’t find them of really high quality. At least, that’s my opinion. But, after using them for many years, they sort of softened, and it’s becoming more comfortable. V: Do you remember, Ausra, when we first bought Organmaster shoes? How long did it take for you to get used to your shoes? How many weeks? A: It took quite a while. A month, maybe. V: A month. So if David, and this is the start of my recommendation, if David doesn’t like the shoes at first, maybe it doesn’t mean the shoes are bad at first. Maybe he just needs to play for a few weeks to a month, and see if they soften up a little bit, and your feet get used to your shoes this way. Do you think, sometimes, that might be the case? A: Yes. It’s like with any new shoes. They often give a struggle at the beginning, so. V: But not all shoes. A: No, not all shoes, but some of them, yes. I’m not talking about sneakers. V: Mm-hmm. Sneakers are very comfortable. What I would suggest, also, to take a look, for David, into TicTacToes. This is another company, which specializes in shoes. Let’s see their website. TicTacToe. TicTacToe Shoes,” I think. There is a game called Tic-Tac-Toe. These are shoes for ballroom dancing, and organ shoes and square dancing. You know, all kinds of shoes they have, and in addition to that, they have a collection for organ shoes, and if I click to enter their collection, they have men’s organ shoes, they have women’s organ shoes, and they also have special organ shoes, which look… (laughs) strange, Ausra, right? A: Well, they’re shoes that look really soft and you can bend it, you know? V: Yes, it’s bent, like, at a ninety-degree angle, downward. A: I don’t think anybody could… do their foot like this. They would break it. V: So that’s my also recommendation; to look at TicTacToes.com A: But, anyway, you know, I wonder how David is doing with other shoes. Are other shoes comfortable for him? Because it might not be a problem with these complete shoes, but it might be, you know, a problem with, I don’t know… feet? (inaudible) Or what he wears on a daily basis? It’s really hard to tell, because, actually, he didn’t explain why he doesn’t like these shoes. We don’t know what the problem is. V: Exactly. I think when I wrote to him and answered in an email about TicTacToes, he was quite happy with it. Maybe that solved his problem. So anyway, organist shoes, sometimes, it’s a great challenge to find for us, right, and not every person has the, you know, the ability to buy something online and get shipped from overseas to their country. They need to buy something locally. For example, in Venus, we have, also, a store for dancers. And I found that our Unda Maris students also need organ shoes, so I recommended them to take a look at their collection for dancing shoes, ballroom dancing, specifically. A: Ballroom? Do you think those shoes are fitted? For men, maybe, but for women, I highly doubt it. V: No? Why not? A: Because, well, look at women’s shoes. You know, ballroom dancing shoes. V: They’re very similar. I mean, some of them. A: Well, this company, yes, but in general, they’re not, because the heel is much higher than short in these. V: But, remember, if you play with-- A: You have professional dancers on the TV. We never wear shoes like these. V: Ah, I see. So maybe, full dancing, then… A: Yes, I would say it’s more like full dancing shoes. But also, if it’s to play the organ. V: Uh-huh. Could be, could be. Interesting. So basically, you could accommodate your own feet this way with various kinds of shoes, and sometimes, you might even don’t need to buy something. You could look at your own shoe collection at home, if you have one, and see what you can use for the organ. Sometimes, you can find one. Not always, though. Right? A: It depends. V: It depends, as everything in life. Thank you guys. This was Vidas… A: And Ausra. V: We hope this was useful to you, and please keep sending us your wonderful questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
This is the continuation of SOPP446.
Vidas: So anyway, let’s take a look at the remaining of the question—when to play pedals—right? Ausra: Is it necessary to add pedals? V: No. A: What do you think about it? V: No. Especially on English organs—they don’t have much pedal stops I think. A: Because I don’t think that Noel’s were intended for to be played with pedals too. V: Well maybe… A: Maybe sometimes at the end of cadences. V: When you play the Grand Jeux right? It’s actually in parenthesis. The Guilmant edition has in parenthesis, pedal sign. So whenever you have large chords, you could add, but it’s… A: It’s optional. V: It’s optional, completely optional, because sometimes the chords are not in four voices but in three voices. And if you play the pedals instead of the left hand, then what do you do with the left hand? A: Well, would you double it? V: Yeah probably double. And sometimes even one octave lower, I would think, if you need more gravity. That’s how I would do it. Fast arpeggios is a problem in this Noel, right Ausra? A: Well… V: It doesn’t start fast, because it starts with chords, but it gradually speeds up. At first in quarter notes, then in eighth notes, then in triplets, and then in sixteenth notes. A: That’s what happens in most of the these variations, especially in the baroque variations, that you start with slower note values then everything becomes quite fast. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Because of smaller note values. We can see this since the time of Sweelinck. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So basically what you actually have to do with playing piece like this [is] you have to choose your tempo wisely. So you need basically to see what can you, how fast can you play in the hardest spot of the piece and accordingly that spot you need to pick up the opening tempo. V: Mmm-hmm. I think the left hand makes big trouble with those arpeggios, and, well, you have to improve you left hand technique then. A: True. V: Maybe try our left hand training course. A: And it’s very useful to play piece like Noel on the piano. I think it might help a lot. Because obviously, it’s well suited for piano, for developing organ technique, especially in the spots like this. V: Trying to speed up the tempo is a good idea to start in very small fragments. Basically stopping every two notes, then every four notes, every eight notes—talking about the left hand. A: Yes, and the trouble with the spot like this is that some of the people would simply play it very mechanically like an etude. And I don’t think that’s right attitude. Because some of those notes in the left hand are more important than others, and you really need to find what the melody is telling you to do. Because not each of those notes is equally important. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And you need to shape it like that. V: Right. So in this Noel, John is also wondering about the registration on English organs. And the main idea is sometimes those big chords to be played with the Grand Orgue registration, and variations in two parts to be played sometimes in Cornier registration and also in Krummhorn registration. English organs don’t necessarily have those stops… A: But do they have some reeds? V: Some reeds and some Cornet sounds would be possible to find. For example, obviously if you need Cornet, you could collect flutes of 8, 4, 2, 2 2/3 and 1 3/5. That would be a Cornet. If you need a Krummhorn, but English sound would not maybe have, but maybe have Clarinet, right? A: That might work, yes. V: It depends on what you have. If you don’t have Clarinet at all, if you don’t have reeds at all, it might be the case too. Well, what to do then. What would you do? A: Well, now I’m wondering if it’s worth playing piece that if you could not reproduce registration that can warrant it. But I think that even registration of flute and principles would work nicely for this kind of music. V: Yes. Imagine playing this variation on our piano at home. Wouldn’t it be nice! It would sound nice. Even though our piano is out of tune. A: Well it would sound obviously different, but… V: Yeah, it would be a different piece. So if you are transferring to a different type of organ, it would sound differently. That’s okay I believe. A: True. Except that I’m thinking what about voicing, when you have such a fast running notes in the left hand. Because some organs are just scaled in such a way that left hand is not audible so clearly. V: True! True, true, true! They’re not suited for fast passages. So maybe use higher pitched principles—maybe 4’ principle. A: That’s what I thought about a spot like this. And again, if we are talking that fast arpeggios, you really need to lean down on the strong beats of the places like this because otherwise you might lose the control. And leaning on the strong beat might help to control yourself better. V: Excellent! So we hope this conversation was useful, not only to John but to anyone who wants to try something French for Christmas next year. And this is, this piece has some tricky passages. It’s a wise idea to start earlier. A: True. And to start learning from those hard spots. V: Exactly. Not from the beginning but from the fast running passages. Alright guys, we hope this is, this conversation will spark a new set of questions from you. We always love helping you grow, so keep sending us your feedback. And also John finishes his question by saying, ‘I hope you have a great day!’ So what are we doing today, Ausra? A: We are going to Ikea. V: Ikea, right. And we are buying there? A: A bed, but I don’t think you are going to care because of the bed. You are going because of the Swedish meatballs. V: Yes! Whenever we go to Ikea, I always imagine I would be eating Swedish meatballs. (Laughs.) I hope they will have it today. Alright, guys, this was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: I think today we also, later, after we get back, we will practice organ duets for our upcoming organ recital in Denmark this summer. So, I also hope that you can practice some organ music today. Because when you practice… V: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 446 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And this question was sent by John. He writes: “Hi Vidas and Ausra, How are you today? Soon I would like to start learning Noel X by Daquin as we discussed a few months ago. Could you please give some guidance and teaching on these points? How to play the French trills in this piece? Please spell out exactly what notes to play. When to play pedals, and do you double the left hand in this case? How to play the fast arpeggios in the left hand accurately especially on page 4? What registration would you use on a small two manual English style organ? I hope if I start learning soon then I can have it ready by Christmas this year! I really enjoy listening to you play this piece in your Christmas Concert at St Johns I think in 2016. I have read your podcast SOPP346 which has some great advice! I hope you have a great day! Take care, God bless, John...” V: So, John starts his question by asking how are we today. How are you today, Ausra? A: I’m fine. V: What does it mean? A: It means that I am fine. V: Excellent. And how am I today? A: I don’t know. V: So ask me! A: How are you today? V: I am excellent, today. And do you know why? A: I know why, but I don’t think everybody would have to know why! V: Because, I played two concerts this week. One was on, I think, Wednesday, for a group of Canadian tourists, and I also played, yesterday evening, part of the concert together with the Finnish choir in our church. I supplied two improvisations for them. A: And you will play tomorrow in Kėdainiai. V: Yes. Kėdainiai is, basically, right in the center of Lithuania. Medium sized town, which has at least two churches, and two historical organs. And I will be playing organ improvisations as part of the opening of the exhibition of one of the most famous painters in Lithuania. Aloyzas Stasiulevičius is his name. So anyway, John is working on Noel X by Daquin, and is wondering about the French trills. Ok? What is the main feature of French trills? How do you start? From the main note, or from the upper note? A: If we are talking about trills, then you start on the upper note. If we are talking about mordents, then you start on the main note and play with the lower note. Basically, the same rules apply for French Baroque music as for J. S. Bach. I think we have talked about it a number of times, that Bach played his ornaments according to French tradition. Don’t you agree? V: Of course. Yes. Obviously. Obviously, French trills need to be played most of the time from the upper note, and in this piece, yes, we have so many French trills, and I think that we can discuss a little bit of mordents, too, because there are some mordents playing on the main note, but then adding the lower note, and coming back to the main note. So, let’s say on page 4, the first measure is the mordent on the note C. So, I wrote C-B-C with 2-1-2. Or in the second line, second system of that same page and second measure is the note E with mordent, so E-D-E, 3-2-3. You see? But there are trills, like in the third system on that page, so this means we play from the upper note. A: That’s right. V: It’s written on the note A, so we start from the note B. B-A-B-A. Probably 4 notes. A: And for a place like this, actually, you could do even a double trill, longer. That’s like in the D minor Toccata, for example, some organists play only one repercussion, but some do two repercussions. V: There is an interesting trill on the same page where both hands have to play a trill for more than two measures. A: How would you play it? Would you play it exactly rhythmically? V: No. A: I thought so. I also wouldn’t play it rhythmically, so how would you play it? V: Well, before we play the trill, I have to tell a little bit what’s happening before that trill, right? Before the trill, we have at least one measure of both hands playing in parallel thirds right here, and even a half measure before. So, in 16th notes, it’s a fast passage. Basically, it’s a diminution on the minor and major third. The left hand plays from the beginning of that measure B, and the right hand plays D. Right? So the hands move up and down in parallel thirds. And then in the next measure it lands on the same minor third, B-D. But it’s a long trill. And I’m wondering whether we should play it from the upper note or not, because the trill actually starts a half measure before: D-E-D-E-D-E-D-E A: So you have to just continue and accelerate the tempo V: Absolutely. Yes, starting from the….. A: And then of course slow down at the end of it. V: Starting from the main note, I think, in this case, A: Yes, in this case yes! V: because it’s a continuation of the same trill, which was spelled out a half measure before, and then you have to accelerate, as Ausra says, and then slow down. How would this make sense? Okay… A: But the best thing, I think, is to listen to recordings of this. V: Obviously yeah. If John listened to our rec...to my recording…. Haha, I said “to our recording,” as a duet, it would be funny. I would play the right hand and you would play the left hand! A: Yes, very tricky! V: Yeah... [This conversation continues in the next podcast episode. Stay tuned...]
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 440, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Carlos, and he writes: Thanks a lot Dr. Vidas and Dr. Ausra. Well, the primordial matter that I would like to reach in organ playing it's a fine performing level in public. One thing that I think it holds me, and also a matter of my capital focus it's the control of the nervousness in performance. I think that there is a lot of technique to control the panic in scene, I have used some of them and they work well, but I'm sure that you have some great hints for prepare the mind to get a major level for focusing one self in public performance. Thanks a lot for your course, it's pretty good and accurate. Greetings to you all! A: Well, okay, Dr. Vidas... V: Dr. Vidas. A: What can you tell us? V: Dr. Ausra, I think you all also have some experiences, right? A: In what, nervousness? V: (Laughs). A: Yes, we all do. I guess the main reason is a question you need to ask yourself—what causes your anxiety. Because, well, the reasons may be various, but I think one of the most important is that you are not prepared as well as you should be. V: And this is right that you are saying this of course. But to be well prepared means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Right, Ausra? Because, how many times have you been in such, in a classroom setting, when your kids, your students said, ‘oh, I practiced for hours and hours, and I could sing it if it’s an ear-training class, sing it without mistakes at all at home. But now I cannot do it in class’. A: They are lying. That’s what I realized after teaching for so many years. Because either they, if you practice for so many hours as you said and you will still could not do it, it means something is really wrong with you and maybe musician path is not your path. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Or you a little bit exaggerated the hours of your practice, which is I think more often the right case. So, of course we are all human beings and we might all experience some sort of panic during the actual performance, and there [are] always things that might happen with the instrument, or with yourself, or with your audience, or something that might not go as well as it was planned. But still I think anxiety, to have some of anxiety during performance, it’s a normal thing. And I don’t think it’s good to get rid of it entirely, because that fresh adrenaline, it gives something really vivid to your music. V: Vitality! A: Vitality, yes, to your music. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And excitement and audience gets it and it’s really fun—all this experience. So I think some of anxiety is really good—it helps you. Because otherwise your music might sound boring if you will play it like a machine, let’s say like [a] Sibelius program—it always plays no mistakes, no tempo changes, everything is perfect, but it’s dull and it’s lifeless. V: You could write down accelerando and ritenuto and they could play back to you with fluctuations in tempo of course, but that’s about, not everything the program can do today. I guess that the software is getting better and better, but to reach human interaction level, I don’t think it can, yet. A: So, basically, I could say what I do to Carlos, in order to help myself. So my first thing is I really try to prepare very well for my recitals, that I would be really confident that I did everything what I could. It means if I know I will have to perform, I need to practice in advance. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Because you always have to leave some time for yourself just in case you will have some unexpected things happening in your life. V: Imagine if you are a professional musician like yourself, but not at your level, but at the student level. But still you’ve been learning the organ and music for maybe, I don’t know, fifteen or more years, yes, before going to America. But even then Dr. Ritchie suggested you to be ready at least one month before your recital, to have a run-through one month before. Is this realistic, Ausra? A: Yes, this is realistic, I think. And that’s the way how it should be I think. V: Mmm-hmm. Would that help? A: Yes, that would help. V: To you. But for people who are not professionals and just playing organ as their hobby, I think two months are needed. A: Yes, that would be really wise. Another thing you also need to know, to breathe, during your actual performance. Because some anxiety comes during your performance, and panic attacks, because many people, especially inexperienced ones, simply forget to breathe. And breathing is crucial—it’s very important. So if you cannot control your breathe during performance then just take a few deep breaths before starting the peace and then maybe at the end of it, or maybe at the slow section of it—remember to breathe. V: It takes practice. A: Yes. It’s not so easy. V: Don’t expect to breathe during public performance when you never focus on your breathing during practice, right? Panic will do it’s own work and you will forget. Maybe you will remember a moment here and there, maybe, if you’re lucky. But if you really want to be free during public performance, you need to incorporate breathing into your daily routine. A: And the third thing which is very important, especially for those who have very few public performance experience[s] yet, you need to perform as often as you can. The more often you perform, the better you will get on the stage. V: Every ten recitals or public appearances, you will have a breakthrough. A: Yes, because, look, if you will perform often enough, you will get tired of being actually nervous, of having that anxiety, because you cannot be always afraid of it. V: Mmm-mmm. Remember Dr… A: It will become a habit for you to play in public and you will enjoy it actually. You want to be on the stage. You see some of the musicians, we are old, and we can hardly walk but we still want to play to sing in public—as they make not maybe a nice jokes about them that they will probably die on the stage. V: Remember Dr. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra at Eastern Michigan University, told us about her experiences in Germany when she was studying with Harald Vogel. She would have to perform publicly at least once a week, or maybe more, I guess, for that time, maybe for how many months she was there. And that helped her to reduce the stress level to basically zero. It was like daily task for her. Nothing special. A: And the same in America when we had studio class every week and everybody in Lincoln, everybody would play what we have learned during that week. So that way you would have to perform in a studio class each week and then we would have to play service on Sunday, and sometimes even on Saturday evening. So that’s at least two public performance a week, not counting all kind of recitals where you would take either a part in the recital or you would play solo recital. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And that’s how you built up an experience. V: The reason I live stream my practices for example, from my church on the organ on Facebook, is that not only I want to promote the largest pipe organ Lithuania, not only I want to reach more people with my playing, but I also want to reach the confidence level of my public performance and the freedom it gives. That’s, it’s not a big deal, right, for me to play in front of the camera, or in front of strangers. It’s the same thing for me too. I know I won’t stop the camera at any time. It has to be live without editing and even if I make a mistake I will have to play around it so that my audience wouldn’t notice it. A: Yes and I think there might be some cases when people cannot overcome themselves, cannot overcome that performance anxiety and it’s just there and you can do nothing. In that case I would probably suggest for such a person, especially if it’s a young one, probably not to, not play any more. That’s very sad but I think there are some cases like this. I have seen kids who would keep just shaking and shivering and panicking, and, I think that because if it’s [a] case like this, and you cannot do anything about it, maybe it’s not your way to be a professional musician. V: I have to clarify this, because I know what you’re thinking; you’re suggesting that this person might play privately, not in public. A: Or just switch to another major. V: Mmm-hmm. Earn a living in a different way and keep… A: That’s right. V: playing an instrument as a hobby. A: That’s right. V: Yeah, if it costs you too much of nerves and stress, then it’s not worth the effort, probably. Unless there is a clear path to overcome this. A: True. V: Unless you’re seeing the progress in over the months and years of reducing stress, gradually. A: Because, anyway, I think music needs to give joy, and not nerve. V: Okay guys, this was a good question. So please send us more questions like that. 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 445 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Micky, And he writes: My dream is to be a good sight reader and solving the note quickly. My problem is when I practice I am good but when I go to play it in the church I don't play it good with accuracy. V: That’s a common problem, Ausra, right? That a person is good privately, but not so good publicly. I think we all are. A: Yes, true. That’s what my kids always say to me in the classroom – “Oh, I played it at home and I was so good. But now here I can’t do it.” And then telling them, “It’s normal. Anybody experiences it. But it means you haven’t practiced enough, or you haven’t practiced the right way at home. Because, you know, you need to be ten times as good as you practice at home that you would play good in public. V: Makes sense, I think. Because there are probably ten times as more distractions during public performance than you would normally face at home. A: That’s right. V: You’re not imagining that Mr. Bach is listening to you when you’re playing, right? Therefore, you’re not as stressed out. But, when everybody’s listening to you at church, you’re playing differently. You’re thinking differently, actually. And, um, it might feel more relaxing when people are chatting, when they’re not paying attention to you, like during postlude, they’re having conversation after the liturgy with their friends and family, and the organist is just playing, like background music. A: Well, is it easier for you to play that way? For me, it’s harder. It’s harder to concentrate. V: Well, it depends on where you sit. If you’re sitting in front, and you’re seeing all those people, then yes, it’s harder. But if you are in the organ balcony and you hear your own playing very well, then it’s not that distracting. A: Well, but you know, that’s why I don’t like to play in the Cathedral of Vilnius, because during concerts, tourists can still go and leave free. V: Mm hm. A: And sometimes, you play in the middle of recital, and you feel like you are playing in the middle of the market, because you hear, you know, all those feet, you know… V: Shuffling. A: Shuffling. And it’s not a nice thing. At least, I don’t like it. V: Well, yes. I would recommend locking up the door and releasing them only after the last chord has been played. What do you say? A: Well, but maybe then they would start to talk. And what would you do? Would you use duct tape? V: Duct tape, exactly. A: To shut them down? V: You always have great ideas, Ausra. A: Yes, I would go to jail for my ideas! V: I would visit you once a month. No, maybe twice a month if you’re good to me. A: Nice. I appreciate it. V: (Laughs) A: But anyway, it’s a common problem for people like Micky, and like us, that know we are always doing better when we are playing just to ourselves. V: And the way to overcome this is probably easier than it sounds. Just measure your own level of accuracy today and three months from now. Or even one month from now. If you’re playing with less mistakes after 30 days, or maybe after, you know, 12 weeks, then you are making progress and you’re on the right path. If the accuracy hasn’t improved over that time, then you need to change the way you practice probably, right Ausra? A: Yes, because you know, making mistakes in public might be caused by two things. Either you lose your concentration, or there are still some spots in the piece that are more difficult than others. You need to check where are you making those mistakes. V: Mm hm. And the way to increase your concentration and focus is to concentrate on your breathing, as we are frequently suggesting. But do this at home as well, not only in public. Practice concentrating on your breaths, and not breathe with shallow breaths, but take deep breaths. Slowly but deeply, and maybe even rhythmically. Pick up some rhythm, maybe once every two beats, or maybe once a measure or every two measures if it’s a fast tempo. See what works for you, right? That would be my suggestion. A: Very wise. V: Yes, I am very wise. Thank you, Ausra. A: You’re welcome. V: Are you wiser than me? A: Stop doing that. V: What? A: You know what. V: Guys, if you want to keep this silliness going, please send us more questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. |
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
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