Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 412, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Terry, and he writes: Very helpful! I did the 12 week course earlier and that was very helpful, as well, but did not have the scales. There are a couple of scales, however, that may require orthopedic surgery on my ankles to achieve a legato perfection! But, I will stay with it. Thanks for all you do. Terry V: Terry is talking about probably, our Pedal Virtuoso Master Course. And not everyone is able to do those scales and arpeggios, I think. But, as he says, orthopedic surgery is certainly not needed. A: Definitely. No wonder you hurt yourself. V: Right. As we always emphasize, technique exists for a person, and not the other way around. If something doesn’t feel right, adjust it, or skip it. Agree? A: That’s right. Don’t hurt yourself. I’ts the most important thing. V: Umm… A: But of course, I know what Terry means. I remember myself playing Dupré’s first preludes, first preludes out of those famous three ones: B Major, G minor… V: And F minor. A: And F minor. V: F minor is the second... A: Yes, F minor is the slowest, the second one. And G minor is probably the most famous, the third one. So I played the first one—B Major. And fugue actually had that fast and very elaborated subject, and it was quite a pain for me to play legato in the pedal. V: Mmm-hmm. Right! You need the higher heels. A: That’s right. And you might need to cheat sometimes, a little bit—just a little bit, to reach very wide intervals. V: Talking about the heels, last night, or not last night, maybe a couple of nights before, we had Unda Maris Studio rehearsal, and I found that one person needed organ shoes. But in Lithuania, what you have to do is either order shoes from abroad, over the internet, or go to some local shops and see what fits. But there is a third option too. I also found dancers shoe shop. And we saw online catalog, and it seems that some of the dance shoes really fit to play the organ too. A: Yes. Dance shoes are good. Not of course all, not the ballroom dances, but like folk type dances. V: Mmm-hmm. A: The shoes for them are suited well to play organ too. V: Right! So, do you think, Ausra, that men's shoes also could have high heels sometimes? A: Well, it’s hard for me to say because I’m not a man. V: But it doesn’t hurt, right? A: Yes, probably, because if now if I compare to organ shoes, men and women, definitely women's heel is higher than men’s. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So… V: Maybe it’s because, it’s a generalization of course, but men are sometimes or often higher than women. A: But still, if you are playing the pedalboard, then [it] doesn’t matter how long your feet, how long your legs are. Because I’m just talking about the high heels… V: Uh-huh. A: How high the heel is. V: Probably what matters most is how long your lower legs are. A: Probably how long is your foot itself. V: And foot, right? So, yeah. Maybe extending your heels would be sometimes wise—artificial extending. A: (Laughs). Yes. Make a surgery to extend your foot. V: No! (Laughs). I just say, what you could go to the shoemaker and ask him or her to adjust the heel—make it longer, higher. A: That’s right. V: Okay, so, maybe I’m not sure with what kind of shoes Terry is playing pedal scales too. Some people play with socks, without shoes. A: Well, don’t do it. I don’t think it’s a wise thing. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Then you can really hurt yourself. V: That’s right. But any rate, when you learn those scales, then they stay with you. It’s a good warm-up exercise before your regular practice. You could spend fifteen minutes every day just polishing up your skills and arpeggios before you really start playing the repertoire, hymns or improvisation or anything else. Right Ausra? A: That’s right. V: Thank you guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: 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 403, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Leon. And he writes: Dear Ausra and Vidas, Remind your students of Dupré 79 Chorals, a very useful set. I’m almost halfway through it and he gives the difficulty level on the last page of his introduction. Grace and peace, Leon V: Are you familiar, Ausra, with this set? A: Yes, I have seen this set, I have played a few of them. V: I love this set for a few reasons. First of all, probably because in the preface of “79 chorals”, Dupré writes his memorization procedures. Earlier, I was talking on the podcast about how Dupré and Walcha memorized differently. So, Dupré memorizes by taking a fragment of 4 mesures, and memorize mesure by mesure. Then 2 mesures at a time : 1+2, 2+3, 3+4. Then 3 measures at a time : 1+2+3, 2+3+4, and then everything together, 1, 2, 3, and 4. Always starting and ending on the downbeat. A: It even sounds boring as you’re telling this, and you know, to apply this to practice, it would kill me. I never used any method of memorization because it took me lots of trouble to do it, and I often tried to memorize things very fast and at the last moments, and then I would experience this panic attack “No I have to go and perform” and I still have nightmares about it so, in general I don’t like to talk about memorization. V: That’s why you and me will never become rectors of Paris Conservatory! A: That’s ok with me! V: And never win the “Grand Prix of Rome” in composition. A: Do you think if I would decide now to apply this method and to memorize some pieces everyday, I would still be able to achieve such a career? V: Only if you cut your wrist and play pedals with vengeance for 3 months, like he did in his youth. A: Wow! Maybe I’ll just stick to my life and my path. But well, let’s go back to the “79 chorals” collection. I think it’s a wonderful set to have, especially for church musicians, it’s very handy. Because they are all based on the choral tunes, so all of them have a title, and you can apply them for various occasions, depending on your church calendar, so it’s very handy. The only problem might be that not everybody likes Dupré’s musical style. V: True. Plus, he writes that thos “79 chorals” are meant to be like an introduction before a student is ready to play Bach’s music, Bach’s Orgelbüchlein chorals for example. Because if you jump in and start with Bach’s Orgelbüchlein chorals, they’re too difficult for the beginner. And the easiest one from “79 chorals”, it only has 3 parts and it moves I think in 8 notes, like a short trio, like Lemmens would write. But this is more extended but not too much, you see. But I see just one problem with that : in Dupré’s understanding, all of these chorals should be played completely legato. And if the student buys Dupré’s collection, reads the preface, starts to practice like Dupré recommends – and he also talks about articulation and legato-playing – then a student, after finishing quite a few of those chorals, would jump into Orgelbüchlein by Bach. And what would happen? He wouldn’t know how to play with articulation. A: Well, anyway, if I would be working with this collection, I wouldn’t connect these two collections together, Bach and Dupré. These are completely different, so I don’t think you need to connect them. V: But he was intending… A: Well, it’s okay, but, well, he’s dead for a long time now so, do you think he would be mad if somebody wouldn’t play these two collections one after another? V: Believe me, if you saw Dupré now, an apparition of Dupré, you would want to play his chorals legato! A: Well, you know I remember, once when we studied at Michigan University and Pamela, during Lent time at Peace Auditorium, on that wonderful Eolian Skinner organ, she had this recital of Dupré, huh… V: Stations of the Cross. A: Yes and she had these beautiful slides and there was local priest, not far from campus, he was reading from the Bible. So it was a sort of very serious, nice event. And the priest liked Pamela very much and he liked those slides very much but about Dupré’s music he wasn’t, you know… V: Impressed? A: Impressed at all. So, you know, it’s a matter of taste really. V: Uh-uhm. But as a purely pedagogical collection I think it has real value because, as Leon says, at the end of this collection, a student can check in which order he or she should play. Because Dupré gives the order of difficulty. A: Plus because it’s a light collection and these pieces are not too hard and not too long so it’s really well suited for a church organist, because we’re always short on this kind of music that we can learn fast and apply to a service. V: Yeah. So it could be a nice introduction to trio-playing or legato techniques if one would need to play later let’s say Boellmann or Franck, or Vierne. Right? For Bach I think, if one would think of playing Bach after Dupré, then I would probably suggest they should articulate even Dupré, you know? Do you agree? Say yes. A: Well… V: Say yes please! A: Well, I wouldn’t agree. Because Dupré is Dupré and Bach is Bach. You need to use some articulation in Dupré of course, because of freezing and repeated notes. But… I wouldn’t read Dupré as Bach, as well as I wouldn’t read Bach as modern romantic. V: Uh-uh. So, what can you say, just one piece or composer, what would you play before Bach, if you were just starting to play the organ? But not Bach. A: Well, you mean baroque composers? V: Yes, as a preparation for Bach. A: Well, maybe Pachelbel. V: Pachelbel, that’s right. Bach studied from Pachelbel scores too. A: True. V: He rewrote them and made them into larger compositions. A: And I remember Pachelbel’s is also a good choice for church musicians. There is a Dover publications of complete works of Pachelbel. I don’t think it includes entirely all compositions, but it has you know, huge selection of his music and I enjoyed working with that collection when I was a church organist. V: You’re talking about choral compositions? A: Yes, chorals, not free works. V: Free works I think is another set in Dover collection. A: So I think Pachelbel is a good composer to prepare you for Bach. V: And he wrote versets in Magnificat, Dover reprinted them too. So yeah. Thank you guys for listening and sending in those wonderful 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 413 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Eddie. He writes: Hi Vidas and Ausra! I enjoy your ideas on improvisation in the modern style. I am now ready to embark at the fairly late age of 69 today, on the challenging and exciting path of improvisation on the organ. I must confess, however, that I am at this stage a real dummy and raw beginner, but I have a great desire and urge to be able to at least be able to improvise somewhat before I die. I have also embarked on online organ teaching, which is also an exciting endeavor for me. God bless, and keep on with your and your wife’s good work for organists. Regards, Eddie V: What are your thoughts, Ausra, for starters, about Eddie’s improvisation efforts when he is 69 years old? A: I think that it’s amazing that people at various ages pursue their dreams. I think it’s wonderful, because you know that you have dreams, you do something new, you learn something new, it means you will not get old so soon. V: You are so right, Ausra. I just, you know, have this laptop in my lap. And when I open my new window on the browser, by clicking new tab, I get this greeting, “Good morning, Vidas! What is your main focus for today?” The computer talks to me. And there is a sentence for every day, and today, the sentence is, “Anyone who stops learning is old.” (laughs) Henry Ford. A: So it just proves what I am saying, if you are still interested in something and learning new things, it means you are not old. V: Exactly. And the most probably inventive and successful people on earth never stop learning. A: I think it’s very important to stay curious about something all the time. V: That’s right, Ausra. What are you curious today about? A: Well today, I am curious about how I will draw the comic. Because the theme of today is very interesting. It’s Iron Man, and I probably will have to draw Spiky as an Iron Man, and so far I don’t have an idea how to do it. V: Put Spiky in armor. A: That’s right. V: I might have to either develop your idea further, like steal your idea, or do an Iron Man from another character. Maybe our bird, Cornelius. A: That’s true. So now, what do you think about new learning improvisation at the age of 69? Do you think it’s a very hard thing? Or it’s possible? V: No, of course everything is possible. But with age, probably people need more patience. A: Do you think people in general are more patient with age, or not? V: It depends on how you react into, onto the changes and other circumstances around you. I’ve seen people who are patient, and I’ve seen people who are getting very impatient, too. A: So, Vidas, could you tell us what would be your steps if you would be 69 and would want to learn to improvise. What actions would you take? V: I assume Eddie is interested in modern style. I’m interested in modern style as well. So, I’m like the idea of starting small at the beginning. Limiting yourself at the start, and not worrying about too many stylistical ideas or technical details, but choosing just a few notes, maybe 4 notes to improvise on. Like C, D, E, and F. That could be a nice exercise. Start a timer and improvise on those 4 notes without stopping for 2 minutes or 5 minutes or 10 minutes, always trying to do something interesting with those 4 notes. And you can use any octave, any hand, you can play with pedals those pitches, any order you can mix them up. You can have different rhythms, and you can have, of course, different registration, texture. So that would be my first step. And I think it works. A: Yes, I think it would work. V: If 4 notes are too much, you know, some beginners really don’t have a good grasp of 4 fingers at all, so maybe start with one note. Let’s say C. And since you only are worrying about the note C, the pitches are not important. Everything is C. It’s like a percussion instrument, and you are only worrying about rhythms then. And do anything that you want with the pitch C, but try to do interesting rhythms. And after awhile, you can do 2 pitches after a few days, when you get comfortable. C and D. Then you will have more, like what I do with 2 pitches. It’s like, jump from C to D, it’s unbelievable. If you think one note, then suddenly 2 notes. And those 2 notes say a lot, right? I know some people might laugh at the idea, starting with C alone, but it depends on where you are. If you never touched the organ before, or keyboard before, or if you’re so afraid of making mistakes when you improvise, and you will make many mistakes, and that’s okay. Actually, make as many mistakes as you want – the more, the better. That’s my… A: Because it’s improvisation, so there cannot be mistakes. Is that right? V: Yes and no, right? If you say to yourself, “It’s a mistake,” then it’s a mistake, right? If you say “No, it’s not a mistake,” then you can elaborate that so-called mistake into an episode. Sometimes, I improvise and make sound a little bit different than what I intended. But then, I repeat a few times the same idea, and it becomes something that I intentionally did. A: I have noticed that a few times in your improvisation, yes. V: Like I had this very loud episode playing with mixtures and reeds with my hands and feet, like a culmination, and then suddenly I want to play softly, and I gradually, you know, start to reduce the stops on the manuals. Or maybe jump on the second manual and play with strings, and I sometimes forget to reduce the pedals, and this bombarde is, “BUH” like a real trombone, suddenly out of nowhere. A: Like a beast. V: So, what do I do then? I repeat it a few times. A: Repeat it, yes. V: Maybe not right away, but after 10 seconds, I repeat it. Just one note, aha. So then I have 2 trombone notes. And then maybe third time, I repeat the same note again. And maybe listeners will understand, “Oh, that’s intentional, and something, he wants to express some idea with this low bombarde note.” A: So, it’s like cheating your audience, and cheating yourself in a way. V: It’s actually going with the flow. You know, wherever your mind goes, you follow. A: So, if I understand, during improvisation, the most important thing is not to stop. V: Exactly. That is why we recommend timers. Resist the temptation to stop. The first 90 seconds are the most difficult. Actually, the first second is the most difficult. Just to sit down on the bench. A: Very exciting! V: But when you reach, let’s say, 5 minutes, you don’t want to stop. You discover, “oh, that’s interesting,” and you want to elaborate it, and when the timer goes off after maybe 10 minutes, you suddenly think, “Why did it end so quickly?” you know. A: That’s what I also noticed in your improvisations. I think, “this is the culmination, and now the end will come,” but it’s not. There’s another combination and then another one, and how will you finish it up? V: Towards the end of my recital, I have this thought, “How do I finish?” And sometimes, the piece itself, the improvisation itself, suggests the ending, too. Like, if I play some very fast running passages in the hands, maybe I can finish abruptly. We’ve gone downwards or upwards, and stop it like that, like vanishing. Not necessarily five long chords like at the end of a symphony. Sometimes I do that too, of course. A: Very exciting. So I hope Eddie got some ideas from your thoughts. V: And I always say, “Record yourself, and if you are brave, share it online for others to see.” And this feedback will help you grow, will help you sit down on the organ bench again. And participate in our Secrets of Organ Playing Contest. Remember, you don’t have to play repertoire all the time, you can play anything you want. A: Yes, we are looking forward to hear your playing. V: Yes. 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 408 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Sally, and she writes: I worked on registration for my prelude this weekend and practiced one of the Hymns. I also worked on the Beginning Pedal studies, Day 5, and reviewed Days 1 through 4. These are a struggle for me because I am trying to following the pedal markings and am not comfortable with thirds. I don't usually want to do them with the same foot (either toe/heel or heel/toe) as I am not very accurate. The pedal studies are forcing me to work on that technique. I also tend to not use my left foot on the upper right side of the pedal board, so I am working on this as well. V: Sally is our Total Organist student, and this question, I asked at the end of the day what she was working on, and she apparently is struggling with playing thirds with the same foot on the pedals. What do you think, Ausra? A: I think many of us share this same struggle. Is it easy for you to play thirds with one foot? V: If I play without my shoes, yes, it’s very difficult, because you need heels. Right? A: Yes, but I think that, of course, you need shoes, I couldn’t agree more, but it also depends on how long your foot is. You have a longer foot, longer feet in general, so I think it’s probably easier for you. I don’t have such a long foot, and sometimes I struggle with playing thirds, too, because how will you extend your foot? It’s impossible, unless you buy bigger shoes, but then you might lose them on the organ bench. V: Exactly. A basketball player might easily play a fifth on the organ, with his size. Right? A: Well, true, but I think he or she would have another problem, and would hit, probably, a few keys at the same time. V: And probably the bench will be too low for him. A: So, all of us are different, and we all have to adjust to the organ. V: But what I liked about Sally’s report is that she doesn’t give up easily, and if something doesn’t come easily, she practices repeatedly, and I think one more issue with why playing in thirds is more difficult than playing in seconds is because you have to move your ankle even more with thirds. Right? A: That’s true, ankle flexibility is a problem for some people. V: And with practice, flexibility improves! Which means that it should come easier with time for Sally and others who are struggling with this. A: Yes! I thought about a funny thing when you said that flexibility will improve with practice. I thought, “What would happen if you would break your ankle, if you would try to practice too hard?” V: It’s the same as with stretching in the morning or in the evening. If someone does any kind of stretching, like Pilates or Yoga. If you try too hard, then it’s unhealthy. A: Yes, and I think that it is always harder to practice in the morning, the same as to do physical exercises in the morning, because on the one hand you are all fresh, but your body is very stiff in the morning. V: Right. Physical activity tends to go easier in the afternoon. That’s why singers don’t like to sing their pieces in a public setting in the morning. A: It’s because the voice is still sleeping for a few hours after you wake up. V: You might even notice my voice today. It’s sleeping, still! A: Well, it’s okay. It sounds okay for me. Well, I wanted to discuss another issue about this question about pedal exercises. Do you think they need to be polished, like 100%, each of them? V: Maybe, let’s say, 70% is quite enough, not 100%. Because, it’s technical exercise. Right? It’s not like a finished organ composition which you can play in public, or to yourself with satisfaction, an artistically pleasing manner. No, it’s just an exercise which leads to a better technique. And I always think that technique exists for person and not the other way around—the person doesn’t exist for the technique. And if something is really really uncomfortable and feels unhealthy, you have to either adapt it, or just skip. A: Yes, that’s what I thought, too, because these are not repertoire pieces, these are just technical exercises to help you to improve your technique, and even when you choose the repertoire for yourself, you need to sightread it through and see if it’s possible for you to do, that it does not have some goals that you cannot reach yet. V: Because for some people, their palm flexibility, or reach, is greater than others, and they could reach more than an octave, easily, and for some, they barely reach an octave! And if such piece has wide intervals or double thirds, double sixths, then thick texture makes playing very difficult for small hands. A: True, so you always have to check things. V: But maybe early music is your strength, and maybe trio sonatas would sound wonderful for you, because each hand only takes just one voice! A: Well, and there are later compositions that need such a playful technique, sort of small technique. V: True. Okay, guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please send us your wonderful 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 410, of Secret of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by May, who our Total Organist student. And she writes: Hi Vidas! Thank you for sending the Week 5 material of Harmony for Organists Level 1. My keyboard harmony is weak and I am still struggling with the harmonic progression from week 3, running behind. It takes a long time going through each of the six – tonic to dominant, dominant to tonic, tonic to subdominant, subdominant to tonic – the six closed and open chord forms in only the major and minor scales with one sharp or less, not including the one flat scales. I started practicing these harmonic progressions are Wednesday. I’m playing better than two days ago, but still have to pause and think, for example, which is the common note, and also going up or down. I don’t have time to write down the chords before I practice. It is also much difficult to play all four notes by hands only. My question is, how good should I be with three harmonic progression exercises before I proceed with four? Thanks! ~May V: What do you think, Ausra? This is your expertise. A: Well, it depends on what your final goal is. Well, what I do at school with my kids, I usually spend two weeks on one theme, on one subject. Let’s say the first theme is how to connect two chords with the common note. And we spend maybe not so much as two weeks on this subject, because it is quite easy – this is the easiest way to connect two chords if you have a common note. But, it, you know, it matters what your final goal is. Because what we do at school, we do written exercises first, but we play them on the piano, of course, from your head, not from the score. And then we sing them. V: Mm-hm. A: Which is the hardest way to do. And earlier we had to sing it from our head, now we allow them to write down first and sing from the score. And when we achieve this goal in two weeks, then we move to a new subject. V: I feel that you are such a great teacher in harmony, Ausra! A: (laughs) Well, I don’t think I am so great, but I am doing my best. V: Do your students appreciate you? A: Some of them, yes. But some of them just struggle too hard. V: But probably all of them understand that you are an expert at this. A: Definitely, yes. I don’t think we have any doubt about it. V: But you said earlier that some of them just tried to do tricks with you, right? They ask you why is this so here and here and here, and you have to explain to them even though you see that they don’t understand the basics, right? A: Yes, I have. V: They try to catch you. But not so much now. A: No. Usually, I am the one who catches them – cheating, for example. V: Interesting. A: This is funny, when we are doing exercises in four voices, you have to have, you know, soprano, alto, tenor, and bass from the beginning to the end – there’s no exceptions. And sometimes, I see there are no erasing marks, V: Uh-huh, erasing. A: Erasing marks, yes. And everything is so clean and nice. And suddenly in one spot, there is like, one or two measures of tenor voice missing (laughs). And I see that we cheated and we took this exercise from somebody and rewrote it. It makes me laugh, but also, you know, I laugh in my mind. I don’t show it. I think it’s a very bad way and wrong head to take things from others and place them as your own. V: Do you think there is a market for selling your homework to a student? (laughs) A: I don’t think, not yet. But who knows? In the future, somebody might get rich! V: Yeah, like me! A: Yes, true! V: But I might make mistakes. A: You know, by now, after teaching for fourteen years keyboard harmony, I’m pretty good at determining who can do what. And if somebody will bring me work, I’m pretty good at determining if they made it by themselves or not, V: I will do my work, and you will determine if I did it myself or not. Yesterday, we cleaned the house, and do you think I cleaned it myself, or not? A: Well, yes, but I had to struggle for a long time that you will do your part of the job. V: (laughs) Oh gosh. This is funny. Do you want me to tell the guys, our listeners, what I wrote to May? A: Sure. V: In response to her question, I wrote, Thanks, May! You are certainly on the right track. Ausra’s harmony students at school also generally play very slowly such exercises. I would say, strive for fluency, but at a slow tempo, before going to the next week’s exercises. But, if you mentally understand the structure, even though you still get stuck in executing them, maybe you can go on to the next one if you feel it’s good enough. Something like three mistakes is okay. And she wrote: Thank you for your quick response to this. I tried the Week 4 exercises, transposing sequences, and I actually found them easier than Week 3. In Week 4 exercises, the chords are in closed positions with the right hand playing three notes and the left hand playing one note. I find it much more manageable than playing the progressions with chords in open position. Thanks again. A: Yes, definitely open position is much harder than closed position. V: And especially if you are playing this on the organ, you have to play just tenor with the left hand, and bass with the pedals. A: True. And at school, actually we only play on the piano. But I always require that my students would play two voices with the left hand and two voices with the right hand. Because it’s easier when you have technical exercise, and you have one position throughout the exercise, either closed or open. But generally, when you start to harmonize more complex things, the positions change in the exercise. V: Within the exercise. A: Yes. V: So both positions are very useful to know. A: True. But if you are thinking in the long term about mixing all these positions, then it’s easier, you have two voices in one hand and two in another, because it’s easier to think about voice leading. V: Ausra, do you like harmony? A: Yes, I like it very much. V: I can feel that our listeners will feel that too, that you enjoy teaching harmony actually. Not only harmony as a subject itself, but actually communicating your knowledge with others. A: Yes, it’s quite fun. I like it! V: That is nice. A: Because I believe that knowing harmony puts a ground for a solid musician. V: Mm-hm. You don’t regret that you know so much about harmony? A: No, definitely not. V: Mm-hm. You know much more about music in general then, because of harmony. A: True, true. Because now I can sort of understand any given piece of music. Because I can analyze the harmonies. It tells a lot about the piece. V: Mm-hm. It’s like reading a poem in Japanese. You know what it means, you can translate. A: True. Of course, I don’t know Japanese, so. V: So you’re like a harmony translator for people. A: That’s right. V: Nice. A: And I give my students exercises, you know, of analyzing some excerpts from the music itself. And I like to tease them sometimes, talking about cadences, and keys, and non-chordal notes. We don’t like this kind of exercises, some of them. Because you need to think. And we don’t like to think. V: Can I ask you something? A: Sure. V: Remember, you did those keyboard harmony exercises videos. Sometimes I recorded them for you, you were playing, and sometimes you recorded them by yourself. And I know being on camera is not your, not your best way to spend your free time, right? A: Definitely. I don’t like cameras. V: To put it easily. Do you feel differently about it now than a couple of years ago when you did it? A: Well, I still don’t think I would like to be on camera. V: I mean, not you on camera, just your hands on camera. A: Still. V: (laughs) A: It’s me, it’s my hands and my voice. V: Is your, are your hands so precious and private? A: No, I think I’m just too shy for such kind of exhibition. V: Exhibition? It’s not exhibition! A: Still. You know what I mean. V: Excellent. So, guys, if you want Ausra to change her mind and do more of these videos, because I can’t change her mind for you, ask her! Be very persuasive, more persuasive than I. Okay? And 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 409, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jeremy, who is on the team of transcribing fingering and pedaling for us. So he writes: Finished transcribing fingering for BWV 541. Normal practice routine. Am getting a little frustrated with the Bach Dorian Fugue. The Toccata is in good shape, with two transitions requiring some attention, but the fugue is simply being difficult. Trying to speed it up: working on two pages a day, starting at half speed, and then working it up. There are moments that aren't a problem, but there are an equal number of sections that I am having getting up to speed. Will try again tomorrow. Just venting. V: I’m happy that Jeremy doesn’t give up after a few unsuccessful attempts with the Dorian Fugue, don’t you think? A: Yes. He’s very brave, and I think we all should be. It’s natural to struggle with fugues. They are usually much more difficult and much more complex than preludes. And why do you think it is so, Vidas? V: Thank you, for this thoughtful question. I think fugues are polyphonically much more complex because even though preludes might have polyphonic sections within the prelude, but fugue is contrapuntal throughout, which means that each voice imitates other voices—takes up a theme, and this theme is presented in different shapes and ways, in different voices and keys. And your mind has to notice all of that. All the while other voices are playing something else sometimes—even more complex things. Four part polyphony, like in the Dorian Fugue—I’m not sure, maybe it’s even five part, five parts polyphony. Could be. It’s really complex for your feet and hand, and your mind especially to grasp. And because this is alla breve meter, not 4/4, but 2/2, basically two half notes per measure. It is much faster tempo and you have to adjust to that. A: Well, then what do you think about speeding things up? Do you think it’s worth to push or somehow you need to keep working in a slow tempo, and tempo will speed up by itself? V: Yes, and no. Yes means that if you are not ready to speed up, then working in a faster tempo will just damage the texture, probably. But if you are ready to start pushing it up, upwards, then maybe working in smaller fragments in a really fast tempo—in a concert tempo, and stopping at the end of the fragment, and then continuing in a fast tempo and then stopping again—would be a good way to go. Maybe stopping at each half note first, and then at each measure, at each, every two measures, every four measures, and so on, always doubling the fragment. A: Yes! I think that would be very helpful. V: But if this doesn’t help; sometimes people write me that ‘I tried this, but still, it’s a struggle’. You need to understand that each, let’s say, step, right? When you’re playing this with stops, you have to do repeatedly, not just once. So if you’re only playing a fugue, or any piece of music just once in your practice, and playing another piece, it doesn’t count as complete practice. You need to work several days like that—stopping on the smallest beat. And only when you’re feeling that you’re playing without mistakes like that, then you go to the second step—doubling the fragment. For some people, it’s as long as one week, for one combination. A: True! Do you think that knowing the structure of the fugue will help? Analyzing complete fugue, would help to learn it easier. V: Mmm-hmm. Of course, this fugue which Bach wrote, is a canonic fugue. It has many canons. And various kinds of canons. I mean, sometimes in inversion, sometimes in different intervals too. So when you’re playing slowly first, you write down what you see. You write which voices playing the subject, you write the key of that subject. What else? You write the number of subject appearance, one, two, three, four five, etc. And you could also write, you could write the counterpoint, if it is counterpoint one, two, three sometimes. They are interchangeable in some fugues. You notate everything, and you notice, especially—it’s important to notice when you’re practice—what you have notated, what you have analyzed. Would that help, Ausra? A: Yes, because I think you know what voice does what. You will play differently. Because when subject appears, it’s important to show it off for people, and to hear it yourself, because if you will not hear it, nobody will hear it. And it’s very important. So I think understanding the structure will help you to learn faster, and to know what you are doing, and to play it with more success. V: I would just add, with fugues, because they have constant number of voices, it’s also very beneficial to sing one voice and play the others. Of course it would be too difficult to play three voices and sing one, but maybe start with singing one voice, play and singing solo voice, any voice you choose. And then add one voice of accompaniment—one hand or pedals. And then do all the combinations. And then maybe three voices, meaning you sing one and play two. And after while you will be ready to do voices—sing one and play four. What benefit you see in this practice, Ausra? A: Well, it’s very complex in benefit, because will develop your pitch, and you will develop your coordination, and you will definitely deepen your knowledge of music in general. V: It’s basically the same practice that you do with kids at school in ear training classes. A: True! And I’m trying to convince them that they need to sing when they are practicing piano. I don’t know if they are doing that but this is one of the best ways to make better your pitch. V: Mmm-hmm. Improve. A: Improve, your pitch, yes. V: But always sing what you are not playing—never double the voice and the instrument. A: Well, I don’t think it’s that important. You might want to play all and sing one voice. V: At first. A: At first, yes because otherwise it might be too difficult for the beginner. V: Mmm. A: Plus because of the singing, it might change things too. But that yes, the wise technique is that you won’t play that voice which you are singing. V: Excellent. A: And this is very helpful technique if you are playing on the piano, organ piece. Then you can sing pedal parts. That way you will have entire texture. V: Exactly. Good advice! I hope will be helpful to people. So please keep sending us your wonderful questions. We love helping you grow. And remember; when you practice... V: Miracles happen! SOPP407: I'm taking two lines from a hymn every day and taking it through the circle of fifths3/2/2019
Ausra: Hello, guys, this is Ausra.
Vidas: And Vidas. A: Let’s start question number 407, sent by Jeremy. And he asks about transposing: I'm taking two lines from a hymn every day and taking it through the circle of fifths. A: So, what do you think, Vidas? Is this a good way to transpose? V: This is actually a very clever way. Maybe for some people, two lines, maybe it’s too short, for some people it’s too long, or for some people it’s just right. What would you do? A: Well, if I would be transposing using the circle of fifths, I probably would choose the shortest segment, because it sounds like a sequence from a piece if it’s made in the circle of fifths. Probably I would in such a case, would pick up only two measures. V: I would sometimes transpose the entire hymn, but that’s advanced knowledge I think. For people who are just starting, one line is plenty, and one line is maybe four measure long. A: Well, and I know that you are an expert of transposition. How many ways do you know how to transpose things? V: Maybe, three, right? A: Well, yes. I’m a superior teacher of those three ways. V: You’re an expert too. A: Well, yes, such is a life. V: So, what are these ways? The first way of course is just to transpose by a given interval, right? A: Yes, that’s probably most common way. But not necessarily easiest the one. V: Mmm-hmm. The second is transposing by changing the clef. A: True. But... V: Which means that on the same line, has to be a different note, in a different clef. You have to figure out the key and which kind of clef you will need. For example; in treble clef, on the first line, is the note E, and if the hymn is in, on the first note is… A: C. V: C, in treble. A: Yes, on the bottom line is the note C. Because all the clefs, all the C clefs… V: Oh. I’m not talking about C clef—about treble clef—G clef. A: Oh. Okay. V: So, on the bottom… A: Does anybody still uses it? Because that’s one of the oldest keys. V: I think we are talking about… A: It’s old French key, yes? It’s old French key. V: We are talking about different terms. How would you call G clef which you use every day, in English? A: Treble clef. V: Treble clef! And that’s what I’m talking about now. So, on the bottom line is the note E. And if you need, for example, E Major, then the first scale degree is on the lowest note. So in a different key, then you would also need to have the first scale degree on the lowest line. A: Well, that’s what I meant. Why would use the soprano clef? V: Depending on the key… A: Because the C would be on the bottom line. V: But what kind of key then you would need? C Major, right? A: Yes. V: So, transposing from E Major to C Major, or major or minor third downward, you will need a, to change the clef into the soprano clef. A: But is it always possible to change the clefs? V: It is, because there are ten clefs altogether. A: But don’t you think it’s very hard for like non-advanced musician to know all of them and to manipulate them so easily? V: It is hard. So then the first method is easier. A: Because in reality nowadays, there are only four clefs that are in actual use—daily use. And also not for all musicians because we use treble clef, we use bass clef and we use two of the C clefs—alto and tenor. V: But you know, what is good about clefs? That you can take it few steps further, once you get comfortable with them. And if you like to improvise a fugue for example, you could just transpose your subject this way by changing the clef. Not only fugue but any type of composition or improvisation which is based on a subject which needs to be transposed throughout. A: True, but it’s quite an advanced technique. V: It is. It is. A: I think that probably the easiest way to transpose, is to change accidentals in the same clef. Of course in that way you can only transpose by half-step, but it’s very easy. V: That’s number three. A: Yes, that’s number three. For example, you have piece written in F Major, then you just imagine that it’s written in F# Major, so you sort of change the accidentals, next to the… V: Mmm-hmm. A: Clefs, and that’s it. V: But if you need to transpose into G Major, then you have to use another method. A: Well, yes and no. You could imagine G# Major key. It will have six… V: G flat you mean? A: No. Not G flat, but G sharp. V: What is that? A: (Laughs). G# Major key—you don’t know it? It has six sharps and one double-sharp. V: Oh. (Laughs). A: If you don’t use the circle of fifths, then you’re making it. You would go after C# Major key, you would have G# Major key. V: Uh-huh. A: And if you would play some compositions by Chopin, you would find keys like this. They’re not used in the real life but they are still exist. V: What about A Major then? How many double sharps would you have. A: Well you would have just to transpose it half-step down—into A flat major. V: Which method would that be? A: Changing accidentals. From A Major to A flat Major. V: No. From F Major to A Major, or A flat Major? A: Well then you will have to choose the given interval. V: The first method. A: Yes. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Because the first method works all the time—all the time. V: Mmm-hmm. You just transpose by intervals, or you transpose by changing the clefs, which is harder. Or you change the accidentals, which is the third method, but only it’s by half-step up or half-step down. A: Yes, and then you want to actually transpose by a third… V: Mmm-hmm. A: It’s easy to switch a key from the bass to the treble or otherwise. V: Mmm-hmm. A: That’s how my students at school cheats on me. V: Oh. A: Because I’m asking them to transpose by a second, and they asking, ‘Oh, could we transpose by a third?’ And then we just change these two keys. V: Nice. A: So guys, I hope this discussion was useful for you. In anyway, transposition is a very useful thing for musician, and very useful thing for your brain. And this was Ausra. V: And Vidas. A: And remember; when you practice... V: Miracles happen! SOPP405: I’m wondering if you know of any settings of the psalms for liturgical use in Lithuanian?2/28/2019
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 405 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Justin, and he writes: Hi Vidas and Ausra, Greetings from Australia. I’m wondering if you know of any settings of the psalms for liturgical use in Lithuanian? Ideally I’m looking for the responsorial psalms for Sundays only for all three years. I would be grateful for any advice you may have. Regards Justin V: It appears, Ausra, that Justin is interested in knowing more about Lithuanian psalms. Right? What we sing in churches, and how it is that we do it. A: Well, because Lithuania is mostly a Catholic country, one psalm is required for each Mass. V: Right. I was checking with our friend Paulius, who is the organist of St. Joseph Church here in Vilnius, if he knows of any collections of responsorial psalms, but, there seems to be a lack of such systematization in Lithuania, and what he does is he creates his own. So, Ausra, if you had to sing your psalm tune today—you went to the mass, and you found a text of the Psalm, and you had to figure out a melody, what would you do? A: I would use those eight psalm tunes. But for a refrain, I would just use maybe one phrase from that psalm tune, or something in that mode. V: Something like the notes of the mode? A: Yes, something that would be easy for people to repeat, to remember. V: I’d do the same, but sometimes I tend to repeat myself, and it’s kind of boring, too. So…. A: Well, you know, if I may say so, during psalms, not the melody is the most important thing, but the words! So, whatever. You can sing them on one single note, and it would be still okay, because it’s recited text, actually. V: What if the Psalms, when, for example the cantor alone sings, is on mostly repeated notes, like in psalm tone, but the refrain is more or less fluid without too many repeated notes. Is it better? A: Well, it might be difficult for the congregation to respond if the refrain is very elaborated. Because, I do have a very good musical memory, but sometimes the cantor picks up a very interesting refrain; even for me, it’s too hard to follow, and I remember it right after maybe three or four repetitions, you know, maybe at the last response of that psalm. But it needs to be memorable, that you would be able to remember it right away, after one repetition. V: You’re right. And I would probably use the notes of the mode or the psalm tone, and start and end on the first note of the mode, so that people would know where the so-called tonic pitch is. A: Do you remember that old Senkus book…. V: Hymnal? A: Hymnal, yes. I think he had quite a few hymns based on Psalms, basically. V: That’s right, I remember that. So, Senkus was a musically trained priest, who created two editions of his hymnal, and he composed his own refrains of the Psalms, too. So anybody with some training and musical knowledge in their own way, not only in Lithuanian, but in their own language too. A: Sure. V: So guys, we hope this was useful. Please experiment with your psalm tones, and let us know how it goes. And, please keep sending us your wonderful 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 402 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Ariane, and she writes: I started with week 3 of my hymn improvisation course and tried to play my current organ pieces at a faster tempo (which I saw on YouTube- St. Sulpice...). But when I play faster it just sounds rushed, irregular and without any real feeling. V: Let’s discuss, Ausra, first, those Hymn Improvisation Course exercises that she is working on in week three, because the first four weeks is created like note against note counterpoint, so against one note of the chorale, the student has to add one note of the counterpoint, and vice versa, and they switch, bass-soprano, soprano-bass. Does this sound reasonable for four weeks in a row? A: Yes, I think that’s very good for starters. V: I think there is no need to rush, because of course, you could do each week, one more difficult set—two notes against note, one note or three notes against one—but that would be, I think, too fast. A: Especially if you are a beginner, because usually exercises like this are done in the written form before playing them and practicing them, so… V: So, she’s in week three, and next week, she will get a set of exercises, too, and then in week 5, we will start practicing improvising the second voice in 8th notes, for the selected hymn tunes, which means two notes against one. And that will be another level. I think by that time, she will have some fluency over the first level, note against note, and she will be ready to jump in and get started with 8th notes. A: Yes, if you go step by step, then yes. V: It could be even a nice introduction for your hymn of the day when you are introducing your hymn, you can play with two voices and improvising the lower part, or improvising the upper part, but just note against note in church. A: Yes, it’s possible, although, maybe you don’t want to play an entire hymn as an introduction. It might be too long. V: To make it sound more appealing, you can add more gravity to the registration. Maybe, I would say, Organo Pleno with Principal Chorus and Mixtures. That’s sounds sometimes convincing. A: Well, that’s possible, yes, especially if it’s an opening hymn. V: And then, Ariane has, I think, a problem of playing faster, her pieces, because she looked at YouTube recordings of her piece, and played at St. Sulpice, and she probably felt that she could also try out at a faster tempo, but she writes “The playing sounds rushed, irregular, and without any feeling.” Why is this, Ausra? A: Well, there might be different reasons. First of all, she did not mention what she thought about that YouTube recording at St. Sulpice, but I guess she might have liked it, because after she listened to it, she tried to play faster, and then it sounded bad for her. So, what that might mean, my guess as a professional musician, could be that she simply is not ready to play faster. V: You know what I wrote to her on Basecamp is that slow practice leads to fast progress, I think. A: It makes sense, of course. V: I like playing pieces very slowly for a long time without rushing. And if I need to rush, I know there is something wrong with my planning. Right? If I’m still playing slowly, and my recital is three days from now, I know there is something wrong with my preparation and scheduling and planning in advance, because as I say, it has to be ready, for concert tempo, two months in advance, I think. That’s a safe zone. Don’t you think? A: True. And in general, I think that picking up the tempo is very individual for each person. Because what works for one could not work for another, and for different reasons, and not only because of ability to play, but also because of the temperament, too. For example, when I heard for the first time how Joris Verdin plays Franck, well, it sounded really impressive! I was basically very much surprised, and some pieces it works pretty well, like in the Finale piece, for example, I think that that tempo worked pretty well, and no ritenuto at the end, but some pieces sounded just ridiculous for my taste. V: And you have to remind our listeners, for which reasons Joris Verdin is famous. A: Actually, for playing Franck very fast. V: Because his theory is that the metronome markings of the day for the 19th century were meant for 19th century metronomes, and those were made a little bit differently, and therefore, the tempi should have been faster. And Franck would sound more virtuosic, then! A: Well, yes, but why I wouldn’t play as fast, is because Franck’s harmonies are incredibly rich and incredibly beautiful. And, when you are playing them so fast, you basically don’t have time to enjoy them, to listen into them. But it’s a matter of taste, too. V: Right. Sometimes you need to lean on dissonances, as our former professor Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra said, and…. A: Well, you know, Americans very often talk about dissonances, and I have heard in Europe, that somebody laughs at Americans, because they always lean on the dissonances, and sort of exaggerate the role of dissonance in music, but the more I live, the more I agree with the Americans, that it’s really very important to lean on dissonances, because why are all suspensions written on the strong beats? It means something to you. V: Right. So, when I’m going to play today, I’m going to lean on dissonances even more. You will hear it! A: Okay! I’m looking forward to it! V: And, you know, I’m playing Ad Patres Sonata by Brunius Kutavičius in preparation of my Notre Dame recital in the summer, and you know, this piece is entirely made of dissonances. A: Well, but that’s another story! It’s a modern composition in minimalistic style, so that’s completely another story. What I was talking about is music written in a common period. V: I will still lean on dissonances, you will hear it! A: Good luck with that! Then your sonata will take forever to play! V: Yes. Thank you guys for sending wonderful 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 399 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And today, I’d like to read some of the feedback we received about the Total Organist program, because I asked recently this question of our members: “How do you like Total Organist, so far?” And, Ariane, Jeremy and Ruth replied with their comments. Ariane: I love the program! I feel very much at home with the organist community and feel that my practicing and learning matters. I am working my way slowly through a couple of courses and the nice thing is I can totally work at my own pace. Thanks Ausra and Vidas! Jeremy: It is fantastic to have a community which understands the issues of being an organist, finding practice time, and the work of preparation for services and music. Ruth: Total Organist means a great deal to me. It is putting me in touch with musicians around the world. It is stimulating through its presentations and discussions. I am truly grateful for this experience! V: So, once in a while, people send these feedback to us, and this is really nice. A: Yes, it’s wonderful to know that we are useful to somebody, and we can help people in the area that we love ourselves, and help others to experience it and to know it. V: So, for example, Ariane appreciates the community, and probably she means that she can keep in touch with other members of our program through Basecamp. A: I think that’s a very nice thing, because I saw that in many actual places, an organist by him- or herself might feel quite lonely! Don’t you think so? Because they are playing such an instrument that they are always alone! V: Right. Even if you are leading a choir or accompanying the choir, if you are playing, you are practicing on the organ bench mostly alone! A: So, I guess it’s very nice that there is a platform where you can meet people like you and share your experiences! V: Yesterday, I went to our monthly book club meeting, and you couldn’t go because you felt ill. And, it reminds us also a little bit about this community, and once a month we meet and discuss the books that we read, and we are looking forward to the next meeting. Right, Ausra? So, it’s kind of similar to the Total Organist community. It’s only online, we don’t meet face to face, yet, but the experience is similar. We share common interests and support each other. Ausra, do you think that practicing alone would be slower in terms of advancement? A: I think yes, because it’s always nice to have encouragement from others and to share experiences. That way, you can grow faster, and overcome problems easier. V: And Jeremy also comments about the community, that he appreciates the most, and Ruth appreciates that she is in touch with musicians around the world. So, I guess it all comes down to this community. It’s a rather compact community—we have around 80 people in our group, maybe more—but not all of them are active on Basecamp. Everyone probably receives those questions at the end of the day to report what you have been practicing today, or what you are struggling with, or something like that, but people do, they write, and sometimes I don’t even need to interfere in their discussions. I see that a few people get together under one comment, and support each other. That, to me, is a sign that people care about others in the group. A: That’s a good sign, I think. V: Yes. They’re invested with their time and their energy in this group and want to see other people succeed, and by seeing and helping others succeed, they also succeed faster. A: True. V: It’s a nice feedback cycle to have. Of course, other people are lonely and individualistic, right? For those people, group settings and group environment probably is not as...I would say… attractive as sitting on the bench alone with the music and the instrument and with their thoughts and ideas. What about you, Ausra? A: Well, I always thought about myself as a very unsocial person—very individualistic. But the more I live, the more I understand that really, we are social. V: Social animals! A: Yes, just like dogs. So, I guess that sooner or later, everybody comes to that… V: Understanding? A: ...understanding, yes. V: The sooner, the better! A: Yes. It doesn’t mean that we don’t need our time to be alone, but we still need to communicate with others—to socialize. V: And you know, we are drawing our comics, our Pinky and Spiky comics, and putting them on Steemit, and we also have this little community where people can participate in contests of drawing those animals and comics themselves. And the theme changes every week, and it’s sort of very nice to see people get involved, and also to support each other and comment each other. It’s an open group, not a closed group like Total Organist—anybody can join, but the principle is the same, I guess. Ausra, do you feel excited when somebody comments your drawing? A: Yes, actually I’m waiting for those comments. It’s part of my day. V: So, probably it’s true to say that other people are waiting for other people’s comments as well, and it’s a cycle, as well. So it’s the same with Basecamp and Total Organist here. Kind of people who support each other, care for each other and wait for those comments, and they can count on them, because the questions arrive at the end of each day! And they get automatic questions: “How was your day?” or “What are you practicing today?” and you don’t need to think about what to write; you just document you just document, a little bit, your activities. To me, that’s a very valuable tool to have for people to help them grow. And I hope we’ll see more involvement from our group in the future, too, Ausra. A: I hope so, too. V: Ok, 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. |
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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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