Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 286 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by David, and he writes: When I'm playing Sine Nomine once through or twice through, I do well... but the 4th or 5th time through, I start to make mistakes; particularly at the very beginning and very end of the piece. Also, I picked a prelude that is too long, and at the end of the piece, the organ just does not want to play all the notes that are written in the music... the top notes drop out--not enough polyphony with a large registration, so I lose the melody and part of the harmony of the final cadence of the piece. Ugh.. so here I am the day before the service, and I am cutting the piece in half (there is a fair stopping point half way through the arrangement) and re-writing the end of the first half so it sounds more like it's finished at that point in the music. Unfortunately, the church is reluctant to purchase a newer organ (more capable electronic or even small pipe organ) because they are convinced that it is impossible to find new organists to play them, and there are other priorities for the money. So I am stuck with the instrument that is there and often have to modify pieces. Also on this organ, the pedals are quite noisy.... not when I press them, but when they are RELEASED. So in a piece that moves at a fair pace, like Sine Nomine, or when I'm doing a moderately fast arpeggio, like in Lyons, as the pedal is released, it hits the top of its travel and make a considerable thump, which is annoying. I don't seem to have this same issue on other organs that I play. I try to be so gentle when I play these pedals, that even if I don't want to play legato, they end up legato just so I don't hear that thump. V: So Ausra, I think this question has two sides, right? A: Yes. V: About the sounds of the pedal board, and about starting making mistakes with additional repetitions. Not right away, David is not making mistakes when he plays once or twice, but on the fourth or the fifth time, he starts to make mistakes. Why is that? A: I think he just loses his concentration, because if he would start doing mistakes right away, I would guess that he hasn’t learned the piece to play very well yet. But, because he can play twice through without making any mistakes, it means after that he probably loses his concentration. V: A simple solution would be to probably stand up, walk around, drink a glass of water, and regain your focus. What about this idea, Ausra? A: Well, what if you are in the middle of service or a concert, can you do that? V: No, but if during the concert or service, you play just once. A: Well, yes, that’s true. V: What would you do in this situation, if you lose focus? A: Well, you can do that, but you know, sometimes you need to stay on the organ and try to stay focused. V: So, push yourself. A: Yes. V: Don’t relax, right, your mind. A: Yes, that’s right. But, it’s very hard to do. I think it’s the hardest part of being a performer. Don’t you think so? V: Right, because, when you play the piece, and some parts are difficult, some parts are not, when you conquer the difficult parts you feel sort of proud. You feel sort of good. And, at that particular moment, you tend to relax after conquering that one part. A: Yes, I had that feeling so many times. V: And, when you relax, you… A: ...you make mistakes. V: You trip. A: Yes. In an easy spot. V: Mhm. There are, of course, solutions, two solutions for that. Maybe David could stay focused until the very end. That’s the hard solution. And the easy solution would be to relax yourself right from the beginning. A: True. V: Like, imagine that he is just playing for himself for fun, not in order to avoid mistakes, but just to please himself. Sort of, to lower the stakes. To lower the risk. And then, the fear of making mistakes would be lower. What do you think about that? A: I think, in general, you don’t need to focus making or not making mistakes, you need to focus on your music that you are playing. V: Mistakes will happen, anyway. A: Yes, anyway, because if you would record a CD, then you might do some editing. But if it’s a live performance, you never know what might happen. The organ might break in the middle of your piece. V: Or one particular key might stick. And what would you do then? A: Or the day might be very hot, and your fingers might just get slippery. V: Or, if you’re playing on the upper manual, you start to slip from the bench! A: Or, a baby will start to scream, and you will lose your concentration. V: So we scare people for thirty minutes? A: Well, I just want say that you never know what might happen during your performance. V: That’s the beauty of it, right Ausra? A: Yes. V: If you knew what will happen, then it wouldn’t be that interesting. A: That’s right, and I don’t think I remember playing in Lithuania even once that it would be completely silent during a recital. Do you remember, or not? V: Yes, I did, when I played just for myself. A: Well, that’s another story. V: No one showed up. But I didn’t play that entire recital, I think. Just one piece. A: But especially at the cathedral where tourists come in and come out, you never know how much noise you will get during your recital. And sometimes I just felt like I’m, I don’t know, like I’m sitting in the middle of a farmer’s market and trying to play a recital. And that’s the feeling of playing in the cathedral in Vilnius. V: That’s why we don’t, play there that often. A: I know. Not a very nice feeling. V: Mhm. So, wonderful. You know where is this silence if you play your recital? A: Where? V: At the cemetery! There will be complete silence! A: But then you need to install an organ there! V: Too bad that all the listeners are dead! A: Maybe that’s a good thing! Well, but that’s a nasty humor. We don’t have to joke like this. V: It wasn’t a joke, actually, it’s a reality… A: Well, there are some cemeteries where there are chapels built, so you could put an organ there and enjoy playing in complete silence. V: So, David then struggles with pedal releases, squeaky noises… not only squeaky noises, but some sort of thumps when he releases. Is there a way, Ausra, to diminish that noise? We have some pedals in our home organ which squeak. Do they annoy you? A: Well, actually, not too much. Because, when you are playing a purely mechanical organ, such sounds make me to relax, actually. V: Like a lullaby. A: True. And I like them. But if this is an electronic organ that squeaks, then yes, that’s very annoying. And I don’t think that there could be much done. If you are gentle with what you are doing with your feet on the pedals, if you are wearing quiet shoes, then there is not much you could do. V: I remember, I tried to fix that once in St. John’s church. I unscrewed the pedal board, and then removed the spring underneath one pedal, and then what I did, maybe I put some oil on it. A: Yes, oiling things might help a little bit, at least to reduce that squeaky noise. V: Still it’s a mechanical thing, even if David’s organ is not mechanical. The noise is mechanical, so you can get to the bottom of the problem and fix it mechanically, I think. A: Yes, or you know, if the pedal is worn out, you might think about changing the pedal board. V: Only the pedal board. A: Yes, that should be possible, too. V: Yes, that’s one of the ideas, too. What about Sine Nomine. What is this piece? Do you know Ausra? A: Well I think you want to tell about it. V: Sine Nomine in Latin means, “Without a Name,” but Sine Nomine, I think, is the name of the hymn? Could be. You know, the hymn tune. I’m just looking it up. Oh there is corporation Sine Nomine, Sine Nomine publishing…. Yes! In the Hymnal, there is also a “Sine Nomine” hymn, right? By Ralph Vaughan Williams. So, maybe he is playing a Ralph Vaughan Williams hymn. Could be. A: Could be. V: That’s quite likely. A: I enjoy his music. Great composer. V: Especially his pedal lines are so fast moving. A: True. So maybe he plays too much of Ralph Vaughan Williams, and that’s why his pedal just broke! V: Mmmm.. A: I’m just joking. V: Maybe! We’ll see. A: I was not so sure about that middle section of his question, because I didn’t understand if the problem is with his technique, or if again it’s a problem with the organ. What do you think? V: When he picked a prelude that is too long, and he has to drop out top notes, right? A: Yes, that’s right. V: So that in a large registration, polyphony would be easy to listen to. It’s difficult to understand what he means here. A: Because on the one hand it seems like if it’s a mechanical organ, maybe the bellows don’t give enough air to the pipes, to the wind chest. But if it’s an electronic organ, then I don’t know. Maybe it’s his technique that the texture is too thick and he cannot play it all. V: Yes, maybe the texture was too thick for that registration, and he had to reduce the texture by dropping some notes in the harmony. That’s what happened, I think. A: Could be. But I would suggest that he not pick music then that he cannot perform on a particular organ for any reason. I think it’s better than to reconstruct a piece, although it’s possible, but probably not the best solution. V: And he had to rewrite the ending of the first half so that it would sound like a finished piece, because he cut the piece in half and had to stop in the middle. A: Seems like very much work to do for one piece. Then it’s better to select something more appropriate. Don’t you think so? V: Right. Or simply improvise the final cadence, not necessarily right it out. A: True, true. If you have to manually rewrite it, it takes a lot of time. V: So that’s what our suggestions are to David and to anyone who is sort of in David’s position, maybe, when they have to deal with squeaky noises in the pedal, when they lose concentration on repeated runs of the piece, and when they have to cut the pieces—shorten the pieces for the service to adjust. Thanks guys for listening, for practicing, and for sending us your questions. We love helping you grow. So, please continue writing to us, and we will try to help you in the future episodes of this podcast. This was Vidas, A: And Ausra, V: And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen.
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SOPP285: How should I play Bach on smaller church organs in buildings that have flat acoustics?9/10/2018
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 285 of #Secrets of Organ Playing podcast. This question was sent by John, and he writes: I’ve almost learnt In dulci jubilo by Bach, your training videos have been so helpful thank you! It seemed a really daunting piece to learn, but its coming together quicker than I expected, all the sight reading has helped me and your teaching has really helped me improve. My question is how should I play this piece on smaller church organs in buildings that have flat acoustics. When I played my recital on St Johns organ in Vilnius, it was an incredible eye opening experience to play on a large mechanical organ in a huge acoustic. I came to realize how articulate legato suddenly made sense playing on an instrument closer to Bach’s time in a resonant acoustic. When I listen to other professionals play this piece in large churches or cathedrals, I can hear some parts get lost in the blend of legato. But when I play it in our church, I’m worried it sounds a bit too staccato and the gaps between the longer notes sounds a little disjointed. Can you give some advice about playing Bach in flat acoustics? Should I try to play more legato? Did Bach ever use finger substitutions? Would I have to play it faster in flat acoustics? So Ausra, what do you think? A: Well, yes, you need to adjust articulation depending on the acoustics where you are playing in. But even if you are playing in dead acoustics, you don’t have to play Bach legato; that’s a basic rule. And of course, if you will play it staccato it sounds funny and unnatural. V: Remember, Ausra, by the way, that I’ve been the one who would play early music works too detached in our student days. A: Yes, I remember that. V: Many people made fun of me! A: Yes, I remember that. But as I told a few days ago in one of our podcasts: usually first of all, you play everything legato, then you play everything too detached, too staccato; and then finally you realize how it should be played, and you play in the right way. V: Mhm. Do you think that John is progressing to the second stage? A: Yes, I think so. V: Where he’s playing too detached? A: Yes. V: Mhm. A: But anyway, you don’t have to play legato. To answer his question if Bach ever used finger substitutions...so, I think that he didn’t use finger substitutions, because obviously he didn’t play legato, so he didn’t need to use finger substitutions. V: But we shouldn’t be 110% certain about that, because there are some very thick textures at the end of, let’s say, the 3rd Kyrie from Clavierubung by J.S. Bach. A: Well I’ve played it, and I didn’t use finger substitutions. You don’t need it. But...well, and even if you would do it, very rarely, occasionally… V: As an exception. A: As an exception only, and not as a basic rule. V: For example, if the top note is held throughout let’s say 4 measures, right, and beneath that you have three or four other notes in chordal texture, changing...what do you do? Sometimes with this top note you sometimes have to change from 4 to 5. A: Well, yes, there are places like this. V: That’s what I’m talking about. A: But what John I think meant about finger substitutions wasn’t about places like this. And another thing that he writes, that he heard some recording of, you know, a cathedral’s organ, where he could hear the blend of legato. Well, that’s an acoustical trick, because I’m pretty sure that organist didn’t play legato. V: Depending on where the microphones are positioned, right? A: Mhm. V: And depending on what kind of an organist is playing, too. You would hear different sounds. Of course, an organist might play legato. There are probably hundreds of people who still play legato-- A: But if you would play legato in a large acoustics Bach’s music, then you wouldn't hear a legato, but you would hear a mess! V: Mhm. A: And if you hear legato, it meant that the organist articulated. V: Right. So when you listen to the recording, try to see if you hear the beginning and ending of each note. Or just the beginning. If the beginning and ending are blended, then it’s a little bit too much--too legato. But if it’s almost together, then it’s okay. A: Yes. And as you know, about tempo, that’s right, as John mentioned himself: in a dry acoustic, you need to play faster. V: Mhm. A: That’s obvious. You need to do it, because otherwise, if you will play too staccato and in a slow tempo, everybody will get bored. V: Mhm, right. John later asked another question about speeding up the tempo--how to get better at playing at a faster tempo. But maybe we could talk about that in later podcast episode. A: Sure, sure. V: Thank you guys, this was Vidas! A: And Ausra. V: Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 284, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Irineo. He writes: “How can you detect the German, French, English spirit or accent in Bach’s suites? There weren’t so many different answers back then, so how can you tell?” V: First of all, Ausra, we could also talk about other, like German and Italian influences, right? In Bach’s music in general, right? A: Yes. Because he sort of, synthesized all the influences from different countries. V: But talking about the suites that history with the name, is kind of strange, right? English suites don’t exhibit specifically English baroque, characteristics. A: That’s right. Actually I don’t think we have so many common English dances at all. And I think this title was given later and not by J.S. Bach himself. V: Mmm-hmm. By Forkel who was the first 19th Century Bach’s biographer. And he claimed that these works might have been composed for an English nobleman. But there is no evidence to back up this claim. A: And in general, Bach’s suites and all those dances that Bach’s suites contain, they’re not intended as real dances. I mean nobody intended to dance. V: Mmm-hmm. In earlier days, in 17th Century of course, they would be dancing on one minuet and allemandes and courantes and sarabands and gigues, composed for this specific suite, right? But in Bach’s style, they’re so complex that probably they would be a little bit too complex to dance to. A: Yes, I think so too. They are too elaborated. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So, do you think French and English suite for example, very much differ from each other? V: Yeah. In general, English suites are longer. A: Yes, and they are considered to be more complex than French ones. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So if you are working on these suites, you better start with French and then go on and play some English suites. V: And also, probably Italian partitas could be part of that suite tradition too, from the first part of the clavierbung. A: Yes. But then we, I would say that probably France was that country which dictates the passions of dances. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Because either in general they are very famous for the dances and ballet too. V: Right, and even the term was English suite, there were French spirit in it all over the composition. A: I know, and if you would look in general how the suite is constructed, you would see that each suite actually consists of dances that come from various countries. Because if you would take like, difficult suite, it starts often with allemande, which is I believe came from Germany. And then courante, which is the French dance, and saraband,,, V: Spanish A: Spanish, yes. And minuets of course is French royalty dance. And gigue, that comes from England. V: Mmm-hmm. So those four dances, allemandes, courante, sarabande, and gigue, are kind of required, at least in later suite tradition in 18th Century, like when Bach was writing. But Bach would add, for example, in his English suites, prelude, as you say, minuets... A: Gavottes too were often included. V: Right. Rigaudons, chaconnes, all kinds of other dances. And then the suite would become very long. A: Yes. V: What’s interesting is that you could actually construct entire suite based on one figured bass formula, and it was written and described in Niedt's Musikalische Handleitung in 17th Century source, that you take let’s say, bass line of some keyboard composition, and you adapt it to fit the meter and even the structure of other dances. And remember, we sometimes improvised when we were students at Eastern Michigan University, when Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra taught us and really, you could even take a hymn melody, and you could create entire dance suite based on any hymn. Remember Wie schon leuchtet der Morgenstern, by Buxtehude? A: Yes, I remember that. Yes, it has a gigue at the end it. V: Mmm-hmm. Or Buxtehude wrote another suite, in E minor. A: Auf Meinen Lieben Gott. V: Auf Meinen Lieben Gott. This is also dance suite, based on a chorale tune. A: That’s right. So in general when playing these you need to analyze what kind of dance you’re playing and what kind of meter it is. Because meter and rhythm is a basic grounds for all the suites and for all dance. V: Mmm-hmm. And I sense a little bit of interest in Irineo’s question about general stylistic elements, right? Maybe not necessarily in dances, but in general in Bach’s music. What makes Bach’s music a little bit French, Ausra? A: Ornamentation, of course. Because all the ornaments that Bach has written should be performed following French tradition. V: At least the latter part... A: Yes, yes. V: when he was influenced by French music more than Italian. V: Right? It’s an interesting tradition, because when Bach, remember, traveled on foot to Lubeck to visit Buxtehude, he was influenced by German style in that period. And Germany was heavily influenced by Italians. So you would play ornaments from the main note, not from the upper note. A: That’s right. V: In early Bach’s compositions. Maybe up until Weimar I would say, and even perhaps later. Because in Weimar remember, he would transcribe those Vivaldi concertos. It’s still Italian. A: In his own Italian concerto. V: Mmm-hmm. A: But if you would play his French overture, then of course you would have to play French ornaments. V: Basically, in his mature style, you would create ornaments in the French tradition, right? A: That’s right. And if you would follow his directions as educator, and he put for his son Wilhelm Friedemann in little keyboard book, all that ornamentation as written as it should be performed in French tradition. V: Right. From the table by D'Anglebert. And French overtures have this stylistic features in Bach works—a lot of suites start with overture. And even not only suites, but other pieces like E flat Major Prelude for the organ. A: Although French overtures always throw in ¾ meter. V: Mmm-hmm. A: But E Flat Major Prelude is in 4/4 meter, so common meter. But still you know, very French spirit in it. V: What about Italian stylistic features in Bach work? A: Well you can find a lot of it, as he constructs that plan of keys. It’s very Italian. He often uses that circle of fifths—principle and sequences that are total Italian. V: Which he found probably transcribing Vivaldi concertos and of concertos by other composers from Italy. A: That’s right. V: And of course the ritornello structure. A: Yes. If you would look at his cantatas they are all based on ritornello. And also if we go back to that famous E Flat Major Prelude, it also has ritornello... V: Mmm-hmm. A: throughout the piece. V: So in just in one piece, like E Flat Major Prelude, you would have Italian elements, French elements, and of course the German elements, right? Because he was German. A: That’s right. V: So in his style, especially, mature style of Bach, connected entire cultural heritage of Europe. A: That’s right. fV: Thank you guys for listening. We hope this was useful to you. Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen!
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Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 283 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by William. He wrote: Hello again! Question. I am working on some choral preludes from the Orgelbuchlen. When there is a melody separated from left hand and pedal, do you articulate all of the parts? Thank you. William V: Let’s imagine if I understand this question correctly. What’s your idea, Ausra about this situation? A: Well of course you have to articulate all parts because that’s what baroque music does. You need to play them articulated. V: When then is a melody separated from left hand and pedal. Ah, he means… A: He means like for example chorale like Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein. V: With ornamented cantus firmus. A: Yes, when you have ornamented cantus firmus most often in the right hand. Sometimes you could have it in the left hand in the tenor in more advanced chorales and yes, you need to articulate all parts. V: And I see why he has this question, right? Because if the top voice is so important and melodically ornate and beautiful maybe he thinks that this is the voice he needs to articulate and other parts are not that important like accompaniment. What I’m thinking is more of playing with four different instruments. How about cantus firmus playing with oboe, then maybe alto with violin, tenor with viola, and then the bass with bassoon or cello or even doubled with double bass. So all those different instruments should do some articulation Ausra, right? A: Yes, that’s right. V: Because they are doing dialog and duets with each other and commenting on each others musical ideas. A: And to give you more ideas how baroque music should sound, how it should be articulated, I think you need to listen to some recordings of Bach cantatas and his instrumental music. There are so many nice recordings on YouTube that could give you a clearer idea of how things worked in baroque times. And then you will see that each voice is important. V: When violin plays for example a passage, unless it indicated legato, they would make an articulation with bowing. Down, up, down, up. And this short instance when the bow is changed is an articulation. A: That’s right. You know especially when you have ornamented chorales like William mentioned in his question. It’s only a question of how much you need to articulate and it depends on what kind of instrument you are playing, what kind of acoustics it is in, and you need also to vary articulation between your hands and your feet. V: Umm-hmm. A: Because if it’s cantus firmus or solo voice it’s very ornamented you probably will articulate it a little bit less because you have many diminished notes with small note values and of course you will play that voice a little bit more legato but not legato still, quasi-legato. V: People downstairs will think it is legato but upstairs you will make articulation. A: That’s right. And then probably the bass line and your left hand you will have to articulate a little bit more. V: Umm-hmm. Because they are moving in longer note values. A: Sure, and especially bass line because obviously you will be using 16’ stop in the pedal. V: And the bass usually moves in eighth notes that way. Imagine cello playing different bowing, right, left, right, left. That’s also articulation for each and every eighth note. And then for example if you are imitating a wind instrument like oboe, it’s done with tonguing too. Takka, takka, takka, takka. With trumpets, I don’t know. Or with oboe or something similar. Baroque articulation was called “ordinary touch” and it was so common that people or composers didn’t even notate it on the score. A: Sure, because it was the common tradition and everybody knew it. V: Umm-hmm. What they did notate is when articulation was different like legato or staccato. A: Yes, those few places where you have to play legato they will be indicated in the score. V: But checking the score is original, not edited in modern times. A: Well I think that in modern times many editors use legato in baroque music. I think this was common in the period of late 19th century and early 20th century. So those are the most dangerous editions to look at. V: Umm-hmm. Excellent question that William has sent, right Ausra? A: Yes. I would never even think about it myself that these kind of questions could arise but it’s fascinating, it’s truly fascinating. V: You know what is self understandable for us, like second nature. For a lot of people who haven’t played for 25 or 30 years like we are doing. It’s really a mystery sometimes, a secret. So secrets of organ playing, that’s what we are revealing. A: Yes and actually this kind of question makes you to look at the various issues in a different angle, in a different light and a different perspective, and it’s fascinating. V: You know this organ technique book by George Ritchie and George Stauffer that we so often recommend and use in our teaching, George Ritchie writes about early music articulation and has some exercises there. He writes that if you want to achieve articulate legato with five fingers, first try to play the same passage with one finger, second or third finger and do it as legato as possible. It should not sound too detached. Instead aim for a singing manner, cantabile manner, as legato as possible with one finger and then try to repeat the same thing with five fingers. Normal fingering. That’s articulate legato. A: That’s a good exercise that you are telling. Everybody needs to try it. From my experience with my students and probably with myself a long time ago, I could see that when you are starting to learn baroque articulation first of all you are playing everything too legato because it’s hard for you to articulate each note. And after that it comes the second step where you are playing everything separately but your articulation is too short, everything sounds almost staccato and soft of almost un-musical and very unnatural. And after this one you sort of start beginning to regulate everything. And then it becomes as it should be, neither too short nor too long. V: So the first step is to play too legato, the second step is too detached, and the third step is sort of in the middle. A: And it’s sort of very hard to overcome each step. You cannot jump right away to the last one. V: What’s the next level after you have mastered this? A: Well, I don’t know. V: Now, today you are not even thinking about that when you are sight-reading even, right? A: Yes. V: What do you think about instead? A: Well I think in general more about the meaning of the piece, about structure, about all those things. V: About how the piece is put together. A: Yes. V: Harmonies. A: Yes, and if it’s choral based work you think more about text painting, about all those baroque rhetoric figures. V: Right. A: About instruments that piece was originally composed on. V: Interesting. So each level of advancement has its own advantages and disadvantages and short-comings and also benefits. Remember we also have to go to a beginners mind in order to understand how other people feel and sometimes we forget how we started, right? I remember that articulation was a mystery to me for I don’t know how many years. At least probably five years. At least probably until we met Pamela in Michigan. A: Yes, for me it was really a mystery until I tried a pedal clavichord. I think that the pedal clavichord finally taught me to articulate. V: And that was in Sweden in 2000. A: Yes. Sometimes you can cheat on the organ actually, and cover things up about playing the organ but you cannot do it when you play a clavichord. You will not hide anything. V: And knowing that the clavichord was regular practice instrument for organists back in the day then it reveals you all those secrets. So Ausra, final advice for everybody listening wouldn’t it be wise to travel a little bit more and try out as many historical instruments as possible. A: Yes, if you have possibility of travel. If you don’t, then try to listen more to historical recordings, made on historical instruments. It will give you a pretty clear idea. V: Wonderful. Thank you guys for sending those thoughtful questions that we sometimes don’t think people encounter those problems. Apparently they do and we’re so glad to help you out. And keep sending them more and we will try to help you advance in the future. 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 282 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Anders, and he wrote: Hi Vidas and Ausra! I´m following the information you give with great interest. I have been playing the piano for a while but I´m not very good at it, though I really love it and listening to great music, Classic as well as Jazz and Ragtime. In the last period I have started to think much about playing the organ and I've asked the local organist to give me lessons (lessons are free in the Swedish Church) and I hope lessons will start this autumn. I bought an old Electronic organ but am extremely disappointed since the sound is outright awful. It´s not what is called a Church organ, they´re much more expensive. I will throw my Electronic organ and buy some good instrument with a really good sound. The short answer to the questions are: 1.) My dream is to be able to play "well enough" on the organ some of my favorite music on a good pipe organ. This I wish to do in a Church where I can enjoy the fantastic and mysterious sound of the different voices of the pipes. 2.) What is stopping me is really nothing except: A.) The feeling that I have no time (I do have long working days and other commitments) B.) The feeling that my wife really doesn't enjoy listening to me repeating the difficult parts over and over again. Though she doesn't complain. C.) The lack of a good instrument. And these three things shouldn't stop me. I know and I´m working on it... Now I´ll explain what I mean by playing "well enough": It´s not at all necessary for me to dream of reaching a level of high professionalism, though I fully understand and wish to play with correctness and musicality. For me it´s better to listen to an amateur playing a simple piece very well instead of some half-professional doing a sloppy job on too complicated pieces. I think that for me it will be much more realistic to find, or even better, to be able to arrange the music so it will be simple but still beautiful and retaining the real spirit and essence of the pieces. For that I obviously will have to learn about music theory and learn to play chords and their inversions etc. Maybe not so impossible. For instance i have maybe 5-6 different versions of some piece of music ranging from the very simple to the very difficult. And it´s far from always the fastest version with most notes and difficult fingering that catches the essentials! Thank god for that. I have some rather simple pieces that are really beautiful if you perform them correct and with real spirit. My taste includes classical pieces such as "Poem" by Fibich, pieces by Grieg and Delius and some very nice pieces by Eric Satie. Some jazz pieces I wish to play are maybe not very well known but some are jazz standards. I especially point out some outstanding jazz recordings made by Fats Waller in 1927 on a Church pipe organ (Estey). There has not been any recordings of jazz organ to compare with before or after these few musical pearls, so rich in harmony and feeling. Of course I will never be able to play like Waller did, far from. But maybe be able to play some simplified and still beautiful version in a not too fast tempo. In my opinion speed is not often very important, many pieces win on being played slower but correctly giving time to listen to the music. As a rounding off I wish to say that I fully appreciate and try to apply the principles of slow playing in practice, repeating until I play without faults and learning a piece step by step. Actually I was smiling with remembrance when I read through your "Organ practice is a privilege". The reason is that I already knew about the principles since my last wife was a really good piano teacher (from St Petersburg). And she applied these rules. Before she died 6 years ago I was lucky to learn the importance of these rules, though I was never a very good pupil. And it was maybe not so easy to have the wife as a teacher (she was really serious). Best of Wishes, Anders from Sweden V: Wow, that’s a very long message that Anders wrote, and so thoughtful that I think we have a lot to talk about, right Ausra? A: Sure. And I think it’s very instructive. He sort of confirms our beliefs in learning slowly and practicing patiently. V: And a person like Anders, who wrote such a detailed detailed description of how he practices, what is his situation, how he feels his obstacles are means that he has a very deep level of self observance. Sort of, he analyzes his own actions and ideas, and he might become his own teacher. A: Yes, I think that’s wonderful features that he has. V: Because when people sometimes want to improve, but are not necessarily conscience of what they’re doing wrong, they just have this distant dream or goal in mind, like a horizon, and the days are passing by, they’re practicing without knowing if they are improving or not—without knowing if they’re going towards the goal or away from it. A: That’s true. V: Do you think that Anders will reach his goal faster than most of the other people we encountered? A: Probably yes, because this sort of a paradox line that often people who do not rush into things achieve their goal first. V: Exactly. You know, the feeling I got from reading his messages was that I’m reading a blog post or an article some place online from a personal blog about organ practice by an organist very conscience of his or her own efforts. Don’t you think that this kind of message should be posted, actually, on his own personal blog? A: Sure, of course! Definitely. I think then that people would benefit from reading a message like this. V: I’m not even thinking about many people, you know, I think he will personally benefit from thinking about his ideas and writing them down, and once he writes them down, he can practice much more efficiently. He can articulate other ideas as well. And you’re right, other people will enjoy listening and reading them, too. A: Yes, the thing that struck me in this letter was that Swedish church gives organ lessons for free. V: I didn’t understand fully…. A: This was a big surprise to me. I don’t think there is another country that could do this. But, who then is paying the organist for those lessons, the State? The church? V: Could be! If the church fully supports an organist, like a full time position, then maybe those organ lessons are included in his workload, maybe. I’m not sure if it is that situation. If it is, then it would a be fantastic situation for students. For organists, I don’t know if it’s fantastic or not, depending on what kind of salary they get from the State. But obviously, the Swedish church is not connected with the state anymore. It separated from the State. So the church has to be quite willing to support the organist and the lessons. A: But what would the organist have to do if there would be 5 or 10 people who suddenly decide to learn to play the organ, and he or she would still have to teach them all? V: Maybe they have a maximum or minimum number of people to teach. A: But that’s an interesting thing we need to ask our friend from Sweden, Göran tomorrow. V: Yes, maybe we didn’t understand something from this message correctly. We’ll have to double check. A: Another thing I found amusing is about his wife, that she doesn’t complain about his practicing hard spots over and over again. In any case, you could give your wife earplugs as a present, that she wouldn’t have to listen to your practice at all if she doesn’t like it! V: Or, if it’s an electronic organ you’re practicing on, you could practice with earphones, too. A: Yes, anyway, but I think it’s funny. V: Ausra, when I’m practicing my spots over and over again, how do you feel? A: Well, that’s fine, because I know what you are going through, so it doesn’t bother me. V: It takes an organist to understand an organist. A: And actually, I like when you practice. V: I love it, too. One of my favorite moments of the day these past few weeks have been when we go to the first floor where our organ is located, and you sit down first thing in the morning and you practice your Chorale Fantasia “An Wasserflüssen Babylon” by Johann Adam Reincken. And those 21 minutes are some of my favorites in the day. A: Good to know. V: Yours, too, right? A: Yes, that’s right. It’s a pretty Fantasy. Well, what about those arrangements, because Anders mentioned that he wanted to play some arrangements for organ and not necessarily do they need to be hard—do you agree that different music would be performed on the organ, let’s say not original organ music. V: Mhm, sure! It could be. We’re performing vocal motets, right? It’s not original, we add some diminutions and flourishes in passages, and it sounds much better on the organ that way. So, it’s been a widespread practice to perform an arrangement—other music, instrumental music, and vocal music, and even symphonic music on the organ, too! A: Yes, and if you take any collection of, let’s say, wedding music or Christmas music, you will find a huge variety of arrangements and transcriptions for organ. And they vary in difficulty. You can find really easy ones, and you can find quite hard ones, too. V: Right. A: Let’s take, for example, such a popular piece as Hallelujah from Handel’s Messiah. You can find so many transcriptions for organ. V: Right. I think the easiest thing to play for organ is just two outer voices; soprano and the bass with two hands, if they are just starting out. So, maybe Anders can do that. If he wants to create a little more advanced version, then a third middle part must be entered, maybe with pedals playing the bass line, then. Trio texture, right? A: Sure. And you know what I actually like the most about Anders’s letter? That he understands that it’s better to pick up an easy piece, and to play it very well, than to take too hard of a piece and to play it sloppy. I think this is the basic rule. V: Mhm, that’s quite a mature feeling he has, right? Even though he can’t play maybe very advanced versions, yet, very well, but he has a good taste. That’s helpful. A: Do you remember we had such a studio member back in Nebraska at Lincoln? The guy was a big fan of American football, and he always wanted to play grand pieces. And he could not do them at that time. It was not in his ability, not in his capability to do it. But he wanted to play like fantasies by Reger and all that other hard stuff. And I just don’t know how Dr. Faulkner and Dr. Ritchie handled him. But, I think then he stopped taking organ anymore. V: You know, when you practice too advanced pieces for a while, and your professors say that you are not playing well enough, obviously, on these particular pieces, you get discouraged, simply, right, and you quit. Or you switch to the easier repertoire if you’re wise enough. A: True. V: So, to end this conversation, I think let’s wish Anders to acquire a different organ, maybe a better organ, better solution for his home, and start doing those organ arrangements, right? Practice to the best of his ability. A: Yes, and let us know how your progress is doing! V: Wonderful. Thank you guys for sending these wonderful questions, and anyone who’s so detailed as Anders would really think, at least try to put those ideas online, maybe not on your own blog, but maybe on a social media channel. Right? That will be very beneficial for everyone who is writing and reading as well. Thanks guys, 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 281 of Secrets of Organ Playing podcast. Today’s question was sent by Spencer. And he asks for tutorials on playing varied hymn harmonies. What do you imagine, Ausra, this could be? A: Well, it always surprises me when people might think that there is one easy solution for such a complex issue as playing various hymn harmonizations. What do you think about that, Vidas? Is it easy or not, to do? V: For me it’s easy--but I’ve been doing it for 20 years. So guys, it’s difficult for the first 20 years, but after that it’s easy! But we shouldn’t discourage people like that. Are there any shortcuts on learning how to harmonize hymns? I don’t think so. A: Well...some of them might be, but you still need to learn what the keyboard harmony in general is. V: Mhm. So your first step should probably be to get familiar with the basic chords: tonic, subdominant, and dominant. And their inversions: the 6 chord and the 64 chord. What else? Dominant 7th chord, maybe? A: Sure. And then all the other chords, too! V: When you say all the other chords, it’s too much, right? But you could actually harmonize--with tonic, subdominant, and dominant--any type of hymn; because they usually are written in one key. What about if the hymn modulates in the middle? Can you use tonic, subdominant, and dominant then? A: Well...not exactly. Because you know, when you modulate, you need to show more dissonant chords. V: But if you treat this modulation as the new key, right--constant key excerpt or episode--and then you find out what are the tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords of that key, of the new key, and only use those 3 chords in that passage, and then come back-- A: Well, in very simple modulation, you can do that. V: Mhm. A: But really, it doesn’t always work. Usually after a common chord, you need to show some specific dissonant chord of the new key. V: Mhm. A: And you usually don’t use simple subdominant in that case. V: Mhm. A: You need to add something more sophisticated. V: So perhaps Spencer could benefit from our courses on harmonization. A: Sure. V: Like Harmony for Organists Level 1; Hymn Harmonization Workshop; your lessons with Victoria… A: Yes, and my sequences and cadences and modulations on YouTube. If you would play them all, you can definitely play various hymn harmonies. V: Mhm, mhm. A: It will give you some basic ideas about keyboard harmony. V: So if you were a beginner--it’s obviously very difficult for us to imagine that we are a beginner, but--if we are pretending, for a second, that we don’t know anything, like with a beginner’s mind--if you would want to start learning music theory and chords today, what would be your first step? Obviously those chords, right? A: Sure. V: What would you do today with them, on the keyboard--on the organ? You wouldn’t jump in and harmonize the hymn with those 3 chords, right away? A: Probably not, but you know what I would do? V: Mhm? A: If I would have to start from scratch, I would try to analyze what’s written. Let’s say, take a hymnal, and analyze a few hymns. I would see how the composer uses the chords; how they are related in between. V: What’s the voice leading… A: That’s right. V: Mhm. A: And maybe understanding and analyzing those written hymns would help me to comprehend… V: What are the forbidden intervals, what are some of the obvious rules of voice leading--right? A: Well, it’s actually pretty simple, you know, if you would only follow those rules; but when you start to do it practically, then you will find out that the easier the rule is, the harder it is to apply in practice, actually. V: Really? A: Really. V: I didn’t think about that before. Why? A: Well, even young Bach used some parallel fifths in his famous works. He never did it later on in life. But actually, those simple rules, like I mentioned a few-- V: Mhm. A: You need to avoid all parallel fifths and octaves. YOu need to avoid augmented intervals in any voice; well then, you need avoid 2 big leaps in a row facing the same direction, because if you do a leap, then your voice needs to change direction. V: Mhm. A: That’s how music works. Let’s say you cannot do 2 fifths in a row. V: Mhm. A: Going up or going down. V: One voice has to jump a perfect 5th, and then go down--let’s say a major 3rd. A: That’s right. V: Or perfect 4th. A: That’s right. And then of course, you need, in hymn harmonization, to avoid voice crossing. V: Mhm. A: It means, you know, that soprano always stays above all other 3 voices; and you know, alto then is below soprano, and tenor below alto; and you know, bass is the lowest voice. V: Mhm. A: And you avoid crossing them. V: So, alto should be between soprano and tenor, and tenor should be between bass and alto. A: Yes. V: Always. A: Yes, and then of course you need to look at the accidentals. Let’s say if you have a dominant chord in a minor key, you need to raise the 7th scale degree. And sometimes people do that, let’s say, in the soprano, which is a given, and then use the seventh scale degree in the bass, for example, and forget to add that seventh scale degree, raised. V: Mhm. A: And it sounds really bad. V: That’s harmonic minor. A: That’s right, the same in major if you use harmonic--harmonic major with the 6th scale degree lowered. You need then to do it consistently. V: But that’s rare in hymns. A: But yes, in hymns that’s rare; but not a dominant in a minor with the seventh scale degree raised. It’s pretty common. V: Mhm. And that means that the dominant chord is always major. A: That’s right. And another major mistake that you can make in conventional harmony: 2 subdominant key chords after a dominant key. I think this is the worst mistake that you can do. V: Why is that? A: Because after a dominant chord, it has that seventh scale degree, so it sounds very unstable. And after a dominant chord, you need to use either another dominant chord, or you need to resolve it to a tonic chord. But not to use subdominant, which has not such a big tension as a dominant. V: Mhm. Leading tone, or raised 7th scale degree, is always the least stable degree in a scale. A: That’s right. So after, you know...In harmony, usually if you build up tension, then we have to release it. That’s how it works, normally. V: Mhm. So after subdominant, after less tension, you could get more tension with playing a dominant chord. A: That’s right. V: But if you do it the other way around, then the tension gets less...But the chord is not resolved, so it’s strange. A: Yes, it is. V: Tonic after the dominant sounds good. But subdominant after the dominant sounds more...jazzlike. A: That’s right. And you don’t want that in hymn playing, probably. V: Probably, mhm. So that’s our general ideas for Spencer, and everybody who is interested in varied hymn harmonies, to start their own harmonization journey. And check out our courses on that; that’s a really big help. If that’s what our students tell us are true. And they’re of course telling the truth! Haha. Thank you guys for sending us those questions. Please keep writing more--your challenges and dreams about organ playing, what you want to achieve in 6 months, in 3 months, and what’s stopping you from achieving your dream. Even in the short term--maybe in a month, if you have a challenge coming up. Maybe like a public performance. We could try to help you get unstuck. Right, Ausra? A: Yes, that’s right. 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 280, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Ana Marija. And she writes: Hello! I am going to play a recital with my violinist friend on historical short octave organ (with no pedals, 8 stops). But we have some trouble finding repertoire, that is suitable for this organ. For the solo organ part, I will be playing some music by Byrd, Tomkins, Sweelinck, Frescobaldi and Froberger. Do you have any other idea? But mainly, we have a hard time finding pieces for violin and short octave organ. We would really appreciate if you could help us with any suggestion!:) Thank you for your wonderful work and help:) Ana Marija V: Do you think, Ausra, that playing above mentioned composers such as Byrd, Tompkins, Sweelinck, Frescobaldi, and Froberger, would work on that old organ? A: I’m sure it will work. Definitely. V: What else could you play for organ solo? A: Well, I think there is more music that you could do, because these all composers mentioned, except of course Froberger and Frescobaldi, come from Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. So anything in those two big volumes would fit, for historical with short octave. V: And Frescobaldi wrote, what Fiori musicali, probably, suitable without pedals. A: Yes, but of course you could also play something from Tabulatura nova by Samuel Scheidt. I think that will work also. V: That’s right. A: Because it’s also only for manuals. V: If you take Tabulatura nova, could you play the three lower parts with the keyboard, like on an organ and let the violinist play the upper part? A: Yes. That’s one of the possibilities that you could digest some pieces from Tabulatura nova for violin and organ. V: Hmm-hmm. That’s the easiest probably solution. Three volumes, plenty of music to choose from. But we also found a couple of suitable collections to work on, the Spanish Cancionero de Pallacio from the Renaissance period, from mid 1470’s until the beginning of 16th Century. Basically it has music of vocal polyphony for three or four parts. So you could easily play the three or two lower parts on the organ, and let the violinist play the upper part, with perhaps diminutions. A: Yes. Because if you would just play throughout, straight through, without adding any ornaments and diminutions, it might sound boring. So you have to improvise a little bit. V: Because it’s vocal music and the entire interest is done by voices with text and if you can’t hear text while playing instrumental music, then you have to add something. A: Sure. And I think that some of French chansons or Italian canzonas would work in the same way—that violin would play the upper part with some diminutions and the organ would accompany playing other voice. V: Definitely. Madrigals. A: Yes. Madrigals too. So French chansones and Italian madrigals. V: What about motets? Religious Latin music? A: Well, you could do them too, but I don’t think it would sound probably as good as madrigals and chanson. V: Imagine you’re an organist those motets on one organ. You would play diminutions, like Scheidemann did from the motets by Orlando de Lassus, for example, or Hans Leo Hassler. So you would need your right hand to be playing solo passages a lot, and the left hand and pedals if you have pedals, the lower parts. A: Well, but in this case we have no pedals. We have short octave, so I wouldn’t do motets, for this particular concert. V: Yes. With pedals you can do even up to six parts on the solo organ. But without the pedals, I guess three or four parts would be maximum. A: But anyway, in this case you will have adjust somehow because you won’t find original compositions specifically written for organ with short octave and solo violin. V: We can give links to these collections we’re talking about in the description of the conversation in the transcript, so that people can click and visit the scores in public domain. A: So nice you can use them freely. V: Yeah. And what about Michael Praetorius, dances from Terpsichore collection from 1612? A: I think it should work too. At least some of those pieces. V: Mmm-hmm. They’e very fun to play. We listened to CD of this collection and we’ve been to some of the concerts of early music ensembles playing Michael Praetorius. A: That’s right. V: Wonderful music if you have the right instruments. So violin and organ could play some of these too. A: Definitely, yes. So you just need to check this collection and then to decide what to do with it. V: Right. And there are additions with original notation, with various clefs, but for people who don’t like various clefs, there are modern additions. A: That’s right. V: Okay. So what are the closing remarks, the general ideas for people for searching for suitable repertoire like that, for ensemble music, chamber music form 17th or 16th Century? A: Well that’s all the time you will have to adjust somehow. Probably you won’t find the original that would suit you right away, so that’s the beauty of this kind of music. V: Have you played with a violinist, Ausra? A: Yes, I had. V: A good violinist? A: No, I haven’t. V: Only a bad one. A: Yes (laughs). V: But you played later music. A: Yes, I played Bach. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Sonata for violin and organ or harpsichord. V: Before this conversation started, we were discussing with Ausra some ideas, and Ausra thought if Bach would be suitable, for Bach’s violin sonatas would be suitable for this kind of arrangement on the short-octave organ and we concluded that no, probably. A: No, no. V: Why, Ausra. A: Well, Bach’s music is too complex for such kind of instrument and this kind of instrument needs earlier repertoire. V: And by complex, you mean, chromaticism's. A: Yes. V: In the left hand part. A: That’s right. V: In the bass octave. And we have to remember, that short octave doesn’t have accidentals. A: That’s right. V: No C sharp, no D sharp, no F sharp, no G sharp, only B flat I think. A: So it limits your variety of your repertoire. V: Right. Some of the 17th Century and even 18th Century organs have sort of version of short octave, but without C sharp, or without C sharp and D sharp, so you could have accidentals starting from F sharp. Then some of the later music would be possible to play but I guess this is not the case with this small organ without pedals. A: Definitely, yes. V: Thank you guys for writing those wonderful questions. Please send us more of your challenges. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen!
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Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more... Sign up and begin your training today. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. Join 80+ other Total Organist students here
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 279 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Rob. He writes: Perhaps it is a good idea to help (beginning) organists by instructing them how to accompany a singing audience during a church service. Not everybody know how to accompany singing hymns etc. during church services. V: That’s a nice question Ausra. A: It is, yes. Actually I think it’s a very common difficulty to accompany singing choir or singing congregation. It’s actually a true art that’s much different from what you do when you are playing solo. V: You can see a big difference sometimes when people normally play hymns and when you attempt let’s say hymn service, special hymn festival even, right, when guest organist comes to town and directs the congregation in singing hymns and that person is an expert in leading and improvising on those hymns so it will be like a short interactive concert, but interactive in a way that the congregation joins in too. A: True. It’s a big difference for example if the protestant church sings or catholic church sings because let’s say in Lithuania there are very few singing churches in general and usually it’s organist responsibility not only to accompany hymns but also to lead them. It means that organist plays himself and sings himself or herself at the same time and it’s really difficult. V: I guess this is more common in European catholic churches. A: True. In America it is a little bit different. V: So what do you do for starters if you are a beginner? I guess if you cannot play the hymns with your hands and feet maybe the feet are not that crucial for starters, right? A: Well yes and no because if you are leading a big congregation then I think that pedal is crucial because the foundation of 16’ in the pedal is very important because that way everything sticks together much better that playing without the pedal. But anyway, if you are accompanying other people or choir or congregation you need to know your hymns extremely well. That’s no question, you have to be able to play them technically without any difficulty because all your attention during the real performance will be focused on listening to the congregational singing or choir singing. V: Yes, and if a beginner is in a situation like when they have to accompany a big congregation I guess it’s not really normal because people with experience have to accompany large congregations, right? I guess it’s more of an emergency sometimes like when you have to jump in and substitute when an organist is not there. So, it’s a big stress for a beginner to do this with pedals. I would recommend not playing four voices right at the beginning and just playing soprano with the right hand and the bass with the left hand but using full principal chorus registration meaning you have principals 8’, 4’, 2’ and a mixture plus 16’ in the manuals. What do you think about that? A: Yes, that’s true. And also another thing that helps me to accompany congregational singing or choir, I sing together with them, not necessarily physically, but in my mind. But I would know text good, I would know where the end of phrases are, where the congregation or choir has to take a breath, that way my accompaniment will breath too. V: Umm-hmm. You are right Ausra, you have to sing, breath together and it takes a lot of preparation for the beginner. It’s simply not feasible for a beginner organist who never played in front of an audience to jump in and just sit down and sight-read a two-part hymn like soprano and the bass as I talked earlier. It’s not realistic at all, right? People will get stuck and have panic attacks most of the time. So I guess it takes a lot of work. How much work, Ausra, does it take to prepare one hymn for a beginner, in two parts? Imagine yourself if you can. A: I don’t know now already because I am not a beginner. It’s hard for me to tell how much time but you need to take as much time that you would feel comfortable with a certain hymn. For somebody it may take half an hour, for somebody maybe an hour, maybe even more. V: More, most likely more. A: If you are a regular church organist, beginning will be hard, but then after a while hymns will start to circulate sort of and you will come back to the old ones and you will build your own hymn repertoire and it gets easier and easier with time. So it’s just a matter of time and practice and experience. V: You know what I found sort of instructive; I did an experiment a few years ago with the Gigue Fugue by Bach (BWV 577). It was the first time basically I learned it and I counted the number of repetitions. How many times do I have to repeat this piece, in a slower tempo, in a faster tempo, it was varied tempo for me before I could play it in public. You know what the number was? A: I don’t know, tell me. V: One hundred. A: Wow, that’s a lot. V: That’s a lot. That’s a more or less virtuosic piece, or course. A: Yes, it is. Hymns are not so virtuosic. V: But you see, I was an advanced organist playing virtuosic music and it was basically my level of repertoire, right? Maybe. When beginners play two parts, what we call bicinium organ settings, organ hymns, that’s also their repertoire, one part in each hand and they can do this. So I guess this is kind of similar situation. If people sometimes don’t know how many times they have to repeat each hymn, make it 100 so then it would be more realistic and if you fail after that in public performance it means you are not failing because of lack of repetition, but because of something else. Maybe lack of focus, right Ausra? A: Yes, and another thing which I think is very important when accompanying hymns is taking the right tempi. So always think about tempi and in order to take it you need to sing that hymn yourself to see if it’s not too slow or not too fast. V: Umm-hmm. A: So text is very important in helping decide what kind of tempo should be. V: So if you get called to accompany congregation the next Sunday and if you are a beginner, and priest or pastor gives you how many, four, five, or six hymns for a service to prepare in seven days. A: Start right away. V: Start right away as Ausra says. But also, be realistic because four, five, six, let’s say six hymns that would be like normal protestant church number of hymns that you will need, so six hundred repetitions you would need with these and of course, you will be practicing much slower than concert tempo or public performance tempo which means that one verse will last more than one minute. Usually one verse lasts one minute, right? And there you will play for two or even three minutes. So three minutes times six hundred. How many minutes do you have to do this. A: You see how different we are. I never count the number of repetitions. How many times I have to repeat my piece and he just loves to count everything and to plan everything. You know for one hymn you may have to do all those repetitions, for another maybe not. Maybe it will be easier. V: But I’m trying to save people from disaster during public performance, from the stress that they will say “I will not play in church ever again.” A: But you know somebody after they listen to your Podcast all those big numbers of hymn repetition, I’d say “Oh no, organ playing is not for me. I won’t be able to do all these things.” V: Wait a second. Three minutes per verse in a slow tempo times six hundred repetitions means one thousand eight hundred (1,800) minutes. How many hours is that Ausra? A: I don’t know. Math is not my friend. Stop scaring organists! V: In a week you have to do, that’s a lot, maybe thirty hours. Could be. A: Yes. I think you just need to know that playing solo and playing accompaniment is two different things. V: Umm-hmm. A: And they will give you different experiences but they both feel wonderful. I think the feeling of accompanying a congregation is really wonderful. I really miss working in a good protestant church and accompanying congregational singing. We don’t have that so much in Lithuania and that’s what I miss about the United States so much. V: Right. Yes, we calculated and it is thirty hours. A: Vidas calculated and it is thirty hours. V: (laughs) I called myself we, yes, very nice. So guys I’m pretty confident if I take a beginner at the organ and this beginner organist perseveres for thirty hours per week, he or she could play six hymns the next Sunday. What do you think? A: Well, if you will practice so many hours I think in a month or so you won’t be a beginner any more. V: But just in a week, with six hymns, and two parts, not four parts and without pedals. So that’s realistic but you have to stick to that rigorous schedule and not to many people can do that. My Hymn Playing Workshop will be helpful here. So as Ausra says, there is another way to do minimum required work and simply enjoy playing, enjoy your practice, right Ausra? A: Yes, that’s right. V: Because when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
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Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 278 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Dineke, and she writes: Dear Vidas, Glad with the quickly received materials, and the bonus, for the pedal virtuoso course start. Although most things went automatically, I wish you to say my thanks. Admiring your lots of work and your knowledge in digital ways. Kind regards, Dineke V: Well, Ausra, It’s so nice to receive a message like that. A: Yes, it’s very nice, although I don’t see that it’s a question, so what will we talk about? V: Maybe Dineke, we have to know, is a student of later age in life, and she wants to improve her pedal technique, but not only. But, she is our Pedal Virtuoso Master Course student. So, she started studying this course a while ago, and I guess now, she needs to stick to the schedule of playing those pedal scales regularly. What do you think, Ausra? A: Well, I think it’s sometimes hard to stick to the schedule. V: Do you have your permanent schedule, Ausra, like, for Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and so on? A: Well, I have some things that are permanent, and I have some things that vary time to time. V: Mhm. I have my little notebook where I put the things on my calendar, but they’re not regular. Right? Not like on 10:00 AM everyday, I will do this thing. So, I have to find practice time in each day separately, most of the time. Is that hard, Ausra, for you? Finding practice time? A: Oh yes. It’s very hard. V: Now that the school will start soon, it will be even a bigger challenge, right? A: True. V: I guess for Dineke the challenge is to stick to the schedule not only because of a lack of time, but also because of rigorous material, because people who start this course, do not always finish. And those who don’t finish, don’t see the improvement in their pedal technique. But Dineke, hopefully, is a persevering student, right Ausra? A: Well, I hope so. V: So, in order to play those scales everyday, rather dry and unmusical exercises with your feet, what kind of motivation would you like to have, Ausra, if you were in Dineke’s shoes? A: Well, just to know that if you will be able to learn all those scales you can play a nice repertoire, too, and have no problems with the pedals. V: Sometimes, when you’re in the middle of the challenge like this course, which runs like 3-4 months, it’s hard to see the progress day by day when you practice. A: Well, so, you never have to work on one thing only. For example, if you will be only exercising pedaling for those three or four months, of course it will get boring, and I don’t think many would have the courage to finish it. But, practice something else, too! You don’t necessarily have to play only pedal scales. Work on some repertoire simultaneously. V: It would be like a healthy meal with a variety of foods throughout the day, not one kind of food all the time, right? A: Of course, you don’t have to eat oatmeal only every day three times a day. V: Unless you are on an oatmeal diet! A: Unless you are a horse! V: A horse! Yes! So, do horses complain, Ausra, about this? What’s your idea about this? A: I don’t think so. V: Do they say to their master, “Oh give us some pancakes with blueberry?” A: I don’t think so. V: So, obviously, Dineke is practicing something else, because she also is studying with her own organ professor, and he gives her material to practice. So, I’m sure she has a variety in her repertoire, and exercises. And our course, Pedal Virtuoso Master Course will supplement that material. That’s very nice. Another thing in this course that is challenging is this flexibility of an ankle. At first, when people do this, the ankle is a weak spot for people to play with their heels and toes, and slide from pedal to pedal smoothly. What are your thoughts on that, Ausra? A: I think it’s just a matter of adjusting and getting used to it. It shouldn’t be as hard. If you can walk, it means you can play pedals, too. V: Mhm. Sometimes, your position is not comfortable, right? A: Yes. V: You have to adjust your bench, sitting position on the bench, and…. A: ...shoes of course, which we have talked about many times before. V: Shoes, when playing with heels are tremendously important, because, if you have heels, higher heels, about 2 or 3 inches, then you don’t need to move your ankles so much. A: Yes, it saves time and it saves energy. V: Right. You can be a little more efficient with playing with your feet. Have you seen organists play with socks and heels? A: Yes, I have seen those. V: And I’ve seen them, too, and some of our colleagues do this, and it’s much more energy consuming thing, because you have to constantly bend your ankles in order to play with your heels. Why do you think people stick to socks sometimes? A: I think maybe they cannot get or find comfortable shoes, or maybe they are just so used to it that they cannot learn to play otherwise. Or maybe they just want to save some money, not buy organ shoes. Well, there could be a variety of reasons why you do it, and maybe another reason would be that you don’t want to carry your organ shoes with you, and you are always wearing socks, so you are always ready to play organ pedals. V: Right, you don’t know where you will find this organ, right? Maybe the organ is around that corner, or around that corner, so you carry your socks in your pocket and you are ready whenever you go, right? A: That’s right. V: And, washing socks is more comfortable than washing shoes, right? A: Do you wash your shoes? V: Not regularly, no. A: I don’t think you should wash your organ shoes. V: Nice. So, the last thing that is difficult with this course is for people to move their both feet as one unit, basically to keep their heels together, and sometimes the knees if it’s okay with their physique. What do you think, Ausra, with your physique? Do you feel comfortable holding your knees and ankles together? A: No! I have a hard time, because my legs are short. No. It’s very hard. V: Why do they say that it’s the right way of playing modern pedals? A: I have no idea. Maybe you have? You have long legs, so…. V: Maybe those who say this have longer legs! A: I guess so. V: I guess maybe this comes from an idea of playing with your feet as the third hand, additional… A: Because you know, if I am playing in the middle of the pedal board then it’s okay; I can hold everything together—my knees and ankles together. But, if I’m playing on the left side or on the right side of the pedal board, my legs are not long enough that I could keep them both together. That way I would just fall down on the pedal board, and that’s it. V: And that’s one of those exceptions you can make, if you are playing in the extreme of the pedal board, you can play with one foot. A: But that’s what happens when you are playing hard repertoire. V: What do you mean? A: Well, let’s see… a Vierne Symphony, or Duruflé, or you are playing something where you use double pedal, and what about that? If you are playing double pedal? Let’s say octaves in double pedal. Can you place your knees and ankles together? V: I think that works only up until perfect fifths. The interval of perfect fifths. Wider than the fifths is breaking your knees, probably. A: I know. So, you always need to look at your own physique and at the concrete piece, concrete situation, concrete organ. V: I guess, we should conclude this conversation with an idea: The technique serves the person and not the other way around. A: That’s right. V: Not the person serves the technique. If something doesn’t feel right with these exercises, adjust so that it would feel more comfortable to you, right? A: That’s right. V: Thanks, guys, for listening, and for practicing, and we haven’t practiced yet this morning. Right? And we will do that later in the day at church, right Ausra? A: That’s right. V: That will be very nice to practice organ duets for our upcoming Banchetto Musicale Festival performance. So, we wish you a great day, pleasant practice, and remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen.
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Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more... Sign up and begin your training today. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. Join 80+ other Total Organist students here
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 277 of Secrets of Organ Playing podcast. This question was sent by Rob. He writes: Dear Vidas, In this mail I’ll provide the answers to you questions: (that is the least I can do for the wonderful work that you and your wife do) 1. What is your dream for your organ playing? My dream of organ playing is to completely free, sit down at the organ console and play and improvise whatever I want. (my inspiration comes from people like Pierre Cochereau, Jean Langlais, Marcel Dupre, Ben van Oosten, Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin and others). 2. What are 3 most important things that are holding you back from realizing your dream? 1) (Lack of) technique i.e. the idea that I am not “advanced enough” to take on any organ piece 2) the false notion that certain pieces are “too difficult” 3) finding enough time to develop my skills In a separate email I’d like to share some feedback with you and tell you a little bit about myself if that is OK. Kind regards, Rob So, of course it is okay--please write us more detailed feedback, right Ausra? A: Yes. V: What did you notice about his dream, Ausra, first of all? A: Well, he mentioned so many wonderful French composers and organists, and I suddenly remembered that funny test that we did a few years ago, remember? V: Uh-huh. A: We took a test just for fun, to find out which French organist we resemble. V: On Facebook. A: On Facebook, yes. And it was funny because both of what Rob mentions here are on this list, on his list. And Vidas was--guess who! V: Uhhh...Pierre Cochereau, maybe? A: That’s right. And do you remember what I was? V: Marcel Dupre? A: Yes, that’s right. V: You were Marcel Dupre. A: Haha! V: I don’t know why, but it was funny! Yeah, these people were great improvisers--and some of them still are. And they are like the sun behind the horizon--the goal or the dream can never be reached, right? Who can successfully say that “I’m like Pierre Cochereau” or “I’m like Marcel Dupre” today, right? A: Nobody. V: Right, because there was already one Pierre Cochereau and Marcel Dupre too. There is actually no point in being the second Marcel Dupre. A: But each of us is unique. V: Exactly. A: And we need to be proud of it. V: So Robert should be proud of being himself. Of course, he could take inspiration from these people… A: That’s right. V: In general ideas--general ideas like freedom of expression, of creativity that these masters did. But Rob’s path is different, and our path with Ausra is different, too--my path from Ausra’s is different, and Ausra’s is different, too. And we have to own it, own our differences. And actually, some of these differences can become our guiding points, right, like uniqueness, and we can differentiate ourselves in the world. A: That’s right. And now, talking about his 3 things that he writes, that he needs to improve his technique-- V: Mhm. A: And he wants to play whatever on the organ that he sits down easily, or improvise; and he needs to have more time. So I guess I would reverse all these problems in the other order; because I think the first thing is you need to find time to practice. Because only if you will practice on a regular basis, you can improve your technique; and only if you can improve your technique, you will be able to play whatever you want, and improvise. V: Difficult pieces as well. Let me disagree politely with you, Ausra-- A: Okay! V: --when you say finding enough time. And Rob writes “finding enough time,” in these words, finding enough time. I would say making time--not finding but making. When you say I need to find more time, you say that it’s not in our control--like, you’re looking somewhere, and maybe you will find, maybe you will not find. A: But when you are talking about making time, it seems like you know...each day and night lasts for 24 hours, and let’s make 2 more hours, yes? Per day? What do you mean by making time? V: I mean that, let’s say...This is a serious dream. If Rob is serious about this dream, making time for that dream to gradually happen would be on the top of his--maybe not top-top-top on the very top, but top 5 things that he does in the day. Would you agree? A: Yes, I would agree. V: So everyone can do 5 things in a day, at least for 15min in a day. If we agree on that, then finding those 15min--it’s not an necessary word, actually. Making those 15min would be more appropriate. A: But are you sure it would be enough to play--to practice 15min a day in order to be able to play any organ composition? V: Let’s say you tell yourself, “I will sit down today on the organ bench for 15 minutes.” And you do: you sit down, and you can continue if you feel like playing for an hour, or for 45 minutes or whatever. You can. But the trick that our mind sometimes plays on us is: if we cannot find or make 60 minutes of quality time for organ playing, then we don’t bother to sit down at all, you know? And say our day is wasted. But if we sit down for 15 minutes, there is a chance we will continue for more. A: So it’s like cheating yourself! V: Obviously, yes. We have to cheat our tricky mind! Right? Because that’s what we do. We seek our dream. That’s what we try to do here. We take steps--baby steps. Anything else, Ausra? A: Well...Well I would say, you know, if you really want to achieve something, you have to do it; and you have to find time, or to make time, as you say. Because if you are not doing it, maybe it’s not as important for you as you think it is. V: I think it is important for him, because he wrote it to us. A: Yes, that’s the first step, I think. V: Mhm, to admit that it is important to you and write it down. A: But you know, I think if you will practice, let’s say, for 60 days straight thorugh, you will develop a habit of practicing V: Exactly, 66 days. A: And then you will not be able to stop practicing. V: You will feel not right--something will be missing from your creative day, if you don’t do that activity. At least for a bit, right? For 15 minutes. Would you agree, Ausra? A: Yes, I agree with it. V: Do you feel that you cannot function well if you don’t play every day? A: Sure, sure. V: What is it that you feel, if you skip practicing? A: That something is missing. V: And how do you react to it? Do you feel like a different person-- A: Well, I sort of start feeling guilty. V: Guilt? A: Yes. V: Why? A: And this is not good, maybe--I don’t know, but that’s what I feel. V: Very Catholic! A: I know, it is! V: Good. But you know, I feel that guilt, too. Haha! Yes, if I skip! So therefore, I try to do this first thing in the morning. Not necessarily organ playing, in the morning, because maybe you will be sleeping, right? If I rise earlier. But some creative activity I do first thing in the morning. Then, if something goes wrong with that day, if there is an emergency or something, or the electricity disappears, like it happened a couple of days ago--at least I know I did something creative in the morning. The day wasn’t wasted. A: But still, you know, most of the time, I cannot practice in the morning. Only in summertime, for a couple months, in summertime I can practice in the morning. So I have to do it after making all other my works... V: Yeah. A: And it’s really hard. Like last school year, I allowed my only one day a week not practicing, and it was Tuesday--because I was working straight from 8 till 6. V: Did you feel that something has to change--that either you are playing too much, or you’re working too much? A: Definitely I’m working too much. V: Did you have this feeling? A: Yes. V: Mhm. What would you rather sacrifice? Playing or working? A: Hahahaha! V: A little bit--not necessarily you have to quit your job, I’m not communicating that, but-- A: Of course working--of course working. V: --But instead of working 100% like you do now, maybe 90%. A: Yes, that’s a good idea, but you are not always able to do what you want. V: Right. And on days that you practice, Ausra, are you happier? A: Sure, of course I’m happier. V: Happier. Did you practice today? A: Yes, I practiced today. V: So you are happy now? A: That’s right. V: And I only played organ duets with you, so I’m not as happy as you are, so I better go now and practice. Okay. A: Sure. Of course, when you practice... V: Miracles happen!
This blog/podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online...
Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more... Sign up and begin your training today. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. Join 80+ other Total Organist students here |
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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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