Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 217 of Ask Vidas and Ausra podcast. This question was sent by Francher. My Dear Vidas… Thank you so much for your response and inquiry! Although it is unlikely that I’ll ever perform, I do practice “very well”…and, for at least 2 hours every day. I start my day with an hour to an hour and a half practice, and end my day with another hour (with several shorter sessions, as time permits, throughout the day). I knew I wanted to be an Organist when I was about 10 years old…I also knew I wanted to be an Architect then too. As a profession, Architecture “won”. So, I spent my “productive” years doing the Architecture thing. Although I “piddled” with the organ for many years, I didn’t start serious music study until I retired at age 72. I found a wonderful teacher, who convinced me that I would learn more quickly if I knew some theory. So, I went back to college (at 74) and studied Music Theory for a year. Then, after studying with her for four years, she abruptly gave up all her students and quit teaching. That’s when I discovered “Total Organist” and, I’ve been studying with you ever since. I am so grateful for your teaching efforts. Based upon your reorganized material, I would place myself in the “Early-Intermediate” stage of development. At 80, I learn much more slowly than in my youth… Now, I say, I’m 8 years into, what will be for me, a 20 year program. So, as long as I am able, we’ll be working together far into the future. Thanks, again, for all that you and Ausra do for Organists and the Organ. Francher V: So it’s really wonderful to read this type of feedback, right Ausra? A: Yes, it’s amazing. V: It’s never too late to play the organ and to improve, even at eighty or even later in life, right? A: And it’s so nice that you know some people are able to do that. V: Yeah. Because when we are younger we so many other things that we have to do and there is not enough time, right? So then when we retire sometimes we get to do what we really want. A: Yes, that’s absolutely amazing. V: And Francher also rightly mentioned that her previous teacher encouraged her to study music theory. Why music theory is so important, Ausra? A: I think it’s important. It’s you know in order to be a good musician you need to have performance skills, technical abilities you know to play music well, but it’s also important to understand it, you know too. And that’s where theory comes in. And you know we keep fighting with you know with my students and other colleagues at school all the time. It’s like endless war you know between theory teachers and performance teachers because performers often say “Oh we can teach them to play without any theory.” V: Which is partly true. A: Well yes, but theory teachers just laugh about their attitude because I think it leave you, it takes you to a dead end. V: And in today's environment where everybody can do what you do you have to be unique. And if you have two people doing what they can at the same level like all things being equal, right? And one person knows music theory well and another doesn’t its I think a no-brainer to understand who will be picked in promotion and other things because theory background gives you as we say understanding how the music put together which in turn lets you to interpret music better. A: Yes. V: And people who don’t know this they will never be able to teach. A: That’s right. V: Right? Because they have only been taught themselves how to do it without understanding why. The reason behind the solutions. And then if you never teach, right, if you never share your experiences to other people you will never grow to the best of your ability. You will grow somewhat but not as much as you could. And you don’t have to teach at a formal institution, right? Like we both teach you right now, right Ausra? It’s teaching. Blogging is teaching. Podcasting is teaching. Everything that you share freely with the world is in a way teaching. A: Yes, so I think you know it was smart whoever you know suggested for Francher to go to learn some music theory. It doesn’t mean that you would need to write a dissertation and all about any theoretical subject. But you know still it broadens your horizons. V: You know with our rigid system I think we have trouble communicating this correctly with young generation and sometimes really we miss the mark like two passing ships in the middle of the ocean. We don’t communicate well. They want to play and we want them to understand the music and they don’t want to understand why they need this. The best way for Francher and others who are listening to this to think about music theory would be to learn it and right away apply it in your organ practice. Analyze the pieces you are playing. Be aware of how it’s put together. Not so much theoretical concepts for the concepts sake which is fine but you will forget it if you are not apply it, right Ausra? A: Yes and no. My colleagues at school they simply stop arguing with me when they find out that I am also performer, not only theory teacher. V: Yes, and in our school the best theory teachers are always performers. A: That’s true. V: Not necessarily performing right now but they were performing majors because they know real music not just dry rules. So Francher discovered Total Organist over the years and yes, she is a long term student of ours. And of course just recently we decided to reorganize the materials so that they could look at the levels of difficulty. For example, music for beginners, music for basic level, then intermediate, and then advanced level organist. And this way people really simply pick what they like from that level, right? So Francher is putting herself in early intermediate stage. What does that mean in your opinion? Is it that she can play more things than the basic level students can or something else? A: Of course, I think she should be able to play more advanced pieces. V: More advanced pieces than the Orgelbuchlein probably. A: Yes, yes. V: Because Orgelbuchlein would be like the best example for basic level stuff, right? Orgelbuchlein and probably Eight Little Preludes and Fugues. A: That’s right if we are thinking about Bach. V: And if we're thinking about let’s say romantic music. What would that be for basic level? Like Boellmann maybe, Vierne. A: Yes, Boellmann and probably like L’organiste by Cesar Franck. V: Uh-huh. Slower basically movements of the large-scale works, not to fast, not to virtuosic, not too chromatic also. A: Yes. V: So wonderful and then early intermediate level allows you to gradually progress to longer preludes and fugues, right? Maybe not two pages long or three pages long but maybe four or five or even six, right? A: That’s right. V: What about chorale based works, Ausra? A: Well I think you could select some of Leipzig chorales. Slower, like Nun Komm probably. V: Um-hmm. Like the one we recommended to study for John from Australia, BWV 569 or 659. Yes, 659. A: Yes. V: It’s longer and ornate in melody but not too difficult. A: That’s right. V: Because Schmucke Dich from the same collection is much harder. OK, so what would you wish for Francher in the upcoming months? A: Just you know to wish her to continue what she is doing. I think it’s great that she is still you know able to play. V: And practicing at that age really I think slows down aging process, don’t you think? A: I think so yes. V: Would you Ausra, hope to practice at this age for example when you reach eighty years old? A: It would be wonderful but I don’t know how I will succeed. V: But if we live that long I think ideally would be to continue to push, to continue to practice, at least a little bit every day. Because when you practice every day you stay curious every day, and if you stay curious every day your mind is engaged every day, and if your mind is engaged every day you are using your mind and it’s like a muscle, your brain right? It gradually also becomes stronger even at that age when your body for example gets weaker. A: True. V: Um-hmm. And it definitely prevents Alzheimer's for example. A: Maybe we need to do you know a research about to find out how many organists at elderly age have Alzheimer's. V: We could do a survey. Starting from like 65+, right? And from our subscribers they could vote, right, whether they have Alzheimer's or not. And we could see the percentage and I think that percentage might be quite small. A: I hope so. Because playing organ trains your brain. V: Exactly. And body and mind coordination too I think is connected here. So thank you so much Francher and others who are sending these wonderful questions. I think this discussion allows us to really help you grow. So please keep sending them and keep practicing. Because 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 216 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. And this question was sent by Denham and he writes: Please can you do a masterclass on the In Dulci Jubilo in the same Orgelbuchlein Book. BWV 608. How to master the rhythm of 3 against 2s. It is so difficult. Thank you Vidas! V: Do you remember this piece (here is slow motion video), where it’s a canon between the chorale parts, I think, the soprano part and the pedal part, but then hands are playing interchangeably duplets and triplets. Remember, George Ritchie talked about that. A: Yes. V: In our early music performance class that’s one of the more difficult things to learn, I think, right? A: Yes, especially for the beginners. V: So. But, actually, it’s not very, very complicated when you think about it. It’s not like three against four. A: Oh, that’s true. Three against four is much harder. Or you know, if you think three against two is hard, pick up the big cycle of organ music by Petr Eben called “Laudes,” and you will find rhythmic figures that would curl your tail! V: Mhm, interesting. You see, “In Dulci Jubilo” is written in A major, and in original notation, it has 3/2 meter, and, against a half note, there are triplets of eighth notes. But of course, in the modernized version it’s a little bit different because we need, then, to have probably a different type of notation, right? A: Mhm, yes. V: We need probably to have something like quarter notes against dotted half notes or eighth notes against dotted quarter notes. Right? A: That’s true, but it’s again the same problem: three against two. V: Mhm. A: But, you know, I think for people for whom it’s so hard to play triplets, vs. duplets, it’s probably because they don’t have a well enough developed hand independence. Don’t you think so? V: Yes, of course you’re right. And this can be achieved by playing and counting those parts separately, right? I’m not sure if Denham does this, playing parts separately. But in this piece, there are actually four parts in this canon between the soprano and the bass. And the bass, of course, has to be played, probably, with the 4’ stop, which will sound an octave higher. And you see sometimes, like in measure 3, there are three groups of triplets in the tenor voice, and six notes in the alto playing duplets. That’s what’s the most difficult, is to play alto against tenor---inner voices, right? And sometimes they switch, three against two, or two against three. A: Yes, but you know, first of all you would need to work in combination. Sometimes it sounds boring, I know, and probably our listeners are getting bored of my advice of working in combinations, but this is really what will help in a piece like this, because if you would, let’s say, play only right hand and pedal, first, and then left hand and pedal first, and after a while you would be really comfortable with it, only after long with those combinations, you can try to play that third measure. V: Or the fourth measure when they switch. A: Or the fourth measure. Yes. V: Mhm. A: But anyway, you know, if after working in combinations for let’s say two weeks, you still have struggling playing duplets against triplets, then maybe you just need to do simple exercise, not playing, but trying to… V: Clap? A: ...clap them, but yes, not with both hands, but… let’s say... V: Tapping! A: Yes, tapping. Imagine that you play on your hip... V: Mhm. A: ...one left and right. I don’t know… do the duplets with your left hand, and triplets with your right hand. Do them separately and then put everything together. And then you will be comfortable with your left hand clapping duplets and your right hand clapping triplets, then just switch... V: Mhm. A: ...and do triplets with your left hand, and duplets with your right hand. V: Hm. That’s possible. And the way to learn this is actually very simple. You can imagine, those two voices. When they are mixed they form a rhythm in em… let’s say 9/8 meter. Instead of playing with both hands, you can play with one hand. <claps the rhythm x_xxx_x_xxx> this way. And when you need both hands, it’s the same thing. So basically, I’m tapping on my computers for you to hear better. <taps out the rhythm x_xxx_x_xxx_x_xxx_>. Right? I can switch, too <taps out the rhythm again x_xxx_x_xxx_x_xxx..>. So basically, you have to fit the quarter note---the duplet---in the middle between the second and the third of the triplets. Right Ausra? A: That’s true, yes. V: Mhm, and you do that by playing separately, or tapping separately, first. A: Yes, but, you know, this is the struggle that each beginner has to overcome. It seems so hard as a beginner. But after a while, you know, after ten years, you will be just laughing about things like this. V: Mhm A: Because by that time you will encounter much, much, much, more difficult rhythmic problems in organ music. V: And of course, in Bach, this is more complex stuff. He was one of the pioneers of course to do this---two against three---and it was quite unusual. And that’s why he used an old rhythmical version writing in 3/2 meter but writing triplets basically in eighth notes. A: Yes, but if you would think about, like, later composers, let’s say, I remember playing Céasar Franck, and in his C major Fantaisie, he used fourths against triplets. V: Mhm. A: So four against three, and it was hard for me, because I was also maybe like on my second or third year of organ playing at that time. So, but then think about Messiaen, how complex his rhythms are. There, you have to subdivide in 32nds maybe, you know, in order to get the rhythm right. Or you know, like I mentioned Petr Eben before that. So… V: I’m just looking at the Google Brahms piano exercises. If you want more advanced exercises, especially for more advanced rhythmical figures, try to study 51 exercises by Brahms. That’s an amazing place. And, even the firs exercises is just absolutely impossible to play right away. You have to spend some time with it. Maybe a few days to get it. Even the first exercise. So, Brahms was a champion to do this, because in the Romantic era, they had all kinds of rhythmical variations, right? So you will also need to do this. So, we hope this was useful to you. And study Brahms and other things, too. And remember to send more of your questions. We love helping you grow. This was Vidas! A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 215 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. This question was sent by George. And he writes: Dear Vidas, My greatest problem at this point is independence of both hands and feet, in addition to the usual issues sight reading all the separate parts. You're very kind to write! Yours truly, George So, it seems like George hasn’t spent many years on the organ bench. A: Yes; it seems from his question that he’s a beginner. V: Okay. And beginners usually struggle with playing separate melodies in your hands and separate in the feet at the same time--that’s what we call independence of both hands and feet. Right? So, this is just a very natural phenomenon, I think. A: It is. V: That’s how we all start, and that’s nothing to be either worried about or ashamed of. A: That’s true. So, and as I have told before to other organists who asked our opinion and help, you really need to work in a slow tempo, and you really need to work in combinations-- V: Mhm? A: Not play all the parts together. V: Ausra, in your experience, will there ever be a time where a person can practice faster right away? A: Not really. V: Because the texture is just too complex, right? A: I know. V: Mhm. Unless you are playing a solo melody which is a single voice. A: Yes, that’s right; then you can play fast! V: Or--if you’re playing with a partner--maybe 2 voices, like an organ duet, and you’re both sight reading 2 voices each. A: That’s right, but you know, in other cases, you need to start with a slow tempo. V: Remember, Ausra, in Bach’s birthday recital, we just picked up a harmonization of Bach’s chorale maybe 5 minutes before our actual performance. We just played it through a couple of times, and we did it at concert tempo right away. That was risky, but we did it. A: Yes. It worked okay, I think. V: Would it be okay if, for example, either of us alone would have played it? A: Probably not so well as we played it together. V: Because alone, you have to manage 4 parts. A: That’s right. And an open score--written in an open score. V: Mhm. So then, you would need to spend some extra time. A: Yes. Because it wouldn’t be so fun to read 4 lines together. V: Unless you are doing this everyday. A: Sure. V: Like choir conductors do. So yes--basically, slow practice is essential. And Ausra, will there ever be a time when a person can practice without spending too much time on combinations, just 4 parts right away? A: Sure. V: That is possible? A: Yes, that’s right. V: But maybe later in his career, or her career. A: True. Maybe after 4 or 5 years of extensive playing. V: I think that’s too few years; I think more is needed. A: Well...it depends on circumstances. V: When did you first find out that you could manage 4-part texture right away? A: I now don’t remember exactly when that time was. V: It wasn’t like, on January 1st, 2014…? A: No, no. But actually, for me, the church position helped a lot. When I was first--besides from playing that organ solo repertoire--when I was having to learn a lot of music for the church each week-- V: Mhm. A: New music for the church. V: So basically, having regular performance opportunities every Sunday--that basically facilitates your progress. A: That’s true, yes. V: It’s like being thrown into a swimming pool deep enough to drown… A: Haha! V: And being told, “Swim, or sink!” A: That’s right! V: So, can we recommend that system to George? Swimming or sinking? A: Well, I don’t know what his goals are, but maybe he could try to find an assistant organist position. Part-time. V: Just a few hours per month? A: Yes. And I think this would be motivation enough for him to improve faster. V: Maybe just 1 piece per month to learn, for starters. That would be a good opportunity, right? A: Yes. V: If he could show up on the organ bench at church just 1 Sunday a month, and play something new. And then go back and learn, for a month, something new again; and show up the next month. A: Yes, I think it would be a good beginning. V: Mhm. Would that be a scary experience at first, for him? A: Yes, but I think it would get easier with time. V: How much time do you need to be more comfortable with playing in public, at the beginning? How many performances, or Sundays? A: ...Probably ten? V: You’re about right, I think. In my experience, when I was playing in my improvisation recitals nonstop for 60 minutes, at first it was a very very scary experience; but after 10 performances, it was a breakthrough--a little bit of a revelation. And every 10 performances, you discover something new about yourself, something new about the music, and something new about the instrument that you’re playing. Agree? A: Yes. V: Excellent. A: So if you will take some church positions, then at the end of the year you will feel more comfortable. V: Yeah. You will have learned 12 pieces! A: That’s right. V: And remember, you can constantly repeat those pieces over time--maybe not every week, but maybe a few times a month, right? And your repertoire will expand this way--you will not have 1 or 2 pieces under your belt, but 12 pieces; and the next year, perhaps you will learn maybe not 12 new pieces, but maybe 24 new pieces, because your new skill level will build on this old skill level, right? A: Yes. V: It’s possible? A: That’s possible, true. Maybe some of those new pieces you will not repeat--maybe you will not like them so much after a while. V: Mhm. A: But still, some of them you will keep practicing and playing. V: Exactly. And by the time you will have 12 pieces learned for the repertoire, you can actually play a public recital. Maybe not necessarily an hour long, which is too hard for a beginner, but maybe 30 minutes. A: Sure. V: Maybe with another person, split half--50% of the time. You on the bench, and another person would help you, too. Or maybe with a soloist, another instrument. A: Yes. I’ve thought about it, too--that’s a nice idea, to share, to play in some ensembles. V: Mhm. So...the best way to grow is basically to start failing in public as often as possible. Right, Ausra? A: Yes, that’s true. V: And the scariest, right, too? A: Yes. It doesn’t sound very encouraging, but it’s true! V: That’s the way we do it, actually. Right, Ausra? We don’t keep our mistakes under the table, right? Because mistakes are not fatal--you will not die from playing C# instead of D♭. A: ...I’m not so sure about that. V: Hahaha! Okay! Thank you guys, this was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Please remember to practice today. And send us more of your questions, because we love helping you grow. And when you apply our tips in your practice, and maybe modify, a little bit, our advice to fit your situation (because some things will work for us but not necessarily for you, but you can always adjust, and pick and choose from our advice what you like)--then, with time, you will discover something different about yourself. And actually, other people will say, “Oh George, you’re different now! Tell us more!” Right? A: Yes. V: So, you will have gained a new skill. That’s an amazing way to live: constantly learning, and staying curious in the ever-changing world. Thank you guys, 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 214, of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. This question was sent by Tim. He writes: My dream for organ playing is to have the confidence to play publicly in church and concert settings. How can I get comfortable play for others and play as well then as I can when playing just for myself. Barriers include no local teachers in our small community. I’m learning on my own so get no critical feedback on my playing. Lack of opportunity to play publicly is number two. Presumably that could be resolved by joining a local church, but that would really be the wrong reason to join a church. Access to an instrument is not a problem as I have a fine Allen digital organ in my house, but access to a variety of instruments is a problem and limits opportunities to develop more sophisticated registration ideas. Tim V: So, Ausra, he basically wants to have a confidence to play publicly, in church and concert settings. As with many organists, this is a very fine dream, right? A: Yes. V: Because there is nothing wrong with it, right? A: Of course. V: If you can get comfortable when playing for others and even at the level how you’re playing for yourself, right, without playing worse, that would be very nice skill to have. A: That’s right. I got an impression from Tim’s letter that actually he plays more to himself because he has an organ at home and doesn’t go, you know, to play somewhere else often. But, you know, it’s some sort of interesting thing because if he wants to be able to play for other people, he needs to go out and to play for them. And for that he definitely will have to go to church. V: Mmm, hmm. A: And even maybe, you know, to apply for an organist position or part-time organist position, assistant organist. V: Or volunteer once a month let’s say, to play for them if they don’t have the resources to pay him. A: Sure. And as for not having regular teacher and, you know, not having a feedback on his playing, he should record himself more often and listen to what he has played. V: Mmm, hmm. And compare his playing in the recording to, I don’t know, recordings of other people that he can listen online. A: Yes, because now YouTube is full of, you know, of excellent organ work. V: It probably doesn’t mean that copying of recordings note by note is a good idea, because then you lose your unique input and touch. But at the basic level, yes, it helps. A: Yes, I think for a beginner it’s a great tool, to learn how to play. V: Mmm, hmm. If he doesn’t have local teachers of course, he could also, you know, use our material that we provide. A: Sure. V: At first, when we started doing this, we were sort of hopeful that people can teach themselves play, to play the organ, right? But we didn’t know if that was practically possible until John Higgins came from Australia to play for us earlier this month. So, we saw and heard with our own ears what a person can do on his own if, if he as a strong will and immense motivation. A: That’s true. V: Right? So, it’s possible to learn on your own. A: Yes. And you know since also Tim wrote that, you know, that he has a Allen digital organ at home; I think he needs to go to other places to find for other instruments. Because playing digital organ not always, you know, forms the right muscle technique. V: Mmm, hmm. What do you mean, Ausra? A: Well, you will not develop strong enough muscles in your hands and your fingers. So you would probably spend some time practicing on mechanical instruments, or at least on the piano, on the wooden piano. V: Can you compare playing on the digital instrument without weighted keyboard as, let’s say, living or working out in a zero gravity environment? A: Probably, yes. V: Like he’s in space, right? A: Yes. V: Yes. Astronauts of course, they do all kinds of exercise there but they do this, you know, even more than on earth because otherwise their bodies just, would just collapse. A: Yes. V: So, if you lived on the moon, you would have to exercise six times more because the gravity is less. A: I know. And you know, then you have your formation built up on the mechanical instrument. Then you can practice on the digital instrument and still sort of hold that feeling of the mechanical instrument. V: Mmm, hmm. A: But if it’s other way around, I don’t think, you know, then going to the mechanical after practicing all the time on the digital instrument that you will be able to perform as well as you did at home. V: Mmm, hmm. It doesn’t work both ways, basically. A: Yes. V: You have to find a weighted keyboard or at least a piano, mechanical piano. A: Yes. V: Right. What else can we advise to Tim? I think he can expand his knowledge of harmony, right? He doesn’t mention that has an experience with this or any goal in, in expanding his music theory and harmony skills. A: Not so many musicians actually do. V: They want just to play and perform. A: Sure. V: And in our school, when we teach, there are kids who love to play flute, violin, piano. But classes that we teach, ear training, music theory, harmony; what about them, Ausra? A: Well, not, not so many of them like those kinds, we don’t understand, that you know, being real musician, actually is like the synthesizing all those subjects together. That, that you cannot be well enough, you know, without having good ear. V: Mmm, hmm. Complete musician. A: Yes. Understanding musical language. V: That’s why we call our program Total Organist, right? Where we include everything you need to know in the current musical environment, including but not limiting yourself to harmony, theory, performance, practice, improvisation, even composition. A: Yes. I think in today’s global world it’s very important that musicians would be, sort of, you know, would know everything in their field. Would be complete, yes. V: Mmm, hmm. Because you have to, you have to, be unique in the world in order to be successful, right? Success of course means many things to many people, but still, in the eyes of others, you have to be unique. And your uniqueness might come from being the best in the world in their eyes at something. Maybe at one thing, but then it is very, very fierce competition, right? You’re competing with thousands of other organists who are doing the same thing. Or you could do a combination of things and be a reasonably good organist in, in combining a few subjects, right Ausra? A: That’s right. V: Then it’s much less competition this way. And even better if you combine subjects that are not easily combinable, not, not often combined, right? You have to find your other, perhaps passions and combine them with organ. Then you’ll be the best in the world in the combination. A: Yes, because you know, let’s, let’s take any, any type of, you know, organ composition in order to you know, to play it well, you need to have a good enough organ technique. You know, you, you have to know at least some of music theory, and, you know, in order to understand how the piece is put together, you need to have a good hearing in order to be able to judge if you are playing well enough. You know, record yourself and listen back to what you are playing to correct yourself, and even you know, when are listening to other people performing. You also need, you know, all that understanding, if you know, you like or not it and why. So you need to have some knowledge of musical history in order to understand the right style of particular composer. So it, it’s actually the whole world. V: Exactly. When you’re studying the organ art, you’re basically studying the, the entire input of humanity. A: Yes. 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 213 of Ask Vidas and Ausra podcast. This question was sent by Brad. He writes: I am a 39 year-old music educator and church musician who has played piano for twenty years, and began studying/playing organ five years ago (with two years hiatus due to a significant job change). I returned to my study of the organ a year ago and have made significant progress. 1. My dream would be to become a proficient organist, capable of playing standard classical repertoire (Johann Sebastian Bach, especially) with good technique both on manual keyboards and on the pedal board (which I am currently struggling with), as well as being proficient/comfortable at hymn playing and accompanying a soloist/congregation. 2. Challenges 1) I am 6 feet, 8 inches tall and I have a size 16 foot. The majority of my height is in my legs. I find it very difficult to develop my foot technique on the organ because sitting at an appropriate height and distance on the bench often restricts my ability to move my legs with the necessary freedom from pedal to pedal or from pedal to swell shoe/crescendo pedal. I experience this issue on most church organ consoles. In addition, the size of my feet make it very difficult to play the pedals accurately because (even with a good set of organ shoes) the slightest change of angle in my foot can cause me to accidentally press another pedal. Have you known taller people who experience these challenges? 2. I am a full-time public school music teacher and also work at a church part-time. I practice at church 4-5 times a week for 2-4 hours a day (with appropriate breaks). I also play one piece every Sunday at church for performance experience. I find it very difficult to keep up a consistent practice and performance schedule with the demands of both jobs. 3. I am improving in my comfort level with performing on the organ, but it is still a challenge to keep calm and collected when playing a challenging piece on organ with an audience. I often find it difficult to recover from a fingering mistake or other technical error during a performance--my mistakes on organ feel so much more exposed than mistakes I might make on the piano. Brad V: So what do you think Ausra? A: Well that’s a nice you know letter and very explicit. I’m sort of very much admire you know him for all his hard work. V: Yeah, he struggles with both jobs, right? A: Yes, and I know what he means because I am also teaching full time, not in public school, thank heavens, but I just can’t imagine what a hard job it is to teach in public school and music, not in math or literature. But I admire him for being able to practice for so many hours a week. V: Yeah. Two to four hours a day is quite a lot. A: Yes it is. And especially because I know how teaching job takes all the energy away. He really is very devoted to the organ. V: One thing he is struggling with is his height, being a tall person. A: And maybe you could talk a little bit more about it, not that you are so tall, but still you know you are much taller than I am and maybe you experience some similar problems. V: In addition to adjusting the height of the bench maybe with wooden blocks or maybe with hymnals on both sides of the bench he could maybe sit and position the bench further from the keyboard because he has long legs, right? When you sit closer your knees bump into the keyboards often and that’s not good so I assume his hands are also quite long then and he can reach the manuals too. A: If that’s the case I think it would be a good suggestion, but what if you know hands are not as long as you know as it would be comfortable to play and to reach let’s say upper keyboard. V: Umm-hmm. Then I would sit probably more on the edge of the bench to balance myself and be a little bit closer to the keyboards, but if I sit on the edge then I don’t lean backward so much and I can move my feet better and easier this way. A: Wouldn’t it be dangerous in falling down from the organ bench? V: Yes, if you sit too close. It has to be a balance, very delicate balance. You move yourself closer or farther a little bit. You experiment with certain distances and find your ideal spot. I think it will come to him naturally since on the organ he is less experienced than on the piano, right? Piano he has studied for twenty years. But on the organ he needs probably also more time to adjust and get better. And I think with experience and experiments he can also adjust and feel comfortable at sitting on the bench. Do you think so? A: Yes, I hope so, yes. V: It will not be the most comfortable position though, because yes, the benches are standard sometimes and if your height is not average, right? Then you have to sort of adjust but with time I think people find a way I think to do this. A: Yes, but remember that organ bench is not a couch at home in front of TV so you will never feel as comfortable as being home. V: Right, right. But you know some benches have the support for the back. It’s more like a couch. A: Well I wouldn’t wish to play such an organ. V: I see what you mean. So he wants to play standard classical repertoire, right? Johann Sebastian Bach especially. So his piano technique would help of course him. He just I think, Brad has to remember to articulate more with each note and also not to lift the fingers off the keyboards and pedalboard. A: Yes and no. Bach of course is standard classical organ repertoire but maybe he would also want to explore some other style of music. French music for example. And you know I thought if he is struggling with the pedal playing maybe he needs to play some of Cesar Franck’s music which is considered to be a standard classical repertoire but his pedal part is not as demanding as some pieces of J.S. Bach’s organ music. And since he must have quite a good piano technique so I would say that Franck’s music is more challenging in manual parts. V: Exactly. I think it should be doable for Brad. A: Sure and it’s such nice music. V: What about keeping calm and collected when playing a challenging piece in front of the audience. A: Well you know that’s a lifelong training that you should do. I doesn’t come so easily and there is no magic trick or magic pill that you could take and be calm while making a mistake. Anyway what helps me to stay relaxed is probably breathing. V: Umm-hmm. Because when we are frightened or panicking we forget to breathe, right? We imagine the worst possible outcome and lose control this way. And what we need to do instead is to sort of stick with the current measure. Our thoughts have to stick with the current measure. It’s easier said than done of course and the great deal of it comes from practice, from constant performing in public, right? A: Yes, I think that’s the best way to control it. To play in public as often as you can, but since you know Brad plays at church often so I think he’s on the right track. Maybe he could expand his solo repertoire. Right now he is doing one piece of music per week. Maybe you know in the future he could do more. V: I think what he also needs, I don’t know if he does that, is that maybe sight-reading could help him save time, right? And improvisation too. If he for example sight-reads regularly new music, like every day one piece of unfamiliar composition that he likes. Then little by little over time he will gradually build up the skill to sight-read slowly in public without mistakes which means you could put in some work for easier pieces but not too much and perform without mistakes in the concert tempo as well. Much faster to learn this way if you are constantly reading new material. A: That’s right. And he also mentions in his letter that you know that his mistakes on the organ sounds worse for him than his mistakes on the piano. But I think it’s very natural because an organ is such a much larger instrument than the piano is and it doesn’t have that sostenuto pedal so that’s natural that organ mistakes sounds worse than piano mistakes. V: Right. And to reduce the time for preparation for church organ playing of course improvising would help, right? People sometimes improvise because of lack of time. Because they don’t have enough time to sit down and practice diligently the pieces they improvise regularly. It’s like a practice, but then when time comes on the Sunday to play in front of public he could sort of compose on the spot while performing and this will be lifelong skill to have too. A: Yes, that’s true, and that’s a good idea except that some organists start to sort of improvise all the time and we stop learning the repertoire. V: Ah. So that’s a balance then you have to do a little bit of everything regularly. Sight-reading, learning your repertoire, and improvising a little bit. Thank you guys, this was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: We hope this was useful to you and please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen. AVA212: I would like to know more about how to convert piano sheet music to organ sheet music5/5/2018 Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 212, of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. This question was sent by April. And she writes: Hello Vidas Pinkevicius, I am answering your survey. 1. What is your dream for your organ playing? I would like to know more about how to convert piano sheet music to organ sheet music. Our hymn book for church is written for piano and I struggle with creating a reasonable, but fairly easy, pedal line and deciding which stops to use. 2. What are 3 most important things that are holding you back from realizing your dream? Access to organ sheet music. Practice time. Using the pedals because I am only 5 feet tall. I am enjoying your organ coaching and it helps. Thank you. April V: So, Ausra, this is probably the question about making organ arrangements. A: Yes, that’s true. V: Don’t you think? A: But it, but because it’s more related, as I understand to hymn playing, hymn accompanying on the organ. So I guess it’s not more question about making an organ transcription but about adjusting hymns written for piano to the organ. V: Uh, those hymns might be written on two staves. A: Yes. V: Have you ever seen a hymnal, where hymn harmonizations are written on three staves? A: Mmmm, not a full hymnal, maybe I saw, like V: Organist addition. A: Additional, V: Supplement. A: Supplements or additional hymns, but not full hymnal. And I haven’t seen an organist version that would be three staves. V: Uh-huh. Yeah, you’re right because organist usually have to adjust themselves. A: Yes. But I wish, you know she would send us at least one page of example of that hymnal. Because if how it’s written, if it has like melody and then sort arpeggio piano accompaniment, yes. Then she would need to work out to, you know, to, to fit the organ. But if it’s four part harmonization and you just can play it on the organ. And play the bass line with the pedal. V: And the tenor would be played with the left hand. A: Yes, that’s right. So you would have two voices in your right hand, one voice in the left hand, and one voice in the pedal. V: Important thing is not to double the tenor with your, um, not to double the bass with your left hand. A: Yes, that’s right. Some organists does it for like a hundred years and he cannot learn it. And it really sounds bad if you you know, double pedal and left hand—bass lines. V: Mmm, hmm. They can’t develop hand and feet coordination this way. A: That’s right. And you know another thing if you know you have some hymns written for piano you can just take a melody and you can harmonize it yourself as you like and play it on the organ. V: Exactly. A: And that way if it’s more comfortable you could use the three stave notation. That’s a possible too although I think it’s a bit harder for people. With less experience, to read from three staves. V: If you are a beginner then, then playing just two outer voices, soprano and the bass, with your hands only, would be fine for starters. A: Yes. V: I don’t know if she’s a beginner or not, but for some people this might be an answer. A: And, you know, she also asked about which stops to use. So, it depends on what kind of organ, you know, you play and how large your congregation is. V: Always include 8’ stops. A: Yes, definitely! You need to do. And I would say 8, 4, yes. V: Eight and four, yes, because otherwise 8’ alone will be too soft for congregation and accompaniment. A: Yes. And if congregation is big then you can add, you know, 2’ stops and even a mixture sometimes. V: What about 16’ stop in the manual if you have it? A: Well, I would use it because I like it. But again it depends on the complete organ and complete room. V: You mean specific room. A: Yes, specific room. V: Some organs have mixtures that are based on 4’ pitch level. Then you actually need 16’ to use in the manuals together with. Otherwise the mixture would be too, too, too low and without foundation. A: That’s true. So I guess it, it not would be like too low but it would be too, it would stand too much out of, you know, other stops. It would not blend in well. V: Yeah, yeah. You’re right. Okay, and um, um, April writes that she doesn’t have an access to organ sheet music, which is only very easy to solve, right? If she went to Petrucci music library which is at IMSLP.org, and type in any composers name that she likes or even a title of the piece, she might find it there, especially if it’s public domain music. A: Yes, because you know, Petrucci’s music library has so many organ music sheets that I don’t think that you would have enough time in your life to play them all. So I think now-a-days it’s not so much you know a problem to get music sheet. V: Exactly. Practice time! She probably lacks practice time, like we all do, right? If we’re busy. A: That’s true. V: But for most people being busy is not the problem. I think for most people prioritizing their time is the problem. A: Yes. That’s true and we have talked about it so many times, V: Exactly. A: You know, about finding the practice time. V: If, if organ playing is important for you enough, you will find time. A: Yes, that’s, that’s right. That’s right. V: If it’s not important enough for you, you will not find time. A: You know, we are not the kids anymore, you know, that our moms would make our daily schedule, and tell us, you know, now you will eat, now you will wash your hands and brush your teeth, and now you will play the organ, and now you go to sleep. V: And some kids even resist that, and they still don’t follow the schedule, right? Because it’s not important for them. It’s not their schedule, it’s mom’s schedule, right? And they want to play with their friends or their cell phone. A: That’s right. V: Um, so, I think we all need to reevaluate our vision, right? Why do we need organ in our life? Why? Why do we need? Is it just like another hobby, or if one more burden on us? Then it’s not worth bothering, right, because it sucks out energy out of you and also doesn’t give you enough enjoyment. But if you feel that the pain you feel while not playing the organ is bigger than the pain you have to go through in finding the time, right? Then you know that are called to play the organ and it’s no, no brainer. It’s non negotiable, right? A: Yes! Very well said, Vidas. V: Thank you! A: And now let’s talk about, you know, that pedal playing, because she writes that she is only five feet tall. Well, many people who have very long legs also complain that it’s hard to play with feet. And, and vice versa. (Laughs). So, it seems like nobody is happy when we are talking about pedal playing, but you know, as long as you have feet and you can move them, I think you can play the pedals. It’s just a matter of adjustment. Just adjust your organ bench. Maybe it’s too high for you. Maybe you need to lower it. V: Maybe too far away, the bench is. A: Yes. Maybe you sit too far away from the keyboard. And you know, another thing that for, you know, short people is hard to reach the upper manual if the organ has more than three of them. But as, as long as you are using only first and second keyboard, two manuals, I think it’s okay. It should be okay. V: Ausra, there is a situation sometimes when people with short legs cannot reach their heels, right? But they could reach with toes, right? A: Yes, that’s true. Then you know, play more Baroque music. V: And for Aprils’ situation, because she was writing about hymns, right, hymnals. Do you think that playing hymns could be done without heels, at all? A: Yes, definitely. I think you can only use your toes for hymn accompanying. V: Uh, huh. It’s not chromatic. A: Yes. V: Too much, right A: Yes. V: And you could even pretend to be playing legato or almost legato. A: That’s right. V: Uh, with toes only. Slide if you need, use alternate toes whenever possible. And then your bench height or length would not be too much of a problem. A: Yes, and I don’t think it should be such a problem. You really can adjust. I know it from my experience. I’m also don’t have a long legs. But I have played however many great and difficult composers. V: Mmm, hmm. How tall are you, Ausra? A: I don’t know how much it would be in feet. V: In centimeters? A: In centimeters it’s 1 meter 62. V: 162 centimeters to feet; let’s convert it right away. 5.3 feet Google says. A: Yes. V: So it, your are little bit,,, A: So I’m a little bit higher, taller. V: Mmm, hmm. A: But still it doesn’t make such a you know, significant difference. Of course there are also proportion of the body, because even with the same height then people have longer legs, and some, some, some not so. V: Let’s see what kind of a giant I am. I’m 180 centimeters, which is 5’9. Ummm! Not bad. A: So know I need to feel bad that, you know, I’m V: No, no no, A: short, and you’re tall. V: I’m just thinking about myself. Do you think Ausra, that I could grow a little, to reach six feet? A: (Laughs). I don’t know. V: Maybe sideways, right? A: Yes, sideways, yes. V: (Laughs). A: I think that’s what you are doing (???-12:50). But you I, once I taught one piano doctrinal student at (???-12-55), you know he was having some organ lessons and he was really tall guy. And he would keep complaining each time, because he has such a long legs. And I just thought, you know, would you like to change, you know, switch places with me? V: Umm, mmm. A: Probably not. V: Yeah. A: But you know, I, I notice that some of the really excellent virtuosos, they’re not tall, at all. And they just play extremely well. V: And this question about adjusting because of your body length, for example, body height maybe, correct word would be, is more or less suitable for people who haven’t played for many years regularly. If you have played for a few years in a row, by that time I think your body will have adjusted. A: I think that’s true. V: You just need to spend a lot time on the bench, not, I mean not a lot of time during one sitting, but across many months, right, let’s say. A year or two and after those two years let’s say, write back to us, right, and see if you still feel that you are too short. A: That’s right. V: I don’t think so. Do you still feel, Ausra, that you are too short, after twenty-five plus years of playing? A: No! I’m perfectly fine. V: Okay. Would you like to play with high heels? A: Well, high heels helps if you need to play legato and use a lot of, you know, of the heel. V: Mmm, hmmm. So that’s another recommendation for April. A: That’s true. So if you know, your shoes will not have heels, then it will be uncomfortable to play legato, especially. So,,, V: Good! Thank you guys for listening to this conversation. We hope this was useful to you. Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember; when you practice… A: Miracles happen! Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 211 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. This question was sent by John, and he writes, Could you also talk in your podcast about actually recording the CD, like where to place the microphone, or what sort of microphone to use. How to pick the repertoire, what sort of editing processes should be used, and how to organize the actual recording schedule. For example, did you do the whole CD in one hit, or over several days or weeks? Did you record at night when there is less background noise (in a city location). So Ausra, this is a question which needs a lot of technical knowledge, right? A: Yes. V: We have recorded several CDs, but those were taken from live performances. A: Yes. And actually, in some of those cases, we just hired a professional sound engineer to do it. As, for example, at Eastern Michigan University, remember? V: Oh, so that was additional? Additional cases? A: Yes, but we have the CD from that. V: Mhm. Additional, or a couple of CDs that I did alone, or with a soloist or with the choir at our church. A: Yes. V: So yes, to hire a professional sound engineer is probably the best quality choice, right? Because if you do it all by yourself, then it puts a lot of stress on yourself. A: That’s true. Unless you know about where to put the microphones, I think in each case it’s the individual’s choice. It depends on the organ, and the room that organ is built in, and so on and so forth. But of course, if you will record, then it’s best to do it at night; then you have less outside noise. V: Mhm, mhm. And it’s important not to be interrupted, right? A: That’s right! V: Because even the slightest noise can be heard in the final recording, and it will be evidence, basically--and it will be there forever! A: That’s right. Now, about how to record it, it depends on how you want to do it. If you want to have a live performance, that’s one way to do it. Then you will just have to play everything, each piece, from beginning to end. And if you are thinking about editing things, then you can do several “shots” of each piece. And the most important thing that way is that you would pick up the same tempo each time. That way you will be able to edit, to cut some things, and to edit some things, and to glue things together. V: Mhm. Yeah, sound engineers can do that without the slightest break. A: Yes. Although for myself, I prefer a live recording, without any cuts and edits. V: Depending on how long the piece is, right? If it’s like, let’s say...Let’s say you’re playing Sonata by Reubke, which lasts 25 minutes, right? And to play it at a level suitable not only for a recording, but as evidence for years to come for you, it might be exceedingly difficult. A: Well, yes, that’s true, but you know, it depends on what is the reason for your recording. V: Hmm. A: If you want to sell it, then yes, do as much editing as you can. But if you are required, for example, to send a recording for (let’s say) an audition, for (let’s say) a recital in some famous cathedral, or you are applying for an organ competition somewhere--you are required to send a live recording. V: Yeah. A: Without any edits, any cuts. So it depends on what your final purpose is. V: Or if the mistakes are very minor and not really obvious… A: Yes. V: Then it might be okay for a gift recording. A: That’s true. And sometimes you even have to provide a witness, somebody that the people that you’re sending a recording to actually know and can trust-- V: Mhm. A: That you really did it without any editing. V: Right. So, those CDs that we recently published with Kunaki--we chose live performances we’ve played, from real concerts that we felt were sort of acceptable. They might have one or two very minor things, but we didn’t notice them, right? We didn’t look at them under a microscope. And nobody will look through the microscope at your recording. Basically, you have to be happy with your performance, and the most important thing is that you feel satisfied with the quality level for many years to come, right? And then you can release it as a public recording. Don’t you think, Ausra? A: Yes, I agree. V: Some people are too meticulous for my taste. They work in small fragments, like several measures each, and then basically spend weeks with their sound engineer. Not only is it very expensive to do it this way, but it takes the life out of the recording. A: That’s true. I think the live recordings are the most exciting. V: Mhm. A: Of course, there are people who just listen to the CDs or to any recordings, and the main goal of their listening to it is to find your mistakes. V: Mhm. A: There are people like that. V: Mhm. A: But usually, those are people who cannot play well themselves. V: Exactly. And if you receive a harsh comment from them, and you ask them to give an example of their playing, they usually back off--and disappear! A: I know. V: So...for John and others who are wondering how to record a CD, we would like to offer the following advice as a summary, probably, of what we have said so far: that yes, you need to be basically prepared. Regardless if you are playing it live or not, with a sound engineer waiting for you, you have to be as well-prepared as possible. Don’t waste your or your engineer’s time. Right? Not only is it expensive to do many many takes over and over again, but it’s not really professional, right? A: True, true. V: Your sound engineer might be annoyed. And so, spend as much time as you can preparing yourself. And you can do the following: if you have a good camera, video camera or even a microphone with an audio recorder, you could record your own live concerts, and play as best you can; and then, you can freely choose whatever you like. Even some pieces you don’t like, you can omit, right? And you can make a compilation CD out of 4 or 5 or 6 “recitals” over the years, not necessarily in one sitting. But those pieces would be done live, right Ausra? A: Yes. V: Without any extra work on your part. You just show up and play, and if you like the performance, you can publish it in a recording. A: Yes, and these make great gifts for your friends. V: Mhm. But if you do need a sound engineer with some editing, I think playing your piece at least 3 times would be helpful. A: Yes, that’s true, because sometimes things happen like, you play a piece straight through V: Mhm. A: Without any stopping. And somehow you feel that everything went just fine. But then, after listening carefully back to your recording, you might find some small things that you would want to change. V: Exactly. That was the case with me, playing d minor Toccata by Bach. And the first passage, or a couple of pages, went really smoothly--I thought. And I left it without any repetition, without any retakes, because I was happy. But then, when I brought the recording to a sound engineer, we both listened, and right at the end of the first page, I made a small--the slightest!--mistake. And I didn’t have a second run, or a third run, like I did for the Fugue, for example. And he had to work really really hard to cover my tracks. A: I remember that time, actually. And you know, it’s a funny thing, very bizarre thing: I hadn’t heard that mistake either. I was present; I was turning pages for you. V: Mhm. A: I don’t know what happened to us. Seems like an elephant stood on our ear that night. V: Haha. So, I hope an elephant will be present in the room, but not on your ear, when you record. So try it out; try both ways: live recording, or with several takes, and see what you like most, right? One last thing, Ausra: when are you more relaxed, when you know that somebody is recording you, or when you don’t? A: Of course when nobody’s recording me! V: So, if let’s say, if we said, “This recital will be recorded and hopefully published as a CD,” you will be very stressed out, right? A: Sure! V: Me too. And whenever I play this way, I make one or two mistakes; I get very nervous about the entire recital. And it’s not good. I think when you make a mistake like this, you have to relax and say, “Oh, NOW it’s official. You made a mistake. It’s not for public release. ...Now we can make music!” And guess what? Maybe other parts of the recital will be suitable for public release. A: That’s true, yes. V: Because of this. 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 210 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. This question was sent by John, and he asks, “Could you do a podcast about making a CD, please?” So he returned back home from his trip to play in Vilnius, and now he’s in Australia. And he’s thinking about recording some of his organ performances on CD and presenting them as a gift. So, I thought we could talk about how I do it. And I use Kunaki service--it’s an automatized service you can find on Kunaki.com. And once you create your account, you can simply order a CD or a DVD for as low as $1.10. This is a really nice price, and I’ve been using it, and the quality is quite good. So what you do is, you create the account there with your password, and then you log in; and then they say you can make a CD or a DVD, because Kunaki offers a new web-based software which works on Mac, Apple, PC, and Android, and this allows you to quickly and easily create CDs and DVDs. And you click on this link--I did--and I’m transferred to the page for uploading your material, basically. Is it simple enough, Ausra? A: Yes, I think it’s very simple. And you have done both--audio and video, yes? V: Yeah, DVD, too. A: Yes. V: For the same low price. A: Yes, that’s amazing. V: And, for example, in order to create a new product, in most cases a professional-looking, shiny, cellophane-wrapped, retail-ready CD or DVD will be available for sale within an hour. Very quickly, because it’s all-automated system. The downside is that you cannot change anything once you publish, and you have to order at least one unit of your CD or DVD every six months--every 180 days. A: What if you will not order? V: You can order just for yourself, you know. I’ll do that, too. Because if nobody buys your CD over that time, they will de-list it. A: I see. V: So you have to occasionally order...It works as a gift very well, because it’s all professional-looking, and you will not regret it. I think for the first time, once you do this CD or DVD copy, they can even send you a free copy to check the quality, if you are happy with it. And after that, you can release it. So you have--in red color--the audio CD option which will work on all CD audio players; in yellow color, an mp3 CD that will work on audio players that support mp3; the green option, a video DVD that will play on all DVD video players; and that DVD or CD has a blue color option. And audiobook--you can even record an audiobook that will work on audio players that support mp3. The black color version is simple DVD storage and backup. You can store anything on the disc without any artwork. And the last option is an empty, printed disc with no case. So basically, it’s everything you need on one page, right? Let’s say John needs an audio CD which will play on all CD players. Right? But I also need an mp3 CD. So maybe let’s do the version with mp3 CD. So you upload artwork for the jewel case, and audio files, right? And you click this link to do this, and you are transferred to the page which lets you upload. Right? And in this step, you can open a design software, and design--you can design your own artwork, too, which is very handy. A: Yes, that’s very useful. V: This is a matrix for ?? CD jewel case, and you can do an insert, too...You can upload or you can format it on this side, too. And then you can upload a back tray image, too. And then you can select and upload audio files, up to 20 files--the normal length of a CD. A: Yes, it is. V: And then enter your product information. Only title and label are required, but you can add subtitle and release date, copyright message, label website, performed by...performer website, composer--even assign a catalog number and genre, even put a description. The description is for convenience, if you decide to sell the CD on your website. Because this CD will be available--it will have a separate catalog page, if you have several CDs--let’s say 3 or 5 CDs--you can sell it and receive your payments through PayPal. Right? And you click the green button, “Submit Product,” and off you go--in a few moments, they will be uploaded, depending on your internet speed; and within a few hours at least--maximum, I think--you will get notified in your email inbox that your CD, your product, is retail-ready. So then you can simply order it for yourself, or send it as a gift to other people, other addresses--and even publish it on your website for other people to buy. A: It’s amazing how easy technology makes our life nowadays. V: You can assign your own price, right? Any price you want. And if you send it to yourself, you just pay for the production cost, which is $1.10 for one CD or DVD. You see? It’s really simple. It’s all automated, and therefore you will not receive any customer support. Therefore, if something goes wrong, you have to delete this product and start over. Which is understandable. A: Well, things happen. V: That’s why they keep this price so low. Because it’s all robot-based somewhere in, I believe, the US--maybe Montana. So, what do you think about it? A: It’s amazing. I really like it. V: Yeah, I even recommend this Kunaki service for my colleagues here in Lithuania...I’m not sure whether they’ve taken advantage of it yet because they’re so...they lack initiative. Other than your mp3 files and pictures for artwork, there’s nothing really stopping you, right? From doing this? A: True. V: To do a DVD is a little more complex, because it takes more space, right? A gigabyte or something. But still, I did 8 or 9 improvisation CDs, and they worked well, too. But the simplest way is, of course, CD. A: Sure. V: You upload artwork, and upload your mp3 files, and description, and off you go. A: And that’s a great gift for your friends, family, and followers! V: Well, exactly! For example, for your students and friends, for your colleagues in church, if you have some supporters--they will definitely appreciate it. If you have a Patreon page where somebody can donate to your support, like a subscription-based support for you as an artist, you can send your CD as a gift to them--your best supporters, too. Wonderful! 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. AVA209: I listened to most of my recital last night, and it was incredible reliving the experience5/2/2018 Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 209, of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. This question was sent by John, from Australia. When he got back from his European trip, and he visited us and played the recital at our church, Vilnius University, St. John’s Church. And upon returning he sends this question, feedback basically. And I’d like to read an excerpt from his letter because his feedback about his own playing is so fascinating. Let me, let me find the suitable place to start: Dear Vidas and Ausra, I am still buzzing with excitement from my trip, my pilgrimage to see the master! I think it is only just starting to sink in now, the enormity of meeting you and playing an international recital. It felt so easy being with you, because even though it was the first time we’ve met face to face, we’ve been friends for more than seven years. I listened to most of my recital last night, and it was incredible reliving the experience. I remember a football coach once said, “things are never as good as they seem, and things are never as bad as they seem”. I think honestly that there is lots of opportunity for improvement, you have been very kind with the words you have said, but I want to get better. I can understand how you thought when was I going to crash! I was fortunate to somehow “save” it a few times, maybe muscle memory saved me. I felt like it was “so near yet so far”, some pieces were sounding so great and then, woops, messed up there! Ha ha! But the context is I had only been in your amazing country for 18 hours before the recital with about 4 hours practice! So on the plane coming home I wrote a list: What went well: My research and preparation
What didn’t go well:
Overall, my biggest lesson was, more SLOW practice required. What do you think? As your student, what would you like to see me working on in the next 2 years? V: So, Ausra, what do you think about his feedback? A: I think it’s very, you know, deep, and I don’t think I would do better for myself, you know, if I would have to analyze my own recital. He has such a great analytical thinking about everything. And I think he, you know, he thought of, each single detail of his performance. This I think, is very amazing. V: Yeah. This is really exciting to, to, to read this through and I hope people who are listening to this also understand how much thinking went into after the recital experience. A: Yes, that’s right. V: And before too, you see what his preparation was. For example, he asked me to, to send a specification of the, of the organ which is normal, but then I had to take lots of pictures with the layout of the stop list, stop knobs, actually. And he would practice using those stop knobs in advance, and choosing the stops correctly, which actually almost worked. A: Yes. He only needed to do a few corrections. And the entire program which I found also amazing. V: Probably, the most tricky thing for him was the pedal board which was flat parallel pedal board, German style, and he was more used to the, I don’t know, maybe radiating pedalboard. A: Yes. V: But it takes a while to get this experience. A: I know. If he would have a few days, you know, to practice on that organ, I think he would be just okay. V: Uh, huh. A: With it. V: Because normally people arrive a couple of days before,,, A: Sure. A: And get two more practices on each, on this organ. So, he asks, what he should be practicing now, in the next two years. Maybe next two years is a very long time to think ahead, but let’s say, in the next few months, for his next maybe performance in public. Let me, let me, while you think Ausra, let me, let me say a few suggestions: I think it would be nice for him to continue to improvise. Every practice session he could start with, I don’t know, maybe, a few minutes of improvisation as a warm-up. And then, he should choose at least three pieces from different periods of organ compositions. Let’s say, maybe four pieces, yes? One piece would be a Baroque piece, early Baroque, maybe 17th Century. Then one piece would be Bach, one piece would be a Romantic work, and one piece could be a modern composition—Twenty or Twenty First Century. What do you think? A: Yes. I think that’s a perfect suggestion. Because I think he needs to build a repertoire to standard, to expand it. And I would definitely suggest him to play some of the modern German music. V: Mmm, hmm. A: Buxtehude, perhaps. V: Chorale based. A: Yes. Or some free works as well. He, Buxtehude wrote so many nice praeludiums. V: Exactly. Um, and if he does this he little by little can expand his repertoire while not putting many hours actually, per day, because he doesn’t have that possibility to practice for hours, because he has a family to take care of and a very demanding job. And other things to do too, besides organ. But learning three or four pieces a little bit at a time, is doable. A: I also thought, you know, about playing some French Noels because I know that he’s preparing for lessons in carols. V: You’re right. A: I think this would be a nice occasion to play French Noels so he could easily pick up something from, let’s say,,, V: Probably, D’Aquin... A: Or Balbastre... V: Or Dandrieu... A: Yes. V: Those few. A: And it’s nice about those, you know Noel-based variations that you don’t have to play them, the whole set of variations. You can just stop after any of them, so… V: Right. You, you can perform partially. A: Yes. V: That work. A: Yes. V: Exactly. And for people who are in John’s situation, this is a very good advice: Start expanding your repertoire a little, and also, remember to repeat your old pieces from time to time. A: Yes. V: So that your repertoire would grow really. So that you’re not only working on the new stuff but basically expanding, really expanding your bag of tricks, so to say. A: That’s right. V: Excellent. So we really hope that John can, can find, let’s say Bach’s piece. He started playing a few preludes and fugues from the Eight Little Preludes and Fugues collection. Now he can take one step further, right? Maybe like the fugue BWV 578 in G minor, or a shorter but not very long intermediate level of preludes and fugues (BWV 533 or BWV 549). What do you think? A: Yes. It would be I think, a great idea. V: Or a chorale from, from Orgelbuchlein, other than Ich ruf zu dir. A: True, and since, you know, as we gave him, you know our CD’s. V: Yeah. A: And he wrote that he liked, you know Schmucke Dich by J.S. Bach. I think it might be still be too hard for him to play at the moment, but if he really likes that kind of style, he could even try the Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland, BWV 659. V: From the same collection… A: Yes. V: of Eighteen Great Chorales. A: Because it’s, it’s less demanding than Schmucke dich. Nevertheless it’s very beautiful. And it has this nice ornamental soprano voice. V: And it will work for lessons in carols, I think. A: Yes Because, it’s you know, based on advent, on advent chorale. So… V: So things like that would be very suitable for John to take one step further, expand his repertoire, and make the pieces a little more complex now. A: Sure. V: But not too complex. Just,,, A: Yes. V: A few steps further. 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! AVA208: Is there a source on the Internet for all of the toe-toe, heel/heel scale patterns?4/27/2018 Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 208 of Ask Vidas and Ausra podcast. This question was sent by Jane. She writes: Is there a source on the Internet for all of the toe-toe, heel/heel scale patterns? I am playing 15-20 hours per week in preparation for some private lessons in Paris this summer. I am an accomplished musician, but my pedal technique has become lazy over time. Working it back into shape as I am playing repertoire such as the Guilmant, op. 42 which has very demanding pedal passages. Thank you for your inspiration! Jane V: So Ausra I think the best place to look for solutions for pedaling patterns playing scales in all keys is probably our Pedal Virtuoso Master Course. A: Yes, I would say so because it has all kinds of scales you know and all kinds of pedalization. V: It’s quite demanding because right away from week 1 we start with C Major pedal scale over one octave and every day for six days in a row you learn four different keys, four different scales in ascending number of accidentals. C Major, A Minor, G Major, E Minor. Then day two D Major, B Minor, A Major, F# Minor and so on. So by the end of week one you have the knowledge of playing those scales over one octave. Is this enough Ausra? A: For starters yes, but when you need to expand you know that basis and to play not in one octave but in two octaves. V: Right. We do that in week two. The same order of keys but now we expand into two octaves. And the principle for somebody who has never done it before is very systematic I would say. We try to keep both feet together, and your knees together, and your heels together. Basically you two feet have to move as one unit. Right, Ausra? A: Yes, but it nevers works for me for example because I have short legs so you know I have to play scale in two octaves I wouldn’t be able to keep my knees together because I would fall down from the organ bench or I would injure my spine. V: So, this is just for improving your technique or course. In real life those kind of passages over two octaves is rare to find. A: Because it’s good if you are playing in a middle range. Then it’s OK. It’s fine. You can do that. But when you go extremely high up or extremely lower down then it’s much harder unless you have long legs which I don’t. So... V: And basically when I first released this course I received a feedback from one of my earlier students playing C Major scale that it wasn’t really comfortable to play with both feet in the extreme ranges you know When you play C, D, E, F. In theory C with left toe, D with right toe, E with left heel and F with right heel. And then turn to G with left toe, A with right toe, B with left heel and C with right heel. So this is system we use, but in reality it is completely unnatural to do this in the lower range of the pedal board up to let’s say bass G. So then I changed the first five notes from C to G I recommend playing just with the left foot. A: That’s what I would do too because otherwise I wouldn’t be able to reach such lower notes with my right foot. V: And then the same is with the last few notes in the tenor range. Let’s say A, B, and C now I think is best to be played with the right foot alone. A: Sure, yes. V: So the principle is we keep is quite straightforward, right? We alternate toe-toe, heel-heel for both feet wherever possible but of course when you get keys with accidentals then you get into some tricky situations and sometimes you have to think whether to start with the toe or with the heel in order to land on the toe when you are playing this sharp. A: That’s true. V: Like in E Minor. E would be left heel, F# would be left toe, and G would be right toe, A would be left heel, B would be right heel and so on. Right? So we have to think about what’s possible and sometimes you have to skip sometimes some notes because when you get to more accidentals like F# Major for example then it’s you have to even do substitutions. A: Luckily you don’t have many passages in organ music where you have to play F# scales in the pedals. V: Um-hmm. Um-hmm. But I think it’s useful for people at least from the feedback we received so far. It’s not easy. You have to understand that. A lot of people start with week one, maybe week two and then they stop and don’t continue. Because later we have arpeggios over tonic chord, and then arpeggios over dominant seventh chord and dominant seventh scale degree diminished chord, and chromatic scales, and the same with double octaves you know. This is really a virtuoso organ pedal technique course. But it starts with a single octave scale. A: Yes, and it doesn’t mean that you have early to work on the pedal course. V: No. A: You need to play repertoire as well you know in addition to this because if you will play only pedal exercises you will get bored after a while. V: Exactly. And the point of this is just to give you enough tools for later practice because when you learn those scales let’s say over two octaves you can easily incorporate those exercises as a warm-up. A: Yes. V: After you complete the scores, you know to keep the technique flexible because the entire point or the mystery behind the perfect pedal technique as Marcel Dupre said is the flexibility of an ankle. So while doing those tricky exercises you develop flexibility of an ankle. A: That’s true, yes. V: But it’s not for everybody for example people who like real music will get bored very quickly while playing those scales and arpeggios, right Ausra? A: Yes, that’s true. V: Would you do the scales yourself? A: Well, it depends. V: At which point of your development you are. A: Yes, if I would get this kind of course at the beginning of my career then yes, I would do it. Now, I would probably not. V: Or if you need to perfect your pedal technique in a you know rather short period of time to play at a symphony of some sort, or a you know french symphonic piece, maybe Franck’s “Grand Piece Symphonique.” A: Well, talking about Franck I think his pedal part is so easy. I know very few French organ composers who wrote pedal part as easy as Franck did. V: Or let’s say Reger, if you wanted to do Reger. A: Oh yes, you would have to do it. V: Or Durufle probably. A: Yes and Vierne wrote also some very tricky pedal parts, but not Franck. V: So investigate your choices and vision in your pedal technique development in the future. What would you like to accomplish? And if you want to get flexible ankles and be able to play those tricky passages with your feet then this course might work for you. A: Yes, definitely. 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. |
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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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