Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 310, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by C.K. And C.K. writes: C.K. Hi Vidas, 1. My dream is to become a competent, versatile and creative church organist. V: And the obstacles toward this dream are, C.K. 2. Modulation skill; improvisation technique; setting registration. Regards, C K V: Uh-huh. So, C.K., basically wants to play in church, very creatively and confidently. And in a varied fashion. But he struggles with modulating, improvising and registration. A: So this goes to shows that he needs to deepen his music theory knowledge. And the last one, setting registration. I think it’s the problem of probably understanding the organ itself and maybe what fits what. V: Yes. If you were to start answering this question, I think starting talking about the last one would be the easiest starting point, right? A: Yes, I would think so. V: Registration. Let’s imagine, Ausra, you are summoned to St. John’s church today because we’re recording it on Sunday, to play for a mass, right? In the Catholic mass, we have a number of hymns to sing sometimes. Although I usually play organ music improvised, but other people do sing hymns. If you were to play hymns, what would you think about when setting the registration? A: Well, I would be thinking how many people are attending church; are they all singing hymns or am I singing solo. And I would make up registration accordingly. V: Would you use all manuals in that organ, or just one? A: What, for hymn accompanying? V: Yeah. For one hymn for example. A: Well, you could use one, but it would be nice to use two, or three especially if you don’t want to change the stops in the middle of the, during verse. V: If the hymn has three stanzas, you could easily play on one, two and three. A: Yes, and do them in different volume. V: Or even if you have four stanzas, you could play one, two, three and one again. A: That’s right. V: Basically jumping from manual to manual is a good way to change colors, because when playing on the second manual, you could change the first manual also, a little bit. With one hand you could still play and with another you could draw one or two stops. A: Yes. That’s when you are playing mechanical organ but if you have electric organ or something with piston system then it’s much easier. V: Mmm-hmm. A: You just push a button, that’s it. V: I think for C.K. to understand registration of hymns and accompanying them in the liturgy, the starting point probably needs to be, to use principle chorus, right? A: That’s right. V: If the congregation is big you could play with mixtures. If it’s not big you could play actually 8’, 4’ and 2’ or just 8’ and 4’. 8’ and 4’ would be enough for a small congregation probably. Don’t you think? A: That’s right. V: What about 16’ in the manuals? That would be nice too. A: Yes. You could add that too. V: If you have mixtures, right? A: Yes. V: Probably not before. Do you think that he would need to have pedals too? A: Definitely, for accompany congregational singing too. Definitely need pedals. V: Mmm-mmm. So Principles, 8’, 4’, 2’, Mixture, before Mixture you could have a fifth, 2 2/3, and 16’ principle, if it’s a big organ. Flute, if it’s a smaller instrument. And similar things in the pedals, I suppose; 16’, 8’, even 4’, right? And if you have Mixture in the pedals, you might add the Posaune in the bass, like a 16’ reed in the pedals. A: Yes, it’s nice. I like Posaune. V: Why? A: It’s my favorite reed stop. V: It’s so low and rumbling, and very scary to listen to. A: But I like it more than the trumpet 8’. V: It gives gravity. A: True. But in order to play the Posaune in the pedal you need to make sure you will not do a mistake in the pedal line. Otherwise everybody will notice them. V: You might have some things in common with Johann Adam Reincken. Because remember in Katharinen Kirche, in Hamburg, he advocated and added 32’ Posaune in the pedals. A: Wow! V: For more gravity. Or was it the Principle, I don’t know, but,,, A: Maybe not the Posaune. V: But it was definitely 32’ stop. Because he wanted more gravitas as he wrote, as he said maybe. So that’s suggestions about registration. Would do you think should go first; modulation, or improvisation when you are developing your techniques? A: I think modulation. V: Modulation, right? A: And even I will go a little bit back. Before modulation you have to be able to play cadence very well, cadences and sequences. Then after these two steps, then modulations come. Because modulation skill is a little bit more advanced skill than playing sequence or playing cadences. V: Would C.K. and other people benefit from your Youtube channel? A: Yes. You could try to play some of my sequences and cadences and some modulations too. V: Mmm-hmm. That was really helpful that you did. A: Because when you play sequences you get acquainted with various keys very well. Then it doesn’t matter for you if you are playing in C Major or in C# Major. I mean you feel equally well in each key. And after that you can start to modulate from one key to another key. V: I have a question, Ausra. A: Yes. V: How did you feel about making those videos? At the time? It was like a couple of years ago, probably. A: Yes. Well? I felt, interesting. V: Interesting or interested? A: Interesting. V: Uh-huh. A: Because usually that’s what my students do for me. I sit and listen and count the mistakes and make suggestions for them. And briefly sequences, cadences and modulations for me. And at that time I felt like a student myself. I had to play and also to talk at the same time. V: Do any of your students ever told you about, that they watched your videos? A: No. I don’t think they are interested in harmony. V: Uh-huh. But you could say them, ‘oh, guys, if you struggle with cadences and sequences and modulations, watch my Youtube channel’. A: Well... V: Some of them might, you know. A: Some of them also might. Some of them might not. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So but, it was for me, I don’t know, a hundred time easier for myself to play it, than to listen they playing. Because it’s quite annoying when we are playing very slowly and making mistakes over and over again, and come unprepared. V: I think our Secrets of Organ Playing students would play better. Because they have motivation, at least. A: It’s very important. V: Right? A: To have motivation. V: Do you have motivation to continue making those videos in the future? A: Yes, but probably not this year. I have too many,,, V: Too many classes to teach. A: Classes. V: Plus you additionally, have harmony classes with National Association of Organists. A: That’s right. V: I bet they will find them useful too. Okay, so guys, keep listening to our conversations, keep looking forward to new installments, and maybe, when Ausra is less busy, she can also create something new for you in terms of harmony too. And in terms of improvisation for C.K., if he wants to play in church, I think the most helpful thing to do would be improvising hymn introductions first. Right Ausra? A: Yes. V: In variety of ways. Could be simply re-harmonizing the hymn, or playing in two parts without the middle parts, tenor and alto. Could be a fuguette, taking the first phrase and treating it fugally, in three or four parts. A: Could be toccata. V: Toccata! A: Yes. Playing like melody in the bass. V: Uh-huh. A: Hymn melody for example. Toccata based on a hymn tune. V: But that’s for probably postlude, more. A: Yes. V: It’s very useful to impress your congregation. A: And do some fast figurations with hands. I think it would sound nice. V: So guys, if you feel that your congregation doesn’t support you enough or doesn’t clap after, doesn’t applaud after your playing churches, church service, just play a toccata, hymn improvisation based on toccata figuration, and we can personally guarantee that you will get some applause after that. A: Yes. Usually people like loud and fast. V: Right. And please, write after you do, write your feedback, how it was, and how congregation reacted. It’s really interesting to discuss that, and maybe you will get a lesson or two from that in the future, for your future performances too. A: Yes. V: Okay. Please keep sending us your questions. We love helping you grow. 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 309 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Michael and he writes: "Hi Vidas, You're very welcome! I very much enjoy your music scores, and I intend to purchase more in the future. Thank you for making them available for purchase! They are all excellent works. I was hoping you and Ausra might consider discussing the following organ history subjects in future podcasts: 1. When was the organ introduced into the Christian liturgy? Where were the first church organs installed (e.g. in which regions of Europe or Western Asia, etc)? How did the earliest organists serve in the context of the liturgy? Were the service-playing responsibilities quite different from that of a parish organist today? What was the medieval (pre-Tridentine) mass like? 2. Historical tunings/temperaments: Pythagorean tuning, Mean-tone temperament, the "well-temperaments," etc. When and were where these tunings were used? 3. Compositional practices/features of organ music prior to 18th century? Who were the key composers in the development of organ music composition from the medieval period to the 17th century? Thank you for your very helpful and informative podcast and blog posts! Most sincerely, Michael" V: What do you think for starters, Ausra? A: Well I thought how many dissertations one could defend on these subjects. V: This is like an outline of at least several organ literature classes and workshops too. Organ literature, organ building, what else? Organ composition probably, history of organ composition. So these are all questions that Michael is very interested and we really appreciate the broadness of these topics. A: I think we might have to divide them somehow. V: Obviously it’s impossible to cover even in a detailed manner at least a few of them in one sitting. Even in one sitting it would be impossible to do detailed analysis of one question because for example when Michael asks about how did the earliest organist serve in the context of the liturgy we could talk for hours about that. Or what was the medieval mass like? These are very broad questions. For this conversation what would you like to start with Ausra? A: Maybe from the beginning. V: When was the organ introduced into the Christian liturgy? This is a riddle. A: This is a riddle. I don’t think anybody has solved it yet. But, from what we know now, that organ came to the monasteries first. V: Remember that book by Peter Williams. He wrote many books but I’m thinking that actually any book that he wrote about the history of the organ would deal with that question because he kind of specializes in that history of the organ art and I think that I read about a gift by the Byzantine emperor to the father of Charles the Great, Pepin the Short was his name, in the year of 767 I think and the history was that he gave a gift of organ, probably positiv organ, and Pepin the Short was so impressed that he asked his monks to dissect how this organ was constructed and build more of them for him. A: I don’t think that right at the beginning they were used for liturgical purposes. V: So that’s into the western part of Europe from the Byzantine empire. If we’re talking about ages before that how did organ come into the Christian liturgy in general, let’s say into Byzantine liturgy, we don’t know for sure obviously, but we might guess it was like maybe 1000 years ago. A: I think naturally because you know Byzantine culture took over classical tradition, Greek and roman empire, so that’s how we inherited the organ in general. But I’m not sure that we used much also organ in the liturgy because look at the Orthodox church now. We don’t use instrumental accompaniment at all or instrumental music in the liturgy. Basically we just sing. Voice is the main instrument. V: I guess it was introduced into the western tradition more deeply about 1000 years ago and they have a theory that it was because organ represented the harmony of the universe in some way, maybe because each pipe was like a human being and together like in a choir they make harmony, those pipes. It’s a complicated theory. A: Yes, it is. And in general I think that organ was started to use more often when liturgy needed it because in the early time in Catholic churches too basically Gregorian chant was sung and it didn’t need much instrumental support at that time. V: Umm-hmm. And I guess when we are talking about early Christian liturgy organ was like more of a signal instrument at first. If you look at paintings or representations of early organs in frescoes, medieval paintings, they are small, they sit on a swallows nest on one column and they are very narrow. I think in that case they didn’t have stop handles. They didn’t have possibility to change organ colors. What was this term called? Blockwerk, right? A: Yes, it was Blockwerk. And I think in Blockwerk you could not use separate organ stops, everything would sound together. And only in the Renaissance I believe this big discovery or organ mechanic was made where you could have separate stops. V: So if you play on the medieval organ the sound would be like a big, big organ, principal chorus sound with powerful mixtures up to 25 ranks or something like that. A: And I think with Blockwerk, especially if it was portable it was used during processionals. V: Right. Do you remember the story of how organ came into Lithuania? A: Yes, I remember Ulrich von Jungingen. V: Grand Master of Teutonic Order. A: Yes he gave us a present to our Grand Duke Vytautas Magnus' wife. Organ and clavichord too, not only organ. V: Umm-hmm. Clavichord was a novelty at this time and he gave also a portative organ to Vytautas' wife Ona. And it was usual to exchange gifts. I would presume Vytautas would also give gifts on other occasions when he visited Teutonic order too. But remember it was in the year of 1408, two years before the battle of Grunwald in 1410. In the current territory of Poland joined forces of Poland, Lithuania and other united alliances defeated Teutonic order. So maybe Teutonic Grand Master Ulrich von Jungingen was trying to avoid this battle. A: Probably organ was too small to avoid this big war. V: Right. And those battles actually were part of the expansion politics of Christianity, at least officially. A: True, true. But it’s funny because our country was already Christian country by this time. It means that all those wars were just somebody’s cover up for basically expanding the territory and taking of money and treasures. V: Although they were probably officially declared as crusades but… A: There were no pagans at that time in Europe anymore so… V: Umm-hmm. They have little to do with religion literally if were talking about religion expansion of Christianity. More about politics. A: Yes, not let’s go back to the organ. And I think that’s the end of middle ages and renaissance was sort of a very good period for organ to develop and I think it advanced a lot. But still if you look at different countries I believe that basically reformation, especially Luther’s’ tradition gave the biggest inspiration for organ to develop and expand especially if we’re talking about pedal section because if you would take catholic countries such as Italy or France in the early ages the pedal is very undeveloped. V: Umm-hmm. A: But if you look at Northern Germany, look at those big huge pedal towers. Because Catholics at that time didn’t sing I think altogether. And liturgy was more for clergy and people would just observe things what was happening because everything was in Latin and nobody could understand anything so we could just watch. But in Lutheran tradition people became an important part of liturgy itself and congregational singing began to develop and that’s why we needed these big organs, to support congregational singing. V: And still today in Lithuania congregational singing is not a very strong part of the worship because of that Catholic tradition of Gregorian chant. OK guys, I hope this was useful to you for closing our conversation I think I might add to Michael that if these questions are interesting to him, what he could do, when he’s reading books about that, obviously our Podcasts cannot be the only source for information on such subjects, right. You have to dig deeper but when you dig deeper, and for everybody who digs deeper I think it’s wonderful to a little bit document your discoveries and maybe do it online in the form of little blog or on social media you could have a public record of your discoveries and also you could leave a trace online for other people to follow when they are interested in these subjects in the future. A: Yes, I think it would be very helpful for others. V: I know Michael has SoundCloud channel too so he could do a Podcast like we are doing but maybe more about organ history side about what he is studying with. He could do it in written form as well. Alright, wonderful questions brought topics for discussion in the future and please send us more of your feedback and stories. 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 304, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jeremy. In response to my weekly questions in our Total Organist Basecamp communication channel. When I ask ‘What’s the most frustrating thing for you this week, that you’ve been struggling with’? And Jeremy wrote: Focusing. During the postlude at this mornings service, about half way through the fugue of BWV 555 bad things just started happening. I tried to bring myself back into the moment, but it took about ten measures to get back into the zone. I am trying some of the techniques you mention in your "focusing at the organ" lessons, so the fugue didn't completely fall apart. Just a few hairy moments on a piece I felt completely fine with yesterday. I will say, ten years ago I would have stopped the piece and tried to restart it somewhere, so that's a win. V: Do you know, Ausra, BWV 555 E minor Prelude and Fugue from Eight Little Preludes and Fugues collection? A: Yes, I know it. V: I think Justas from Unda Maris studio, played it last year, or not? No. He played A minor. But E minor Regina played a number of years ago. A: Yes, I know that piece. V: Mmm-hmmm. And fugue is more complex than the preludes are obviously. A: Yes, that’s true with all eight pieces in this collection. V: Mmm-mmm. When was the last time Ausra, for you, when you lost something in the middle of the piece, and you had to figure out the way to get back into the song? A: Well, I actually can’t recall that moment, right now. V: Yeah. We would better forget it. (Laughs). Therefore we block it from our memory. A: But I know now that I showed the F Major Preludes for my students and I killed the organ. V: Oh! Tell us, please, more! A: This happened this week, actually, Wednesday, and today we are talking on Saturday. So I was playing for her the F Major Preludes from the same collection—these Preludes and Fugues by J.S. Bach or Bach’s circle. And actually organ just, sound just disappeared. And there was this horrible smell—burning, burning smell. V: Mmm-hmm. V: So I just shut down the organ and called Vidas. V: And where was Vidas? A: Vidas was practicing at the big organ in the church. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So, organ engine was dead. V: It’s good to have two organs in the church; one big for me and one small for Ausra. A: Ha! V: (Laughs). Now we only have one left. A: Yes. Now we have to share, and play four hands. V: So, what was the reason later, I could continue the story, because I was also worried. I climbed the balcony of that little chapel organ. We switched off all the fuses and smelled the burning of wires and called the security and authorities of the university. And they, it was actually almost the end of the work day, and they said, ‘Okay. Wait until the morning crew comes in, tomorrow, to check’. A: And we were really scared because we thought that the fire might get started. V: Uh-huh. A: And part of the most important part of the church might burn out, so. V: Yeah, but in Lithuania sometimes in those state funded or public positions like at the university, people work, not like they work in private... A: Companies, yes. V: ...companies. They work until the end of the day and they leave. A: And nobody really cares about anything. V: Uh-huh. So it was almost the end of their working day and they said wait until the morning. So then I, I then looked into the motor room and the smell was more intense there. The blower was sort of warm, not very hot but warm, which is obviously okay because it has been working for an hour or more. And then what else? I looked for open fires signs, like smoke or something. There wasn’t any, actually. So I thought maybe it stopped. Maybe it was just like a short, short circuit. And then I would, Ausra waited, ah. Ausra went to the big organ to practice. A: Because I had another lesson to teach so I had to go somewhere else. V: And I then spent entire afternoon and part of the evening, checking that smoke in the church while Ausra was still... A: Teaching. V: ...teaching. And even while we were almost leaving the church, I went to the security guard, to the chapel one more time so that they could smell it, and maybe check it in the middle of the night again, if the smoke is,,, A: And actually I had an earlier hard last night to sleep because right in the morning I was checking all the newspapers to see if it’s on the news, and maybe the church has burned out, so. A: Mmm-hmm. A: But everything was calm. V: And in the morning I dropped Ausra to school and then walked to the church. It’s about, what, twenty minutes walk, walking down the hill. And I was going with a fast pace, and when the church was approaching, I was sort of looking for smoke or fire brigade. But luckily, it was a quiet night there. A: True. V: The first thing I did as, I didn’t climb to the organ balcony to the church with the big organ but I looked right away at the chapel where that organ which we killed yesterday was. A: Which I killed, or J.S. Bach’s F Major Prelude killed. V: Right! I didn’t think about that F Major. Maybe that’s a very dangerous piece to play. A: It is. And so now, because Jeremy is playing that E minor from the same collection, I remembered this. V: Maybe Jeremy should be careful about playing this piece in public again, right? Or check the wiring of electricity, or the motor more frequently because of this piece. (Laughs). Right? A: Well but anyway, we have to congratulate Jeremy because he survived throughout this piece, and he didn’t stop. That’s a good sign. So I think he’s really on the right track. V: Next time, I think when he is out of the zone, the process of getting of getting back into the zone will be shorter, I think for him. A: True. True. V: Because he knows how to deal with that situation already. A: Yes. V: Right? Because he says, ten years ago, he would have stopped the piece and tried to restart it somewhere. And now, it took only about ten measures. So next time maybe it will be nine measures. A: Sometimes when I practice organ pieces, I’m sort of praying that all the mistakes that might happen would happen during my practice time. Then I would know what to do. But somehow, if mistakes happen during actual performance, they are always in the other spots. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So, you never know what might happen. V: And I think about, you killed one organ, and I killed also one organ. A: In Liepaja. V: In Liepaja, yeah. The largest mechanical organ in the world. A: Well, but you didn’t kill it. It was just some electric stuff. V: Yeah. The electric company forgot to add one phase, so it was not enough power. So now it’s okay. Umm, yes. So keep practicing guys. And I think the most important lesson here, with focusing, it just to play more in public. A: True. The more you do it, the easier it will get. V: Right. And realize that mistakes will not kill you. A: As he killed this organ. V: Right. (Laughs). Thanks 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 264, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by David. And he writes: Dear Vidas and Ausra. It seems to me that there are basically 5 types of music that the organist has to be ready to play in church other than accompanying hymns and choir anthems. They are: Preludes, Postludes, offertories, introits, and interludes. Perhaps interludes aren't so common in most churches now. What are the important aspects to know about each of those in order for the organist to select or improvise an appropriate piece of music for each? Are Preludes usually longer, more meditative? Of course we know that Postludes must be played as loud as possible to prevent idle and rude chatter while the organ is playing (I'm joking, of course). But what makes a piece more suited for a Prelude, and another piece more suited for postlude. Do offertories have special characteristics? When a church uses them, what is appropriate for an introit? Are there any special guidelines that generally can be applied? Obviously every church and denomination is different, and differing themes and seasons will affect this, but I'm looking for general principals for the average service or Mass. Thank you, David V: What do you think, Ausra? A: Well it’s a very broad question and as David said himself at the end of his question that everything is different in different church. Yes, different denomination, and different tradition, and depending on the season. But if we could give sort of general outline; I think what preludes differs from the postludes. I think preludes must be probably a little bit more solemn in character. And sort of not maybe as fast in tempo as postlude, because prelude is sort of preparation for the service itself. So it should not distract probably as much as postlude. V: Mmm-hmm. A: What do you think about it? V: I agree. And usually, we can take a look at introit and it’s text and it’s melodies. And David here mentions introits. But introits usually are sung, right? So,,, A: That’s right. V: So, if before the mass you sing an introit, it’s a good idea to play a prelude based on those ideas, and melodies and texts, and characters, too. So, sometimes if a Sunday is solemn and festive, introits will be also more festive and preludes therefore will be more festive with loud registration, that’s possible. And depending on occasion, it could be meditative character too. A: What about length? Do you think that preludes should be shorter, or the same as postlude? V: It could be as long as you want, but you have to end in time for the singers to sing. So you have to collaborate with whatever choir is singing at the church, or maybe you are leading your choir too, so you have to count those minutes, how many stanzas there are in your introit, or if you are in protestant denomination, then opening hymn, you have to count how many minutes do you need for opening hymn and then improvise or choose a prelude to fit that timing and end on time. What do you think, Ausra? A: Yes, I think that’s a very good suggestion. Well, then let’s proceed further. V: Mmm-hmm. A: What about offertory? V: Offertory in Catholic Mass, has it’s own text and melodies, so if the choir is not present, you can improvise something based on those Gregorian Chant melodies, suited for that particular mass and liturgical calendar. A: What if you are in protestant church? V: In Protestant churches, I think it could be longer. Because the offerings are usually collected during that time, right? A: But what about character? Should the offertory be loud or quiet or soft or meditative? V: Remember in Baroque times, 18th Century, Cuperin and French classical composers created offertories very long… A: Yes. I think the offering was the longest part of organ composition for the mass. V: So that meant that at that time, before probably Vatican II, you were allowed to play almost non-stop during the mass, except perhaps for the Elevation, and then shortly picking up after that. So offertories could have been much longer and louder that way. Today, it’s different, right? I think today could be, depending on the length of the offering itself, you have to choose probably quieter character. What you think? A: Yes, I think so. I don’t think it would be suited in church to play offering loud. V: What about Ausra, communion? A: Well, communion, well, could be I think a little bit maybe louder than offering but also quiet, not too loud. V: I see what you mean. Because people are walking in the church, right? A: Yes. So you need to sort of cover that noise. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Step noise. V: And usually they’re longer than offertories because it takes a while for everybody to take communion. A: Well, and if choir sings during communion, that often happens. organist has to fill in after that. V: Right. So choir could sing a hymn or two, and organist could gently continue in the same mood as the last hymn. A: Yes, I think the selection of repertoire suited for service is nice if you play for your all the parts of the service something related to the hymns of that day. I think it’s very nice. V: Right. Can you play Gregorian Chant melodies during the communion? A: Of course you can do it. Why not? V: Like Ubi Caritas. A: Yes. V: Or something suitable for that occasion. And every Gregorian Chant collection for the, from the Gradual of the mass, it has the place for communion too and you can choose the melodies and text for the service and liturgical calendar. And then, you could improvise, right? I always tend to look what Charles Tournemire did with his l'Orgue Mystique collection. He composed organ masses for every Sunday of the year, basically. A: So you could just take his collection and use it. V: You could. And Introit, Gradual, Offertory, Communion, four pieces are shorter and easier to play. And the last one, Postlude is long and elaborate, like fantasia. A: Don’t you think it’s sort of pity that the postlude is place where organist can show himself, what he’s capable of, and not so many people will hear it because so many people after service just want to quit the church as fast as possible. V: It is. And you have to sometimes get used to that congregation. Sometimes, make them, or help them trust you. Maybe talk to them afterwards in general, basically. Keep in touch with them. So then they will react to your playing more personally and don’t neglect it. A: Yes. Hopefully. So let’s then conclude that preludes should be not as loud maybe and not as fast as the postlude. And if it’s occasion is solemn you could play a march too, solemn character. And then of course the all middle service might be played softer and slower. V: And the postlude of course, has to be quite probably joyful, right Ausra? A: Yes. Definitely! Of course if it’s Lent, maybe not as joyful, but anyway, it’s character must be more vivid than communion and offering. V: Thank you guys. Please send us more of your questions. 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. Check it out here Here's what one of our students is saying: Very happy. It's helping to keep the organ in front of me every day. I have a tendency to procrastinate, and when I procrastinate enough, I forget. This helps a lot. I like the course I'm taking right now on transposition, and look forward to others in the future. Thank you, Vidas and Ausra! (Laurie) Would you like to receive the same or even better results that Laurie is getting? If so, join 80+ other Total Organist students here. 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. Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 205 of Ask Vidas and Ausra podcast. This question was sent by Petty. She writes: I would like to offer my contribution as follows : 1. What is your dream for your organ playing? To become a reasonably capable parish organist. 2. What are 3 most important things that are holding you back from realizing your dream? I would like to provide a brief background of myself to put my input into a better perspective : I will be turning 50 in a few days' time and have just retired. I started learning to play the piano since the age of 7 until my early thirties when I have to leave for a job overseas. I have since been playing the piano, not very often, as a leisure hobby, i.e. only with sparing technical exercises. I have stood in as substitute organist a few times in 2016 and 2017 which sparked my interest in taking organ lessons, and this started last September. I practise in the church a few times a week and will practise on the piano other times - finger exercises and piano pieces. To me, the three most important issues in adapting to organ playing is : a/ adapting to the different touch in organ playing - I have started seriously taking up technical exercises for the fingers again, but it has taken me a while to adapt to applying the right touch on the organ keyboard. b/ overall physical "coordination" of the body - the relative distance between the eyes/the score/the hands are quite different (farther off) from the piano (upright or grand). Proper posture and how to conduct movement would be essential or it could lead to unnecessary muscles fatigue, as I have experienced. c/ muscle coordination - this follows from (b) above. There is no short of resources about correct posture in organ playing but I think it might be useful for beginners to be advised of how to, say, keep necks/shoulders/hips/thighs appropriately relaxed, during and after practice. Since there is a lot of matters requiring attention in learning a new instrument, the mind and body would possibly become tense at some point, particularly when playing with hands and feet together. Specific advice to keep the body properly relaxed would be useful. Thanks for allowing me to share my experience. Regards, Petty V: So Ausra, that’s a nice goal and quite a few useful experiences that we have here, right? A: Yes, that’s right. V: Do you think that Petty is on the right track while listing those challenges? Adapting to different touch, physical coordination and muscle coordination. This is useful and important, right? A: Yes, I think that these are difficulties that many beginners have to overcome. V: As I was reading this question I thought about simply practicing before you get tired. Maybe taking a break before you even get fatigued. What do you think about that Ausra? A: Yes, I think that’s a good idea because if you will do something bad with your muscles then you may recover very slowly so it’s better to take breaks more often. V: So sometimes we get immersed in our organ playing and our track of passing of time is really difficult to remember right? And we get really focused on the music and we can practice for hours and hours but then it’s not good for the body. A: Yes, that’s true and we have talked about it I think in a few of our conversations before. But I would like to remark about reading this question about how different hand motion is from playing piano compared to the organ. Because as Petty mentions that pianists usually make quite a lot of movement with the hand they use the wrists, they move the wrists and elbows and shoulders. So, you need to avoid these motions when you play the organ because these motions you know if you do too much of them it will not help you to get the right touch. V: You are right and I think there is a letter from Bach’s day describing how he played, that someone who observed him play couldn’t actually notice any movements. A: Yes, that’s what you do when you play organ you know. It’s not that you get tense and you know not move at all but you still keep relaxed you know your arms, your whole body keeps relaxed but you avoid all the unnecessary motions. V: I think it’s really important to keep breathing and reminding yourself to breathe because we forget to breathe consciously and if we can remember this, entire problem of stiffness in our neck, or shoulders, or hands, or even feet will disappear because to breathe is to relax, to relax is to breathe. A: That’s very important point that you are making Vidas and it’s actually very important because it not only will help you technically to play better and not to hurt you muscles but it also will help you to play more musically because breathing is often related to phrasing. V: Mmm. So, I think the singing also helps to breathe right? Because you cannot sing forever without taking a breath. And you usually take a breath at the end of the phrase. A: That’s true. V: And breathing as we talked helps you to relax and then it’s more natural this way. A: Yes. V: So let us recommend to sing some lines from her score, maybe inner voices, maybe the pedal part one octave higher or lower depending on her range and it would be really interesting if Petty could sing even soprano. A: Yes and no. Another important thing would be that you actually need to work on your coordination and I think the best way to do it is to work in different combinations. Don’t try to play everything together and we have talked about it I think quite a few times but you know I still keep reminding people that this is the way you know to learn to coordinate your feet and your hands. V: Sometimes people forget this step right? That they need to learn to play separate parts first. Because maybe it’s boring. A: Yes. V: It’s rather boring. But I think it pays off in the end after a few weeks maybe of strenuous effort if you really stick to this plan of playing single voices, two part combinations, three part combinations and only then four part texture. Then something really clicks at the end and you are ready for a denser texture and you will not make too many mistakes this way. A: Yes, that’s very good advice Vidas. V: So guys, please continue practicing this way. The slower the better right Ausra? A: Yes, that’s true. And actually the last thing that I would like to remind Petty and others that I keep constantly reminding myself since she you know comes to the organ after you know playing piano for many years. That in piano it is more important how you touch the key but not as important as how you release it. But in organ it is equally important in how you press the key and how you release it. So never forget it. V: Um-hmm. You mean because the sound never fades in organ. A: That’s right. V: And you have to be really precise. A: That’s right. V: And calculate when exactly would like inner voices to get released. A: Yes, that why it’s so hard you know to play the fixed texture on the organ to play for example a fugue, five voice fugue. It’s really hard because you need to be careful about each single line. V: Or even two voices sometimes are complicated because you can focus on one voice or another voice but both of them together maybe some people are not ready. A: Yes and working in combinations will help on this aspect too. V: Right. Let me just add for the final advice to Petty and anyone else in a similar situation who want to become a decent church organist. Keep expanding their repertoire for preludes, offerings, communions, and postludes. Those four elements. Well maybe even wedding marches or fanfares something like that. But sometimes, yes you need that. Yes, and funeral pieces too. Keep adding one by one maybe one piece a month, maybe one piece every week. I don’t know how fast you can learn you know. And those pieces don’t have to be very advanced or long, right? A couple of pages and that’s it. A: That’s right. V: But remember to refresh your memory with old pieces with pieces that you played a month ago or a few months ago or a year ago because that’s how you expand your repertoire and you can play them in alternation, one week one set, another week a second set. Maybe you would need just maybe a handful of sets to keep variety in your playing and mix them together those sets of pieces, right? A: Yes. V: So the people won’t be able to guess what will be next because that will become boring after a while. A: That’s right. V: You have to keep them always guessing what the organist will play next. 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 189 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. This question was sent by Stephen. He writes: Good morning Vidas, I'm finding your #AskVidasAndAusra podcasts very helpful and have a two-part question I'd like to submit: Many years ago, very early in my experience as a church organist, when I was playing one Sunday morning during the Advent season, a young nun standing in the front row who taught music in the nearby elementary school unexpectedly turned around during the opening hymn and began waving her hands to direct the congregation at a tempo much faster than it should be taken. The organ, of course, must lead, but she evidently felt the tempo should be faster, which wasn't the case at all, the organ wasn't dragging and neither was the congregation. She seemed not to know that the congregation is never conducted during a worship service because it distracts the worshipers from their devotions. She was literally hauling the congregation by the scruff of the neck from line to line of the hymn with her arm waving without giving them any time to take a breath. The fact that tempo of hymns needs to be nuanced in the service, never rushed, that singers need a split of a second between phrases to breathe, none of that seemed to register or even matter to her. When she failed to return my phone calls (why, I never found out) I took the matter to the priest, who told me it was up to me to work things out with sister ... he also added that HOW I WENT ABOUT DOING THAT WAS ALSO UP TO ME. He washed his hands of it when I felt he should have weighed in on it, since his organist was encountering unnecessary interference and he was in a position to do something about it. The next time I found myself playing was for midnight Mass on Christmas Eve. The opening hymn was Adeste Fidelis in the key of Ab Major, two stanzas. Sister took her place again in the front pew and, right on time, she turned around during the opening stanza and started waving her hands at a tempo that had some people out of breath and the rest of them two beats or more ahead of the organ. My thought was, this can't get any more messed up than it already is ... or can it ... maybe it's time for a demonstration. Remembering what the priest had told me, the way I handled it was, I abruptly dropped the key of the hymn to F Major by transposition -- an unrelated key 3 half steps below -- for the second stanza without a modulating interlude to get the congregation there -- something an organist should never ever, repeat never, do. When this happened everyone stopped singing, of course, because their sense of tonal center had evaporated into thin air. Sister was in shock and began waving her arms frantically to get the people to catch up, to no avail. It was a Silent Night for them right through the whole second stanza. Shame, shame on me for showing sister just how bad things can get messed up when everybody's trying to do their own thing. I figured I was dead meat. Somehow I made it to my car. Sister never showed up at any organ Mass I played after that, for the next two years, and it just wasn't the same without her. Things went fine. So, while this seemed to solve the problem at the time, I can't really recommend this kind of solution, it's too disrupting to the conduct of the service not to mention jarring to the nerves, and I figured there must be a better way to deal with things like this, better communication on the part of the organist maybe. My question I guess has two parts: 1) how to get the pastor more involved in what happens musically when there's an obvious problem with the hymn singing that begs to be solved, and 2) how to deal with well meaning but interfering micro-managers who won't let the organist do his/her job. Fighting fire with more fire like this carries its own dangers (it can get you bottled up and choking to death if you're not careful), and any suggestions from your own experience on how to better handle situations like this would be much appreciated, I'm sure, not just by me, but by every church organist out there. Many thanks for your wonderful web site, podcasts, instructional materials, kind generosity, encouragement, and your precious friendship. Steven Wow, that’s quite a story, right Ausra? A: Yes, I...you know, I just laughed out loud, it was so funny! But I can just guess how poor Stephen felt at that moment--it must have not been fun for him at that time. V: I just hope that Stephen has posted this long comment as a blog post on his own blog, called organbench.com. Because it’s a really valuable experience… A: Yes, it’s a fascinating story, and many organists will appreciate it. V: Mhm. A: And you know, the one thing that I could suggest in Stephen’s case--what you could do is maybe not transpose the next stanza to a different key, but to play organ as loudly as possible. Maybe that way… V: To overpower! A: Yes, to overpower any attempts to change your tempo, that actually you must dictate. V: That’s a wise solution, right? Although, I kind of liked Stephen’s, too... A: I know! But, you know...Hahaha! If the priest cared more, you might lose your position as organist in that church, after such an incident! So… V: Mhm. A: And what Stephen asked about is how to involve your priest in the music. To the music part of the worship. That’s the sort of problem has two parts of it. On the one hand, it’s bad if your priest doesn’t show much interest in the musical part of the service; but on the other hand, it’s good, because it frees your hands, and you can do whatever you want to do. And I’m not saying you have to experiment and play whatever… V: Although you could! A: Well, I… V: I would play whatever! A: I would not suggest to do that, but...it means you can be your own owner of what you are making. V: Master. A: Master, yes. V: Mhm. A: And you can make things your way--you know, to play what you want, and what you like. And another thing--how I would suggest you would overcome people like that nun: I would probably do rehearsals with the congregation before the service, let’s say. Some of the people come to church quite early before the service... V: Mhm. A: And you know, if you don’t have something special going on (like sometimes there are months in the Catholic Church where you have, for example Rosary, spoken before the service, or something else going on), you could just do short rehearsals, like 10min rehearsals with the congregation. Let’s say, you could say that, “Today we will sing [hymn numbers, that, that, and that].” V: Mhm. A: “And now, we will just try to sing 1 stanza of each of them.” And you could go downstairs from the organ pew, and go in front of the congregation and sing with them. V: That’s only on Sundays, though? A: Yes, yes. That’s on Sundays. V: Then, more people come. A: Yes. V: I see. What I suspect, that your solution to play with much power, with mixtures, even reeds sometimes, and overpower let’s say, a heckler, right? Like a troll! She was like a troll, trolling Stephen’s service, right?! A: I know, and I think this might be a problem because she was also an elementary school teacher, as I understood. V: Ahaha, I see! A: She...she...well, don’t get offended, but I think, you know...And he did not write how old she was, but if let’s say she was already in her mid-age, or you know, later on. Teaching… V: Changes you. A: Teaching, yes--it changes you, yes. And with years, you just become sort of...you know, that teacher thing becomes like a diagnosis for you. V: What do you mean? A: Well, imagine that you have to day after day teach kids, like elementary school kids. V: Mhm? A: And you have to...rule them--make them to… V: Behave! A: Behave--to make silence in your classroom, and order, and everything work...I think she just sort of lost the sense of reality. V: Where she was. A: Yes. And I think with her congregation, she also acted like they were all her students, her elementary school graders. V: Mhm. A: And I think that’s sort of funny, but on the other hand, sad...But if you would go downstairs in front of your congregation, and take responsibility for hymn singing… V: Mhm... A: And teach them, and lead them, conduct them before the service, you would show that you are the leader for music in this church, and no other person. V: Although, the situation sounds very unfortunate, right? We could all draw a valuable lesson here, right? Like, I’m quoting or paraphrasing-- A: Mary from Pride and Prejudice, right? V: Exactly. The lesson would be to, first of all--from the position of the elementary school teacher, or nun right, who interfered with Stephen’s playing--would be to get involved in many other areas of interests in life, not only teaching--not only one side. In case of yourself, not only organ, right? You should have a lot of passions and interests, that your personality would develop more roundly. That would be a great thing to do, if you can, if you have time. And another thing to do, from the position of Stephen, the organist, could be to--without any anger, actually, not taking it personally (this was not a personal attack at all), without taking this to the next level of anger--you could simply...The first thing you could do is play much louder, and with much more power. And your congregation would have no choice but to follow you. I think so. A: Yes, especially, you know, as he wrote that he played Adeste Fideles. That’s a joyful, loud hymn. V: Exactly. A: So you have to play it very loud. V: And if you want, you could do congregational rehearsals, too. A: Sure. V: Before the service. For people--they will appreciate that gesture. A: And that way, if you will rehearse with your congregation, you might listen to them, how they are singing; and you might choose some of the leaders between them, that can really lead the congregation’s singing. Then you will be playing from upstairs. V: You mean that the organist could assign some people to work? A: Yes, yes. That’s true. V: Or, as some people do, they transfer their choir members to the pews… A: Yes? V: In various locations of the church, among the congregation members. And they’re not dressed in robes. They’re just like civilians! A: Yes…Choir members are not civilians?! V: In this case, not! And then, nobody will know that they have special powers, right? They look like everybody else. But they sing more powerfully, this way. A: That’s true. V: Excellent question, and story, too. You know, people should express themselves like Stephen did in this question, too, with so much humor and so much poetry, too. We loved discussing this, so please send us more of your questions. It’s really fun. 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 181 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. And today’s question was sent by Lance. He writes: Hi there Vidas. Love your daily posts. Today's one (AVA176) has a double significance to me, as our current Vicar likes the hymns SLOW. We are a combined parish, and he visits us once a month. At other times we have one of his "associate" priests minister to us, and they gladly follow the organist. The other occasion was with our previous Vicar (pre amalgamation), and I miscounted the verses on the last hymn - finished one verse short, closed the hymn book, ready for the recessional voluntary, when Fr David's stentorian voice called out "one more verse to go Lance!" Fortunately, the hymn was one that I had learnt early in my organ-playing career (at secondary school), so I just chimed in again, as I had played it so many times over the years, much to the Vicar's amusement, as he said to me after the Service, "why do you need the music in front of you, you did quite well on that last verse without it." Ahhhhh, praise from a man of the cloth. Cheers and best wishes. Lance Remember, Ausra, I had this situation too, once, but very early in my career--I think I was in the first or the second year studying at the Academy of Music in Vilnius. And I was working as an organist just across the street, in the Church of St. Jacobs and Philips. And there was a very very old priest, like 90 years old maybe, who normally didn’t use a microphone at all, although the church was quite big, and the room was reverberant. And all the other priests and monks from that monastery--it was a Dominican monastery, I think--used microphones. So this old priest, one time, I remember, shouted to me, “Organist! Can you play something for Holy Mary?” A: Hahaha, that’s so funny! I had already forgotten about this, but now, yes, I recall the story. V: Mhm. A: He was a funny old man! V: Did you have similar experiences? A: Yes, I had, actually, when I subbed for you at Eastern Michigan. You know, when I worked at the Christian Science Church, and Ypsilanti Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. And I remember that the pastor was holding a Lent service, during Lent time--like an early morning service for elderly people who cannot drive in the dark. V: Yeah? A: I remember I subbed for you during those early services, because you had some classes at school at the time. So, I remember that the organ was located at the end of the church; and you know, there was a service going on. And during that time, actually, the postman came, and he brought a package of something, but somebody had to stand up for it. And because I wasn’t playing at that time, he saw me, and he came up to me; and I was signing “Aušra Motuzaitė-Pinkevičienė,” and then when that man saw my signature, he could not make it! He asked me to spell it for him out loud, because he was so curious about the strange name--long, double last names...and so I was doing that for him. And during that time, the service was going; and apparently, I missed the hymn! And you know, the postman left, and then I was thinking, “Why such silence in the church?” And the pastor keeps looking at me, angry, and then he said, “And NOW we sing Hymn --!” And then I just played that hymn. But it was funny. V: Mhm. So actually, it feels worse than it is, right? Because people in the church, they sense that the organist is preoccupied, right, and they don’t make a big deal out of it. But when you are in the middle of it, it’s quite embarrassing, I would say. A: I know, I would say especially for your pastor, because he sort of had...you know...different opinions about men and women. V: What do you mean? A: Well, you know...the Missouri Synod is so conservative. V: Mhm. A: And he carries on all those conservative beliefs about how women are different from men, and what they can do and what they cannot do. V: And what can women do in church? A: Well, according to him, they can clean the floor! Hahaha. V: Oh. That’s nice… A: They can play the organ. Actually, it was one of his sermons, also, when I subbed for you. V: Mhm. A: And he said this looking at me--we can play the organ, but we cannot, you know, say the sermon, or lead the service, or read the Holy Scripture. So it was quite embarrassing. I know each church has those, but you don’t have to make them so...so obvious… V: On the nose! A: On the nose--especially when a woman at that time was sitting on the organ bench, and leading your service! V: Maybe he was just trying to elevate you, and giving you privilege, to be emphasized from the congregation. No? A: I don’t know, but before, he told us that women can clean the floor! So… V: And because you weren’t cleaning the floor, you were sort of a privileged member of the community…? A: I don’t know. For me, it seemed like cleaning the floor equals playing the organ! V: Ahh. I see. A: That’s how it felt, is what I’m saying. V: I see. But he was a nice man otherwise, right? A: Heeheehee, yes. V: He had funny manners, but otherwise, quite friendly. A: That’s true. V: Yeah, I think everyone who plays in church long enough can really find such experience, right? One way or another, in many churches, right? Because every pastor or priest has character traits that no one else has, right? And sometimes they become more or less apparent, and in funny situations. A: I know, yes; you could write a book including all those stories. It would be fun. V: You know, it’s hard sometimes to not take those remarks personally. But I’m sure he didn’t mean, personally, to offend you. I think he just expressed his opinion about women--it wasn’t about you. It was about him, actually. Do you think…? A: Well, who knows what he really believed, himself. I just felt sorry for his wife at that moment. V: Was his wife sorry? Did she seem sorry, or sad at that moment--do you know? A: I don’t know, but it seems for me that she just worshiped him. V: Mhm. A: She was sort of that kind of woman where, you know...very kind and gentle... V: Mhm. A: Always supporting him. V: Whatever he says! A: Yes. V: Mhm. Pastors’ wives...okay. But, so guys, if you have similar experiences in your life--funny situations, or embarrassing situations--or maybe frustrating situations, when the priest or a pastor says something to you, right, and you don’t know how to make it out--how to figure out what he means, actually--maybe write to us, and we can discuss. That would be interesting, too. A: Or we can share, and laugh together! V: Right. At least we can laugh, right? A: Sure. V: If you can laugh at the situation, then everything is sort of...not so serious. Right? What would we do without humor? A: Yes, it would be bad. V: People would go crazy, actually. Because life is full of uncertainties and challenging situations, and things I won’t even mention! Right? Okay. Hope you enjoyed this conversation, and don’t forget to practice, right? Because when you practice… A: Miracles happen. AVA166: How To Handle Large Quantity Of Music For Prelude, Postlude, And Offertory Every Week?2/26/2018 Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 166 of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. This question was sent by David and he writes: Dear Vidas and Ausra, At the churches where I play, the organists have to play 2 or 3 hymns every Sunday, plus a prelude, postlude, offertory, and Doxology (old 100th), and sometimes accompany a choir anthem as well. That is between 6 and 8 pieces every week. Do you have any suggestions how to handle that quantity of music? Especially the Prelude, Postlude, and Offertory... Thank you! V: That’s a lot of music every Sunday. A: Yes, but that’s life of the parish organist. That’s what we did when we worked at church. V: Do you remember the time when you first started playing in church in Vilnius. A: Yes, I remember it was the second year of my organ study at the Academy of Music I had to work at church. V: Did you have to play the hymns only or also some organ music. A: Well, I had to play both. Plus because it was a Catholic Church we had lots of other stuff going on playing such things like litanies for example, and Psalms and so on and so forth. V: And the masses were not only on Sundays but every day. A: Yes, every day and we had that you know Adoration hour of the sacrament. So also every day. And this was sort of a little bit of nonsense because we would have to play two hymns at the beginning of it and two at the end of it. And it lasted for like an hour and the church was unheated and it was horrible, horrible you know to spend those fifty minutes in that cold church between two hymns and two hymns. V: And doing nothing. A: Yes, I know it’s impossible to play when it is so cold at least for me. V: Is it, you know sometimes if you pray very hard you can heat up the area around you. A: Well, I can’t maybe you can. V: I tried and nothing happened. A: I know. But in terms of my starting playing in church, of course at that time pedalling was still challenging. But for me the biggest challenge was to follow that liturgy. Because in Catholic Churches we have those invocations and each priest sings a little bit different, and in different key and you have to catch up. And some priests are so badly musically educated that they cannot keep the tune and they modulate like a few times and you never know on which key you will end up so all this gave me such a big stress. V: How did you handle the stress then? A: Well little by little I learned everything. V: Uh-huh. Like we have a saying, like a dog which is being led to be hanged too frequently. This dog basically get used to that. A: I don’t think it makes sense in English. V: Probably not. They have a better expression. A: I’m sure of it. There are so many idioms in English. So, let’s go back then to the question. Well you know I received such a good school in the Catholic Church that later on while playing in the Christian Scientist Church in the States and also the Lutheran Church in the States it seemed so easy and so nice. But in terms of selecting the right repertoire I think this is very important for David and for other church organists. At least if you don’t have very good technique, well advanced technique, it’s better to choose easier pieces for prelude, postlude, offering. And if you are new in church so each Sunday it seems like new hymns are sung and you have to learn how to play the new hymns but after a while we, you know repeat themselves. V: So after one, two or three years. A: Yes, that’s true. And even actually sooner because some of the hymns are repeated quite often, as for example Doxology. V: Well yes, my own church playing experience started early on when my Mom and I went to the church nearby where we had this summer cottage that was where her parents lived at the time. And this was a wooden church and it had an antique 19th century organ by anonymous organ builder and my Mom asked the priest to let me play because I was studying at the music school at the time maybe it was like sixth grade I think. And I started playing excerpts of my choir repertoire from school. I sang a soprano part and little by little I sort of harmonized those excerpts without even knowing anything about the chords. And actually at that time I started to remember how my friends were fooling around during recess, or intermissions between the classes. They were sort of improvising and playing popular melodies but adding on-the-spot accompaniment with the left hand. So I started doing that myself. A: In church. V: In church. And it wasn’t so bad actually. A: Did you do that during service? V: Just for fun, for me. Yes, and then the priest heard and they didn’t have a local organist that Sunday or any other Sunday I guess. And he asked me to come and play and it was a very solemn occasion I think the golden wedding anniversary of some couple. And I foolishly agreed in sixth grade to play a wedding and the mass also. I remember that the priest let me to come and practice during the weekdays of that week preparing for this wedding and mass and I found the hymnal, handwritten scores and I tried to practice those hymns selecting the repertoire as I thought it would work and then when the time came I missed the Sanctus part. A: It’s to know when to start it because if you don’t know the Catholic Mass there is that moment when the priest does his prayers and after that he sort of has to cross his arms to put his hands together in front of him and that’s the sign for you to begin Sanctus. And sometimes from the organ loft it’s very hard to see that he is doing this so you can easily miss it. V: So he started saying the Sanctus instead of playing. Then after he said the Sanctus I started playing. A: That’s funny. You usually don’t do it twice. V: But he was actually happy with that mass considering my age probably and my inexperience. A: That’s nice. I remember when I started to work at the church in Vilnius, Holy Cross Church, it was probably my third or fourth mass that I had to play and it was actually a cardinal who had to lead the service. I was so scared, I was freaking out. I think I missed something or I played something in the wrong spot. V: What was scarier? The cardinal on that occasion or myself coming occasionally to your organ loft. A: Neither you nor the cardinal. The scariest part of that church was those elderly ladies who are so devoted to the church that we spend all day each day in the church and we sort of searching for trouble and there are all these complaints about everything that you are doing, that everything is wrong, tempo is wrong, you dress is not appropriate, or you didn’t make the sign of the cross in the right moment. V: And that ended my career in that church. A: Yes, I remember that old lady chasing you throughout the downtown Vilnius. V: So, Ausra is there a shortcut that David could take in order to facilitate his liturgical playing and make life easier for him? A: Well, yes and no. Because still you will have to overcome all obstacles and all those difficulties but in order to help yourself just select easy organ music at the beginning. Maybe less pedal stuff and then later on you will catch up and will start to play harder things. Maybe you know if you are playing, I don’t know, if you have like regular Sunday service or you have like festival like for example Easter or Christmas when you have to play more sophisticated organ music. V: But that’s only several times a year. A: Yes, but for other Sunday’s you can just pick up something easier because you know if you will play easy music well it will still sound fine. But if you will pick up pieces that are two hard for you to play and you will make lots of mistakes for example, or you keep unsteady tempo then everybody will notice it and nobody will appreciate that you are playing hard stuff. The most important thing is play right. V: And probably what you are saying is that you will not get a medal for playing advanced music. A: Yes, yes, I guess so. V: Nobody will appreciate that. A: Well, yes and no. You never know. V: I mean you could play advanced repertoire when you are ready. A: Yes. V: But for now, as Ausra says, probably it is better to focus only on manuals only pieces and occasional pedal parts, maybe long sustained pedal points, which would make your life so much easier. And sight-read as much as you can. A: Yes, this will help to improve with time. And you know when playing hymns is to keep a steady tempo especially if your congregation sings together with your playing. V: I would say three things here which helped me and maybe it will help David. Sight-read as much as you can, play harmony exercises as much as you can, and improvise as much as you can. And over time, maybe in a few months even, you will notice considerable improvement. Right? A: Of course, yes. V: If you do this every day after one year your organ playing skill will be completely changed. A: Yes, and you know you can even sight-read from a hymnal for example, from your hymnal of your church. It will help you later on you know for playing hymns. V: OK, guys. We hope this was useful to you. Please apply our tips in your practice and send us more of the 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: Lets start with Episode 146 of #Ask Vidas and Ausra Podcast. This question was sent by Paul, and he writes: I've been giving your question about practice much thought. I've been playing the prelude and postlude at my church now for several months and find I'm still getting nervous. I usually choose a hymn for the prelude and probably practice them 50+ times before I actually play because if my nerves get in my way, or I start to lose my place in the music, my hands will keep playing until I find myself. My schedule of playing was every other week, but I've asked to play two weeks in a row with one week off thinking that more time behind the console will be beneficial. A couple months ago I took a European vacation and was not in church for 3 weeks and dearly missed my practice. When I returned to play, I felt I took a step backwards because my hands were shaking as I played. Too much time away from the organ! You have taught me that slow practice is the key, but it's so hard to do sometimes because the inner battle says, "The faster you play, the more times you can practice this piece and you will learn if quicker". But it's just not true. You really do need to practice slowly to get the brain engaged to learn. I've been stuck on the Gigout Toccata for a few months. I can't quite get the whole piece to 1/2 speed (of 110 BBM) in practice. The slow practice in the beginning showed me I am able to play the first two pages at full tempo, and it happened quite naturally to my surprise. I've broken the piece in 4-measure increments and work on it almost every day. It's one of those pieces that will make me feel like a "real organist" when I finally play it in public. But then I'm sure another piece will come up on my radar. You and your wife's advice has been valuable and I'm so thankful I found you two. Thank you for what you do. Blessings, Paul V: Ausra, aren’t we grateful that people are finding that their use of our resources are actually growing in their practice? A: Yes! It is very nice to know that our advice helps someone to improve, and to know that we are able to help. V: Of course this process and progress is not an overnight success. A: I know. You must work on it. V: How long, Ausra, did it take you to become an overnight success? A: Overnight success? What do you mean by ‘overnight success’? V: This is the term. It takes about 7 years to be an overnight success. A: Well it took me more than 7 years to be a success. You know I have played piano since I was 5 years old. Now I’m 41 so count for yourself. And I still don’t feel that I am an overnight success. V: This term probably comes from the book publishing. Sometimes by surprise the stellar comes upright and the media picks up and celebrates the author: ‘Oh, it’s a surprise overnight success. We didn’t know about this author until yesterday. And now he is a millionaire, or she is a millionaire. And the order comes and tens of thousands of copies of the book are sold. Bestseller, right? But this is simply not true. That author probably banged on the keyboard for many years before anybody even noticed him. Right? A: Yes. V: Ten, sometimes even twenty years pass before someone published that book, and they never stopped, they never gave up. Ausra, do you have, sometimes, a wish to give up and stop practicing? A: Well, certainly, of course. V: Why? A: No, No! Sometimes even I get depressed like anybody else, but you know – life. V: What are you frustrated about in those moments? A: There are many things, sometimes, you know. Sometimes I just feel tired, you know, and have health issues, and sometimes I don’t have anything else, and I won’t give up practicing. Sometimes I think I am not living my life because I am spending too much time on the organ. Different thoughts, different reasons, as everyone does as well. V: Isn’t organ playing, for you, sometimes an escape from the troubles of the day? A: Yes, but not always. V: When the reality hits that you do have deadline to meet and you have to prepare a recital, it is not a hobby any longer, right? You ae a professional. A: I know. V: So I guess it is good for you to set a professional attitude for yourself. Then you feel all the motivation in the world to practice. You would feel responsible, and just like Paul writes, you could probably practice those hymns and preludes 50 plus times and it’s is not enough, probably. A: I know, and to know that when he writes ‘the faster you play, the more times you can play them’, that is an incorrect way actually. It is better to play them fewer times and to play them slowly and correctly. V: I have to be very honest here and to tell everybody that I have the same feeling that Paul does, all the time. I want to play everything at the speed of - light or sound - or perhaps at concert tempo, because it sounds better to me when I play it faster. The music is so natural when I play it faster. But, at the same time, in my mind I know that this is not the best way to practice because the slower you practice the more you notice the details, and the more you control the details, right Ausra? A: Right. And though I hear musicians practicing like this, they play fast and the music stops, and then they slow down their tempo, and it gets harder. And I know that quite famous musicians do that. But I don’t think that is such a good method. Because, after all, it might be difficult to keep a steady tempo during your final performance. V: I can remember now that in our student days in the practice rooms at the Academy, I heard people in the practice rooms banging the piano keyboard for hours. The same passage over and over again... A: ...and not making progress! V: And extremely fast. A: It is the complete opposite of what they should do-it is like banging their head against the wall. A: I know! I think the best way would be that it does not matter how many times you repeat a piece, or a certain hymn, or a certain passage for the piece. You must, each time, have some goal. It cannot be just repeating for repeating, repetition for repetition. That is not a good thing. I think you know the worst choir conductor is the one who makes his choir sing the same piece over and over again without setting goals. Then after a while, you are thinking, I have to do it again from the beginning, I must repeat it. But know that each time you must set some productive goal – it might be a little goal and on what you will focus when repeating this piece. This will make real progress fast. And give a purpose to your playing. V: It is called intentional practice. A: I know. V: It takes 10 years to do that. A: If you practice with an absent mind, it will be no work. V: Autopilot. A: Yes, because your fingers and feet must still be controlled by your brain. V: So guys, remember that it takes 10 thousand hours to of intentional practice to perfect any kind of skill. Take drawing, take painting, take writing – you know, a skilled writer, you have to write for 10 thousand hours. So if you can write 3 pages per hour – that’s reasonable, right? -- that is 30,000 pages of material you must write. So Paul, I think doesn’t need to despair with a lot of repetitions. You just have to be patient and enjoy the process, and not worry so much about the result. A: And I am so glad to know about his Gigout Toccata, that he feels like a real organist while playing it. And I think, you know, with the next piece it might get a little bit easier, unless that new piece is really much harder than this Toccata. But if he should pick up this piece that is similar and not a lot harder than the Toccata. Don’t you think so? V: Absolutely agree. And I think of micromanaging your progress every day or every hour and checking to see if you are better hour by hour. It is a little bit pointless, don’t you think, Ausra, because it is like planting a tree and then digging up your seedling every day to see if it has grown overnight. A: I know. It’s what Karlsson who lived on the roof did. He planted the peach and every day he would dig it up to see if it had grown and it had not because it did not have the opportunity. V: What you need to do guys is to forget about your progress for at least 6 months, and come back to the old piece that you have not been able to master 6 months ago, and then play it again and you can measure your true progress. A: I know. It is just like teaching my students harmony. At the 10th grade we started it, and at the 12th grade they finish it. They say in 10th grade it’s so hard. And you know if you would look at the 11th graders or 12th graders and to ask them about the harmony that we had in the 10th grade we just make some laugh: ‘oh, it was so easy’. Wait until you get to the 10th grade, then it will really be hard.’ That’s the same with organ practice. V: Even teenagers can understand it. So adults, especially motivated adults, have the mental capacity to understand the value of intentional practice, but without any rush, right? You have all the time in the world that you need. Some of us will live longer lives, some of us will live shorter. It doesn’t matter actually. What matters is that we sit down on the organ bench every single day. Just maybe for 15 minutes, or maybe a little more. A: But you know if you take a European vacation as Paul did, don’t feel guilty that you did not practice for that time. We need to have vacations, too. V: Yes, and when you come back from the vacation you can pick up from the start maybe from easier spot of course. Stop blaming yourself because you only live once. A: That’s true. V: Thank you guys. This is Vidas A: And Ausra. V: 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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