Have you ever caught yourself practicing more pieces that you know well and neglecting the ones that give you most trouble? It's human nature - we try to avoid things that make us feel uncomfortable. And playing a piece that is problematic is uncomfortable all right - you don't feel the beauty of the music, you feel like a baby trying to walk and constantly falling down. Here's what pros do - they are fine with being uncomfortable. Paradoxically, the more they do it, the more comfortable it feels. All you need to do is to figure out where to put the uncomfortable so that you could do your work.
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Have you ever tried to run on an icy road? Surprisingly, it doesn't always feels slippery.
Most often we slip on the turning point. It's simple physics - our body is still moving forward but underneath our feet there is too little traction to make a turn. And so we slip. Improvising organ music is like running on ice. We don't play the wrong notes when the musical road is straightforward. Usually we only slip when there is a turn - a change in texture, rhythm, melodic direction, harmony, or registration. What do we do after we slip? We get up and continue running. Exactly. This morning a 3rd year student from the Lithuanian Academy of Music and Theater, Deimantas, came to my church to try out the organ. He found me on the bench improvising on today’s Introit for the Feast of Epiphany. Before I let him to practice on this organ, I asked him if he ever tried to improvise. Since his answer was no, we both tried to come up for the common reasons why people don’t improvise on the organ. Here are the most common:
1. Lack of technique 2. Lack of skills in sight-reading 3. Lack of skills in music theory 4. They lack courage I empathized with him remembering the scariest experiences of improvising during my 1st year of studies at the aforementioned Academy. For some beginning students, improvisation was even more terrifying than to me because they were asked to improvise Passacaglias on their 1st year without having developed good hand and feet coordination. I pondered about these challenges while listening to Deimantas play. He was prepared to try out Buxtehude’s Passacaglia in D minor. As he played this beautiful piece, I thought he was underestimating his skills. His playing was slow and careful yet clear which demonstrated his skills to play several independent melodic lines at the same time. I also explained to him the structure of this Passacaglia (7 variations in D minor, 7 - in F major, 7 - in A minor, and 7 - in D minor). After this, his eyes sort of opened and he began to see composer’s intentions. In a way, he started to understand how it’s possible to communicate in this musical language and tell a musical story using Buxtehude’s style. What’s even more fascinating to me is that we both agreed that I didn't show him anything extraordinary that he with his current theoretical understanding wouldn't be able to find out himself. It turns out that the main thing which scared him from trying to improvise was his own lack of believe in his skills and the preconceived notion that the cost of making mistakes is too high. This may be true when we walk across the street and get hit by a car but in music making, every mistake can lead to even greater musical discoveries. Out of any of the organists I have met who don’t improvise yet, there was not a single one who said improvisation wouldn't enrich their lives. Everyone agreed that having such a skill at their disposal would be a cool idea. So all you need for starters is curiosity to try and understand that mistakes aren't going to kill you. Have you heard an organ improvisation which feature dialogues between various parts? Perhaps you have played like that yourself? This can be done by imitating the rhythms between the right hand and pedal, left hand and pedal, right hand and left hand. The melodic lines may or may not be similar.
It's just like in real life when two or more people meet - they talk to each other. Usually one is talking while others are listening. Then they switch places. Below you will find some pros and cons of this compositional technique. Pros: 1. Makes improvisations more interesting because the listener can pay attention to two different melodic lines at once. 2. Creates musical conversations - ideal in storytelling. 3. Practicing dialogues between the parts when one voice is moving and another is stationary will prove a perfect exercise to develop advanced hand and feet coordination. Cons: 1. Takes time to learn. It might sound and look easy, but don't be fooled - especially challenging might be imitations and dialogues between the left hand and the pedals (practice before attempting to play like this in public). 2. Might be too difficult for beginners to attempt because of hand and feet coordination issues. 3. Doesn't work in every case, for example, in episodes of fast toccatas when the theme is placed in the pedals and both hands play on the same manual. In my opinion, although sometimes not easily achievable (especially in the middle parts), dialogues and imitations are well worth the effort. They will make your playing more vivid, natural, and colorful. By the way, on January 1st I was invited to play for Mass at my church where I chose to improvise a Prelude and a Postlude. Today I took the time to transcribe this soft and gentle piece for you which is full of dialogues between the right hand and pedal parts, in case you want to play it. Watch the video and download the score here: Meditation in D, Op. 36. Today I would like to share with you my video about organ improvisation in which I will discuss these 7 questions:
1. How important is organ improvisation to the development of the personality of the artist? 2. How and where to start learning to improvise? 3. Should conservatories, universities, and other music schools teach organ improvisation? 4. What should happen in order for organ improvisation to flourish in your country? 5. What could be the future of organ improvisation in your country? 6. Do organ improvisation and philosophy have something in common? 7. What character traits should an improviser have in order to be successful at this art? Should you have any additional questions after listening to this video, please share them in the comments. I would love to answer them here. Have you ever played an organ recital? Perhaps a few? Can you remember your feeling after and during the first one?
I can't recall my first organ recital but I've heard it might be a terrifying experience. You don't know what to expect. Because of the inner pain you feel and the shame that things didn't go as you wanted often makes people swear they will not play in public ever again. But if you persist through this initial bump, you play No. 2, and No. 5 and so on. It appears that dangers are not real. They are only in your mind. Once you hit No. 10, it will be your first breakthrough. I can observe the same with my improvisation recitals. I think my recent Improvisation on the Story of the Nativity might have been No. 10 full length improvisation-only recital for me (maybe more, but I sort of lost count some time ago). With each 10 we make a small discovery. This time for me it was about dialogues and imitations between the parts which make the playing much more vivid. I can still remember the terror of No. 1 (or was it really No. 1?) at the end of October, 2013 in Mosedis in northern Lithuania where I improvised an organ mass with 11 movements on the village church Romantic style organ with two manuals (only one of them was more or less functioning). Even before the recital, when I decided that I should improvise, I submitted the program to the organizers and I remember thinking to myself: What am I doing? It's so foolish. It's so risky. Why can't I play a regular organ recital with pieces I have mastered long time ago? Why can't I be like everyone else? Of course nobody felt my terror, everyone in the audience was so happy afterwards but only I knew how terrified I was of my inner dragons. It turns out that the unconscious decision to improvise was in fact a wise one because of the unpredictable state of the organ at the time. Had I chosen a nice contrasting program with classical and audience-friendly organ pieces, I would have been in even more trouble and greater terror when I found out that the reed of the second manual was on all the time (there wasn't any time for rehearsal, if you are wondering). I'm sure 2015 will give us plenty of opportunities to be thrilled and to thrill others around us. If you are thinking about whether to play or not to play a recital next year and you think you don't have time to prepare adequately and be ready for it, think no more. Of course, I don't mean here only organ playing. It could be anything that matters to you. We will always have not enough time and we will never be really ready. It's the same feeling you get when you jump into a dark pool at night. Is it deep? Is it cold? Are the sharks there waiting for you? Is it required of you? Do you have to do it? No, nobody will give you a medal for that because nobody will care. What's the alternative? Watch more TV, play it safe, or "like" one more picture of somebodies cat? Another alternative is this: Say yes! Here's to our inner dragons. They are our compass. [HT to John] Many organists would really want to start improvising but are afraid to even try. It's because of these (and other) myths that surround the (seemingly) mysterious art and craft of improvisation.
1. Melodies have to be memorized. No, you only have to memorize the questions and answer them. Answers can be simple repeats with different endings or more developed commentaries (just like in speeches). 2. Rhythms must be very elaborate. No, you only have to use the rhythms which fit the meter you have chosen. Pay attention - the moment you feel the rhythms beginning to be boring, add some faster notes in one voice. This will add more interest. 3. You have to be fluent in all 3, 4, and 5 note chords and their inversions, modulations, many different keys and modes. It's nice if you are, but if you only know one 3 note chord and can transpose it in a few keys, it's a good start. 4. It's very difficult to change dynamics with swell pedal. Since you are the one who is creating the music, in places where you need swell pedal changes, you can play with your left foot only or even without any pedal part. 5. It's very difficult to change registration by hand. You can make the stop changes as complex or as simple as you want. You can set the registration in advance and change only manuals for the entire piece, you can play with one hand and change the stops with the other, or you can make a full stop to facilitate registration changes. It's entirely up to you. 6. Texture has to be very elaborate to keep listener's interest. No, some of the nicest improvisations can be done using a simple one part texture. If you are worried about the polyphonic texture, remember that the easiest way to do dialogues and imitations between the voices is when one part is moving and another is stationary. Just like in a conversation between two or more people. 7. Form has to be very advanced with lots of new ideas to be musically interesting. No, the more complex form you have chosen, the more challenges you will face. But the form could be very simple - idea A, idea B, and recapitulation of idea A (with or without some changes). Simple is good in this case. It's important to recognize these myths for what they are - simply untrue common believes and excuses to not even try. By demystifying them, you can set aside your fear and begin your improvisational adventures. The growth begins the moment you sit down on the organ bench. Last Saturday, December 13 I had an opportunity to play about 19 minutes while people were gathering before the annual concert of Lucia Day, organized by the Swedish Embassy at the Vilnius University St. John's church. The result was a fantasia on the themes of these Christmas carols: "Silent Night", "O Holy Night", "Santa Lucia", and "Adeste fideles". Today I'd like to share with you the video of this improvisation in which you can see my hands and manuals from up close - this will make it possible for you to follow what and how I'm improvising.
By the way, since Christmas is just around the corner, tomorrow evening at the same church I'm going to improvise on the Story of the Nativity - a 10 part cycle with such stories as the Annunciation, the Shepherds, Jesus in the Manger, the Angels, the Three Wise Men etc. It will be a thrilling experience with elements of Gregorian chant - the hymn "A solis ortus cardine" connecting all the scenes into one coherent and colorful musical adventure. When you sit down to improvise on the organ bench and continue to play for 10 minutes while recording yourself, you can later listen to this recording and decide what was worth remembering and what could be improved. If you want to create an improvisation that would be worth writing down, it's good to know ahead of time these 7 things which don't contribute to the success of your improvisation.
1. Melodies are without a direction. Always think where the culmination must be (in small details and in a broad general sense). 2. Rhythms are too unified or too contrasting. In either case, your listener will feel bored. Having a clear sense of meter helps. 3. Harmonies that you don't understand. You should be able to name each chord you are playing. 4. Dynamics are too soft or too loud for a long time. Be mindful of your listeners - nobody likes the same dynamic level over extended periods of time. 5. Registration - no balance between the parts. Try to register your piece so that more prominent thematic material would be just a little louder than the rest of the parts. 6. Texture is too similar or too varied. If the piece is very short, unified texture is a good thing but when you play longer than 2 minutes - try to vary the texture (but not too much). 7. Form is not balanced or undecided. The hard part for an improviser is remembering the themes (which is the easiest thing with written composition) and repeating some of them in a balanced way. Don't start to play until you have figured out what the form should be (simple is OK but hectic is not). Consider the above 7 things to avoid which will make each of the musical elements more interesting and artistically pleasing. This in turn will help you create a highly balanced improvisation which you and your listeners will enjoy. |
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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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