We all have situations when something is not right, when things are not working the way we want.
It could be a tricky spot with that long double pedal trill in the pedal part (like in Liszt's B-A-C-H). For a lot people it may even be as "simple" as putting hands and feet together in the chorale preludes from Bach's Orgelbuchlein. Even playing left hand part and pedals combined in many cases where different rhythms are employed might be a very complex task. If you are an organ improvisor, things can go out of control very quickly - having no interesting ideas to play on, having interesting ideas but limited technique may lead to frustration. If you compose for the organ, a search for originality might be a daunting task. Or we think we wrote something clever, but it sounds dry and unmusical. So we get stuck. What to do then? Should we quit and do something else? Should we continue the task no matter what? These are hard questions to answer. I think, you can try to imagine the end result. If the end result doesn't feel exciting enough, perhaps it isn't worth pursuing. The really remarkable things are supposed to be difficult. Sometimes it means that you have to find easier piece and come back to the difficult one when you are ready for it. Sometimes it also means you have to push yourself one step further and stick to the plan. But the most difficult thing in such situation is to face ourselves strictly and honestly. Remember, it's not really the music we are struggling with, it's we and our weaknesses. Our biggest opponent is ourselves. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide.
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Let's give up on making excuses.
Let's give up on paying attention to distractions. Let's give up on the habit of not finishing tasks. Let's give up on halfhearted practice. Let's give up on laziness. Let's give up on waiting. Let's not give up on practicing. Let's not give up on correcting mistakes. Let's not give up on paying attention to details. Let's not give up on pursuit of perfection. Let's not give up on trying even harder. Let's not give up on reaching our dream. Have you heard stories about organists who practice all day long? Or perhaps about students who stay all night at the conservatoire or another school and practice without stopping until morning? I know some organists do that.
Let's imagine for a second that you have all the time in the world (most people don't) and you are free to practice as long as you want. Here is the question: are these long practice sessions helpful in the long run? Can you really stay focused all seven hours on the organ bench and put in all your effort? I think that it is counter-productive to practice for seven or more hours a day regularly. I personally have practiced that much or even more when I had to prepare for a recital in 2 days. That was a marathon practice. Very difficult for the mind to endure. But I had no other choice. However, I would say an organist can achieve good results with 2 hours of regular, focused and wise practice. It's not really the length but quality of the organ practice that matters. After 2 hours, your mind and body gets weak and you really have to push. So I don't recommend for the majority of people. I think it's also important to make breaks of 5-10 minutes every 30 minutes or so (drink a glass of water, stretch etc.). Then you will feel refreshed and never tired. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. People often get discouraged when they make mistakes. They feel that there is something wrong with their practice. While it may be truth sometimes, very often it is a natural part of how we learn.
For example, it can often happen that you play correctly the 1st time, the 2nd time and you make a mistake on the 3rd time. Is that what happened to you in your organ practice? That's OK. Failing and making mistakes is an integral part of our learning process. So please don't get frustrated when you make mistakes. In fact, if you don't make a mistake at the beginning stages of your organist training, then something is likely wrong with your organ practice. If you don't fail enough times, you will not know what success is. If you feel you are not making any mistake at all, it probably means you are not looking hard enough and not concentrating on details (such as notes, rhythms, fingering, pedaling, articulation, ornaments, hand and feet position etc.). It probably means your mistakes get unnoticed. If this is the case, record yourself and listen to your recording. Ask yourself, "would I pay money to get to this concert if someone played like that?". Practice until the answer is yes. As they say, Practice Makes Perfect. Let's add to it Wise Practice Makes Perfect. Make sure you take a really slow controlled tempo in which you can think of the next note before you play it. Practice in fragments of 4 measures as I always recommend (do 10 times each fragment) in separate voices and all combinations of 2 and 3 voices before putting everything together. If you struggled with making mistakes up until now, apply these tips and in just 7 days, you will feel the breakthrough. If not, then it may mean that the piece is too difficult for you at the moment and that you need to work on your organ technique. Force yourself not to look at your fingers and feet while you are playing. Look at the music. If you play from memory, just close your eyes. This is tough, I know. But trust me on this, it will get easier with time and the benefits of doing so are enormous. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. When we practice organ playing, this is what we do - we continue centuries-long tradition of excellence so that future generations can also have a part in this.
If we think about it deeply, almost all of us are students of Bach, Sweelinck, Frescobaldi and many other masters of the past in some way or another. We can trace this geneology of teachers back 300 or more years ago. Every single one of the masters did their best to create unique and remarkable art, to pursue perfection even though they knew it can never be attained. So when we sit down on the organ bench we do the same - we try to push ourselves, be honest with ourselves, and constantly ask ourselves how can this piece be even more improved today. If this means that in order to fully appreciate the piece and transfer this feeling to our listeners we need to be aware of how the piece is put together, then we analyze the piece. If this means that in order for the composition to sound as authentic as possible (there are certain limitations, of course) we need to re-create the ideal articulation, fingering, pedaling, ornaments, and registration then we do that, too. It really doesn't matter if the majority of our listeners don't know the difference about early and modern organ technique. As long as we stay honest with ourselves and give our best in our organ practice, then we are continuing this long tradition of excellence, we are staying on the same path that Bach went when he wrote "the goal of figured bass (like all music) is the glory of God and re-creation of the soul". By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. What happens when you don't have any motivation to practice, or you can't seem to find time to practice in your busy daily life? If you can't overcome these challenges, you are not likely to succed in reaching your goals.
Or if you practice organ for a long time but you just don't see the progress you desire? I know how frustrating it can be, therefore you have to figure out a way for efficient and effective practice and start developing the right practice habits. Some people even spend considerable time on the organ bench but can't reach the level when they could play the pieces they love with precision and clarity. This feeling might really slow down their progress and for some it might be the reason to quit practicing altogether. That's why I have taken the time and effort to put together a training program which would address the needs that people have with their organ practice. I'm sincerely hope that it will help them advance in organ playing and reach the dreams they desire and deserve. Right now I'm excited to announce that I've just finished the last preparations for the official release of my new Organ Practice Training. All the work is done and organists who struggle with various issues of their daily organ practice can check it out here: http://www.organduo.lt/2/post/2013/01/organ-practice-training.html I'm typing this post a little later than usual, but there is a good reason for it. Today I have completed a recording of over 2 hours of teaching in organ practice. This came out a very detailed and comprehensive training program on all aspects of organ practice based on the needs that people sent me their answers a few days ago.
As I were recording this, I had in mind very specific aspects of organ practice that people asked me they wanted me to include in this program. Topics such as finding practice time, ideal practice time length, correct, effective, and efficient practice, precision and clarity among many other aspects were at the core of this training I did today. If organ practice is something you are struggling with in your quest to become a better organist, be on the lookout for official announcement about this program from me very soon (hopefully tomorrow). What to do if you want to practice organ but have to work 40 hours a week to support a family? In such situation it is very difficult to find the necessary finances and/or the time needed to practice organ.
It seems that more than anything a person has to have dedication and yes, it affects the entire family life style. If no finances are available currently to buy a practice organ/keyboard, such person can apply silent practice, table/floor practice, mental practice without instrument with or without the score. One can even succeed in finding a church organ nearby for practice. It's all about mentality and attitude. What the mind can envision - the body can produce. Therefore, it's really possible to hear the notes being played on the table or on the floor. Also, it's possible to practice early in the morning, later in the evening when the family is asleep. You can even practice during TV commercials while watching a movie or a show. Perhaps practicing longer on the weekends will also be a good possibility. We need not only a better time management but also task management as well to do the things that matter most first and more efficiently. After a few years, if the motivation to practice continues, one can even save up the money to buy a small practice organ, or electronic or virtual organ with a full range pedalboard. It's like saving money for the car. At first it seems like a big deal but little by little your money-box begins to fill up. The vision is the most important thing. It lets you believe that in the end your efforts will be successful. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. Imagine a person who hasn't played an organ for 40 years and wants to come back to it since he or she is retired now. Such person wants to commit only to 30 minutes a day of practice.
Would you think he will succeed in reaching his or her goals in organ playing? We never know the inside of the person so its hard to tell whether this person will have the inner motivation necessary for continued practice and keeping this commitment. But the fact that he WANTS to come back to organ playing after being away from it for 40 years means that this WAS his dream once. This dream probably never left him only the circumstances were not in his favor for many reasons. When people retire, some of them have more time to do things which they longed to do for a long time but just couldn't. I wish them success in organ practice because it is their dream. I think it's better to commit to 30-60 minutes a day at first rather than to force yourself to practice for 4 hours. In the long run, these 30 minutes will do more good than 4 hours a day because after 1 week the person will be burned out and could not keep up the practice at this pace anyway. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. You have probable met some organists whose approach to practice is neither systematic nor methodical. They don't use any textbooks, special exercises, or any particular method.
They start playing organ with repertoire. They play a lot of Bach, Franck, some Buxtehude, maybe Widor, Mendelssohn and other composers. Basically everything which is popular in many countries. What they do is they play their pieces from the beginning until the end over and over with the hope that SOMEHOW they will perfect them. They don't pay attention to detail, to slow tempo, to fragments, to separate voices, their combinations, and most importantly, to correction of the numerous mistakes. In fact, they don't even notice many of these mistakes. Sadly, but because they don't have a step-by-step system, their level is not very high. No wonder why many of them get frustrated and eventually, quit organ playing altogether because it's not leading them anywhere. I hope you are using a methodical system in your organ practice. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. |
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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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