Many organists who come to the organ from having played piano for some years find it difficult to get rid of the piano touch. This is important because piano and organ actions are inherently different so they require different approaches on how to play each instrument. If you struggle with avoiding piano touch when playing the organ, I recommend you apply these 4 tips.
1. Keep the fingers in contact with the keys at all times. Try to force yourself to remember this tip constantly because it is very important not only for getting rid of piano touch but also for accuracy in playing. You see, when you play piano, you lift the fingers high to prepare for crisp motion downwards. On the organ you have to use completely different approach - you must not allow yourself to lift the fingers off the keyboard. 2. Play mezzo piano. How many times I see organists play the organ like they would play the piano. When they want to increase dynamics, they use more force. When they want the organ sound loud, they play it as piano with lots of force. This is an incorrect approach which not only makes your playing look like pianist's but also you will find it extremely difficult to coordinate the releases this way. So use only as much force as is needed to press the key and not more. Dynamics on the organ are made by changing stops and/or opening and closing the swell box and not through the touch. 3. Keep the upper body straight. When you play piano, it is quite common to move your upper body when you feel the rising tension in the music. On the organ it is quite the opposite. The calmer you sit on the bench, the better you will be in control of your hand and feet movements. You have to feel like conductor who is only giving directions to his/her orchestra. You see, the best conductors make their body movements very minimal because it is not them but the members of the orchestra who have to do the job of playing. The same is with organ playing - you have to let your fingers and feet do the job. You just give them directions what to do. Therefore, there is no need to move your upper body like you would in playing the piano. 4. Coordinate the releases. One of the major differences between piano and organ playing is that pianists usually only pay attention to how the key is depressed but not how it is released. This is because piano sound fades very quickly and organ sound can last indefinitely. So people who come to the organ with some piano experience also forget to focus on the releases. However, this is a vital point to remember. Since much of the organ music is polyphonic, you have to be precise at how you release the keys. When the note values indicate that the notes should be of the same length, release all of the keys exactly together. But when some notes should sound longer while others - shorter, be very precise in holding these notes. Use these tips in your organ practice today. If you are conscious about them every time you sit down to play, with time you will notice how your organ technique improves and your touch becomes organistic. 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 FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading.
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Do you struggle in keeping the steady tempo and correct rhythms in organ pieces that are more than 2 pages in length? Or perhaps you are frustrated because your teacher says your tempo and rhythms are off but you just can't seem to notice it? In this article, I will give you 6 tips which will help you to keep correct rhythms in longer pieces.
1. Feel the constant pulse. The most important thing which helps me in playing in steady tempo and in correct rhythms in short or long compositions is feeling of the pulse. Regardless of the difficulty level of the piece, your rhythms will be fine if you will keep the track of the pulse. 2. Count the beats in the measure. When the complicated rhythms throw your playing off balance, try counting the parts of the measure. Make sure you do not miss a single measure because if you do, very likely this is going to be a place where your rhythms are incorrect. 3. Subdivide the beats. Count not only the quarter notes but also the eight notes. If the meter is 4/4, count "one-and, two-and, three-and, four-and". If the smallest rhythmical unit is a sixteenth note, count "one-eh-and-ah, two-eh-and-ah, three-eh-and-ah, four-eh-and-ah". 4. Count out loud these subdivisions. Very often we imagine that our rhythms were correct when in reality they were not. To make sure you are counting correctly, practice saying the numbers aloud. 5. Do not use metronome when practicing. Use it only to check the starting tempo. Imagine that metronome is something similar to a crutch. You can't learn to walk by using a crutch. The same rule is valid in music when you want to learn to play in correct rhythms. You have to use your ears, not metronome. 6. Record yourself. This is a very powerful tip which I hope you will take advantage of. By recording yourself and attentively listening to the recording you can discover the mistakes you just made which otherwise would be difficult to spot. Unfortunately, far too few people are recording themselves in practice. Use these tips when practicing to keep correct rhythms in longer pieces today. They will help you to overcome rhythmical problems in your organ playing. 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 FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Many organists struggle in playing complicated rhythms correctly. One such situation is when you have to play two notes (duplets) against three (triplets) in the same beat. Because it is quite difficult to hear two different rhythms simultaneously, very often organists either speed up the triplets or slow down the duplets which is obviously incorrect. In this article, I will show you how to practice playing two notes against three correctly.
If you want to master correct playing of duplets against triplets (two against three) try this exercise: 1. Imagine that triplets will become a group of 3 eight notes in 3/8, 6/8, 9/8 or similar meter. 2. Then add an extra sixteenth note to the second note of the triplet, e.g. the entire group will look like this: eighth-sixteenth-sixteenth-eighth. 3. Keeping in mind the rhythm from the previous step, try tapping the triplets with the right hand while tapping duplets with the left hand. Notice how the second note of the duplet in the left hand will be inserted exactly in the middle of the last two notes of the triplet. Practice this group repeatedly (100 times). 4. Repeat the previous step by switching hands. Now the left hand will tap triplets and the right hand - duplets. Practice this version repeatedly (100 times). Shift your focus from duplets to triplets and vice versa and try that each group will sound exactly even. 5. Then take an episode from an actual composition with such rhythms and try to recreate the rhythms you just tapped. If you tried to play duplets against triplets before in this piece, you will notice how much easier the whole business of keeping correct rhythms becomes now. Use these steps in mastering complicated duplets and triplets in your organ piece today. At first, you may find the task of 100 repetitions daunting but don't worry - since the group of three notes is very short, it will take less than 5 minutes to master. 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 FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Do you want to achieve success as an organist? In order to do this, you will need to outrank your competitors. One of the ways which helps you to become better than your fellow organists is to look around and see how people perfect their skills in other professions. In this article, I will show you what sports and organ practice have in common.
Try to be unique in your organ practice. Compare your practice to other areas of life and see if you can use similar techniques in your practice. For example, you could take a look at athletes in various sports and see how they practice their moves. You see, sports and music are similar in that both activities require countless repetitions of similar movements which leads to mastery. For instance, in basketball a player who wants to improve his/her shots from a certain position must practice them repeatedly hundreds if not thousands of times. In a way, the best basketball player will practice until every single one of his/her shots is successful. In a way, his/her movements have to become automatic. The same is with organ playing. If you run into the problematic spot in you organ score and want to perfect it, you must practice it repeatedly. You must play it right until literally you just can't make the same mistake again. In my experience, this process takes around 100 repetitions spread over time. I remember, when I tried to perfect "the Gigue" Fugue in G major, BWV 577 by Bach some years ago. I mastered this fugue in 10 days by repeating each fragment 10 times every day. First 10 repetitions were just a good start but felt quite shaky. Then with every set of 10 new repetitions, it was exciting to see gradual improvements in the performance of this piece. Of course, I completely memorized this fugue in the process. My feet movements became automatic thanks to pedal preparation technique I was using. I couldn't miss a note in the pedal line even if I wanted to. Find and apply similar techniques used in sports in your organ practice today. In time, they will empower you to become a respected expert and a leader whom others will want to follow. 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 FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Are you struggling in achieving success as an organist? Perhaps you should think about the length of your practice. In this article, I will explain what practice length means for your playing.
The majority of organists don't spent too much time practicing organ playing. They play a few minutes here and few minutes there. In addition, they find it difficult to practice every day. Sometimes such organists will complain that practicing organ playing is not for them. However, when I ask them how much time they spend on the organ bench, they respond by saying they play organ one day per week for 30 minutes with a total amount of 2 hours per month. Of course, this is exactly why they keep on struggling. 30 minutes per week is just simply too little time to see any progress. The more time you put in your practice the better. Some organists spend as many as 8 hours a day practicing their organ pieces. I don't recommend this approach. You see, if you play without a break for many hours, your practice quality most likely will deteriorate. Instead, practice until you can keep you mind focused at the present measure. To train your mind, push yourself a bit further so you can extend your focus a few minutes longer. With time you will find that your focus level improves and you can practice longer. So gradually you can extend your sessions until about 2 hours a day. I believe this is an optimum length. You still can make some rests every 30 minutes or so. If you want to be the best in what you do, you cannot hope to achieve this level practicing only a few minutes a day. If you consistently practice 2 hours a day you will start noticing some tremendous changes and improvements in your organ playing very soon. 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 FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Do you want to achieve success as an organist? In order to be successful, your practice has to become of the highest quality. I have 5 tips for your practice in this article.
1. Try to practice better than your competitors do. If you want to become a better organist than many of your fellow organists, you have to apply better and more efficient practice techniques than they are using. You see, the majority of organists simply play their organ pieces from the beginning until the end without any practice plan. They think such playing will allow them to master the pieces they practice. However, the reality is that although you can learn some easy pieces that way reasonably well, you will not be able to advance to the new quality level. So you have to have special efficient practice system which allows you to master new difficult pieces faster, easier, and better than your competitors. 2. Focus on giving your best in your practice. Many people tend to practice with a relaxed mind which doesn't compel them to push themselves a bit further than they can do at present. If you want to give your best in your concerts and recitals, you have to do the same in your practice. Imagine that today's practice dictates results of the tomorrow. Be very strict with yourself and constantly ask if there is anything else that you could improve in your practice. 3. Focus your mind. It will be easier to give your best in practice if you stay focused. Many people tend to have short attention spans but it doesn't mean you couldn't practice making stronger and longer focus. Keep your attention focused on your present measure and do not allow yourself to relax until the practice is over (or until the previously designated break). 4. Do not allow yourself to make a mistake. Practice at such a tempo which allows your playing be free of mistakes. This is very important if you want to achieve success as an organist. 5. Make correcting your mistakes a habit. Of course, in every practice session you will find yourself making mistakes every now and again. If you make a mistake, go back and correct it repeatedly until you can't make the same mistake again. Use these tips in your organ practice today. If you consistently apply them when practicing organ playing, in time they will empower you to become a respected expert and a leader whom others will want to follow. 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 FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Do you know what is the difference between a good performance and an exceptionally outstanding performance? Furthermore, do you know how to achieve the level of an exceptionally outstanding performance? In this article, I will give you 8 tips on how to strengthen the quality of your organ playing so you can advance to the next level.
1) Fingering. When you open your new organ score and want to start practicing a new composition, don't play it right away from the beginning until the end. I mean, you could play it through once just to get familiar with it but then the real practice begins. Write in your fingering in every difficult spot of the piece. How to find out if the passage is difficult and needs fingering? You could play it once and see if you made a mistake. If you did, stop playing, go back, figure out and write in the most efficient fingering for it. 2) Pedaling. I suggest you write in pedaling on every note in the pedal line. This is very important because unlike manual playing, pedal playing usually is a completely new skill that organists must learn. 3) Notes. When you have fingering and pedaling in place, you can now start practicing it. Observe that every single note is correct. Sometimes you can hit the wrong note accidentally but in most cases, it is better to go back and play this spot with correct notes at least 3 times in a row. 4) Rhythms. In every measure, make sure that your rhythmical values are also correct. This is usually not so difficult in places with straightforward rhythms. But when you see any complications, such as syncopations, dotted notes, duplets, triplets, irregular rhythms, meter changes and so on, you have to be very careful about playing with correct rhythms. It is best that you subdivide the beats of each measure and count out loud while playing. 5) Articulation. Do not play every note legato. For people who come to the organ from piano playing, this is especially difficult to understand at first. You see, you have to look at the historical period that this piece was created in. If you are playing a piece by a composer from Renaissance, Baroque or Classical period, play with gently detached articulation (articulate legato) unless it is indicated otherwise by the composer. If the piece is from the Romantic or modern period, usually composers indicate articulation very precisely. So pay close attention to each slur, dot or dash under or above the notes and try to execute them in the exact way. 6) Phrasing. If you want your organ performance to become natural, try to incorporate phrasing in your playing. This helps to achieve a feeling that you breathe together with music. In fact, you should breathe slowly, deeply and consciously while playing. Look for cadences in your music which reveal perfect places for phrasing. 7) Tempo. While performing, choose a concert tempo very carefully. Evaluate the mechanics and the size of the organ. In addition, assess the room in which you play and the reverberation of the space. While practicing, usually take a much slower tempo which will allow you to avoid mistakes in your playing. 8) Practice. When you practice your piece, be very systematic about how you learn new music. It is best to practice in short fragments of about 4 measures each and later combine them together. Also for polyphonic music try to master each voice separately, then combinations of 2 voices, 3 voices and only then - the entire 4 part texture. Strengthen the quality of your organ playing by concentrating on the above details and making the details concentrated. This approach will help you to achieve the level of exceptionally outstanding performance. 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 FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Is your organ playing overdramatic? It is important keep it natural because often overdramatic performance sounds simply too distracting and comical to the listener. In addition, such playing style is not good for the player. Because of this, the instrument may also suffer some serious damage. In this article, you will discover 5 most common signs of organ playing offenses.
1) Tension in the body. When your body is all rigid, shoulders raised, fingers and upper thighs tensed, you cannot play in a natural way. You music becomes also tense and rigid. If you feel some tension in your body, it even gets difficult to breath. We can't relax without breathing and we can't breath without relaxing. So naturally deep breathing is the key for relaxing the entire body. 2) Hitting the keyboard with excess force. I often see organists make this mistake which comes from their pianistic background. They imagine that the louder they want the organ to sound, the harder they have to hit those keys which is absolutely incorrect and may even result in some serious damage to the organ key action. The ideal way would be to play with a gentle mezzo piano touch. The technique which helps to achieve that is keeping the fingers in contact with the keys at all times. 3) Playing the pedals too loud. Organists who hit the keys too hard, often make this mistake as well. They bounce and kick the pedals with excess force which also makes it difficult to control the releases and articulation and may damage the pedal action. 4) Doing unnecessary movements with your body. From time to time many musicians make this mistake - they lean forward or backwards too much. I am not suggesting that the body should be stiff. A little of body movements is fine but too much swinging back and forth may throw your playing off balance. 5) Making agogical accents in the piece too often. This mistake is especially obvious if one plays a short composition imagining that it is a grand symphony. If the piece is short, it is illogical to make those ritardandos and accelerandos very often. Besides, certain type of musical style (early music) does not allow unnatural alterations of tempo. Remember these signs of overdramatic playing when you practice or perform your organ pieces today. Be careful to use your body in a natural way without tension and without unnecessary movements. Do not use excess force when hitting the keys or the pedals. Instead keep your fingers and feet in contact with the keys at all times. This technique will allow to minimize your efforts and your performance will become natural. 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 FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Very often young organists tend to search for some magical recipe to practice
organ which will position them into expert level within a short period of time. In other words, they want to find some method which will help them to learn to play the organ confidently in the shortest amount of time possible. In this article, I will explain why there are no quick solutions and shortcuts in organ practice. There is no "push-button-magic-become-virtuoso-overnight" method. But many young people tend to think there is one. A lot of times I hear about some incredible system which will teach you to play the organ in just 2 hours. This is of course a simple marketing trick but it is very far from reality. In reality, our practice has to have 3 things which are far from shortcuts: 1) Quality. This is a pursuit of perfection. Imagine that a master (Herr Bach, for example) is watching over your shoulder. Try to play as if someone you respect so much is listening. If you had this thought in your mind constantly, would you allow yourself to play with accidental fingering, pedaling, and articulation? Would you play your organ piece with incorrect articulation and ornaments or would you rather pay attention to every detail mentioned above and correct every mistake you made? I think you get the picture. 2) Quantity. The more you play - the better (with some exceptions, of course). At least of 30 minutes a day of organ practice is needed to begin to see some positive results. If you have time, you can practice for an hour or even longer but especially long practice sessions are not healthy. Try to rest for 5 minutes every 30 minutes or so. In general, it is believed that someone who wants to become an expert in any field, needs to spent at least 10000 hours practicing. So if you practice for 2 hours everyday, which is an optimum duration in many cases, you will approach the expert level in 5000 days or 13.7 years (if you have quality in your practice, of course). Here I don't mean you should spent all this time only playing organ. Piano playing, music history, ear training, music theory, harmony, counterpoint, fugue, and improvisation are all included in the total number of hours. 3) Consistency. Practice every day or at least 3 times a week constantly. Get into practice routine. After 1 month it becomes a habit. So stick to your routine for a month and later you will find it quite enjoyable. Imagine that your practice is like a large train. To move such a train will require an enormous amount of energy but to keep it moving is much easier. That is why you should try not to skip practicing. Remember the above key points when you sit on the organ bench. I am fully aware that you will have to show some perseverance in your practice and efforts but if you truly want to become good in organ playing, I can assure you, it is well worth the effort. 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 FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. There is an ongoing debate among organists about the strengths and weaknesses of consistency in organ playing. In this article, I will give you my opinion on this topic.
Let me start by explaining what kind of consistency there is in organ practice. Consistency in playing the organ can be seen in many ways. One of the most obvious is sticking with one piece for some time until it is thoroughly mastered. An advantage of this approach is of course an increased in depth knowledge of this particular composition which would not be otherwise possible if you just played many new pieces over the same period of time, unless of course you want to master sight-reading. A possible weakness that consistency reveals is that for some people practicing one piece for a long time is quite boring. They argue that they want to learn something new every day. However, they tend to forget that while staying consistent and practicing one piece until the full mastery in reality opens up new horizons in organ playing and helps to see many new things in the same composition as your knowledge of this piece deepens. If practicing one piece at least for a couple of weeks is a challenge for you, I recommend you choose your organ piece wisely. If you are going to spend much time with one work, this composition should be of really high artistic quality. In addition, you can be consistent in your practice, if you are keeping all the important details of your piece in one style. Such details or elements, could include fingering, pedaling, articulation, ornaments, tempo, phrasing, registration etc. So all of these elements should be consistent over the course of the piece. For example, if you are working on a Baroque composition, the general articulation in this piece should be articulated legato which means having small distances between each and every note. However, this articulation should not sound too detached or choppy. Instead, you should perform such piece in a singing (cantabile) manner. So if you want to be consistent in articulation, try to keep the same kind of spaces within each measure but try to emphasize the alternation of strong and weak beats. In other words, the organist should strive for consistent articulation in every voice and not allow some measures be played legato while others might sound staccato or articulated legato. The real skill of the organist shows in his or her ability to articulate consistently and not allow even slightest discrepancies and accidental slurs. As you can see, consistency in organ practice leads to success and helps you focus on a specific organ piece to increase your skills and mastery. Keep in mind the above strengths of being consistent in organ practice. Go now and consistently start to practice an organ piece of your choice today. In order to achieve the best results, make sure you are consistent in your all musical details. 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 FREE video guide "How to Master Any Organ Composition". Or if you really want to develop unbeatable sight-reading skills, check out my systematic Organ Sight-Reading Master Course. |
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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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