Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 424 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Irineo. He writes: Hello back there maestro! Now that was an interesting discussion you had. But I wonder, which other clefs are there besides two G, two C, and one F? Those are the ones I’m familiar with. And while transposing, you mean when you’re writing a score or improvising? Thank you. Very truly yours, Irineo V: Interesting that Irineo knows two G clefs, right, Ausra? A: Yes, because that other one, old-fashioned G clef is not common nowadays. V: Mm hmm. We could actually survey all ten clefs, right? A: Sure. V: Remind people to take a look at them and pick and choose. Sometimes they’re useful, right? Ausra, did you use some clefs today? A: Yes, I used one of the C clefs today. V: On what occasion? A: Well, we were playing Bach’s aria from one of the cantatas. V: Mm hm. Mein gläubiges Herze, right? A: That’s right. And we had to play soprano parts. So it was written in soprano clef, so. V: And my part had the bass clef in the left hand and in the right hand bass clef, but somehow it changed constantly between bass clef and tenor clef, I believe. So, starting with the G clefs, we have to, as Irineo says, the first one is well known violin clef, where G is on the second line. Treble G. A: That’s right. And we are always counting the lines from the bottom. V: Yes. As Ausra said, if you have G on the first line, that’s called an old French clef from the 17th century, for example. A: That’s right. And it means that the G note is on the bottom line. V: Mm hmm. And it was popular for string music, right? Violins played from such a clef. So, it’s actually higher than normal violin clef. Because the lower the clef, the higher the sound. A: Yes. That’s how it works. V: And clefs are used to avoid ledger lines. A: That’s right. V: Mm hmm. A: So, especially in the old time when paper was very expensive, people wanted to save space, and instead of writing extra lines, we would just change a clef. V: Then we have the familiar F clef, where on the fourth line, we have, what, tenor F? A: That’s right. V. Mm hmm. Which is called bass clef. A: Yes. Probably it’s the most common after the treble clef. V: Mm hmm. A: So it’s used quite a lot in music, for the keyboards, and for some of the strings, and for some of the wind instruments. V: Mm hmm. But actually, there are three F clefs, from the history of music. A: So tell us more about the other two F clefs. V: Mm hm. If you put the F on the fifth line, you have the baritone clef. So, it’s the same like bass clef, the figure of the clef, but put two lines higher, on the top line. On the fifth line, right? So, which means that on the fifth line, you have tenor F. What else? If you have the F clef on the third line… A: Yes, the middle line. V: Middle line. Then you have basso profondo clef. Which is lower than the normal bass clef. One third lower. Right? But, strangely, if you look at the similarity between F clef and G clef, imagine you have F on the middle line, then there is no similarity. But if you have baritone clef on the fifth line, you know you, we have violin clef, second octave F too. So people can use in their mind, transposition to the violin clef, but very high. Two octaves higher. And that would be much easier than reading from the baritone clef. A: Well, for me I would say it’s fairly enough to have [one] treble clef. One F clef and five C clefs. It gives me plenty of opportunities to transpose, and to sightread music. V: What about C clefs? I talked about G clefs and F clefs. I give the C clefs to you. A: Well, I use them every day. V: Okay. So, tell us more! A: Well, there are five C clefs, and each of them marks the note C. And if we start at the bottom line, we have soprano clef. And if we go up, we have mezzo soprano clef. And on the middle line we have alto clef. Then tenor clef. And on the upper line is baritone clef. And it always marks the note of the C of the first octave, of the middle octave. V: Mm hmm. A: And these keys are very, you know, fun, and very easy to use to transpose things. V: So you are saying baritone clef is on the fifth line. A: That’s right. V: So I was wrong, actually, when talking about F clef, which was called baritone. In F clef, baritone should be on the middle line, then, right? I said on the fifth line. A: Okay. V: On the fifth line is basso profondo. A: Basso profondo, yes. V: So, it’s kind of confusing sometimes, if you don’t use it every day. But for which occasion those ten clefs can be used? I would say for two occasions. If you want to improvise based on the theme transpositions, like maybe a few, you’d have to constantly change the key of the subject, then you don’t have to remember the subject itself. You just look at the score and change the clef itself, right? It sounds difficult, but after a few months of work, it’s not that hard. A: Yes, because I think you have to be quite advanced in order to manage all these clefs very easily. V: And the second occasion I think is for geeks. You know what a geek is? A: Yes, I know what a gig is. V: Geek. G-e-e-k. A: No, I don’t know that. V: Computer geek, for example. A: I know g-i-g. V: Yeah. Computer geek is a guy usually, with very thick glasses, and he knows everything about computers, but nothing about anything else. Like a connoisseur about certain subjects. So if you are very deep into early music, for example, and you always prefer to practice and sightread from facsimiles, from old manuscripts and old prints, modernly, in modern times reproduced. Then you need those clefs because people were writing. A: Well, and still, even if you know you work on, not exactly like very old music, but in some editions, some nineteenth century editions, of, let’s say Bach. V: Mm hmm. A: You can find pieces that are written in clefs. V: Oh, yes. A: For example, Peters Edition, I have played myself, you know, the third part of Clavierübung in Academy of Music when I was studying. And one of the chorales was, you know, written in C clefs. V: Mm hm. A: So what I had to do, I was too lazy to transpose them, I mean, rewrite them down in, you know, like treble and bass clefs. So I just played in clefs right away. V: And also, if you study Bach from that Bach Gesellschaft Ausgabe, from the nineteenth century edition which was started with Mendelssohn times, right? And it was widely used in the nineteenth century, those original clefs, they didn’t change Bach’s clefs. They used Bach’s notation. And since Bach used C clefs, Bach gesellschaftausgabe also used same kind of clefs. A: Plus, if you study music, let’s say Mozart’s requiem, for example, famous piece. It’s all written, actually he used three C clefs and bass clef. V: Right. Soprano, alto, tenor, and bass clef. A: That’s right. Because it’s written for four voices. So, and sometimes it’s good to study old scores. Compare them to the modern editions. V: Yes. Not only it’s a good exercise in the mind, but you get to know the composer deeper. A: It’s true. Plus there are instruments like cello that use C clef constantly, and other instruments, wind instruments for example. V: Yes. Orchestral instruments sometimes use C clefs. And then, for example, if you play Brahms. Chorale preludes by Brahms. From nineteenth century, right? But because he used polyphonic techniques that he loved from Bach’s times, plus, he added some chromatic harmonies of course. He used actually, C clefs. Even in today’s editions, you will find C clefs in Brahms’ compositions. So you need them. A: Well, yes. If you don’t want to be sort of challenged. V: Clef-challenged. A: That’s right. V: Yes. At first, we all are clef-challenged, and we only know treble clef in the first grade, right? But somehow, six months later, we manage to play with the bass clef starting. It’s not that easy, and we struggle for a few years, actually, we struggle with bass clef. A: Well, it comes easier for some and harder for others. V: Mm hmm. A: It’s, you know, a very individual thing. V: When I was sightreading Art of the Fugue by Bach, original notation, I discovered that you need about one month for each particular clef to be comfortable with it. So if you have ten clefs, you need ten months. And that’s it. Plus, if you need combinations of clefs, for two voices, or three or four voices, then you need additional time. But if you are just sightreading one voice, you can do it in ten months, pretty much, without any struggle. A: That’s right. Which is your favorite clef, Vidas? V: Soprano. A: Mine, too. It’s easier. V: Mm hm. But for awhile you didn’t like soprano. A: I know. I liked alto. V: Mm hm. A: That was my first choice. But now I think I prefer soprano. And then probably tenor in the third place. V: Do you think that soprano clef could unlock the doors of our house? A: I don’t think so. V: Alto maybe. A: I don’t think so. But we can unlock very interesting music for you, very beautiful music. But anyway, Irineo asks, do we need to know transposing using clefs in writing or in improvisation? So, I would never mean that you would need to write down your transposition. I don’t see any sense in doing that. V: As an exercise, you have theory classes, right? A: Well, but it takes only like one lesson just to try to do it. Because the most important part is that you could do it live, so you need to do it as a transposition of real music piece by playing it. V: And plus, there are now computer notations, all those softwares that do automatically for you, everything transposed, and change clefs automatically, so you don’t need that. But, if you want to play, yes, you do need. A: And it’s a very useful skill, especially is you are a church musician. And especially if you are working with choirs, and if you are working with your soloists with bass clef figures. Because you never know what we might want you to play. V: I remember exactly one wedding when soprano was sort of sick, and she asked me to transpose one third lower. So I used simply C clef in the right hand part and soprano, and treble clef in the bass, in the left hand. Soprano and treble, and that’s it. Very easy. A: True. V: Okay. This was Vidas A: And Ausra. V: We do hope this was useful discussion. Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.
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Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 423, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Damian, and he writes: Hi Vidas, I've been catching up on podcasts lately and I'm very pleased that you've touched the topic of my little device. It is a very simple solution from the technical side and there is nothing revolutionary in it, maybe only the application is unusual ;) In Poland, displaying song text in churches is very popular, at least in my area there is a display in every church. The ways are different, from the old school slide projector, through the large TV, to the LED displays, assembled by specialized companies in this field. I also know that in some regions of the country the organist only displays the number of the song, and people have the books in which they find the text. A separate topic is how much such displays help in singing. Decades ago, we didn't have such inventions, and people sang much better. It was because they wanted to sing and sang a lot, and what follows, they knew the lyrics by heart. I do not know how it is in Lithuania, but in Poland, the desire to sing in the church is getting worse, especially among young people. Indeed, displaying the text helps if you sing a less-used song, or further verses, but only to people who want to sing. Sometimes I get the impression that these displays try to "improve" the singing, make people sing more and "as before". Nevertheless, in my opinion, they will not encourage people who do not want to sing anyway, and the problem lies in the fact that contemporary people sing less and less. Thus, technology helps, but to a limited extent, and unfortunately it is not easy to eliminate the unfavorable changes taking place in singing in parishes. Damian V: Well, this is a deep question, right? Even a little bit... A: Yes, it’s a very broad and deep question. V: Yeah. About our civilization too. A: True, and I don’t think that actually Catholic church in general was intended to sing. V: Didn’t think that parishioners were encouraged to sing over the ages? A: Yes, because mass in a native tongue was only held after the Vatican 2nd Counsel, and that wasn’t so far back. And before that what? There were psalms, Gregorian Chant, but they were intended only for clergy. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And clergy assistants. V: And choir. A: Yes. And cantor organist, whoever helped priest to read the service. And in Lithuania for example, we had this strong folk tradition of some folk hymns that people knew by heart and we sang them well, especially elderly women, as I remember them from my childhood. But now this tradition is dying. All those elderly ladies are already pretty much gone. V: So the songs, these songs, were probably older than Vatican too. A: Yes. I believe they were older. And I don’t think that they sang before, in a mass itself. Maybe before mass or after mass. V: Mmm-hmm. Like devotional practice. A: Yes. That’s right. So especially in the months, for example, like a May, which is… V: Dedicated. A: Dedicated to Holy Mary. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So we had special songs for Holy Mary and sang them entire month, I think at the end of each day. And I know that there were gatherings started in church but in peoples houses, were, let’s say entire village would gather in the house and they would sing these sacred songs. V: Mmm-hmm. On Saturdays maybe. A: Yes. V: Mmm-hmm. A: I know that it would be in the evenings after all the work was done. V: Yeah. In May, they would call it something like, May services. But then in peoples houses, not in, not necessarily in the church. But today, it’s more like in the church, at the end of each mass, during the month of May. And I could say the same thing about the month of June, dedicated to the heart of Jesus. A: That’s right. Sacred Heart of Jesus. And then of course, November for All Saints and the Eternal Church. V: And October for the month of rosary, probably. A: So we have all these occasions to gather together and to sing, but now I think all these old traditions are dying. A: When I was a little, somewhere around 1985—I still remember—at one place visiting my grandparents, during the month of May. It was probably end of my primary school, you know, students in primary school had earlier vacations, recess, right? Their school year ended, would end earlier than other people, other older students. So my mom would take me to her parents village earlier then in the summer. So I still remember during that time, one particular May service held in our place, around 1985, where neighbors gathered together, and mostly elderly people, but not necessarily all were old, but some were middle aged, but younger people were playing outside, like myself, for example. And afterwards they were talking and chatting. It was a nice tradition which was very active before Second World War, I would say—independent Lithuania tine. And the people would dance after, even after those services, right? Your parents should remember this too. A: Well, how could we remember what was in between two world wars if we were born after that? V: Ah, right. A: So you are really funny. My grandparents might remember that but they are dead already so I can’t ask them. But anyway, nowadays, people sing less and less and that because of the technology. They don’t have that need to sing. V: Because technology entertains them very well. With the stroke of the finger, you can scroll the screen and find entertainment all day long, and all night long. A: I know. And like earlier, at least you had to have like, CD or vanilla… V: Vinyl. A: Vinyl, yes. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Or something. And now you don’t need that anymore. You just need to have your phone and that’s it. And you can be entertained at any moment to find any song that you want and to think about those programs that can identify any music for you, if you play it to that program. V: For example, when two musicians are in the family like we, can we entertain ourselves more than other people? A: Of course, I think. But, do we do it? V: Yes. We play organ together. This is sort of entertainment too. A: But it’s also our profession. V: It’s even better, right? You get paid to do what you love! A: That’s right. But anyway, I was surprised how well equipped Polish churches are... V: Uh-huh, with screen and projectors. A: Yes, I know. You wouldn’t find that in Lithuania. V: No! A: That would be more like an exception, but not a rule. And, well… V: The best people have, is probably numbers on the board of hymns, that they could then search in hymnals. A: I wonder how Lutheran churches are doing [in] English tradition, that had stronger support of congregational singing through ages. Are they still singing? V: When we were in America, we had also numbers. A: And hymnals. People had hymnals. V: Yes. I once visited our Lutheran church, and saw numbers too—not too long ago. A: But I wonder if we are singing during service—every member of congregation. V: Ah. We need to go. A: We need to go and check. V: Yes. We need to go to Lutheran services in Lithuania too. Alright! So, guys, maybe you could also send us some feedback about your place. What, or how strongly people are singing in your country, and how is it varying from denomination to denomination. That would be interesting to know, right? A: True. And do you yourself think it’s important for congregation to sing, or not? V: Alright 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! DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 418 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Ariane, and she writes: I started hymn improvisation week 5 where I am playing 8th against the hymn tune. I am just not sure what exactly the notes should be apart from the fact that the notes on the beat should be consonant. Do they have to be steps or can you jump up and down? V: So, imagine, Ausra, this is like a two voice counterpoint that she’s working on. One voice has the hymn tune, let’s say the right hand, and the left hand should play eighth notes, so two notes against one. And, she’s wondering what kind of notes to play. Right? Can you make leaps, or do they have to be stepwise motion, musically speaking? A: Well, if you would create a melody in the right hand and the hymn tune would be in the left hand, then I would suggest that you wouldn’t use leaps, because leaps in the melody don’t always sound nice. But if it’s a bass, then leaps are more appropriate. So, it depends on the situation. What do you think about it? V: If we look at the real piece of music, for example, “Basse de Trompette” that Couperin or de Grigny have created in the 18th century, we see that, as you say, trumpets in the left hand tend to have leaps much more often. Of course, they don’t usually, or not necessarily, move in eighth notes, but the principle is that you can create arpeggios more frequently in the left hand. In the right hand, I would say that if you need to use leaps, maybe compensate them by leaping downward, as well. A: Well, that’s always the case in any given voice. Even in the bass, if you leap up, then you have to leap down. V: Or even if you leap up, then resolve this to stepwise down. That’s better. A: That’s right, because it sounds not as good if you leap twice in the same direction, or if after leaping in one direction, you move the voice in the same direction. It’s inappropriate. V: So, by week 5 in the hymn improvisation course, Ariane can already play, I would say, four variations. Note against note: That’s two. Right hand has the hymn tune, and left hand has the hymn tune. And then, eighth notes against the hymn tune in week five, a couple of more versions. So, from one hymn tune, she could really create, probably, four minutes of piece, at least four minutes, because if she plays it slower than a hymn tune might last, more than one minute. Right? A: That’s right, yes. V: So, five minutes, just from improvising simple two voice counterpoint. I think it’s really an interesting technique and skill to have. Not only can she introduce the following hymn, but she could really start creating her own music. A: Yes, I think that counterpoint is the basic of composition and of understanding how music is written. V: I’m really glad that she is doing this and hopefully she can play it in public, maybe in her church or for friends and family. A: True. V: Okay guys, so, if you want to take a look at this course, check out my “Organ Hymn Playing Master Course, Level 1.” It only deals with two voices, and we start with note against note counterpoint, of course, and progress through various subdivisions, and it gradually becomes faster and faster moving passages. Alright, thank you guys for listening. This was Vidas, A: And Ausra, V: And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen! DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 422 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by May, and she writes: Thank you Vidas for sending me this video. I didn't have a chance to watch it yet. The harmony course is challenging enough for me. It's like a brain exercise. With the S-D transposing sequences, I have to first figure out what key it lands on at a major 3rd interval. Then which key is its subdominant and which key is its dominant. I took a long time before I could run through each of the 6 sequences from C major, a minor, Bb major and g minor three times without making mistakes. Today, I just finished watching the week 7 video. I think I have to postpone the sight reading course until after I finished with the harmony course (hopefully in 6 weeks). Otherwise I would not have time to prepare or the music in lent. Actually, how much time we should be spending each day to work on these exercises in order to accomplish the improvement you expect? I guess I can use the pedals with the week 7 exercises. Perhaps I should say I have to use pedals for the bass because it's impossible to reach all 4 notes by hands only in many cases. Thanks again for your advice. May V: So Ausra, how much time should people spend with harmony? A: I don’t know how much time they have and what their final goal is. V: It depends. A: Yes, it depends. V: Well, if you look at your students at school, for example, how much time do they spend, and how much time would you like them to spend? A: Well, it depends on the person. For some, for example, who have good working tempo, they don’t need to do any extra work at home. They can manage to do everything in class. So, we have classes twice every week, so about two hours per week. V: Right, two hours per week, that’s about 20 minutes per day. 15-20 minutes per day. A: Something like that… but of course, people are different. For some, it takes a lot of time. V: I would say the minimum time would be 15 minutes. That would make sense, right? A: Yes. And don’t feel that you have to polish each exercise. It’s not a piece of music that you are going to perform for a recital or a Mass or in a church service, so basically, it develops your musical thinking, and builds up an understanding of how the music is constructed. V: And each exercise that you master will lead to new horizons; it helps to discover something new in later exercises. A: That’s right. So don’t try to perfect them. V: It’s like in sightreading, I don’t think people should spend too much time on one particular piece if their goal is to sightread, or with pedal exercises, too. Playing arpeggios or scales with pedals... it’s enough to do this 15 minutes per day and just move on with the next thing you need to do, because time is limited for everyone. It’s better to perfect something that is useful, practical, than apedal scale, for example, because you can come back to it tomorrow, to the same scale. A: That’s right. V: So, it’s the same with harmony exercises, I would say, too. Ausra says it right. What about improvisation, if people are spending time with improvisation? Do you think they should repeatedly polish the same thing over and over? A: Well, then it probably won’t be improvisation if you would polish the same thing over and over again, it will be more like memorization. And it’s good in some sense, because then you internalize it and can use it easily on the spot. But again, I don’t think you need to play it like a hundred times over and over again. What do you think about it, because you are a master of improvisation? V: Probably not a master, but I do improvise—try to improvise every day. Even before we sat down record this conversation, we played with Ausra our organ duets, which we are preparing for our upcoming trip to the French Alps, but afterwards, I improvised on a Genevan Psalm, Psalm 42, which in German chorale setting would be “Schmücke Dich”--the same melody. I like this collection, Genevan Psalms, they’re very suitable for improvising, and in my case, when I do this at home, I can use it as a basic exercise, like note against note counterpoint, and I played it twice. One was for the right hand when a tune was placed in the soprano, and another time was in the left hand, when the tune was placed in the bass. And then the other voice had to supply the counterpoint. And that’s it. I didn’t work on improving, polishing and otherwise perfecting this setting, so it took me maybe 4 minutes, the entire exercise, because maybe I could later do another exercise—another tune. So, the same is with May, for example, or other people who are doing harmony, and even improvisation. It’s better to move on to the next exercise, once you have the basic foundation of understanding of it rather than memorizing it, I would say. A: True, I think you are very right. V: There is so much to learn in music. You will discover something new everyday, and simply, we will not have enough time to do everything. So just enjoy whatever time you have on the organ, and try to spend no less than 15 minutes a day to see some kind of results. The results might vary, right? “Your mileage might very,” as the car dealers would say to you. It depends how you drive, where you drive, things like that. So the same is with organ playing. It depends on what your starting point was. Right? Did you have anything prior to organ study? Did you play keyboard before or not? Is it your first instrument or not? How early or late in life or not? Whatever musical challenges you have overcome, maybe talent also plays a role here too, right? A: Yes, I think everything is…. V: Connected… A: ...connected, that’s right. V: But probably we should tell people that they shouldn’t get discouraged. That if something goes really slowly for them, and if they, for example, see me doing the same exercise without mistakes in one try, they shouldn’t be discouraged and say, “Oh, I will never play like Vidas.” Right? It’s not the goal to play like Vidas. It’s the goal to play like… A: ...like you! V: ...like you. A: A better version of you. V: Yeah. Today better than yesterday. A: That’s right. V: And sometimes, this progress doesn’t feel with everyday. Right? We need to take a step back every few weeks, maybe to see the bigger picture. Only then, we can see how much we are improving, probably. Right Ausra? A: Yes. V: Thank you guys for listening, this was Vidas, A: And Ausra, V: And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. SOPP417: I’m arthritic and find it difficult to move joints easily, especially the ankles and hips4/4/2019
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 417, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Colin. And he writes: Dear Vidas, Firstly, I’m sorry if you have already received the following message. My computer is playing up and I’m having difficulty in sending and receiving some emails. Thank you for your Pedal Virtuoso Master Course. For some strange reason, I have been unable to download the material of the final lesson. A bit of background about me: I’m retired and I have played the organ for very many years. However, the demands of my job and family have meant that I have not been able to practice regularly, with the inevitable result that my skills have deteriorated. I’m arthritic and find it difficult to move joints easily, especially the ankles and hips. I try to practice your course regularly though I have not been able to progress from week to week as rapidly as I should like. I see no virtue in going on to the next lesson until I feel like I have mastered the current one. I’ve found the sessions on arpeggios etc. particularly helpful, and I feel that I’m beginning to recover some of my earlier flexibility. I still find shifting position difficult though, I continue to work on it. As you suggested, I have played a couple of pieces which I have not played for a long time, in order to see how my pedal technique has improved. I was really amazed at the confident way I was able to play the final part of the Mendelssohn organ Sonata n°1. Likewise, I managed the g minor fugue, BWV 542 confidently, even the long pedal passage in the middle, where you have to shift position felt very comfortable. So my practice is clearly paying off. Thank you very much indeed, every good wish, Colin V: Wow, this is like a nice testimonial from Colin I would say. Don’t you think? A: Yes, it’s very nice, thank you Colin, we appreciate it very much. V: I think he did a good job taking a piece that he was practicing earlier with difficulty, maybe like g minor fugue, or Mendelssohn’s Sonata, and then, after a while of working with the Pedal Virtuoso Master Course, then playing through these pieces, like a test you know. To just see if it’s easier or not. And apparently, I was right, people do improve. A: Sure, because when you practice only exercises, you might not notice that, but when you will pick up real repertoire, you will notice that you’ve really improved. Because all your hard work always pays off, maybe not as fast as you wish you know, but still, you will improve, in time. V: I would compare it to looking at yourself in the mirror every morning. What happens is, you look almost the same right? Maybe not exactly the same: your haircut will be different, your mood is different, maybe your skin looks different a little bit from the night before, maybe sometimes you’re less refreshed than you wanted to be, but generally the changes with age are very difficult to spot if you look at the mirror every day. But what happens if you meet your friend who haven’t seen you for six months or maybe a couple of years, then surely they will notice the difference and you will notice the difference on them. A: True, that is true. V: Is this a good analogy Ausra? A: Yes, it’s a good analogy.Maybe in organ playing you don't have to wait for 2 years to see the progress. But definitely you won’t be seeing progress each single day. V: What does it mean to “see progress”, for you personally Ausra? What is progress? When you sit down on the organ bench and play those pieces that you’re getting ready to play at Notre-Dame for example in Paris. A: Well, I’m not thinking so much about it right now, because it’s still so far ahead, but definitely you know, the more you put in, the more you get out of it. That’s always the case. V: Are you so concerned about seeing progress actually, when you practice? A: Well, not so much. V: Not so much, yeah. You’re focusing on the process not on the result. Results probably will come by themselves. A: That’s true. I don’t like to force things ahead of time. V: You don’t want to force it? A: No. V: Hmm. To me also I hold a similar position, that my goal is to sit down at the organ bench no matter what, no matter if I have a busy day or easy day, I try to sit down, if only for fifteen minutes, to play, you know, an improvisation. If I do that, I know that my fingers don’t atrophy, the muscles don’t atrophy. My imagination also improves a little bit. And maybe tomorrow I will have a better day to practice more, right? And usually I practice much more than fifteen minutes but that’s just the minimum I try to do. And somehow the progress comes by itself. You know, I have some goals for the future, pieces that I need to learn, but judging from my own experience, I plan well ahead those pieces and I know that with every practice, my playing gets a little bit stronger, even if the progress seems to be slow, but I know that I have plenty of time. Would you agree? A: Sure, and I like to prepare things in advance in order to have some flexibility with everything you know, and not be rushed into things. V: If you need to rush it means you’re planning poorly, right? If a recital is coming up next week and I’m still sight-reading this piece, something is wrong with my planning. A: Yes but some people are like that and I don’t like it. I used to be like that myself too, in terms of memorization for example. I used to memorize at the last moment, I remember still things that I would have to play exam next morning and in the evening I was still working to memorize some of the parts, and I wouldn’t be any good at it. And then you experience extra stress and it’s not good. V: And you don’t feel any joy in doing that, during exam? A: Of course, you know if you’re a musician, sometimes you need to be put on the spot, but all the time, it’s not good. V: Hmm. That’s true. I think Colin is on the right track with this course, Pedal Virtuoso Master Course, and of course since he’s retired and a senior person and he has arthritis, then to move in a flexible manner in those arpeggios and scales is quite strenuous movement. A: True. Although I think that to keep moving is beneficial for people with arthritis. V: Even though you can’t play perfectly those scales and arpeggios, do something with them. Play the best you can, and then, your joints and ankles will improve anyway. A: But of course, do everything with care. Don’t hurt yourself too much. V: Hmm, avoid pain basically. A: True. V: Stop playing before you get tired, that’s a golden rule of mine. If I stop before I get tired, I never get tired! A: Good for you! V: Wonderful, thank you guys for listening, I hope this was helpful to you, and please keep sending your wonderful questions, we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen! DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 420 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And this question was sent by Dieter. He writes: In Bach’s Two Part Inventions, if I were to move some of the left hand parts to the pedal, how would I set about that? A: Interesting question. V: Uh-huh. I mean, Dieter wants to create left hand, or right hand and pedal exercises out of Inventions, right? A: How did you understand that he wants to create exercises? Because I haven’t comprehended. V: That would be like an exercise, if you play left hand part in the pedals. It would be a great pedal exercise. A: But he wants just to play some of the notes with the pedals. V: Oh. A: What I understood, was he was asking how to arrange it. V: Mm-hm. A: And is it appropriate to take some notes from the left hand to pedal part, to move some notes. That’s how I understood it. V: Some of the Inventions don’t fit nicely in the pedals, I think. A: Yes, and actually, I wouldn’t do that. I think we are very well suited for manuals performance. Because, honestly, I don’t see the reason why you need to do it. Unless you know, we are talking about, like, ending cadence. And that cadence, of course, you could, you know, play a few notes with the pedal, just to make more emphasis on the bass. V: The only point I imagine is that it might make an interesting exercise for the pedals and for the hand, whatever hand he uses. I did that in Trio Sonatas, when I created Left Hand Training. I transposed all those pieces, and made an arrangement so that an organist would play any part with the left hand only. And in turn, the technique of left hand would become stronger. And the second level of this is two-part training, where actually two parts are arranged from Trio Sonatas, and you could play just two hands, or right hand and pedals, left hand and pedals, from that setting, also transposed in many keys. So I was thinking more along these lines, as an exercise. But still, it would be difficult for pedals, I think. A: Definitely, because, you know, if you are talking about these Two Part Inventions, both voices are equally important and equally complicated. Complex. So, anyway, I think it would be hard to play them with the pedal, the left hand. And if you would do that occasionally, I didn’t think it would sound appropriate, or nice. V: You see, the main problem is obviously the range. Sometimes, left hand goes beyond what it’s possible to do in the pedals. So probably, in these cases, it would be wise not only to move, you know, one note downward, because it would sound strange, but maybe entire fragment, entire maybe motive or phrase downward, I would say, from the left hand part to the pedals, but down one octave if it doesn’t fit the range. A: How would it sound if you would try to add an extra voice with the pedal? Let’s say, to emphasize the harmony? Is it possible? V: Huh. Good question. I guess we need to try and find out… A: Maybe just a part of some… V: Obviously, in each measure there are at least a couple of harmony changes, right? And in cadences, even more. Which means that your feet could play the bass note of the harmony. But it would sound sort of sometimes cheesy, I would say. A: I think so, too. I don’t think Bach would be happy if he would hear what we are talking about. Arranging his inventions. V: If you added a third voice in the, somewhere in the middle, or in the descant range, like a second soprano, then it would be a trio texture, and it wouldn’t be that far from what Bach himself would have done when he sat down on the harpsichord and accompanied a singer or a soloist as a continuo player. Definitely, he would add an extra voice. A: Sure. So but actually, my final advice would be that, better play them as they are written. Because Bach left so many compositions. If you want to play something for the pedal, I’m sure you will find some music that you can develop your pedal technique. V: For example, Three Part Sinfonias. A: That’s right. V: Yes. You could play them as trios. A: Sure. V: Easily. Take the lowest voice in the pedals, the middle voice in the left hand, and the top voice in the right hand. A: Yes, because Bach was a wonderful pedagogue himself. And each of his pieces also served pedagogical purposes, especially when we are talking about Two Part Inventions, and then Sinfonias and Trio Sonatas. So. V: Interesting questions. I’m very happy people are experimenting with those ideas. And sometimes they work, sometimes they don’t. But in all cases, people learn something from the experiment itself. A: Of course. V: Great. Thank you guys for listening and applying our tips in your practice. We hope this helps you grow. And please send us more of your questions, and we will discuss them in future episodes of the podcast conversation. This was Vidas A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen. DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.SOPP419: I could never play a triplet with one hand and four 16th notes with the other hand together3/30/2019
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 419, of Secrets Of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by May, and she writes: Hi Vidas, Thank you for sending me the week 6 Harmony material. I have been working hard (and struggling) with the chords, the progressions and the sequences in the past 2 weeks. I find it most difficult to play with hands only using 2 right hand fingers and 2 left hand fingers. It is easier to play with left hand doing the bass only and right hand playing the triad (chords in closed positions). Playing the bass with the pedal is also much manageable than playing with 2 fingers from each hand. It takes a long time to go through the exercises first with hands only and then with pedals together. Shall I practice with hands only, with hands and pedals, or both? What do you suggest? I am working on the sight reading master course at the same time. I struggle with the rhythms in week 3 day 2's triplets. I could never play a triplet with one hand and four 16th notes with the other hand together. If I assign 12 units to each quarter note, each note of a triplet will get 4 units and each 16th note will get 3 units. I am not sure if it will help me to get a better sense of this complicated rhythm by doing this. It will also take a long time to finish the passage. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks, May V: So this is sort of two fold question; one is about harmony and another is about playing complex rhythms. A: Yes. And I know what she talks about, how uncomfortable is it to have two voice in one hand and two in another, but that’s the way the voice leading works because you cannot always use only a closed position. And if you need to play in an open position then you really need to play something with your left hand too. If you don’t like to play two voices with your left hand, then play bass with the pedal, tenor with your left hand and two voices with your right hand. V: Mmm-hmm. A: It will not make life easier. Because I think that trouble is the tenor voice. V: Mmm-hmm. Yeah, I… A: It always is the tenor voice. V: Mmm-hmm. I could suggest here two things: one is to sight-read more hymns with or without the pedal, doing the same thing that you are talking about—two and two–left hand takes two voices and right hand takes two voices, or right hand takes voices, left hand takes one voice, and the pedals take one voice. Those versions are very beneficial. So, she practices harmony, but at the same time, sight-reading hymns would really be beneficial to her because it’s the same disposition of voice. A: Well, yes, but by these two questions by May, I see actually the connection. It’s all what she talks about is connected to this coordination problem. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Which is very common in us, all, I think. Because if you cannot manage triplets in one hand and then sixteenths with your other hand it also means coordination, and basically independence of your hands. V: One part of your brain must think in triplets and another in sixteenth notes. A: That’s right. I remember when I first encountered this problem; it was in Franck’s A Major Fantasy. It has a couple [of] spots where you have triplets, and… V: What kind of fantasy? A: In A Major. V: A. Mmm-hmm. A: Yes. A Major. V: And I’ve seen this rhythms in Messiaen’s music, uh… A: Well I saw many times these rhythms. This was just the first time when I encountered it myself. V: For example in Messiaen’s L’Ascension, the second movement. A: What would you suggest? How to practice it? V: First of all, hands separately. Not necessarily the entire piece but maybe a short fragment of 2-4 measures. And each hand has to know this part completely, like inside out. I’ve done this repeatedly, ten, twenty, a hundred times, with each hand. And suddenly, when put those hands together, they click and play separately, like two different people. Because they, your hands basically remember the muscle memory. A: That’s a very good suggestion. And I had that trouble sometimes even playing trills. And I don’t think it was because of poor technical skills or something. I think it was also psychological problem too. Because when I know that spot, tricky spot comes, I would get tense. I would get like muscle spasms and then I would fell. But... V: You mean fall. A: Fall, yes. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And I would fall. And what helped me actually, relaxation and breathing. V: Another method would be to think about sixteenths as just twice as smaller units of duplets. You know, three against two is easier to play than three against four. A: Well, but for beginners, three against two is also a big challenge. V: But you could... A: But of course… V: Mathematically… A: Yes. V: count it... A: Yes. V: Those rhythms. A: You can everything count mathematically. That’s what math is for—that you could calculate anything. V: So, the first and the third note of the sixteen group, would fit nicely with the triplets. But the second and the fourth need to be inserted somewhere in the middle, right? So... A: But you still have to know that spot where it has to be… V: Mmm-mmm. A: Put in. V: But if you make a focus on the first and the third group notes, then two and four maybe take care, by themselves. No? A: (Laughs.) I wish it would be like this. V: Okay. And one last suggestion is about strengthening her left hand a little bit more. I have two courses concerning this. The first is left hand training, which is based on six trio sonatas by Bach, where the player is required to practice any part that organist play from trio sonatas—right hand, left hand, or the pedals—but only with left hand. And in various keys. I transpose them, in multiple keys. It’s just for strengthening the left hand. That would be beneficial for May. And then the second level is two part training where you take, where I take the same trio sonatas, but people need to practice two parts at a time—left hand, for example and pedals. A: Yes, I believe it might be very helpful. V: Mmm-hmm. And that might help her with harmony disposition when she has to play pedals in the feet, tenor in the left hand, and two voices in the right hand. Right hand is easier so left hand and pedal need to be strengthened—this coordination. A: True. V: Okay. So anybody who struggles with this could really benefit from those two courses I think. Alright guys. We hope was useful to you. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember; when you practice... A: Miracles happen! DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.
Vidas: Hi Guys! This is Vidas…
Ausra: ...and Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 416 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Tim, and he writes: Dear Vidas, The course is working out fine for me, and I’m able to keep up to date with it. Sometimes, I do a few days ahead, depending on work commitments. I usually use a tempo of around crotchet = 16, and I find I am able to get all the articulation correct in all of the parts. Looking forward to the rest of it. Kindest regards, Tim. Ausra, I think Tim is talking about our Organ Sightreading Master Course. A: I see. V: And the requirement, of course, is to sightread the piece rather slowly. For some people, it’s possible at 60, quarter note = 60, but you could do it slower. So in general, this course is a great resource for people who want to perfect their sightreading skills. A: I think it’s crucial thing for every musician to be able to sightread things. V: Mm-hm. A: It makes life much easier. V: You know what I’ve been doing recently? I’ve been opening every day my Orgelbüchlein collection, and putting it on the organ rack at church, and recording myself from above my head so that hands will be visible and I would sightread 1, 2, or 3 pieces every day in a slow tempo, but with ideal articulation, fingering, and pedaling. So, I’ve actually found out that this makes my playing more elegant in general and my skills keep sharp. A: Excellent. So, how is it going? After you will be done with entire Orgelbüchlein, what will you play then? V: I think I might go either in two directions. Either to sightread the 3-part sinfonias by Bach - I haven’t played them for a long time. Or, I might go to something more legato like Brahms or maybe Franck’s L’Organiste. A: Don’t you think Franck’s L’Organiste would be too easy for you to sightread through most of those pieces? V: Sure, but you know, to keep the fingering precise, that’s not too easy. A: And of course, for us, some harder pieces in L’Organiste. V: Mm-hm. A: Some Sorties. V: Right. A: At the end of many cycles there is Sortie, which is probably more complex because it has all the themes from entire cycle. V: Mm-hm. I shared Vater Unser yesterday, from Orgelbüchlein, this recording on Steemit and Whaleshares, and people have been reacting positively about that, even though they are not organists at all, you know, they are not specialized in classical music probably at all, but they appreciate seeing my hands and listening to good music anyway. A: Yes, I think it might be even more interesting for non-musicians sometimes. V: So, do you think Tim could also record himself while he sightreads? A: Well, it depends on what his goal is. But sometimes, it’s good to record yourself and to listen to what you have done, and compare one of your recordings to another one, and see how you are progressing. Because what you hear when you are playing live is not the same as what you will hear after you listen to your recording. V: Mm-hm. A: Because sometimes, during actual performance, you might get quite a wrong idea about what you have done or how have you played. V: Right. Of course, it also depends on how sensitive a person is to the critique or public reaction, right? I’ve been doing this for a number of years now, recording myself, livestreaming, and I am quite OK if somebody criticizes me, I can ignore that criticism or take it, you know, in some constructive manner. I wouldn’t probably take it too personally now. A: Well, and what you’re talking about, you are talking about putting your recording for a live audience, for public in general. What I was talking about was more about educational part of performance. V: That he would… A: He would use this recording for himself, not to check how he’s doing. V: Aha. A: Not to make it public. But of course, it’s up to person to decide. You like to exhibit yourself. Somebody maybe doesn’t so. V: Exactly. A: We are all different. V: Yeah. And we all need different apps and different tools and different approaches to practice. So, guys, keep what’s working for you and discard what is not. And we are sharing our ideas. For example, my ideas probably are a little bit or more different from Ausra’s too, right, in some ways. So you could choose our approaches, pick and choose actually, from both of us, what works for you. And maybe adjust them. Not take it, like as it is, but maybe adjust to your own situation. It’s not like medicine. We are not medical doctors and we don’t prescribe you medicine to take three times a day without any consideration. Here, I probably think that you would benefit from adjusting to your own situation. A: But anyway, sightreading is beneficial for any musician. So, keep doing it! Keep sightreading. V: In your harmony and music theory classes, ear-training classes, do you think a lot of kids sightread? A: Well, all my kids sightread, that’s for sure. V: What about outside those classes? Do they sightread in their own instrument? A: Some of them do. V: Some of them. The best ones. A: Yes. V: The most committed ones. A: Sure. V: Exactly. These kids will go much further than those who do not, probably. Okay, guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice… A: ...Miracles happen! DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 415, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jeremy, and he writes: Played for church this morning. Krebs e minor prelude and fugue for prelude, accompanied a handbell piece on the organ and ended with Piece Heroique of Franck. Standard hymns and some piano playing in there as well. I did improvise a bit today during the passing of the piece. Played through a hymn, then tried to improvise a canon between the soprano and tenor over a pedal tone while keeping the alto the same. I thought it worked pretty well. V: So Jeremy is not only transcribing our fingering and pedaling videos, but he’s on the list of Total Organist students. And at the end of each day, I ask them how their day went, and what did they do? So Jeremy wrote this answer to us, Ausra. A: Very nice, I think. I feel sorry but I couldn't listen and to attend the service, because everything sounds very nice, organized. V: If he ended the church service with the Pièce Héroïque by Franck, it should have been like a small recital. A: I know! You could feel yourself like, being embarrassed. V: Mmm-hmm. Remember when we visited organ builder Gene Bedient and his wife, there, a few summers ago? We went to St Sulpice I think, on one Sunday, and at the end of the mass they have, they have a short recital there. A: Yes. It was wonderful. V: And guest recitalists played there. A: And too bad that we could not go upstairs to the organ to congratulate her because now there is a policy in France, and in Paris in particular because of the terrorist attacks. They not allow people to go next to the organ after the recital. V: Mmm. Yeah, at that time, security alert was elevated. A: I think it’s always like that in Paris now. V: Hmm-hmm. A: Nowadays. V: So, anyway, it was really nice hearing, I think one of the Dutch organists played there. A: Yes, I think she was Dutch, yes. V: Mmm-hmm. Playing B minor chorale by Franck. A: Yes, my favorite piece. V: What else did she play—maybe, maybe a slow movement of Bach’s E minor Trio Sonata? A: Franck was what stuck with me, so… V: Uh-huh. A: I don’t recall other pieces. V: Is that the reason why you practiced Franck today? A: Well, no, not because of that. Because I need to repeat this piece. V: Mmm-hmm. Yeah, I need to play more Franck too, and I think I will. So… A: Do you like Pièce Héroïque? V: It’s very compact, very beautifully worked out, well thought, and for people who, for example, haven’t played large scale works like Pièce Symphonic or the Chorales, that might be a good starting point, or one of the easier pieces, I would say. A: Well, yes, but although it’s not as hard to learn this piece, but it sounds like a… V: Heroic. Mmm. A: Truly heroic piece. And while listening to it you could tell that it’s an easier piece. V: No. A: Well, I don’t think that any of Franck pieces of his big organ works are very easy. But of course there is a big difference in between of his level of difficulties of his music. V: Mmm-hmm. A: For example the day when I played B minor Chorale, I just sight-read a little bit from the A minor Chorale, which I also have played many years ago, and it’s at least three times easier comparing to the B minor Chorale. V: Even thought the third choral is the last one. A: Sure. V: Mmm. A: But if you have quite good piano technique then it’s very easy, because it doesn’t have so much thick texture, it’s more playful, very few pedals. V: I think our friend and colleague Paulius Grigonis wants to play some Franck and he was thinking about A minor Chorale. Do you think he would manage it? A: I don’t know how good is his piano technique. Because you need to have piano technique in order to play this chorale well. Otherwise [it] might sound sloppy, or you might not play it up to tempo. Because out of all these chorales, the A minor is the fastest. V: True. And Jeremy played the handbell piece, accompaniment on the organ. Do you like handbells? A: Very much! V: Mmm-hmm. A: This was the only time when I encountered it was in the states. Before that I didn’t even know that such thing existed—the handbell choir. And remember once we had even to perform because our church was short on handbell choir, I remember, so they asked us to play and we did. V: That was for Easter, I think. A: Yes. V: And… A: And we had special glass… V: Mmm-hmm. A: And various bells. It was fun. V: Wonderful. And I remember that I also played some percussion instrument, right? A: What an honor. V: Mmm-hmm. A: You can put it on your CV. V: (Laughs). Right. So Jeremy just mentioned that he improvised a hymn, making canon between soprano and tenor over a pedal tone, while keeping the alto the same. What do you understand from this, ‘keeping the alto the same’? The same stationary note or playing the same melody from the hymnal—in the alto part? A: I’m not quite sure. Could be either way, I think. But anyway, it sounds very interesting. V: It sounds difficult. A: Sure! It sounds truly difficult. Because when you start to explore some polyphonic technique, as canon for example, it makes a whole difference. It’s not like just playing plain chords with some variation. V: The easiest canon that beginners could start learning is the one that Franck uses so often. In one hand you play, let’s say, a moving melody, and you stop. And when you stop, you repeat the same thing an octave lower, for example, with the left hand. And then stop again with the left hand, and then start to move at the same time with the right hand. Basically hands move interchangeably, not at the same time. And then you don’t have to think about two things all the time. A: I think he uses this technique in his L’Organiste collection. V: Mmm-hmm. Yeah. That’s the easier one to start with, thinking polyphonically. You don’t have to think about intervals, about what kind of allowed intervals are there, because in Renaissance times, they have these very strict rules—which type of intervals produce, which type of canons. And I’m sure Franck knew that. But for beginner purposes, I don’t think it matters. You can create a canon quite easily while following his model, basically playing movement between the hands interchangeably. A: True. V: And it would sound actually convincing. It wouldn’t sound very easy. A: That’s right. V: So, we hope was useful to you guys. Explore your different techniques that Jeremy uses and others might suggest. We hope this was useful to you and please us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember; when you practice... V: Miracles happen! DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.
By the time you guys read this, Ausra and I should have traveled to the French Alps - to play an organ duet recital in Alpe d'Huez at Notre Dame des Neiges on the organ designed by the late Jean Guillou (the notorious palm-shaped organ facade) next Thursday.
We are flying from Vilnius to Lyon and going by bus to Grenoble and from there to Alpe d'Huez. This place is a famous ski resort which has organ concert series all year round every Thursday. We will try to report from the location how we are doing 1880 meters above sea level... By the way, support might be limited until next Saturday because we don't know what kind of Internet connection we will get in the mountains...
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 414 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jeremy, and he is on the team who transcribes our fingering and pedaling videos. So, he writes: I have been struggling with the Bach Dorian Fugue. The notes for the most part are there at half speed, but getting it up to speed has been… difficult. This being said, I did have a bright moment today that I will verify tomorrow by phone. I am learning the Dorian's Toccata and fugue for the AAGO exam in June. As I filled out the paperwork for I thought today, I realized only the Toccata is on the list of pieces. Huzzah! I can almost play that part of it up to speed already! V: So Ausra, I wrote to Jeremy that even though the fugue is not required for the Associates AGO exam, I hope he will still be practicing it, and he said yes, he fell in love with the fugue, and he will be trying to master it in time. A: Actually, I also like the Fugue of this Dorian Toccata, even better than the Toccata itself. V: I agree. Somehow, this fugue is so polyphonically complex, that it could be like a compendium of Bach’s canonic techniques. It has all kinds of subject entrances in all kinds of intervals, and especially canonic subjects, where one subject is following another at certain distances—at a certain interval—and these intervals and distances, they vary between each other, and that’s the most beautiful part of it. A: So, it’s a very good example to study if you want to explore a fugue, and how might be composed. What do you think about Toccata? V: Well, Toccata… it’s a tricky piece to play, actually, because of the motoric motion. You have to have a decent finger technique, and quite a good coordination between hands and feet. A: Well, true, but don’t you think that that motoric motion throughout the piece makes it a little bit boring comparing to others of Bach’s Toccatas for organ? Because none of the other toccatas are so mechanically even. V: I know what you mean, and this Dorian Toccata might be one of the earlier examples of modern toccatas, where we have examples of Widor Toccata or Böelmann Toccata, or Gigout Toccata, or Dubois Toccata, where the same pattern is repeated over and over again. Having said that, Dorian Toccata is still composed from a couple of different episodes, which are presented interchangeably in different keys. But as you say, 16th notes, those rhythms dominate the piece. A: True, and of course, all toccatas have some mechanical motion. That’s what it is for, but I think in this toccata, it’s the most prominent. V: Do you remember the origins of the toccata with the Italians? A: Yes, I remember it. It comes from the Italian word “toccare,” which means “to touch.” V: And it doesn’t say to touch fast, or motorically, or virtuosically at all. Right? In those days, if we talk about Frescobaldi or earlier composers such as Diruta, Merula, they wrote sectional toccatas, sort of like ricercars, but maybe more passages and runs throughout the piece, I would say, but they really resemble the ricercare in nature. A: True! So, I think that Italian toccatas, especially, are well suited for church services, because they are sectional. V: And why do people need sectional toccatas today? A: Well, because sometimes in the liturgy, you don’t know how long you will have to play, so if you know the piece is sectional, you can finish at the end of any section, basically, or you could repeat some of the sections if you need more music. V: I think Frescobaldi wrote, in his “Fiori Musicali,” that this is the reason he created sectional pieces—for various Mass parts, that organists could stop at the end of any episode. A: Well, and that’s especially true with the Catholic churches, because you never know how much attendance you will have, and how long it will last—one or another section of the Mass. V: Right, and for this reason, of course, improvisation is very useful—in earlier days, and today as well, because you can end on your own timing. A: True, but if you don’t want to improvise, then play Italian music. V: So guys, we hope this was useful to you. If you are studying pieces like Dorian Toccata and Fugue, don’t give up just yet, and work on gradually expanding your fragments. I found this technique very beneficial in reaching the concert tempo. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.
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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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