Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 369 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Luke and he writes: “Hello, I just enjoyed playing very much your fingered edition of "Variations on Dances" by Samuel Scheidt. I was wondering if you have any other fingered editions of other pieces by north German baroque composers, such as Scheidt, Scheidemann, or Sweelinck, or if you were planning to make any more. My skill level is somewhere between beginner and intermediate, I would think. I am playing a one manual positive with pedal. Thank you! Luke” V: Ausra, what do you say, why do you say people like north German baroque composers such as Scheidt, Scheidemann, Sweelinck, Buxtehude, Tunder. A: Well because we agreed they are my favorites too although I don’t know if these composers would be my favorites if I would play one manual positiv organ without pedal because in general these composers are known for creating music, not all of them but most of them, for creating compositions for large organs. Look at those north German organs with big pedal power and multiple manuals, not positiv. V: Especially Scheidemann. A: Yes, especially Scheidemann. Not so much Scheidt of course and Sweelinck. Those could be done on one manual positiv. Oh, he has pedal, yes, with pedal. But still for most of Scheidemann’s compositions you would need at least two keyboards, two manuals. V: Umm-hmm. So later on Luke found other scores and he bought Fantasia Chromatica by Sweelinck, Benedicamus by Samuel Scheidt, Da Pacem by Sweelinck and More Palatino by Sweelinck. Then he wrote that he wanted to find even more scores. He is hungry for north German music in general. But it’s a good start I think. It doesn’t make sense to buy everything and only practice one or two pieces, right? Especially at the beginner level or early intermediate level. I think those four scores are plenty to start with. A: But that’s what many people want to do. They want to own something and they buy things in advance just to have them. Haven’t you noticed this kind of tendency? V: I know I have Kindle device for reading books and I have many books loaded up there to read. Guess how many I have read by now. A: I don’t know. V: A small part of them. Yes it is a problem I’m dealing with too because I have a big curiosity about various phenomena and it’s difficult for me to focus on one thing and I feel distractions everywhere. If I see a wonderful book, which is of course wonderful in itself, and I feel to urge to buy it with the hope that I will read it one day or someday. But lately I’ve been checking myself and I’m kind of focusing on the books that I have on my Kindle so that I would not be so distracted. What would you recommend for people, to buy more or to practice more? A: Of course to practice more but usually this is not how it works. V: Obviously when people are subscribed to Total Organist program that we have they don’t have to buy every single one, they can download one or two or four or whatever number they like and see their goals or how they fit their goals and then try them out and practice music that fits their needs the most. But that’s the beauty; they can choose whatever works for them without the need to invest in each individual score separately. A: That’s nice. V: Which is another way. Some people choose not to pay monthly or yearly membership and just buy what they need or I would say what they want sometimes. A: Out of these three mentioned composers which one is your favorite? Sweelinck, Scheidemann, or Scheidt. V: Maybe Scheidemann I would say. At one time I memorized a lot of Scheidemann’s music and tried to assimilate his style and improvise like Scheidemann. I remember my lecture recital at University of Nebraska, Lincoln. It was about mastering the composition treatise by Sweelinck but applying it to the rules of how Scheidemann would create. Dissecting the pieces of Scheidemann and putting them back together in different order and making it my own. That was my idea some 13 or 14 years ago. For that reason I had to memorize a lot of Scheidemann’s music in small fragments and transpose them. That’s why I feel kind of connected with him a lot. A: Yes, I guess when you spend a lot of time with one composer’s pieces you sort of feel like yourself while playing his music. V: What about you? A: I guess also Scheidemann is my favorite because his music is so sweet. V: We have this CD Recording by Bill Porter, it’s called “Music Sweet and Serious.” So Scheidemann’s music was considered sweet by his contemporaries and serious music was by Jacob Praetorius II who lived also in Hamburg. They were contemporaries I believe. They were both students of Sweelinck but Jacob Praetorius’ style was more grave and serious. A: And then Ranken continued the sweet style of Scheidemann. V: Yes, and of course Buxtehude later probably learned from Ranken and transferred this style to Lubeck. A: That’s right so out of those three composers I think that Scheidt is probably in the last place for myself. V: But you know, the good thing about Scheidt is that he is the only one of those composers who wrote a complete collection of keyboard works. A: Tabulatura nova. V: Yes, in three parts and it’s like a compendium of the types of organ compositions or genres that were played at the day in north Germany at the beginning of the seventeenth century and it’s very beautiful too. A: So I guess he had probably the most teacher and scholar approach to the music that he did. V: And scholars today believe that his style still resembles the most Sweelinck style. A: That’s right, yes. It’s very much Sweelinck-like. V: That why Balletto del Granduca or Ballo del Granduca sometimes they call it, was first thought to be created by Sweelinck and now I believe Peter Dirksen says it’s by Scheidt. So sometimes it’s really hard to differentiate both styles of those composers. Scheidemann went further with his diminutions and ornamented line in the solo part which of course neither Scheidemann nor Sweelinck was the champion of it. A: That’s right. V: Although they both knew it and especially Sweelinck when he got involved with English virginilists, virginal composers such as John Bull and Gibbons and others. They have those flourishes in the solo parts, in the bass and the right hand and Sweelinck uses two sometimes in his keyboard variations for example. But Scheidemann went further and I think he created those chorale fantasies with those ornamented versions of the solo lines which are very beautiful on large organs with solo stops. What would you say about polyphony of Scheidemann and Sweelinck, are they similar? A: Of course they both created polyphonic music but I think Scheidemann took a little bit different approach. V: Yes, and he probably made this style fitted for keyboard instruments as well because Sweelinck’s polyphony is basically totally local, taken from Italian theorists like Zarlino. A: Well yes, because you can find all those ornamentations and diminutions and all other polyphonic devices in his fantasies for example. I guess the biggest advantage was that Scheidemann used the organ in more various ways so definitely when playing Scheidemann you really need to have more that one keyboard which is not the case with Sweelinck’s music. V: But you know what I would say in addition to that because Luke fell in love with those three composers is that regardless of the type of instrument you are playing it on the music starts to speak for itself. It’s not like Spanish music, Portuguese music, or even Italian music where need to have specific instrument to sound it convincing, English music too. Otherwise it doesn’t transfer all the beautiful qualities. With north German music the music starts to speak on any interesting keyboard instrument regardless of the style and specification. Even if you have one flute it sounds beautiful just like with Bach. Would you say I’m on the right track here? A: Well, (laughs) yes and no. I don’t think that north German like Scheidemann would not sound well on any type of instrument. Be careful when you are telling things like this because it’s not true, not entirely true. V: So that’s your opinion. A: That’s my opinion. I wouldn’t play Scheidemann on Cavaille-Coll’s organ. Would you? V: Would you play Bach on Cavaille-Coll’s organ? A: Not if I could help it. V: (laughs.) Not if you could avoid it. A: Yes. V: I know. Yeah, that’s a tricky distinction we sometimes have to make. If we like the music so much sometimes we tend to sometimes play it on any instrument that we find and some people are fine with this and some believe that more specific instrument are needed to express the beauty of the music. But what I was referring it’s a little bit from a different angle that Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and English music let’s say in itself they lack those purely musical qualities which let’s say north German music has, and therefore when you strip north German music from the wonderful north German sounds they have much more left than any other I mentioned stylistic trends and Bach even more. I could play Bach’s chorale or fugue or prelude on my little positiv organ at home with one flute without 16’ but it would sound complete in itself because it’s thought out composition and north German is on this track too, not as complete as this, but more on this track that any other previous music that we know. I would say this. A: That’s why Bach writes it so much and took influences from this music because one genius knows another genius. V: Let’s say French classical music. It also lacks a little bit in color when we perform it on a different type of instrument. Not so with north German music. A: Well I would not judge so much. V: But that’s my opinion and I am open for discussion. OK guys. A: OK. V: Let’s be liberal here. OK thank you guys for sending thoughtful questions, we love helping you grow and see how long our answer was. Once I start talking I cannot shut up. A: Yes, because it’s about north Germans whom we both love. V: Just like when we started drawing Pinky and Spiky cartoons those animals start to talk and we have to shut them up because they wont’ stop on themselves. Alright, we hope this was useful to you and remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
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Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 386, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Rob. And, he writes: Hi Vidas and Ausra, 1: My dream is to play two or three pieces very well. I’m currently working on Gigout’s Toccata; and, thank you for the excellent fingering. There were a couple of measures that I just couldn’t figure out! 2: a) time, I’m a 45 year old at-home organist with some college organ performance training with a Johannus coupled to Hauptwerk on a mac mini, b) haven’t figured out a good memorization scheme (although I plan to use Dupre’s – again thank you for that information), c) I have played full time in the past but with my current travel schedule, unable to so I play for myself, family and friends. Cheers, Rob V: So the second part of the question is about his challenges, right? A: Yes. V: Time? He doesn’t have enough time. Then memorization is a challenge and also he no longer plays full time but just for his family, friends and himself. And his dream is to play a few pieces really well. I think this dream could be probably reached in a few months, right? A: Sure. V: Maybe six months from now. A: Yes, it’s not like, ‘I want to play complete organ works by J. S. Bach, very well’. V: Yes. Or ‘I want to become the best organist in the world’. A: Yes. We receive questions like this and statements like this. So I think sounds very reasonable to play really well two or three pieces. V: And the fact that Rob is using our fingering is a good sign, right? Because it takes a lot of time. A: Sure. And since Rob doesn’t have much time, so I think it’s beneficial to have fingering written in. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Do you think that memorization is really required for organists? V: No, but I can understand why people want to memorize. It’s enjoyable to be able to play without music. If he’s traveling for example and gets hold of another instrument, somebody says, ‘Hey Rob! Can you play the organ?’ And he doesn’t have the music with him, he could sit down and play from memory, Gigout toccata for example, or any other piece that he likes. Of course improvisation would help here too. A: Yes. That’s what I want to know more about it. V: Mmm-hmm. A: But it’s nice to learn to improvise just to be able to play something on the organ at any given time. V: Ausra, when you try out the instrument when you travel for example, do you prefer to improvise, or to play something from memory, or to play your famous harmony sequences? A: (Laughs). Sometimes I mix all of those three together. V: Uh-huh. A: Play a little bit of everything. A little bit of repertoire, a few measures… V: A little bit goes a long way. A: Yes. Then a little bit of improvisation, but you always laugh about them. V: Why? A: Well, let’s not go into it. V: Oh, let’s do. A: No. No, no, no! V: Tell me the last instance when I laughed at you! A: Well, you are laughing even now. V: No, I’m laughing at the situation. But when I do remember the time when you played something, and I laughed. A: Well, no you do it in a more subtle way. V: Oh! More mean way. A: Yes… V: Meaner. A: The motives that I used for my playing, you repeat them in not a very nice way. V: Oh, so, I sit down afterwards and I try to copy you. A: Yes. V: Mmm. So maybe you are my own inspiration. A: I don’t think so. I think you just want to expose me to ridicule. V: But nobody is listening, so there is no harm. A: But I’m listening. V: Maybe it’s our way to joke between each other. A: Yes. That’s what I thought about too. V: Yes. A: But anyway, those harmony exercises that your making fun of them, gives you some perspective what you could do on the unknown instrument when you don’t know any repertoire at all. You could definitely use them. V: I remember a few years ago, my friend Paulius Grigonis who’s now an organist at St. Joseph church in Vilnius, he, I think went on vacation and asked me to substitute him in his old church—the Church of Holy Cross. And this instrument has just one manual and the pedals. And I was very strategic about that. I said, ‘Okay, I will substitute you, but on the condition that I will record myself, and put it on Youtube, all those organ pieces that I will be playing’. And I insisted that I’m specifically will be playing organ music and not singing hymns. I would sing just required mass parts, like Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei, in every day mass, but not hymns. I would improvise my organ preludes, postludes, offertories and communions. It would be like organ versets. Ausra, do you think that was a good idea? A: Well I think it was a good idea but I don’t know if congregation liked it. If those women, elderly ladies were used to singing… V: Mmm-mmm. A: hymns. Then I think they was shocked, were shocked by your improvisation. V: The shocking therapy is also a therapy, right? A: True. V: Maybe they will appreciate the real organist when he comes back. A: True. V: But I didn’t play anything out of the ordinary—anything too modern or anything too dissonant. What I played were versets like I said before, but all improvised. And I would record myself before every playing, and I was doing this for about two weeks I think, every day. Imagine that! So in every mass, I would have at least four pieces, and for the first two weeks in a row I would have maybe fifteen times four, maybe sixty recorded videos. And what became of that was the basis for my course, which is called Organ Verset Improvisation Master Course, I think. I recorded everything, put it on Youtube, and then later analyzed my own playing, what I did, so that other people could improvise like I could. And what I was trying to say right now is that my improvisations at that time were very structural and they sounded just like expanded modulations and harmony cadences and sequences. Like you are teaching. You are teaching maybe eight measure long ideas, right? Or twelve measure long ideas. I would just expand it into maybe twenty-four or thirty-six or forty-eight measures long. A few musical ideas put together, but it’s just like a second step after harmony. And people who studied that course said that they helped them to improve too, improvisation skills. So that’s one of the suggestions also—how you can improve your own improvisation just based on the harmony skills, nothing more. And you can actually demonstrate this instrument various stops, tryout different combinations, purely on improvised cadences and versets like that. A: True. So harmony never hurts. It only helps. V: It’s a basis and it was the basis for any tonal music composed up until early 20th Century, for sure. A: That’s right. V: So if we’re talking about Gigout, for example, Widor, Gilmant, Vierne, although Vierne becomes more complex, but still the tonal harmony is still there, with... A: Sure, sure... V: some variation. A: Although he uses many dissonance, but then still everything is very conventional... V: Mmm-hmm. A: In his music. V: Right. So what Rob could do, well, is to simply analyze his Gigout toccata, for example, or pieces that he’s playing, and write down the harmonies, maybe above the pieces—above the music, or below the music. And then try to play the chords—just the chords in that key. And then later transpose them. That would be wonderful exercise. A: Sure. V: Thank you guys for listening. We hope this was useful to you. Please keep sending us your wonderful questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 385 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Damian and he writes: ” Thanks for today's podcast, I have to admit that everything you talk about works in my case. As far as memory is concerned, usually, I know the words of the first few verses of hymn, and thanks to that I have a little easier in most hymns. Your comments about the divisibility of attention and "disturbances" from other people are very accurate, exactly how I feel. I will try to switch tenor with alto and "free" my left hand sometimes ;) I think we have to try to make it easier to do many things at once. I've made it easier for myself to switch verses on the display. In my church the screen is operated by a laptop, and the verses are switched with the mouse. Right button forward, left back, you can also use the arrows on the laptop keyboard, but it is very uncomfortable. You also have to reach the mouse quite far, and doing it quickly you can confuse the left button with the right, etc. So I constructed a mini-keyboard with two buttons, mounted under the manual, next to the thumb pistons and connected to the USB port of the laptop. Thanks to this, I can switch the verses with my thumb without taking my hands off the keyboard, left or even right hand if it's more comfortable. It definitely made my life easier. Damian” V: Don’t you think Ausra that Damian should patent it and make it available for sale. A: Yes, I think that’s a very good idea. V: Similar tools might be already on the market but there is still room for this tool too I think. A: Sure. Don’t you think it’s so impressive that there are no technologists like this who could have thought about it thirty years ago let’s say. V: Umm-hmm. Thirty years ago probably churches didn’t even have those screens with text. A: Well, we don’t have them in Lithuania yet. It’s not common. V: Right. This is advancement. People are already living in the future and sometimes the future is not as friendly as it seems. For example, a few days ago I was playing a funeral mass for one famous business man who was also a supporter for the arts in Lithuania and at the end of the mass there came a pianist who was preparing to play an accompaniment on our organ tomorrow when the real funeral would take place and I showed her the organ and how to use it a little bit. She isn’t an organist so she needed to write down the stop names, what to choose, and actually curiously she didn’t write down numbers of the stops but exact precise names. That was impressive to me to see. She wrote “Principal 8”, “Salicional 8”, you know like that. A: Not like most of the organists do in Lithuania. They just write numbers and then you don’t know what stops you are actually using. V: So this lady told me that I think in the summer she visited Austria and in Vienna they have this famous St. Stephens cathedral and she went inside and it was a Sunday mass and guess what she heard. She heard not organ music but recorded organ music from recording. A: Well things like this happen in the Stephansdom as it’s called. You know I always thought that Austria is sort of a heart for classic music. V: Exactly. We know that orchestral masses by Haydn and Mozart are performed regularly there, at least on Sundays, but it was sort of disturbing to know that situation with recordings could be done in public. A: Well I have known things like this have happened in Lithuania but maybe not during mass but during for example wedding ceremonies and many years ago I heard about one of our acquaintances went to perform I think to small town called Kretinga and that’s what she saw when she went upstairs to the organ balcony and there was the wedding ceremony and the local organist was not playing but when she had to play she would just push the button and the recording would play. V: Umm-hmm. People make their lives easier this way. A: I think it’s ridiculous. V: It is, absolutely. A: Although you know in some cases for example when we were back studying in Michigan and I was playing in Christian Scientist Church in Ypsilanti which after that bankrupted. But we would have two services, one on Sunday which I was playing and one I think on Thursday nights, evening service, and they wouldn’t hire organist to accompany for that service so they just bought CDs with all Christian Scientist hymnal recorded and they would play hymn recordings. V: Because they couldn’t afford to hire you on every occasion they needed it. A: Sure. Because the congregation was so small I don’t know if they would get 20 people on Sundays. V: Umm-hmm. A: And then they were already bankrupted and they were selling the church and I think they waited another month or two until I graduated and I think that was extremely nice that they did it for me. V: And only after that they went bankrupt. A: Sure and shut the church down. It was really nice. V: Do you know what became of the organ? A: I’m not sure but it was quite a nice electromechanical organ. It had some really nice string stops but it was funny because the console was put in a tiny room but pipes were upstairs and were covered so you could actually not see them at all. V: It was hidden. A: Yes. V: Umm-hmm. I guess Damian’s idea about technology inspired us to talk about what technology dark side is sometimes. What kind of replacement to the real organ music can be when they have not enough funds. I have a suggestion but you were almost making a comment, right? A: Yes, I just wanted to comment that now some of world famous orchestras will not buy new scores but will just play from a tablet so I don’t know if it is good or not but that’s the thing that now a new tendency to do it. It saves trees, of course. V: Umm-hmm. But it eats up electricity. A: Sure and they think it is not so good for your eyes, your vision. V: You know there is this digital ink which is OK for your eyes. It doesn’t have this constant refreshment of data on your screen therefore your eyes won’t be tired too much. There is not glare like on the phones or on the laptops. I’m talking about Kindle for example. But tablets sometimes have this defensive shield against glare too which is good for your eyes. I guess technology can solve many problems too. So I had just one final advice for churches that don’t have budget enough to hire good organist to play hymns or organ music. I have suggestion for them to choose a volunteer from their own part and this volunteer might teach himself or herself how to play the organ and play for them at minimum a few hymns, maybe not all 4 parts for starters but maybe the soprano and the bass just like we are teaching beginners who are starting to play in churches and maybe better music will attract more people to the church and they will be able to afford later to pay. What do you think about that Ausra? A: Yes, I think that’s a good idea. V: It’s at least doing something other than pushing the button and playing the recording. A: That’s right. V: Trying to improve the situation. OK guys, thanks for listening, we hope this was useful to you and please keep sending your wonderful questions. We love helping you grow. And remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 382 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast and this question was send by Hanna and she writes: “Dear Vidas, I started with the Virtuoso pedal course. It took me 30 minutes to do the 10 reps each and was very hard for me with my short legs. After struggling for a few months, unfaithful practicing, I decided to switch to this course (Organ Playing Master Course Level 1) because it was easier. Interestingly, the Virtuoso 30 minute exercise had an effect on my brain. It was like my brain had been formatted after I practiced. I am 69 ½ years old, female, struggle with short-term memory loss to some degree. But after this rigorous organ practice in the morning, for the rest of the day I could remember things in order and functioned with much more calmness. Sadly, I don't get this effect from the master class. I am out of state babysitting for my daughter for the next 10 days. But I am resolving to do both when I get back home. Work on this beginner one to get the scales down better in my mind, then challenge myself to do the virtuoso. I might do the easy one in the evening, and the virtuoso in the morning when I'm fresh and need to format my brain. Thank you for the challenge and this unexpected health benefit. -Hanna” V: Well Ausra what do you say? A: Well it’s amazing how organ can help you to improve your life, but actually I wasn’t really surprised by what I read in this letter, in Hanna’s letter because let’s say I know it from myself that playing organ is very beneficial for people that have neurodegenerative diseases. This is the right way to say it because it’s when you are playing with your hands and your feet it means that you coordinate things in your body and it means that your brain needs to work too and I think that it slows down all kinds of bad diseases and keeps you going. V: It’s in a way it’s like physical / mental therapy too. A: Yes. I think it’s very, very beneficial. V: Because it’s all body experience, body and mind experience. A: Of course, in cases like this when you have certain medical issue you need to find what works for you and what does not. V: Umm-hmm. A: Maybe not all kinds of practicing will help you but I’m sure that you will find something that works for you. V: And a good thing that Hanna can easily switch between the easy and challenging courses because in our Total Organist group and you can easily pick and choose what works for you. We have organ repertoire, we have courses with exercises and some people like those, some people like repertoire, some people like improvisation, everything is different here and we cannot force everyone to do just one thing according to their level, right? It’s the taste that matters too and the choices and the goals and dreams that matters. Some people like hymn playing, right? A: True, I like to do that myself. V: Umm-hmm. A: Sometimes when we came back from the United States we brought with us a few hymnals. V: Yeah. A: And sometimes that what I do. I just put a hymnal on the organ and sight-read hymns. V: I sometimes put the hymnal in front of me and put the melody in pedals, pedals in the soprano, and alto in the tenor, tenor in the alto… A: Yeah, you are very creative and you like to improvise but sometimes I not such an imaginative person so sometimes I just play straight through the hymns and it’s very refreshing. V: And calms you down, right? A: Yes, true because I think that music affects people in a positive way and because when we sit on the organ bench we play, perform music it has that sort of positive affection but also you have to move because as we talked before, you have to move your hands and feet and I think it’s a very good thing. V: Umm-hmm. It’s wonderful. You know people of all ages can listen to organ music and sometimes younger generations don’t like to do that because they think organ is a thing of the past and they are forward looking but sometimes there are young people who get hooked with the organ too but for senior people it’s very refreshing to listen to the organ music but organists have another privilege, they sit and play and actively participate in the music making which it’s much more immersing experience than just listening to the organ music I would say. A: Yes, but definitely playing organ and in general making music I think makes you feel better and live longer and healthier. I have heard stories that even very old people in the retirement home that they cannot remember their name even or have such a great dementia that they can still sit at the piano and play some tunes from their childhood. V: Right. A: It’s unbelievable how the human brain works. V: I remember when Dr. Faulkner and Dr. Ritchie took us, entire organ studio I think, to one of their retirement homes near Lincoln. A: Not Ritchie and not Faulkner took us there. We went there with our music director from our church. V: Sarah Schott. A: Yes, so we were performing a recital for the elderly people. V: Uh-huh. I think that was a very moving experience. A: Yes and some of those old ladies were so excited and thanked us and we told that we are returning back to Lithuania in a month or so because I think this was the very end of our Doctoral studies. V: Um-hmm. A: And they were so upset and said “Oh no, we need you here” and actually that retirement home had that very beautiful Bedient organ in the chapel and it was very nice to play. V: French style two-manual instrument. A: Yes, very, very nice. V: Wonderful experience for everyone involved, from us who played and obviously for listeners who attended the event. As Ausra says “they might not remember even what they ate for breakfast but they have those long-term memories from their childhood perhaps, the hymns that they want to sing or love to sing, and when they recognize the tune someplace then it has a wonderful effect I think.” It eases their experiences in the retirement home when maybe they feel they are neglected perhaps, they don’t have anything to do and that’s why its so important when you are reaching retirement age to find as much to do as possible, volunteering work, work with your hobbies, when you no longer need to go to work sometimes people feel like empty, like your life is finished, but it’s simply not true. A: That’s right. Nothing is finished until you are really dead. V: It’s not over until it’s over. A: That’s right. So keep going, keep practicing. V: And thanks so much for sending those wonderful questions, we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 383, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And this question was sent by Gena, who is our Total Organist student. And, she wrote in the Basecamp communication channel as a reply to the question, ‘What are you struggling with the most this week?’ And she wrote: Forcing myself to practice slowly to be very accurate V: And then, she received a few comments, obviously because our students are writing there too. For example Dianne wrote: This is my biggest struggle too, week in and week out. It is so hard for me not to want to rush ahead. Still working on my patience! V: And Jay wrote: I agree too. I think I could learn some things quicker if I could be more consistent in slow practice. I’m glad I’m not the only one struggling with this. V: And Jeremy wrote: The struggle is real. Keep being persistent. V: And I wrote Even after 25+ years of playing the organ, I have to be careful with this too. Don't worry! Slow down 50 percent and you will be fine. It's easier than it sounds. V: And Ausra said later? (Laughs). Okay! Ausra, could you add your comment now? A: Well, it’s a very common struggle for many musicians. Think about your childhood. I can guarantee that if you took piano lessons when you were a child, your teacher told you to practice slowly. V: Mmm-hmm. A: But did you do that? I’m almost guaranteed that you did not follow his or her advice. Because that’s a human nature—we want to get things as fast as we could. V: Because if you did, you would never need our advice, by that time. A: That’s right. So it’s a common human nature, to rush things through. V: Mmm-hmm. We need instant gratification. Not need, but maybe want. A: For example, most of the teachers tell you that you need to play the hard spots first, and don’t play everything from the beginning to the end, and you don’t need to rush in the tempo, and be mindful, but who listens to your teacher. Maybe some but I guess that not too many. V: And it takes me to the idea that everybody needs to make their own mistakes and learn from their own mistakes, not from mistakes of others, right? Of course it would be wise to learn from others mistakes but that’s human nature. A: I think this psychology of human nature—we think that if we will play things fast, we will learn faster, but that’s actually quite an opposite effect. Because you need to internalize that the slower you practice, the better results will be at the end. V: And talking about Gena—she needs to ask herself, ‘what is forcing her to practice faster than needed’, right? What keeps her from practicing slowly? There is some kind of maybe stress or something—anxiety. A: Well, this might be one of the issue, but there might be that maybe she doesn’t have enough time and, if you don’t have enough time to practice everything slowly, just work on one piece or on one episode, at that practice session. You don’t have to play everything at once. V: I can imagine if, for example Gena has planned a recital, or a few recitals in a row, and they’re approaching faster than she wanted to, and she feels those deadlines, and that is very stressful, and when she gets on the organ bench, this stress level arises and she feels the need of speeding up, maybe practicing everything. If that’s the case, I think there is an issue with planning. A: True. And also I thought that all the people might be divided into four groups of different characters. V: Oh, okay. Interesting. A: I think everybody knows that. V: Okay. What group would I belong to? A: Well, I think you know. V: I don’t know exactly what you mean, so there are many groups in my mind. A: Well, but two groups are, lets say faster and two groups are slower. V: Uh-huh. So I’m faster, right? A: No, I think you are slower. V: Uhhhh. Okay. A: So if you belong to those faster group people… V: Mmm-hmm. A: It might be harder for you to play… V; Oh, I see. A: in slow tempo too. And you don’t have patience to... V: Uh-huh. A: do slow practice. But in such a case, you need to overcome yourself. V: Can you change your own nature? A: Well, you cannot I think change it completely but you can, well, a little bit influence, you nature... V: Or I would… A: As a mature adult. V: I would say you could learn to live with the strengths of your nature and ignore the weaknesses, right? Develop the strengths of your own character that for example, if I’m a slow person, I have the strengths of that character and weaknesses of the same character too, so I could develop the strengths more, like maybe calmness, maybe stability, right, that would be my strength. And weaknesses would get in the way less then, I would say. And for quicker people, this might be the opposite. For example, what your strong points will be, Ausra. A: That I do things quick. V: Quick. Exactly. And you can develop that even further by doing them quicker, even quicker. No probably… A: No. I need to do them slower. V: Slower… A: And to be calmer. V: Ah. But what gives you pleasure, when you for example, practice the organ—faster or slower, tempi? A: Well, that’s a good question. When I was young, I think faster tempo gave me more pleasure. But now just the age—I think I’m slowing down. V: When you were young and beautiful. A: That’s right. V: And now you’re only beautiful. A: If you say so. V: (Laughs). Okay A: Look guys, what I have to… V: Put up with. A: Put up with, yes. V: Am I beautiful too? A: Yes. V: Am I young? A: Definitely. V: Forever young. Excellent. So I’m really am glad that the people are supporting each other in our Total Organist Community, and have the way to interact with each other through Basecamp. And just when I think about it, I had an idea that maybe people from not Total Organist Community in general, but from our Secrets Of Organ Playing Community, right? People who don’t belong to Total Organist sometimes write letters to us and in response to the questions that other people send to us, and they want us to sent their answers to these people, so we are like mediators of this conversation, being in the middle. And sometimes it’s really inefficient. Ausra, do you think that having a way to communicate as a community of Secrets of Organ Playing would be better, like a group chat? I’m thinking about Telegram for example? A: Well, sometimes yes, I think it would be beneficial to have that direct contact… V: Mmm-hmm. A: with people. V: Because emails are quite limiting in direction, right? You can easily communicate with one person, or two, right? But as a group, it slows things down. So let us know if this initiative would be appealing to you. Would you be willing to join our, for example, communication channel on Telegram? Telegram is a desktop and phone app that works very fast and it has encrypted messaging services, and your messages are secure, and stay on your device, right? They’re not stored anywhere else. And it’s very quick. People from around the world can join in conversation. Okay, thank you guys. We hope this was useful to you. Please keep sending us your wonderful questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 380 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by John, and he writes: Hi Vidas, Thanks so much for the podcast and chat today, you are incredibly inspiring! I feel so motivated after that chat. As we discussed, I really want to go to the next level with my organ playing, but you are right this needs to be part of a balanced lifestyle, I have a full time job, I play hockey plus training, and Eliza and two young boys to care for and a new baby on the way, my family is top priority. Could you please discuss this with Ausra, and give me your advice? It could be a podcast discussion if you want, I don’t mind the general questions being discussed publicly. I would like to write up a practice plan for say 60 minutes a day Monday to Friday, and maybe 90 minutes on Saturday & Sunday. To summarise how I feel: I think I’ve hit a wall of being able to self diagnose what I’m doing wrong. I have done well so far to be aware of what I’m doing, and ask you the right questions to get your help, and then correct it. But right now I don’t know what I don’t know if that makes sense. I don’t know of a ‘better’ way of doing things. For example, sometimes my choice of fingering isn’t good, but I don’t really know what the rules are, or what other options I have. The older retired organist has been helpful, but his communication style isn’t great, he is quite dry and uninspiring, and we have a lot of arguments over historical fingering and pedalling. And although he is retired he only seems to be available about once per month for 1 hour. Do I need a local teacher? Or should I go to a teacher in Melbourne once a month? (Cost is around $50-80 per lesson, plus 4 hours of my travel time). Do you think my progress studying with you online is satisfactory and just keep going this way? Personally I trust you guys so much because you have helped me with every problem. Other organ teachers might be dry and boring too. I don’t know what I should do next, but I think it’s something like: Rebuild foundation of finger technique (start with Hanon exercises, but what else??) Work on improving focus / staying in the moment / get in the zone and stay in the zone from the start to the finish of the piece. Breathing and phrasing of music. I have the book “The Organists’ Manual” by Roger Davis, should I be working through this at my own pace or follow a teacher? Understand why I am so slow at learning new pieces, and improve. My sight reading is poor, I might start on another 30 day challenge of sight reading a hymn each day. Broaden repertoire, I need some help with deciding what to play next. I would like play pieces I enjoy if possible, and pieces I can play in public that will engage and inspire audiences). I’m thinking Suite Gothique by Boellman, Fanfare for the Common Man by Lemmens, O Mensch BWV 622 by Bach, maybe Bach’s Little Fugue in G minor BWV 578 or the Prelude and Fugue in C Major BWV 531? I have started on Hanon, at the moment I have been doing exercises 1-10, repeating each one four times, but this is taking me 40 minutes, which doesn’t leave much time for anything else, and sometimes I struggle to focus the whole way without going into autopilot and messing it up or not doing it properly/precisely. And I haven’t done any scales or arpeggios yet. Maybe I could do: 5 mins sight reading for warm up 25 mins Hanon 15 mins learning hymns for church services 15 mins learning organ solo repertoire Extras: music theory and harmony? Improvisation? Scales/arpeggios? Pedal scales? I like the idea of submitting videos to you as part of the organ competition, as I feel I really need some more specific help and critiquing, and I want you to feel free to tell me how I can do better and what to work on. I really need some specific instructions not just a general idea. Thanks again so much for your time, and for being such wonderful friends and mentors! Take care, God bless John... V: This is something that I really enjoy that people do. You see, Ausra, how John not only asks us for advice, but he is also thinking about his own plan, and lists some choices of possibilities, and we can say whether this works or not this way. Otherwise, if we prescribe some medicine for him and he just follows it blindly, then he will never learn to plan for himself. And if he does like he is doing today, he’s writing a plan for us, and maybe we’ll adjust this plan here and there, if we think we need to do so, then he’s already on the way to becoming independent, and I think that should be his goal. A: Sure! And I think this plan that he made: 5 minutes for sight reading warm-up, 25 minutes for Hanon, and so on and so forth, actually sounds for me like a good plan. Because, what I noticed from his performances from his DVD is that right now, what he needs the most is to strengthen his finger muscles, you know, to strengthen his finger independence. And, I think that the Hanon exercises and the general playing exercises will help him a lot. V: And do you think that 5 minutes of sight reading, 25 mintues of Hanon, 15 minutes of hymns, and 15 minutes of repertoire is a good plan for weekdays? A: Yes, I think it’s a good plan for weekdays, and I think then, on weekends, when he can practice more, he could, you know, that last section of playing and learning solo repertoire, could expand that. V: Or learning extras, like learning music theory, harmony, improvisation… A: Yes. But I think that building up the technique is crucial right now, because even when you are 80 years old, you can still be able to work on music theory and harmony, but building up the finger technique is crucial, because the sooner you do it, the easier it gets. So, I would not suggest for him to go to Melbourne right now, to take lessons with somebody, because if it would take him an hour to go back and forth, then I would say, “Of course, do that.” It would be very beneficial. But now, it would take just too much time! V: An entire day! A: I think it’s much better to spend that time at home, practicing. V: Yes! Imagine what he could achieve once a month if he practiced for the time that he has to commute to Melbourne—several hours. Obviously, it doesn’t make sense. Four hours of his travel time is not worth it, I think. A: I know, it’s much preferable to spend that time practicing. V: And, plus, it’s a $50-$80 investment per lesson. I’m not saying the investment isn’t wise, you get what you put, right? If you put some money up front, you get much more, because you value your hard earned money, and then you try to take the teachers advice much more seriously. That’s why people who subscribe to our Total Organist course tend to progress much faster, because they have invested their own money! A: That’s right. V: Whereas others rely on free advice, and that doesn’t necessarily give them the strength of will to persevere every day, because they always can feel, “Oh, I can make it up tomorrow,” because it’s free. But when you are paying, you strive to do the best you can every day, because it’s your money! You need the results! You’re paying for results, basically. Not for our time or anything. But you need results. So the same is with John. I think he could improve so much while learning those pieces that he lists. All of those are wonderful! He needs to play a diverse repertoire, basically. He needs to learn legato playing, which is Romantic music and Modern music, and also Baroque articulation, which is Bach and other composers of that day, and maybe earlier, too. So, what he lists, “Suite Gothique” by Boëllmann is wonderful! “Fanfare” by Lemmens, and then Chorales and Fugues and Preludes by Bach, wonderful! They are not too easy, but not too difficult at his level. A: That’s right! I think they are quite well fitted for him at this stage of his learning. V: Do you think, Ausra, that he might supplement his menu with some modern music, as well? Not only Romantic, but Modern? Or not necessarily, at this time. A: Well, each of us has his own… V: Preference? A: …connection with the Modern music, so… Somebody loves it, somebody hates it, so I don’t know what John feels about contemporary music, so, I cannot really tell. V: And probably, he’s not into it as much, because he never really played it, right? Never displayed interest, I think. More of a Romantic and especially English Romantic. A: True. V: It doesn’t hurt to have variety, but with the limited time that he has, maybe he can do it later. A: Sure! V: It doesn’t matter actually. Whatever he decides is fine. And in general, whatever plan you have, don’t look for us for salvation. We’re not gods, and we don’t know everything, but if you think that you need 5 minutes of sight reading, or 10 minutes of sight reading, or 1 hour of sight reading, if it’s your passion, go for it and stick with it for a month, or 2, or 3, or a year, and you will see results this way, too! A: True, because it’s the same when people realize that, “Oh, I need to exercise. From this day on, I will continue doing my physical activities.” And then, they will make this unrealistic plan, and let’s say that they will be running every day for let’s say and hour, and then they will do whatever. And they cannot keep to that plan because it’s unrealistic. So whatever you choose to do, it needs to fit your general lifestyle and your life plan—your schedule. Because the most important thing is that whatever you do, you do it on a daily basis. V: Exactly. Exactly, Ausra! This is very well put. And, just look how many things I have dropped—many physical routines didn’t stick with me. But, I’m doing those pullups now, since last summer, every day. And at first, I couldn’t do even 1, but now I can do 11! It only takes me...what...1 minute to do? A: More than that. V: More, a little bit, yes? But I do it every day, maybe in the morning before breakfast so that my stomach isn’t full. Maybe I could do more, other exercises, stretching, of course I could do more. But if I feel like I’m overextending myself with too much training, I might just quit! And now, with this short pull-up routine, I know I can do it, even on a rainy day. A: Well, of course, practicing organ will take more time than doing 10 pull-ups, but still… V: Yes, at least 15 minutes a day. That’s our rule. And even the busiest person in the world, I think, can sacrifice something that they would find 15 minutes a day. Because, if you don’t have enough time in your day, what’s the rule? You should have enough money, because you are working, working, working. But if you don’t have enough money, and you don’t have enough time, that means that somebody is abusing your time and energy. You have to think about your priorities. Ok, thank you guys, this was Vidas! A: And Ausra! V: Please keep sending your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 379 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast and this question was sent by Ariane and she writes: “I have been working on chord progressions in F Major and tried to find the right chords for hymns in the same key. I need to recognize the patterns, so rather than playing the progressions in all sorts of keys I try to stick to one at a time.” V: Wow Ausra, it’s so nice people are actually practicing harmony exercises. A: Yes, that’s so rare. V: Umm-hmm. A: But to be honest I’ve not quite comprehended this question. Could you explain it to me how you understood it? V: Yes. It doesn’t mean that I am understanding it correctly but I will try. So let’s say Ariane is working on hymns, right? And she needs to understand the chords that are built for the hymns. Maybe she even wants to harmonize those hymns. So she practices chord progressions in F Major because a particular hymn that she is working on is written in F Major and she then takes some of those chords from the progressions in F Majors and applies to the hymns in the same key. So she needs to recognize the patterns basically and stick to one key. Does that make sense? A: Well, yes and no. V: What does make sense, Ausra? A: That she tries something from F Major to apply to F Major of a different melody in F Major is what you are trying to say. V: Yes, yes, exactly. It’s a long way that she’s taking, right? A: I don’t think that’s the right way to the harmony and to learn things because it doesn’t make sense to me. V: It reminds me of how I was approaching improvisation actually at first when I was studying Jan Peeterszoon Sweelinck’s treatise on counterpoint and composition. It’s called Composition's Regeln and it was notated or written down by his students. I believe it was Weckmann and Reincken and maybe even Jacob Praetorius who joined in writing them down but basically those rules come from Sweelinck. And at the time I was so fascinated by this polyphonic writing and this treatise that I thought if I for example take a piece by Scheidemann, which is in a similar style, right? And I deconstruct the motives and fragments and memorize and transpose them into different keys that I would be able to recreate Scheidemann’s style on my own hymn tunes or chorale melodies and remember I did this lecture-recital when I played 4 or 5 versets based on one Lutheran chorale and my patterns and polyphonic texture was entirely based on Scheidemann’s works. Did that work Ausra? A: Well I think it worked for that occasion. But I still don’t think this is the right way to learn improvisation, to learn harmony. V: Right, because if I understand correctly Ariane also for example tries to recognize the patterns from chord progressions, take those patterns and apply to F Major hymns, right? A: Well if you would learn keyboard for once you wouldn’t have to do that. V: Uhh-huh. A: Because if you would learn certain patterns you could apply it to any given key. V: Exactly. What I didn’t understand at the time when I was trying to teach myself improvisation was that this treatise teaches me how to think in musical ideas, take a motive and how to develop it, take a polyphonic texture and how to compose it or improvise it so it sounds convincing in that particular style. It teaches people how to think in musical ideas, right? It doesn’t teach us how to imitate the same thing but to think basically, to work with our brains. The same thing I believe happens with harmony. When we teach people how to harmonize first of all they play progressions and we don’t require them to memorize those progressions in a way that they won’t understand what is going on but basically for themselves they will be able to think in musical terms and figure out other chords that fit that particular hymn. Does it make sense? A: Yes, it makes sense. V: It’s not an automatic way, you have to think about it but I think it’s much faster and more musically pleasing too. A: I think so too, yes. V: And you are not stuck to one particular pattern or progression that you know. You can come up with 10 or 20 or more different patterns on the spot. Whatever comes in front of you, you can react, right? A: Yes, that’s true. V: It’s sort of free thinking in musical ideas which is much more applicable to real life situations when Ariane needs to harmonize a real hymn tune or a chorale. OK. Do you think this idea will help Ariane and others? A: Yes I hope so. V: So guys please keep sending us your wonderful questions, we love helping you grow and remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
Before we go to the podcast for today, I'd like to remind our listeners that there are less than 24 hours left to participate in Secrets of Organ Playing Contest Week 3. The details are here.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 378, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And this question was sent by May. And, May writes: I was working on BWV 605 and BWV 613 yesterday. I find it quite challenging to bring out the melody of BWV 613 and other similar compositions by Bach in the Orgelbüchlein (for example, BWV 606, 623, 630 etc). V: So Ausra, we have just checked what those pieces are, right? And it appears that they all have some things in common. A: Sure! They all have quite a thick texture. Most of them are written for organo pleno registration, and are played on one manual with the pedals. And usually the cantus firmus or the choral tune is in the soprano, but it’s not alone on the soprano clef. V: Mmm-hmm. Not to be played on a separate manual? A: That’s right. It’s not like ornamented choral, for example, like Schmucke Dich or something like this. Well, since in organ, we doesn’t have the capability of playing louder and softer on the same manual at the same time, unless it’s divided keyboard but it’s another matter completely. It’s not a piano but you could sort of put more emphasis on that solo voice—upper voice. So what can we do actually to articulate everything as it should be? And since in most of these cases that the hymn melody is written in a longer note value, and in the upper voice, you will still be able to hear it. And there is no other way to project it, only to articulate everything and listen to that upper voice... V: Mmm-hmm. A: Maybe try to sing it. Because we listen from recording. Obviously it’s not so profound as in the, let’s say ornamented choral version, but you can still hear it quite clearly. V: Mmm-mmm. And the way this constructed is that the lower three voices basically talk to each other, imitate themselves, based on one particular figure, and that figure could be based on some rhetorical symbol, or on the choral motive, from the choral, from the excerpt of the choral. And so the bottom three voices—sometimes the inner two voices, like alto and tenor—imitate themselves, and the pedals have something else because they usually are moving in slower note values. But not always. Sometimes all three parts in the bottom, they imitate themselves while soprano plays the tune in larger note values. And from time to time, joins in imitations with the lower three parts too. A: So I guess that cantus firmus might not be heard as good as it should, if you will not articulate other voices, that have smaller note values. V: Mmm-hmm. A: This is very important. Because if you will play everything legato, or almost legato, then yes, definitely will not be able to hear the melody. V: Mmm-hmm. So just observe the general rules of baroque articulation, which we call articulate legato… A: Or ornamented touch, probably, too. V: Yes. This is how it was called back in the day. And what we mean probably is to try to play the top notes with one finger—top melody with one finger—as legato as possible, but not connected, obviously, and not to choppy. Make it sing. And then, imitate the same thing, same articulation with normal fingering, with fingers that you use in the piece. And then you will have ideal articulation, and this is how you will bring out the melody. A: Yes, and don’t forget that rules that you are applying for top voice, you need to apply for other voices as well. V: Yes. Sometimes we observe our students make this mistake—that they pay attention to the soprano only, and middle voices and even the pedals get slurred to much. A: And that way you will really lose the sense of the melody. V: And the best way I know to solve this problem, is probably to start working on solo voices first, not jumping to four part texture right away. Start practicing soprano, alto, tenor and pedals separately, and then work on two part combinations, once you are ready. And then three part combinations after that. And after fourteen combinations you will have reached the level when you can play all four parts correctly with desired articulation and understanding what’s going on in the middle parts as well. A: That’s right! V: Great question, right, that May sends. And please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen!
This is the ending of the episode 377 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast where I talk with John Higgins, the organist of St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Morewell, Australia. If you haven't seen the beginning, check it out here. Here is the 2nd part too.
John: Thomas Heywood is the most famous Australian professional concert organist touring around the world. The two DVD’s that he has made, he spoke about the pieces before he played them, and as a listener I found that was very engaging and added more contest and I thought I would take a risk and have those introductions before the pieces and I hope that makes it more meaningful for the listeners. Vidas: You’re exactly right. A simple DVD where an organist just plays the pieces through like in a recital setting, would be fine, but there is not human-to-human connection without introductions. Of course you could write the text in the linear notes, but seeing you talk about them, those pieces, and your experiences and what you suggest listeners listen to when you play, right, sometimes. It gives an enormous, I believe like warm feeling, human connection, basically. And I remember when you played here in Vilnius, you also introduced those pieces in a similar manner. I translated them, right? And it was really nice. People connected to you, and actually you went downstairs to take your bow, right? And one person from our studio, Unda Maris Studio, gave you a box of sweets, right? And a few days ago when we received you package of DVD’s, you wanted us to give one copy of the DVD to that organ student, right? His name is Marek by the way, and he travels through several European countries after his favorite organists. He tries not to miss any organ recitals. Not only in Vilnius but any other cities in Lithuania too. But also he travels to Latvia, to Poland and sometimes even to Germany. So Marek will be delighted to get your DVD. Also I’ll give one copy at your request to Paulius Grigonis, who is the organist of St. Joseph Parish here in Vilnius. He is my best friend and colleague and he will be appreciating it very much. By the way, Paulius is also participating in our Secrets of Organ Playing contest. So John, I know you have Steemit account, and are planning to do this, so wonderful will be for our little community competing from around the world too. And then the next copy is already on it’s way to England to Mindaugas, our former Unda Maris member, who left us because he’s now working in England, and he also has experience in organ playing and he appreciated you play very much in Vilnius. So he will be enjoying this too much, your playing very much. So thank you so much John, for your generosity, for sharing those ideas about you recording this DVD and wish that you do the second version, a second volume of your DVD in the not to distant future. J: Yes. Thank you so much. I really enjoyed my trip to Vilnius and meeting some of your other students. The profound impact on my life, and to friendships were formed there that were exciting and it’s a real privilege for me to share the DVD with you and the other students. V: Wonderful. What would be your last advice for organists who would like to record a DVD? J: I think it’s the most important thing is to understand why you want to do it. And I think I shared with you once before that I was fascinated that I found this seminar on Youtube from a famous opera singer. And they said that the turning point of their career was when somebody said to them, that you need to be convinced, that somebody should pay 50 dollars to come and listen to you sing. And at first this opera singer was very apprehensive and full of self-doubt and thought, "I don’t know why people would pay that much money to come and see me." And they went through quite a journey to understand, why were they going to sing. I think it would be great for any other organist to think about, why do you want to play and why do you want to record the DVD? Once you understand what those key goals and aims are, and that will drive you through the whole process. V: Mmm-mmm. J: If you’re not sure about it or if you’re doubting then you give up cause it takes you so far out of your comfort zone. V: Well exactly. You have to answer this deep why question. The deep reason behind you are actually doing this project. And if you’re not sure then in a deep struggle when the darkest hours will hit you, obviously you will give up probably. So I’m so glad that you persevered and you continued to play, even though it took many hours to record, but it’s a first DVD, your first achievement. The second I guess will be a little bit easier, right? J: Yes, and I think if you have that faith in why you’re doing it and that you’re doing it the right ways, that there’s so many possibilities that come out of this exercise, that regardless if you don’t—even if you make a financial loss, the benefits to you as a person, what you learn and the new skills you develop, opportunities that might open through other faces, or to do further recordings. I’m so humbled because it’s only been, it’s over four weeks since I released the DVD, and I’ve already sold nearly 50 copies, and I’ve given nearly 30 copies away in gifts and presents, and they were for people who really wanted them. It wasn’t just giving it to them as a token to people who have been very interested in my musical journey. My initial run’s a hundred copies, and only twenty left... V: Mmm-hmm. J: full weight. I find that’s very humbling. V: And it’s also very good promotional material, right? Because when you apply, for example, to some organ recital series, or organ festival in Australia or abroad, it’s best to send them some samples of your work. It doesn’t have to be a physical DVD or a CD these days, right? It can be a link to your Youtube channel, for example, where you would give them a sample of your work or the best pieces that you have recorded. And since you have released entire hour of music, you can pick and choose or put all of them in on Youtube, or just part of them, as an example of your work that is, really, I think, number one reason why people should record themselves. Not necessarily to have this physical DVD but to have an archive of their work. J: Yes. And that’s one of my next steps I need to complete fairly quickly, is having, creating my own Youtube channel and website. That’s something that I’ll be working on this year. V: Mmm-hmm. Great! And John, if people are interested in getting to know you a little more, and even getting your DVD’s, where and what’s the best way to reach you? J: The best way would be by email, and I’m sure that you’ll be putting a link in the podcast to my email, and it’s [email protected]. V: Mmm-hmm. J: I also have a Facebook page under John Higgins. I don’t have an active presence on there so email is probably the most effective. V: Mmm-hmm. So yes, as you mention, your Youtube channel and website could be probably your next, even before you record second volume, probably. It’s good to have a place where you could have your presence online. Not necessarily only email, but people would look at your photos, right? At your resumé, at your recitals schedule, or maybe even your blog. You could start writing about your day, about your, documenting your day. And it doesn’t have to be just organ, right? Because organ is just a part of your activities. Wonderful! Thank you so much, John. It was delightful to talk to you, and I hope people got the message that you were trying to transmit, that first of all, it’s worth doing—recording your own DVD. But before you do it, you have to answer the question—why! J: Yes. V: Mmm-hmm. Okay, and I’m delighted to talk to you and I’m sitting now in my church and I’m ready to go and practice for my next recital which is coming up in about, less than two weeks. And I hope you will practice also something too. J: Yes. Yes, I’m busy practicing this week, ready for the church service on Sunday, and I’ll also been picking out the new records file that I’ll lend you. And if anyone would like a DVD, it would be my pleasure to send it to them. V: Excellent! So just email John and he will write to you very gladly. J: Thank you so much, Vidas. V: Have a wonderful 2019, creative, healthy for your entire family, and talk to you next time. J: Thank you so much. Have a good day! V: Alright, guys. This was Vidas. J: This was John. V: And remember, when you practice… J: Miracles happen
This is the continuation of the episode 377 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast where I talk with John Higgins, the organist of St Andrew's Presbyterian Church in Morewell, Australia. If you haven't seen the beginning, check it out here.
John: Because there were so many details that we needed to get right, learning how to move my hands and move them at the right time. For example the first 30 seconds of the DVD out in front of the church we had to do that 9 times to get it right and I said to my cameraman I need your help because I’ve never done this before and he was really fantastic and he said John just relax, every time we have a new journalist at the news station they all have the same problem you have speaking to a camera because it was a rather strange experience that when you play in public a recital your very happy to be there and very happy to give the gift of music to the people and you draw energy off of them and you want to be your best for them but playing in an empty church and speaking to a camera without listeners. And my cameraman Cody was absolutely superb. He coached me through it and we’d do a couple of run-throughs and then we’d look at the footage together and he’d say “See how you stopped smiling there or see how that spot there needs to have more energy or he’d stop me and he’d say “Say it like you really mean it, not just going through the motions." Vidas: Right, right. This is really important to understand because when we rehearse sometimes we forget that we have to do our best, right? And by this I mean that we have to play like it’s maybe our last try, the last time we are playing the organ and sometimes we don’t remember this and think “Oh maybe next time I will get it right” which of course is not necessarily true, right John? J: Yes, that’s right. Another difference is that initially I was trying to read from a script or repeat it from memory because I wanted to say exactly the right words. After a few tries that wasn’t working for me so that was quite a lesson. Sometimes you might have a plan of how you want to do it but sometimes you have to be flexible and so we decided that I know the pieces well and I know the history well, I know it word by word. Just relax and have the conversation if it was with a friend. And once I started doing that the quality improved dramatically. V: Exactly and I think I’d like to ask you about “What was your worst moment in the entire recording process? What was your lowest point?” J: I think there were two lowest points. The first lowest point was when I was listening to all of the recordings of the music and sometimes it took 3, 4, 5 times playing through the piece and I still wasn’t happy with it. V: Umm-hmm. J: And that was when I listened to all of those run-throughs afterwards I was quite discouraged because I thought “Why can’t I get this right or I think when I recorded it that sounds OK but then when I listened to it afterwards it appeared I made a mistake here or a wrong stop change here” so that was difficult and then the other most difficult part was to record the pieces. V: Umm-hmm. J: Because I was running out of time and I really wanted to have an image done. My friends who I trusted said “I really think you should do it again” and that cost me more money to pay the cameraman again and also mentally I sort of closed the chapter. I thought “I finished all the recording, that’s it” and I just wanted it done and it was quite painful having to go “well you haven’t got this right and you have to try again.” V: Umm-hmm. Yes, it’s really discouraging to see those mistakes when time is of the essence, right? You are paying for the cameraman’s probably time and you try to do everything as fast as possible and as best as you can but those mistakes creep in and you have to repeat and repeat sometimes many times. As you say sometimes two or three hours are needed in order to create a clean copy of 15 minutes of music, right? That’s a process. Do you think John, that in the future you will be able to make a recording faster? J: Oh yes, very much so. The lessons that I’ve learned that when I do volume 2, and even that was quite a difficult decision because when I was designing the cover and the artwork DVD case do I just leave the title on or do I put “Volume 1” because as soon as I put “Volume 1” that implies that there will be a volume 2 and so I thought “No, I need to be brave and commit to Volume 2.” I then have to commit to the date that I’m committing to volume 2 and I’m sure that that will be much more streamlined and I’m quite sure that it will be even better. V: Umm-hmm. Can you tell us what you played in your DVD so that our listeners would know. J: Yes, so I played the Toccata by Bach in D Minor, Prelude and Fugue F Major and G Major from 8 Little Preludes and Fugues, "Ich ruf zu dir", a beautiful prelude by Bach, then I played “Largo from Xerxes” by Handel, Priere a Notre Dame by Leon Boellmann, and then two my own improvisations on Judas Maccabeus which is the hymn tune Thine Be the Glory and Ein Feste Burg which is hymn tune “A Mighty Fortress is our God” plus Festive Trumpet Tune and Nimrod from the Enigma Variations, God So Loved the World from Sir John Stainer’s The Crucifixion, and O Savior of the World by Sir John Goss. V: Umm-hmm. Wonderful program and I also have to add that you managed to introduce each piece so gracefully and listeners and people who will be watching this DVD will be enjoying your speeches before the pieces a lot. J: Thank you very much. Very kind of you and that was an interesting decision how to manage that practically because there are many professional organists who make DVD’s and they tend to have each piece played one after another and then a printed section on the DVD they’ll have maybe 10 minutes talking about their program or the organ and the main DVD jumps from one piece to the next. (This conversation continues in the next episode) |
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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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