Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas, and I’m so delighted to be able to start our 377th episode of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And, on the other end of the line is John Higgins, from Australia. He’s the organist of Morewell Presbyterian Church in Australia. And he visited Vilnius and our church some months ago, maybe last year in the Spring, I believe in April. And he played a wonderful organ recital in our church. I have to emphasize that John is one of the first online students, and has been with us since, I believe, the beginning of 2012. So thanks so much, John, and welcome to the show.
John: Thank you so much, and thanks for your kind words of welcome. V: And today, I have to remind our listeners that John has been a guest on our podcast conversations a number of times, and today we’ll be talking about his newest release of a DVD. He recorded and released a DVD recording, which Ausra and I gladly saw last weekend, and it has been recorded in his church, in Morewell Presbyterian Church. Saint Andrews Church it’s called, right? So wonderful, I think it’s an achievement in itself to publish this DVD, so we’ll be talking a little bit more about your process, about your struggles. Right, John? First of all, how did you come up with the idea to publish this DVD? J: Many contributing factors. And, I mean, none of this would have even been possible without learning how to play the organ, first, and I’ve been on such an incredible journey, being your student, and learning over the Internet, and apart from learning how to play, also having the belief and bravery to try to make the DVD, because, I’ll say one of the hardest actions I had to do was doing this recording for other people. And then a number of other things came together that I would say were providential, that we had wonderful historic organ in our church, which I’m privileged to play regularly, and I made a friend who works in local TV channel in our area. And so, he had all of the expertise and all the equipment, such as professional TV camera equipment and microphones, so it seemed to me that all the pieces of the puzzle came together at one time. V: Yes. Wonderful. You know, not too many organists do this! They continue to play the organ, sometimes play recitals, but recording a DVD or a CD, for example, is really a big achievement, I think, because every note that you record is like an evidence! It will be there with you 10 years after this recording has been published—maybe 20 years, maybe for your entire lifetime. Right? So it’s wonderful that you committed to this. Was it very strenuous work for you, or did you record it in a few sittings? J: That’s right, it was a very time consuming process, because there were so many details that I didn’t consider, that I had in the back of my mind that the hardest challenge was going to be playing the music, and yet I found that I was stretched and challenged in so many other areas of my life and having to learn new skills for the first time, that, for example, learning how to speak to a TV camera, learning how to move your hands at the right time, how to walk slowly and leisurely, and then all the video editing process, how that’s done and the art work design, and then dealing with the DVD manufacturing company and making sure that they made it exactly right, and checking it at all times. There’s a huge amount of work and lots of things to manage that I had thought about. V: Right. So, I’ve seen you play in Vilnius, and I have seen your DVD here in our living room with Ausra, and we were so impressed that a person who has started playing the organ literally 7 years ago could do things like that on a large 3 manual organ in Vilnius, but also on your two manual instrument in Morewell. We were so impressed, and you are like a living example of what a person can achieve regardless of age. It doesn’t matter when you start. Right? It doesn’t matter that you didn’t start at six years old or seven years old like famous virtuosos would start. It doesn’t matter that you didn’t have a formal musical education. “Where there is a will, there is a way.” I believe this kind of saying fits you very well, because you had a passion, you had a dream, and you persevered and you saw it through. J. Yes, thank you! Thank you very much. That’s very kind of you, and as I said at the start, I would not have been able to achieve any of this without the teaching and important coaching you’ve given me online, but I think even more than the coaching is the challenge and inspiration, because I think these experiences have been one of the bravest things that I’ve ever done, because there have been so many self doubts. For example, when I did the initial recordings, I played the music over about two days, and then I did the introductions of the DVD for each of the pieces at the end of that recording, and that was a big mistake, because I was so tired after all the playing, that I was very flat, I didn’t have energy to teach about pieces to the camera, and I took a copy of the footage away and started looking at it, and I looked at my playing and I looked at the teaching I was doing, and I thought, “oh, maybe I should quit this right now. It’s no good.” And I had some of my very close friends have a look at the initial footage, and they said, this doesn’t look like you. You’re not smiling, you don’t have energy like you normally do when we speak to you. So, then I had to spend about nearly two weeks agonizing over what I was going to do, and I thought, “Do I just push forward with this, and what it is is what it is, or am I going to strive for excellence?” And even though I’ve made a bit of a mess of that, had another go. So, I’ve had to pay quite a bit more money to the cameramen to do another recording session. And in the introduction to the church and pieces of 15 minutes it took more than three hours of recording to get 15 minutes. (The conversation continues in the next episode)
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Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas
Ausra: And Ausra Vidas: Let’s start episode 374 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Ariane, and she writes: I am only in my first week, but what I like already is the fact that I have some sort of schedule which I can work along. Practicing seems more focused and also, I feel part of something. I certainly haven't regretted joining! Thank you. V: Ausra, why do you think Ariane feels that way about having Total Organist subscription? A: I think it’s very important to feel a part of something—of a group, or people having the same goal. V: Not to be alone. A: True. I think it gives greater motivation to anybody. V: Do you think our Basecamp communication channel has something to do with it? A: Of course, yes! V: And people get asked those questions at the end of the day. “What have you been working on today?” And they can respond, and moreover, they can read others’ answers—answers by other students from the same group—which is very motivating and empowering. To me, it’s really like a forming of a small community within the Secrets of Organ Playing larger community that we get questions from, several thousands of people. But here, this unique group of individuals who are rather tightly connected because they are taking the same courses, practicing the same pieces in many instances, and largely having the same goals, too. A: Do you think it is possible for a person to achieve his or her goal without being in a group, without any support? V: Certainly, I believe it’s possible, but it will probably take ten times as much energy to do this, and motivation, which has to come from within a person. When nobody is helping you grow, nobody is taking you by the hand, then you have to find this inner strength. Right, Ausra? A: True. V: Would you, Ausra, play the organ if nobody else were applauding you after the concert? You might actually play the organ, but at the beginning, when you just started 25 years ago or so, would you do it? A: Well, I don’t know, but nobody was applauding my playing at first. V: Well, of course, it’s Lithuania, and people are not so supportive. What was your beginnings? A feeling? A: Well, it was hard. It was a hard job. Hard, heavy work. V: Without recognition and support. A: True. V: How did your teacher support you? A: Well, not very well, actually. V: The situation with professors and teachers in general in Europe is different from, let’s say, America, right? A: True. V: They tend to motivate you with a stick, rather than with a carrot. A: Would a Carrot motivate you to practice more? Or do you mean candy! V: Carrot! Carrots are… well, if I am a bunny. A: Well, are you our bunny? V: That’s the question! A: But yes, I think this European system is very demotivating for myself, because I’m not that kind of person that if somebody will beat me that I will do things better. Rather, the opposite. I won’t do anything then. But if somebody will give me a candy or say a nice word, then I do ten times more. V: So, the fact that you are still practicing after 25 or more years means that somebody is giving you candy. A: Yes. V: Literal or not literal candy. What kind of rewards are you getting today from playing the organ? A: Well, it’s a very complex question. Certainly I’m not doing it because of getting a candy from somebody. I’m doing it for myself, basically. Organ in itself is good enough motivation for me, now. V: And obviously, that’s the kind of question that professionals would answer like you. They don’t need external motivation for the most part, but obviously, applause and a feeling of exhilaration after a recital gives you another boost of willingness to practice even more. To plan ahead for your next recital and next recital—to choose the music and sit down on the organ bench. Right? A: Yes, I think that’s how a reward works. V: What about me? A: What about you? V: Yes! Ask me! A: So, how do you feel about it? V: Well, when I first started playing the organ, it was kind of interesting. My former...the first teacher that I had in Klaipėda, called me on the phone and asked me if I wanted to start playing the organ, taking lessons with her at school, with hopes of applying to the Lithuanian Academy of Music in a few years. And, even with the prospect of studying with the famous professor, Leopoldas Digrys! And of course, Digrys’ name was very well known to me—I mean… even to me! Because I was little, but still my mom used to go to his recitals in Vilnius when she was studying art, when she was a student at the institute of fine arts. So, of course, she was very happy that I chose organ lessons. And then, of course, the reality was a little bit different when I started studying with Digrys. He was very strict and his students were afraid of him, actually. Today, I’m continuing to practice like you, probably, because organ in itself is a wonderful instrument, and gives me pleasure and joy. It’s like self expression; if I’m not playing something everyday, I don’t feel well. I have to play at least something, create something on the organ, at least improvise. Then I know that my day isn’t wasted. A: Nice. V: Right. So, for Ariane, who is just joining our Total Organist community, it’s obviously important to get this feedback and motivation from the group, and from us, and feel like she belongs to a higher cause. Not like she’s practicing for herself, but she sort of has this passion, and actually a purpose. Without a purpose, it’s a very temporary hobby. A: Yes, I think you always need to see a purpose and to have your goal. V: Because when you don’t have a purpose, and it’s just a passion of yours, then the passion will probably fade as soon as you get the first roadblock. A: Yes, that’s how many people will not finish up what they have started. V: Right. Thank you guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please think about your purpose when you are playing the organ—the “why.” Why are you playing the organ? And this “why” will help you continue through the hard times. Keep sending your wonderful questions to us. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas
Ausra: And Ausra Vidas: Let’s start episode 371 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Lorelei, and she writes about Basecamp: I logged onto basecamp. When did that start? I don't understand. How does this help me? I'm not sure how to use it... V: Well, Ausra, for starters, let’s define Basecamp. Basecamp is a project management platform that we’ve been using for the Total Organist community since, I think, last August. And the reason we started to use it, together with our regular training materials, is because it helps people to communicate with each other, and for us to communicate with them, and with this tool, we can all grow together much faster. Do you know what I mean? A: Yes, and it’s easier to communicate in such a way, because if people have questions, problems, or something to share, that’s what we do on Basecamp. V: So, if Lorelei logged onto Basecamp, she probably would see something like the Home dashboard, and she is on the team of Total Organist. We add subscribers to the Total Organist program into this team, and here you will see a Message Board, ToDo list, Schedule, Campfire, Automatic Questions, and Docs and Files—all those lists. So, we use Message Board, we use Campfire, and we use sometimes Docs and Files for other purposes, and Automatic Questions, also. So what Message Board does is we could make announcements. Or other people can make announcements. For example, Mic just wrote about Melodic Dictation videos missing. He didn’t find those videos in the Melodic Dictation course and he wanted to ask us this question. Of course, this kind of question can be asked in the Campfire as a chat, but it doesn’t matter. The Message Board is great, too. For example, on the Message Board, we also put an announcement when we were ready to go to London to play at Saint Paul’s Cathedral, so that everybody in our community would know that for a few days we will be gone, and we will not know if we can respond to their questions on time, very soon. It turned out we had WiFi in the hotel and everything was fine. On the Message Board, you can also see Total Organist Training materials. This file is a sort of a backup from the Total Organist Website. If you log into Total Organist and want to download some score to practice, or subscribe to some training program, you can use the Total Organist Website, but you can also use our Message Board materials for Total Organist training materials as well. It’s like a backup file for those who have trouble, for example, logging into Total Organist. How does it sound so far, Ausra? A: So basically, this platform is created to make things easier for you. Easier to find, easier to connect with us, and easier to communicate between yourselves, because as we have talked before, that sometimes people who are at the beginning or intermediate level might help other people who are at the same level even better than we are. So, sort of a helpful tool for you to communicate between yourselves. V: Exactly. For example, there is this chat….basically column, and you can actually write any type of question or feedback there to me, or to any people there on our community. It’s really great, it’s like instant messaging within our group. Short messages are delivered right away, and you get notified. Concerning notification, you can specify how you would like to receive those notifications, because some students wrote to me that their email inboxes are overflowing with notifications, because people are messaging and giving feedback, asking questions, and everybody is being notified by email. And, I understand that, because SPAM is not okay. And here is the thing… you can adjust when, if, and how you want to be notified in Basecamp under menu item, “Me.” You just find “Me,” your own settings, basically, and you can adjust. For example, I don’t like to be notified right away; I only am notified once a day in my email inbox. But whenever I open the application of Basecamp on my phone, I have those unread messages, also, notified, so that I won’t miss what happened overnight, for example. I hope this helps. Do you think, Ausra, this is helpful? A: I think so, yes. V: Another thing about the Total Organist community on Basecamp is automatic check-in questions. For example, at the end of the day, people get this question: “What did you work on Today?” All the community. And, you can write like a short report. Like, a sentence or two--”what did you achieve?” “What were your struggles?” “What challenges have you overcome?” Basically, anything you worked on either in organ playing, or you can just share your day with us if that’s okay with you, of course. Nothing too personal. Right? Another question that people get asked at the end of the first Wednesday of each month is about the Total Organist! “How do you like Total Organist so far?” Because I need, and we need, with Ausra, people’s feedback! A: Yes, sort of a guidance for us. V: How can we improve, what is good about that, and how we are helping people, basically. On every Saturday in the morning, people get this question: “What have you been struggling with the most in organ playing this week?” Basically, at the end of the week, you get this question about your struggles. It’s a good review, right Ausra? A: Yes. V: And you could share them, and if we find your answers applicable to other people as well, we might be able to discuss them on the podcast, too! For example, people like to read books, right? So on the first Monday of each month, you get the question, “Have you read any good books, lately?” And other people might be enjoying your recommendations of books. Every Monday in the morning, you get the question, “What will you be working on this week?” At the beginning of the week, it sort of sets you on the right path. A: Yes, so it’s sort of you’re making goals on Monday, and then summarizing what you have done… V: On Saturday. A: Yes, on Saturday. At the end of the week. V: Exactly. And then, another question is like, “Seen anything recently that others in our Total Organist community would find inspiring?” And people like to share. You know, various things. Sometimes, I might share my own blog from Steemit, and other people might come across a video or something—a link—that they might share. Various things. It’s really interesting to see. And the whole point is that the Total Organist is like a little community. Right now, we have… how many people in our community… maybe sort of like about 90 people. Around 90 people in our community. That includes people who subscribe directly through paypal, that includes people who are on our transcription team, and that includes people who help us with fingering and pedaling transcriptions from the videos, also. So around 90 people are watching those questions, and reading them. Some people are just reading, some people are responding, you know how it is. Some people are more active than others, but that’s OK, because this is how communities work. A: That’s true. V: And what’s the entire why we are doing this, Ausra? A: To help us to improve this program Total Organist, and to help for you to improve. V: Faster. A: Faster. V: Because, we might have many hobbies. Organ playing is just one of the possibilities, and I had many hobbies in the past, and I still have some today. And, I can notice that whenever I am a part of the community, I can improve and practice regularly—almost daily—this hobby. For example, drawing these comics. We’re sharing this on the Steem blockchain with Ausra, and other people are commenting and giving us feedback, and also it’s a little community there. So we’re not alone, obviously, if we drew those comics for each other, this would in itself before fun. But since other people are also watching, then the results are more apparent. It motivates us to continue. In the past, I had the hobby of learning a language—Swedish—I would love learning Swedish. But, I was alone, and I didn’t continue for too long. A: So I guess feeling that you are not lonely and feeling that there are people who support you, who understand you is very important—having that sense of community. V: Because until last August, the way Total Organist was set up is everybody would get emails with training materials, or they could log into Total Organist website and download something on their own. Which is fine, but again there is no communication, no feedback, and unless they wrote to me directly, they don’t know if they are improving. And this is crucial… to know if your practice leads to some results. And we believe that with the Basecamp communication channel, you can quadruple your results in organ playing. Thank you guys, this was Vidas, A: And Ausra, V: Now we are ready to go to practice, because when you practice, A: Miracles happen!
First of all, I want to remind everyone who is planning to enter our Secrets of Organ Playing Contest Week 2 that less than 24 hours are left to submit your entry.
And now let's go to the podcast for today: Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 376, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Damian. And, he writes: You once asked me what is my biggest challenge in organ playing. I play in a church, and in Poland a church organist must play at the same time (hands and feet of course), sing and switch song lyrics that are displayed on the screen. This is the biggest challenge for me to do all these things at the same time, and to do all of them well. As for the technique itself, I'm not very advanced, but I happen to make mistakes in very easy fragments of songs that I know well, which I've always done correctly and I never know when I will stumble somewhere. Eliminating this is the biggest challenge for me right now. Thank you for all your work! V: And Damian is from Poland, and Poland is our neighbor. A: Yes. Nice to hear from him. And when you were reading Damian’s letter, I just remembered how I started to work at church, and I had the same things to do as he does now. I had to play and to sing, to lead basically congregational singing. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Because there were a few elderly ladies from downstairs who would sing too. So I would sing and try to keep the tempo because they would try to drag me down and slow me down, and all the struggles, so I know how he feels. And it would be easy for me to sing the soft verse because the text would be right behind, written right below the melody. But then for the second, the third and other stanzas I would have to look at the bottom of the page… V: Uh-huh. Yes. A: to see what comes next. And this was a hard thing for me, at least at the beginning. V: When did it start to become a little easier? A: Well I guess when I didn’t have to think so much about pedal. V: Hmmm. A: Because I started to work at church on my second year of organ studies. So at that time I was still not that good with pedal playing. V: But in the third year, you were relatively well advanced. A: Yes, that’s true. V: So you struggled for one year. A: Yes. But what helped my life easier and I would suggest Damian made you something similar; I tried to play three voices with my right hand, and bass line with my pedal—with my feet. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And then I would have my left hand free, and it would make life so easy. V: In the hymns. A: Yes. In the hymns. V: But then you have to rearrange the inner voices. A: I know. But it’s not that hard to do sometimes. V: Oh, you switched tenor with alto. A: Yes. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So that you would have a close position. V: Mmm-hmm. That’s possible. It’s sort of cheating though. A: Well, but do you think somebody will notice from the church, that you are doing that? V: Angels will notice! A: Well, who cares! V: Angels, care. And, of course, you are the boss. A: Well, another thing that would make life easier; I don’t know which way is easier for Damian;if it’s easier for him to memorize music, or is it easier for him to memorize text... V: Mmm-hmm. A: word text. So if it’s easier for him to memorize music then just memorize the hymn, that you could play it from the memory and look at the text. Or do it vice-versa. V: And it seems to me that this is the struggle that every beginner organist faces in church. And, as you said, it will pass, if you persevere after one year or so. A: Also remember, if you will continue working in church for, let’s say many year, well hymnals of course they are huge, but you will see in time that you will start repeating hymns, and as you come back to hymn next time, and the next time, it will get easier and easier and easier for you. But of course I agree that it’s really hard job to play and to sing at the same time, and do things right, and because it’s important. So it’s like in Lithuania it’s cold in winter time, and it gives, it makes things even harder. V: Right. And Lithuanian system is very similar too. We also have to sing and play at the same time, unless of course there is another choir director and there is a separate choir, but only on festive occasions, maybe on Sundays. A: But sometimes what happens if you have a group of people who are helping singing, you need to conduct them as well during your playing. V: Oh that’s another burden. A: So that’s what happens—that you play, sing and conduct with your head at the same time. That’s very often the case in Lithuania too. V: Uh-huh. Right. So lots of multitasking. Exactly. And he also wrote that he happened to make mistakes in very easy fragments of songs that he knows well, which he is always done correctly. That’s the situation that a lot of people with limited experience, struggle with, right? A: True. Because I think if you can do that hymn very well, but think about mass setting. You need to always to follow what is happening in church, actually. And you need also to think where you will end with certain hymn. So maybe that also takes some of your attention away and… V: Mmm-hmm. A: that’s how you make mistakes. That could be one of the reasons too. V: Exactly. When you are just practicing on this organ bench, nobody is disturbing you, you are focusing on the music and the text. And you can even practice singing at the same time as playing, and it might go well. But in live situation, congregation is downstairs, probably choir members are around you, there is a little bit of noise, and things are happening with the priest, everybody is doing their own business, and you have to be aware as you say, of all these changes, and where to stop and how to play it. And if you don’t have much experience, you’re starting to lose focus and as a consequence, making mistakes. Right? This is normal. This is not Damian’s cause. This is everybody’s situation, I think at first, for the first one, two, maybe three years. A: That’s right. V: So, what I recommend is just to stick with it and in a year or two or three, it will pass, I think. He will start to feel more secure in church. A: Sure. I just could say that he’s doing extremely valuable job. I really respect those church organists so much. From my own experience, how hard it is to do things. V: Mmm-hmm. Right. Of course we’re only talking about playing hymns, not playing real organ music, which adds another layer of complexity. A: That’s right. But I guess that this kind of experience that Damian has and we had in our youth is, it’s unforgettable actually. And I think it’s people, let’s say in the states probably, who have well organized church music, they even don’t understand what we are talking about, I think. V: They even have this title, Director of Music, or Director of Parish Music, right? Parish Music Director. Your title makes you an officer in the church, basically, and you have your own office, heating, your practice… A: Yes. V: instrument, separate from the church instrument. You have separate rooms, right, for choir rehearsals and everything. We don’t have those very often in churches in Lithuania and I presume in Poland too. Mmm-hmm. But people still keep playing, keep practicing and keep perfecting their skills, which is really nice. A: So let’s just wish good luck to Damian and other church organists around the globe. V: Yes. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 373, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Emese. And, Emese writes: Dear Ausra and Vidas! Today I've played Das Alte Jahr... as well. It's so nice. Have you known that it has 12 measures and 365 notes. The genius of Bach. I started playing the organ aged 53 (earlier I played the viola)—this means 5 years ago, but we had no proper instrument. This year the renewal of our church came to an end and at last I've got a real organ. It's not a big instrument—it has got 8 stops=two manuals and pedal, made for our church. It was ready a week before Pentecost. So a real exercise started then. From September I have less time for exercise—but at least once or twice a week I try in the evenings. In these few months, I've learned mainly Bach works, pedal playing was new for me, but I enjoy practicing it a lot. So I have learned: three Schubler chorales as BWV 645, 646, 649. I am still practicing BWV 655—it's one of my favorites. I can play it already by heart, but there is still a lot of work. My next aim is Cesar Franck—Prelude in h moll op. 18 Instead of a postcard—my beloved organ. Happy New Year! Many thanks for the pieces of advice. Emese V: Ausra, don’t you think that Emese is lucky to have a new organ installed in her church? A: Sure, it’s wonderful. Because although it’s not a big instrument, remember still, it’s a real organ, so it’s very exciting. V: Two manuals and pedals and 8 stops is plenty for a little church, I think, and for practice purposes. A: Sure. Because I think the worse thing is that you have sometimes too large instrument in a given room and then you cannot use more than half of the stops. V: Exactly, and… A: Remember we had that experience at Eastern Michigan University, where we had that large tracker organ in organ loft… V: Studio. A: Studio. But that studio room itself wasn’t large but instrument was good size, three manual instrument. V: It was by Canadian organ builder Gabriel Kney. And did you like by the way, the touch? A; I liked it, yes. V: Mmm-hmm. A: I liked that instrument but it had to be in a room maybe ten times larger than it was. V: Yeah. It was too loud. A: Sure. V: But it’s a tracker instrument so it’s kind of rare to have trackers in the states. Of course, this situation changes, little by little because people understand that, obvious, probably called this of tracker organs more and more. A: Yes it’s like eating healthy food and eating fast food. V: Mmm-hmm. But of course electro–pneumatical action has it’s own advantages. A: Sure. V: So it’s kind of… You have to choose, I think organist has to choose. A: Well it depends on what kind of repertoire do you like to play. V: Mmm-hmm. A: But of course if you like J.S. Bach then tracker is your first choice. V: So, Emese seems to be very fond of Bach’s works, and Emese studied Schubler Chorales—so far three of them, BWV 645 is "Wachet auf". A: Yes, it’s one of everybody’s favorites, I believe. V: Wonderful choice! It’s not an easy piece to start with but if Emese is practicing five years, since five years ago, so maybe it’s about time to take a trio texture. A: Yes. I think its fascinating that people realize and want to play the organ, to start to learn organ, at such an age. It shows it’s never too late to learn something new. V: Do you think, Ausra, that it’s too late for you to start something new? A: Well, as Emese wrote, the main instrument was viola. V: Mmm-hmm. A: We are so, I guess, maybe I need to start to learn to play viola. I don’t think I would be so successful. V: Mmm-hmm. A: I don’t think I would be so successful. I don’t think I would be able to play something as hard as Schubler chorale in such a short time. V: Right. Organ playing is like a second nature to us now, but it took twenty plus years, twenty five maybe years now. And... A: And don’t forget all that piano background that we had as a children. V: Exactly. We started playing since the year of six or seven, I think. A: Or five. V: Or five, as you. It doesn’t mean that everybody has to start so early or if it’s, if they start at age 53 or later, that it’s too late. It just means that you have to figure out the path for yourself and not compare too much yourself with others, especially prodigies. Sometimes we see on Youtube, children playing virtuoso pieces, not necessarily the organ though… A: Especially Chinese children. V: But piano for example, or violin. A: Like five years old, lad sits at piano and plays Rachmaninoff or Chopin. V: Exactly. A: It really amazes me, all the time. Although I’m not sort of fond of youth like this. V: And then, if you’d ask that kid, ‘what are you playing?’ Probably… A: Probably he or she probably wouldn’t know. V: Wouldn’t know even the composers name. A: That’s right. V: Or what else he has written. But anyway, I think Schubler chorales are very nice because they develop your coordination, hand and feet coordination, very well, because they are written in three parts, and each part is so independent. It’s written in a trio texture. It’s not like a trio sonata, where left hand imitates right hand, and vice-versa. A: Have you played them all? V: I have. Not necessarily in a concert setting but I have. A: I have played three of them. V: But they are good as an introduction to trio sonatas I think, if you would play like Emese did, three or four of them, or entire collection. Then after that, you might pick up a slow movement of trio sonata quite easily. A: Yes, that’s right. And let’s talk a little bit about symbols in Bach’s music because as Emese wrote, there are twelve measures in that chorale, ‘ Das alte Jahr vergangen ist’, and 365 notes, so it resembles a year, entire year. V: So you think it’s a coincidence? A: No! It’s not coincidence, and it’s twelve measures long because the year has twelve months. I believe that there are so many symbols in Bach’s music that we cannot grasp them all. V: Mmm-hmm. A: But I think it meant for people in that time, something more than for us because we simply don’t see these things anymore. V: And it means that this piece was also created as a kind of study, right? If you just play this chorale prelude, first of all, if you just copy it by hand, as his students might have done, and then if you practice it and then play it for your church service as an introduction for example, of the hymn at the end of year service, obviously, you wouldn’t notice any of it while playing. But while writing it out and maybe discovering clues like that, you would get a glimpse into the mind of the great composer. A: That’s right! And just think how many other symbols there are in his music, such as his signature and his name signature and sign of cross, and all those other Baroque time rhetorical figures. Because usually the decision what key to use, already can tell a lot about the music. V: Mmm-hmm. It is said that Bach’s music is like musical sermon—sacred music, I mean cantatas. In some sense also chorale preludes served this purpose as a commentary of the text of the chorales. And since those chorales were sung in Lutheran mass, then it’s really easy to see how composer created the musical commentary, I think for an intelligent audience, or even for himself to elaborate on the meaning of text. A: Yes, that’s what I’m thinking too. But probably his music was intended first of all for himself. Because not everybody, even advanced musicians can comprehend his music so easily. V: Right. And his contemporaries created much more, simpler compositions. Which means they knew the symbols but to some degree, not all of them probably. And, plus if you just add the polyphonic complexities that he’s writing, then this compositional style is well beyond the normal musician of the day. A: I’m just wonder, if such a great mind as Bach’s would have chosen another subject for his research, not music, for example, science, what could he have achieved? V: Well, it’s not a coincidence that Cristoph Wolff compares the great Johann Sebastian Bach with philosophers and scientists of the time, right? A: Because surely, I think his works are equal with those great minds of the world. V: Mmm-mmm. His musical discoveries are equal to those of Sir Isaac Newton, for example. And Bach’s influence for future generations also could be compared to those of great scientists. A: And I guess we all are very lucky that we can touch Bach’s genius through his music. V: And we continue to carry on this tradition to future generations, right? Because this lineage can be traced back to Bach directly, if we count, right? A: So we are all somehow related. V: To Bach. And through Bach to Sweelinck too. 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!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 375 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Howard and he writes: “Hello Vidas, Happy New Year, and I am wishing you all the best for Total Organist in 2019. I noticed and appreciate the program you did on piston programming for larger modern organs. I have another question inspired by today's topic on "I cannot use someone else's fingerings". This is EXACTLY my problem that is holding me back from becoming a full subscriber to "Total Organist". But my question is more direct and I am hoping you will consider it as a program topic or as a direct answer to me, your choice :-) Basically, as I understand it, the fingerings for Early Music which, to be honest, is 90% of the material that you offer for study, those fingerings are for baroque style keyboards which are much shorter than AGO spec keyboards. I am wondering why the focus on using fingerings inspired by these older keyboards? I'd say that 99% (seriously) of the music that I own does not have fingerings. One of the exceptions is a Kalmus edition of several Mendelssohn works including all six Sonatas. I've spent the most time with Sonata #4 in Bb. The fingerings suggested and the fingerings that make sense to me are not even from the same planet! Especially the 3rd movement. The way the Kalmus editor fingered it, the running figure in the left hand is entirely independent from the right hand. Completely. I've worked very hard on doing it this way but my natural inclination is to pass notes back and forth between the hands and I can do this and still preserve the independence of the polyphony. I know that you have fingered the Widor Toccata and a few other modern works, and I am assuming you use 'modern fingerings' for those, but I can't help but wonder why you don't just make life easier for yourselves and use modern fingering for everything? Is there really something to be gained by using Early Fingering at all in the 21st Century, especially for Bach who, it must be said, transcended his time period. And here is one more idea for a program topic that you may (or not) want to touch ... two years ago on my way to church, I had a hard fall onto my left side. When I got up I realized I had bashed my left hand and my pinky finger was bleeding slightly. I was playing the "Cortege et Litanie" that Sunday. I thought I was just a little sore and could play through it, but ever since then the pinky and ring finger of my left hand refuse to open fully. Only a very, very few people know this. My employers do not know. I can still play most things as before, but the big stretch near the beginning of "Cortege et Litanie" is impossible. Scalic passages that should naturally begin with the left hand pinky or ring finger are extremely hard now and often don't work. To be honest it has affected my typing much more than my organ playing. I used to be a terrific typist but now the left hand keys are impaired. I am terrified of having surgery done because of a.) the potential downtime and impact on work, and b.) the potential for success of such surgery. I did see an occupational therapist and had several weeks of various stretching exercises that produced no results. I have recently heard of a colleague who seems to have a similar injury except his has no known cause. He has stepped down from playing but his church is still paying him to be a Music Director. I have another acquaintance with a similar problem (Dupytrenes Contracture) and has had two unsuccessful hand surgeries. My hand therapist didn't even know what to call my injury. She just say's "its weird". That wasn't encouraging so I stopped going to appointments. I am beginning to wonder about why this has happened because more recently, about 3 months ago, I had someone crush my hand in a handshake. All the fingers of my right hand have recovered fully except the ring finger which is trying to act like the one on the left hand. I knew of musicians who refused to shake hands but I've never thought I was worthy of that kind of concern. My attainments have been so humble. Do you have any experience with occupational injuries and what musicians do about them? There you have it. More than you wanted to know about my travails, but I don't have anyone else I can tell. Anyway, don't think about this too much. I am working. I am not suicidal. I'm just wondering if there is more I could do. Or what someone else might do in the same situation. Be well. Howard” V: That’s a long story Ausra. A: It is. V: Let’s start with occupational hazards and probably a person like Howard should consult many different or several different physicians. A: You know if I would be a very mean person I could make a very bad joke about his question because I could relate the second part with the first part. V: Uh-huh. A: Because when you were reading that first part it just took my breath away and I could tell that all these professional injuries happens because of not playing let’s say baroque music with early fingering. But that’s just a really bad joke. I think there is connection in everything that we do. V: But don’t you think that if his therapist doesn’t even know what to call his injury probably she is not the person to help him. A: Yes, it seems to me that he has to change his doctor. V: And probably go to several different people to check their opinions and sooner or later, maybe sooner than later he will find a person who will know what to do in his situation, what caused this, and how to treat it. A: But in general I think that every person has sort of limitation of the joints and of the fingers and probably there is a limit of movements you can make in your lifetime, maybe for some it’s I don’t know. Hundreds of millions of movements and for somebody maybe it’s less than that. Maybe he is having overused syndrome. V: I wonder if he’s wearing any rings on his fingers. A: I don’t know but rings are bad actually. V: Umm-hmm. A: In most of cases for musicians I wouldn’t wear rings. But if such an action as shaking the hand might hurt his hands, that is really bad. That just shows that something is really wrong with his hands and that he needs serious attention from a good physician. V: Exactly. So talking about the first part it’s a little bit easier, right? A: Well I wouldn’t want to go into those details because I think I have talked about it many times and I think everybody who listened to my talk knows my opinion about how I feel about playing baroque music. Well, I guess if I would live all my life somewhere in the United States where I would not have an access to the historical based instruments although there are places that you can do that in the United States as well, let’s see, in Oberlin, in Omaha at St. Cecelia’s Cathedral and there are other wonderful places where you could go to try those wonderful instruments. I will just try to give one example with the food. Imagine that you have let’s say cheeseburger from MacDonald’s and cola and you wonderful nice French meal with good wine. They both are food, yes? And you would satisfy your hunger maybe with eating both of them, but in terms of quality would you still disagree that French meal is better and has a higher value? V: Umm-hmm. Obviously the answer is very clear. A: And I don’t know but maybe somebody with fast food would still agree with me but… V: In which sense are you comparing modern fingerings with fast food, can you clarify? A: Well I’m just talking that early fingering does not work for late pieces, romantic and later period but that modern fingering doesn’t work for early music and it seems like Howard is not very happy that we deal so much with early music but let’s face it, Bach is the main composer for the organ. I doubt that anybody would argue that so come on, Bach wrote his music in the baroque period. V: I would add that the reason that we are using early fingerings for early music is that it makes sense because it’s early music. You don’t know if you will have a chance to visit an early instrument. A: And even if you don’t have a chance, even if you are playing on American modern instrument you still need to articulate so it still makes sense to use early fingering. V: When you use modern fingering you have to think about articulation mentally and when you are thinking you are missing something probably in the middle voices, in the pedals too. You maybe aware of some significant details but not everything when you on the contrary are using early fingerings it takes care for itself, right? For example, a simple fact that the same intervals as a rule are played by the same fingers. For example, an interval of the sixth can easily be played by the fingers 1 and 5 and if you have parallel sixths you play 1,5, 1,5, 1,5 and so forth. It seems detached and unmusical but we are not advocating for playing unmusically. We are recommending to play those intervals as slurred as possible but not legato. That’s in between of legato and non-legato in a singing manner which Bach would call cantabile manner of playing. Would you agree? A: Yes, because if you are professional you need to notice those subtle things that might not be understood by amateurs and if we would tell you just play whatever and play however you want we wouldn’t be professionals so we teach what we believe in. But it’s up to you to choose believe us or not and you do whatever you want to do. V: And there are people who play early music with modern fingerings and if Howard would rather play early music with modern fingerings then probably he would find more benefits from studying with them, right? A: Sure, of course. V: That’s simple. We are not trying to convert people who do not believe what we say, right? Everybody has their own choices and preferences and people like us tend to stick in our circle, right? A: That’s right. V: People who trust us, right? That’s very simple. So that’s a lot to think about but obviously fingerings are just a simple detail but I worry about Howard’s hands so he should really seek out several physicians and get several opinions of his hands what’s happening. A: But actually nowadays many people get that wrist surgery because of problems similar to Howard’s and not only musicians but also people who work on the computer a lot too. So you are not alone. V: Exactly. Thank you guys, I hope this was useful and please send us more of your questions, we love helping you grow. And remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas
Ausra: And Ausra Vidas: Let’s start episode 365 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Neil, and he writes: Hello Vidas, My big problem is confidence but last night it went very well probably because I practiced everything and marked up the service booklet and went through the service in my mind. Neil V: So, Ausra, do you feel confident when you play? Because, sometimes I do not feel that confidence, but I still have to play it, regardless of how I feel. A: Well, I think that each of us are not having confidence every time we play, and the reasons might be various. We might be unprepared, or we might not feel well… V: Or we might just lack experience. A: True. So, there might be different reasons. But, if a person says that he or she has confidence every time, always, then I just think that either the person is insincere, or that something is wrong with him or her. V: Or that person doesn’t challenge himself or herself enough. Right? A: It could be true, yes. V: Playing pieces that are too easy. A: That’s right. V: Then we can feel really confident. A: Yes. But, as was mentioned in the question, I think it’s very important to have that preparation. And both physical preparation and mental preparation for an event. As Neil said, he studied the booklet—he circled the service booklet...important spots. And he went through the service in his mind. I think this is a very important thing. V: So imagine this scenario. You have to play a church service, and usually people just show up and play. Maybe they know the hymns in advance, they practiced them, or prelude and postlude or communion piece, whatever, but other than that, they sit down and try to play the service as it happens in the real time. What sometimes happens, is that there are some changes—unexpected changes, and you don’t know what’s happening. You don’t know how to react. You are sometimes thrown out of the path, and some people are better than others with dealing with uncertainties. And, then, if you feel some stress, you can panic easily. A: Of course! V: And mess up… start to play the wrong hymn, for example, or with the wrong registration, or in the wrong tempo, or in the wrong key. A: Or in the wrong spot. V: Yes. Or just miss an entire hymn. Just miss it entirely. Did you have those experiences, Ausra, missing hymns? A: Of course I had those experiences. But not because of a panic. V: You just missed on purpose? A: No, I was delayed. V: By whom? A: By a postman. V: Oh, tell us! A: I think I told the story that at Eastern Michigan University, not at the university itself, but I was subbing for Vidas during Lent services in the Missouri Synod Lutheran Church. And, there was a postman who came in the middle of the service, and since the pastor in front was busy, and at that time I was at the end next to the organ and I was not playing, he came to me, and I had to sign for some kind of parcel, and he looked at my last name and asked to spell it, because obviously it was the first time for this man that he saw such a long last name, and while I did that, I didn’t notice what was happening near the altar, and the postman left, and there was suddenly a strange silence in the church, and then I just noticed the pastor looked at me and said, “And now we will sing hymn number blah...blah...blah.” Then I started to play, but obviously, I was late. V: But he wasn’t mad. A: No. V: Interesting. I messed up my first, very first, church service, when I was just a kid, playing in my local parish, where my mom and I would go when we were on Summer vacations. And it was a wooden church, and the local priest noticed how I played hymns (I was maybe in the 6th or 7th grade), and he asked me to play a service for a wedding anniversary of an elderly couple. And I foolishly agreed, and I missed Sanctus—Holy Holy Holy part. A: Well, I know why, because it’s a tricky…one of the most tricky parts in a Catholic Mass, to know when to play Sanctus. V: So this was fun. The priest was really happy afterwards. He said it’s not a big deal, and he gave me candy! A: Well, I messed up my first Mass. It wasn’t actually my really first Mass, but maybe my 3rd or 4th, and it was held by a Cardinal. V: A Cardinal! Oh! A: Yes. The only one that we have now, in the Holy Cross Church. It was the special service in February. I don’t know what that festival day is called in English. Do you know, Vidas, what I’m talking about? V: Yeah, the day before Lent. Ash Wednesday? A: No, it’s not Ash Wednesday, in Lithuanian, it’s called Grabnyčios. V: It wasn’t Wednesday? A: No, it wasn’t Ash Wednesday, I know what Ash Wednesday is. It’s the day when the candles are put around peoples necks. Do you know this occasion? Because it is believed that it will heal your throat if you have trouble with it. V: Interesting. I think it’s not Lent, right, yet? A: No, it’s not Lent. It’s before that. It’s always in February. V: Baptism of the Lord? No? A: I don’t think so. V: You don’t think so… I’m looking on line… in February. Presentation of the Lord maybe? A: Yes, I think this is what it is, but we never call it like this in Lithuania. V: Mardi Gras, no? No! Mardi Gras is on Tuesday. A: Yes, it was on Tuesday! If it’s always on Tuesday, yes, it might be. V: Užgavėnės! No… A: No… V: Mardi Gras is Užgavėnės… so then, probably it’s this Presentation of the Lord. A: Anyway, so I missed The Lord’s Prayer. It wasn’t fun. V: Right. And was the Cardinal’s name Cornelius? A: No, it’s our bird name from Pinky and Spiky comics. Stop joking about things, because you might be kicked out of the church entirely! V: I see! Ok, so let’s continue our conversation about confidence, right? You had confidence issues and I had confidence issues, and Neil has it sometimes, and probably everyone from time to time experiences confidence… and it’s a good thing, right Ausra? Because it means we are challenging ourselves with things that are a little bit beyond what we are capable of. A: Yes, I think it’s a right thing to have this problem sometimes. V: What Neil does, or did, to combat insecurity like this is he marked up the service booklet and went through the service in his mind in advance. Basically, he visualized the service from the beginning until the end, what comes next… A: Yes, it’s very good. V: It really helps. A: It’s really how it should be. Maybe not always when he will play for services for 20 years, maybe he will not have to do it, but for right now, I think that this is the right way. And in general, I think that it’s very good that he has this good experience with having a service well done! Now I think that he has to stick to this memory, and I think it will give him more confidence next time. V: Right. And for other services, which might be different from time to time, it’s a good idea to also go through it in advance, visualize it at home or on your organ bench, ahead of time, too. So, Ausra, tell us: if you will be playing a service any time soon, will you be confident or not? A: Well, not so much, because it has been a while since I played in a real service, an entire Mass. I would have to refresh some parts of it. V: But it comes back pretty quickly. A: Yes, I think so. V: Like riding a bicycle. A: That’s right. V: Sometimes, when I don’t play a service regularly, I get invited in the Summer for example, to substitute for an ensemble of some sort who is on vacation, I then sometimes forget some words from the prayers—maybe some Sanctus words, so then I have to double check the words—the lyrics. But generally, the order of the service, or the order of Mass is pretty set. But, if we both went to another denomination, like a Lutheran church or a Reformed church, or a Methodist Church, then it would be something new. A: Well, but you know in the Lutheran church, everything is pretty much the same as in the Catholic Church. They have only one thing replaced comparing to the Catholic, so. It’s not a big deal. V: Not a big deal. A: True. V: Good. So it’s good that we have commonalities, because organists many times play for different denominations, right? A: Yes. V: And, they have to change in their minds very quickly what kind of congregation this is. Am I in a Lutheran Church, or am I in an Anglican Church now, for example? A: Or am I in a Christian Scientist Church? V: Did you play for Christian Scientists? A: Yes, for two years! This was my favorite church position. V: Why? A: Well, they paid well, and sort of I played hymns and one solo piece with a soloist, and then I did a few solo pieces by myself. V: You told me that you had much freedom. A: Yes, and they never complained. Whatever, they would appreciate everything that I have played and did, and it was just fun. V: Yes, appreciation and freedom are the two big things. A: And, I was actually very worried when I began to work for them, because I thought maybe they would try to convert me to their beliefs in Science and Health, but they never did it, and it was very nice. V: Nice. A: And, to tell the truth, I wasn’t sick for those two years that I worked for the Christian Scientist Church, so maybe I need to go to the States, and find a Christian Scientist Church and start to work for them! V: Okay, I’ll look for plane tickets now. A: Okay. V: Going to America now. Okay, guys, thank you for sending those wonderful questions. Please keep writing to us; 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 372 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jonathan and he writes: “Reaching a third with left foot when above middle C. Here's an example. In the "10 Day Pedal Playing Challenge" in exercise No 3, the left foot needs to stretch for thirds a number of times in the area above middle C. I can barely reach middle C to the E above; this is with toe on middle C and heel on E above. Any higher combinations (and the exercise wants me to use my left foot as high as F above middle C reaching to A) is impossible for me. I've made sure I've been pivoting to the right. I've tried lowering and raising the bench. I've moved the bench closer and farther away. I've been working on ankle flexibility for the two years I've been studying organ. Perhaps some of us just aren't built that way. (My left leg is shorter than the right. And my upper legs are long and lower legs are short, compared to the average person's build.) Is it okay to reverse the parts of the left foot used - to begin with the heel and end with the toe, when ascending, if I can't do what the pedal notation asks for? Or should I try something else?” V: Ausra first of all I would suggest that any person who feels stress on the ankles or legs would not torture himself or herself. A: Sure. V: This is rather dangerous, right? A: It is and of course I understand the meaning of this exercise, why you sometimes need to play a lot with your left foot even in quite a higher range because a lot of music is created in romantic and later period has this kind of thing that you have to leave your right foot for using of the swell box mainly, that’s very often the case so in terms of learning such music you need to do as much work with your left foot as possible. But of course you don’t have to hurt yourself and if somebody it’s really impossible for you a particular exercise or particular piece you need to know to find other solutions. V: Because in real life for example if the reason you had to use your left foot alone for those intervals of thirds was that the right foot was occupied with the swell box, right? Imagine a piece like that by Cesar Franck for example, and you cannot do it, then you simply would probably avoid using the swell box in this case. A: Yes, I guess so. V: Right? And use both feet in that place. This is acceptable because swell box is just for expression purposes, it’s not life or death situation. Ankle strain might be some complications for your body condition and feeling well. A: Yes, and as Jonathan said in his letter that everybody has a little bit different body construction, and proportion of legs and hands and entire body so you really need to adjust yourself. V: Exactly. A: And if something is very, very uncomfortable for you it means that maybe this particular spot doesn’t work for you in that way and you need to change it because your body sends you a signal that something is probably wrong. V: You know I wrote to Jonathan that technique set ups the person and not the other way around. It’s good to have some virtuosic moves from your ankle and it’s like something to be proud of but it doesn’t replace real music, right? Jonathan is talking about 10 Day Pedal Playing Challenge and those are exercises, not real musical compositions. And again, you have to feel your body and don’t fight with it and if this doesn’t work move on to some other exercise, right? A: That’s right. V: You will still be exercising your ankles. So that’s my recommendation I think Ausra would you agree on this one? A: Definitely, yes. So whatever you do you need to be careful about things. V: Umm-hmm. Other people in general don’t like exercises. They just play organ music and they develop their pedal technique this way. Of course it’s a little bit limited because organ music doesn’t involve all kinds of moves with your ankles and feet and that could be isolated with any particular exercise but that’s what other people like, they like musical challenges, not technical challenges. It’s like comparing with athletics or maybe body strengthening exercises. Some people want to lift weights, isolated exercises, and other people just prefer running or walking. It depends on what your body feels and what your goals are, what your preferences are. That’s why we have all kinds of aspects in organ playing that you could improve including but not limited to improvisation, repertoire playing, music theory and harmony, hymn playing, and repertoire playing and organ technique as well. All kinds of areas put together form a nice total organist. A: That’s right. So you always need to listen to your body and then make a right decision for yourself. V: Umm-hmm. Great. Thank you guys for sending those wonderful questions, we hope this was useful to you and please keep sending us your feedback and challenges because we might be able to help you grow. And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
First of all, I want to remind everyone who is planning to enter our Secrets of Organ Playing Contest Week 1 that less than 24 hours are left to submit your entry. We already have the first contest entry. Congratulations @savagirl4! The future belongs to the brave and curious.
And now let's go to the podcast for today. Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 367, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Leon. And, he writes: Galsworthy encouraged Streatfeild to know three times more than she needed to about whatever she chose to write. Does it take three times the knowledge of music to be able to compose? V: So this question Ausra, is taken from our correspondence with Leon, and he sent me a link to the biography of an English author, Mary Noel Streatfeild, who is best known for her children’s book, including the ‘Shoes’ Book. And this citation which John Galsworthy, English novelist and playwright, that wrote the Forsyte Saga, basically suggests that Galsworthy recommended for Streatfeild to read three times as much as she writes as a writer, right? To read more than you would write. It makes sense, actually, right? You cannot really write anything of value if you are not knowledgeable about your field. You have to get expertise by reading many books. A: True and you have to increase your vocabulary. V: I just wrote to him that for example, Voltaire recommended reading 100 books in order to be able to write one. So it was maybe different area, different, maybe background. He was maybe talking about encyclopedic knowledge, not necessarily life experiences. But Leon is wondering about how it relates or translates to musical composition. A: Well, it’s obviously that since very early times, composers studied each others music. Think about young Bach, what he did when he copied the scores from his brothers library, at night in secret. It means that it meant a lot to him and he learned a lot from those scores. Because can you imagine just writing by your hand, copying all those scores? It’s a long process. V: And by this process, that was one of the main exercises to learn copying… A: Sure. V: Other composers music. A: And I think now we are missing this much because we are not copying by hand and sometimes it’s probably would be a nice thing to copy something by hand. V: I actually did… A: Just really internalize it. V: I copied C major invention by Bach. Taken not from modern edition but from his handwriting. A: Mmm-hmm. V: Just for fun, you know, like, Pamela is also very, Pamela Ruiter–Feentra, our former professor, is very enthusiastic about copying by hand so, she knows the value because she did the research about Bach and improvisation. So then, I thought maybe I could also try copying just one to see. I didn’t notice any miracles happening right away, but maybe that’s because it was just a single piece. A: You need to write down, to rewrite and copy all of his inventions. Anyway... V: Yes. A: Now I think we have all this modern technique that allows us to copy easily things. V: Too easily. A: Yes. Too easily. V: Mmm-hmm. Things get too fast for us. A: Yes. But now I think that it would be very beneficial if many young composers would try to study other composers as well not just create their own music. Because what is happening right now in Lithuania, maybe in other countries too, that there are so much more people who are creating music and composing music, that it’s sort of like a new fashion. V: Really? A: Really. Because, like in our school, earlier, we would have very little students who will study composition. But now it’s almost like a, I don’t know, infectious disease. V: You mean like a fashion? A: Yes, like a fashion. Let’s say if you are incapable of playing instrument well, or you are incapable of doing something in the music well, ‘oh, okay, I’ll be a composer’. That’s a new fashion and it’s just bad and it makes me really sick and upset and I think it’s a very, very, very bad thing—very bad tendency. V: You know what they say, Ausra, ‘those who cannot play, create. Those who cannot create, teach. Those who cannot teach, criticize’. (Laughs) A: Well, I guess there might be some part of truth of each of the saying, maybe not entirely true but there is certain true about it. And I cannot force myself to perform a music, by let’s say by a contemporary so-called composer that I cannot respect—that I know that let’s say he or she or whatever, cannot do something for themselves with the music. Because I know instances for example, people who have no, or I would say, a man who has no musical pitch… V: Mmm-hmm. A: Composes. And believe me, I have heard these stories both in the United States and in Lithuania as well. V: Mmm-mmm. A: Because now we have all wonderful technology, all this music systems, Sibelius and so on and so forth, that any of us can compose. V: It’s a double edge sword, or knife. A: But do I really need to spend my time, to waste my time of learning a composition that is written by somebody that… V: Cannot perform. A: True. V: Cannot play. A: And cannot hear what he or she writes. V: Uh-huh. By hearing you mean that they need to play back the music to them in order to hear it. They don’t hear it inside their head. A: Not only that, I’m not talking only about inner pitch, I’m talking about musical pitch at all. V: Really? A: Yes. In general. V: So serious then. A: It’s very serious. It’s really serious, so now when talking about contemporary composers you really need to select carefully that you wouldn’t waste time for worthless music. I’m sorry to say it but so it is—at least that’s my point of view. V: Wouldn’t you think that people somehow should—your not talking about people, your not suggesting for people to stop creating, no? You are advocating for people to start developing other skills in their vocabulary, that they could actually understand the music they’re creating, and even sometimes perform. If it’s their instrument of course. A: Well because if you would look at the back at the musical history, all the great composers, their performances, well, and they started by performing other composers music and studying other composers music. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And now some of these young composers, that they cannot play, that they haven’t studied enough other compositions, they start to create music of their own. V: You mean like reinvent the wheel? A: Yes. V: They don’t know what came before them, and they think ‘oh, I have a clever idea. Nobody else had it before, and maybe I will be unique.’ A: Well, be honest. By now, I think all those possibilities are almost exhausted… V: Mmm-hmm. A: And if you do something a little more creative than another, it doesn’t mean anything, at least for me. Because trying to compose without having this good musical education or this understanding about musical history, about other composers, not having any skills of yourself, it’s like building a house from roof. V: Maybe what hasn’t been done enough, is to create music out of combinations of various different elements. For example, let’s say you like this genre of the fugue, but fugues have been written thousands and thousands of times before. It’s nothing new. But you could take another genre and combine it with the fugue. And maybe it has been done also, so maybe you need three things to mix in this pot to be at least partly original. What do you think, Ausra? A: Yes, I think it’s a good thing. V: But for this to happen, just like Leon says, or Galsworthy, you need to be knowledge about other works that came before you and read a lot and basically sight-read a lot, study other works, so that you could take those elements with your, within reason. A: Yes. And you know what I’m talking and criticizing in this podcast, I don’t think it applies let’s say for church musicians. Let’s say you are an organist, and you really need to have a new hymn composed or any kind of composition for your liturgical works, you can easily do that, because you know what you really need. And it’s I think very fine and I encourage people doing that. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Because sometimes we really need to know good liturgical works right away and you know what, let’s say what our choir is capable of singing, or what we are able to play or what our congregation likes, but I’m talking about that sort of very high professional composers who pretend to very high professionals. V: Academic. A: Yes, academic, and who creates sort of non-sensical piece and want to push it to international festival to be performed, let’s say by a great orchestra. V: Mmm-hmm. A: I’m talking about these kind of things. V: Right. A: I’m talking that nowadays, maybe ambition of some young composers are way too high, for let’s say the beginners. V: But you know, what I can relate a little, at least a little bit, partially—I can understand a little bit why they are ignoring other composers, other works of previous generations—because they want to be original, right? And that’s the thing that matters—novelty, originality, uniqueness. And they feel that everything was created and so it’s better even not to bother with old stuff and start from scratch, in their mind. That’s how they think maybe. A: I’m not telling that you have to copy all composers, that’s not what I’m meaning, and that’s not what I’m telling. I’m just telling that before composing your own you need to know that history. It will enrich your understanding about things. V: Definitely. Yeah. A: Because I think it’s very fascinating that if you think about music that it’s only twelve different notes, and all that music was made and created out of only twelve notes. It’s truly amazing. V: Mmm-hmm. And if you know the history of music, you can better be equipped of creating the future of music. A: True. Because I really think that music needs to have substance. It needs to have it’s form. V: But again, this is within reason. I know one professor in musical academy in Lithuania who is probably world-class expert in musical history and musical theory in general, analysis. And he knows everything that there is to know. And he’s already in his 70’s I believe. And only a few years ago he started to compose, because he said to one of his students, ‘now I know everything, and now I’m ready to create.’ Which is kind of craze to me. A: Well I that preparation time for composing for every person is different. V: But waiting until you are seventy… A: I think it’s okay. V: Why? A: Well, sometimes it’s enough to write one genial composition for people to remember you. V: But don’t you think that this professor knew enough to start with, like twenty, thirty years ago? A: Well you just can do whatever you want with your life. You cannot do something others lives. You cannot enforce people to do what you want. V: Silence! Let’s listen to the snow. A: Vidas is, to wake up my words, because I don’t think he likes them so much. V: I’m just saying that, no, you cannot influence others, of course. You’re right. And... A: You can do influence. You can try to do influence, but you cannot force them to do what you want. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And sometimes I think when you want to make influence for somebody, you need to find subtle ways to do it, rather than push forward. V: Let me then clarify a little bit my thought: I think that particular professor didn’t create music, not because he wasn’t knowledgeable enough to begin with, maybe decades ago, but maybe he had another reason. He was telling official reason, and he had another true reason. What do you think? A: Probably yes. V: That’s more plausible explanation. A: Sure! V: Right? Because why did he start now? Maybe... A: Maybe now he has more free time. V: Oh! That’s right. That’s right. A: Because some people cannot create when they are under pressure under all kind of activities—working, raising family, doing all kind of stuff. And maybe now it’s time in his life when he can do it and enjoy it. V: Okay guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please send us your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen! SOPP364: It's really worth trying to play a dress rehearsal at least two months before the recital1/5/2019
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 364, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. Today we would like to talk a little bit about the recital that we witnessed before Christmas. Our friend Paulius played short, half-an hour recital at Vilnius Cathedral. A: Actually, it lasted 25 minutes. V: 25 minutes. A: Mmm-hmm. V: Okay. And it was a big deal for him because it was Vilnius Cathedral—a big place, and many people came, and it was organized as a Christmas organ series by National Association of Organists in Lithuania, and Paulius played one of the recitals, last Saturday. First of all Ausra, what do you think about this? Did Paulius make a good progress, considering your last experience of him playing the organ? A: Do you want me to be honest or do you want me to tell that he did the progress? V: Do you think that these two things are mutually exclusive? A: I don’t know. Well, anyway, let’s start our talk with what you told me a night before his recital because Vidas was just turning pages for him. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And night before recital, what Vidas told to me, I thought that I will hear a very sloppy performance, but it didn’t happen. So I guess he made overnight progress. V: He played much better during the recital than in the last rehearsal. I only heard him once, right? I didn’t go to the cathedral a few times before when he was playing. I couldn’t come. So yes, I was stressed out and he was stressed out too, rather scared, I guess, for the upcoming performance, which was sort of very natural because we all are scared when something big is approaching and we’re not really feeling secure. A: But you know, he has this wonderful quality that he did such a good job comparing to what he could do, and what he did a night before, and that’s a very good sign. Very few of us I think have this quality. Because usually under the pressure, people do much sloppier job than they could do. V: Are you one of those people? A: Mmm. V: Cause I am, usually. A: Well, I don’t think so, but it’s very hard to judge yourself and to be sort of objective when talking about oneself. V: And actually, there are different instances, different experiences in our own life. Sometimes we play better during the public performance and sometimes a little bit worse. A: You know, I just draw a very useful lesson after this recital, and it was a nice recital, I mean I enjoyed much of it. But also I thought how it could be if things would be different, and I like that you need to prepare in advance and it does matter what because before this recital he could not practice enough. And he know probably about it in advance I believe because he knew that this is the time before Christmas which is very busy for church organists, and gives all kind of additional work. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And therefore you need to prepare in advance. For your sake, for listeners sake, for everybody’s sake. V: I didn’t ask him but it would have been really worth trying to play a dress rehearsal at least two months before. A: And I think that how George Ritchie and Quentin Faulkner advised everybody to play. V: For professionals, I think one month before is acceptable. A: And that’s what we did—we had to play entire program one month before in public. V: But for people who are still learning, I think two months before the public performance, you have to play the run through. A: Because you always have to take in mind that things might happen. You might get sick for a week or two or something might happen, accident, whatever. And expect it work, jobs and all kinds of complication. So in that way if you will be ready in advance, you will not be so much stressed out. V: What to you mean by run-through? Is you have to play your entire program? A: Without stopping, from beginning to the end. V: In concert tempo? A: Yes. V: With as many mistakes as you like—it doesn’t matter. A: Well, but if you will make mistakes in every measure that means that you are not ready to play through. V: But, well, within reason... A: I don’t agree with you... V: Without reason. A: By mistakes. V: But do you even imagine that the person would make mistake in every measure, and still would play in a concert tempo? I couldn’t imagine it. A: Well, you know, miracles happen, as we daily say on our podcast. V: If you could play your program in a concert tempo, then feel free to make mistakes. A: I have seen people who are very self-conscious and that are very sort self-confidence. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And you never know who you are talking to. And sometimes people are very having very good, very high opinion about themselves and sometimes another way, so… V: Oh! You mean that things that we are talking right now, would be perceived differently by other people. A: That’s right. V: By different people... A: That’s right. V: Differently. A: Yes. V: When I say, ‘please do as many mistakes as you like’, then that person would really play absolutely horribly but still think ‘oh, Vidas let me play with mistakes.’ A: So don’t tell that because you need to do as little mistakes as you can. That’s the purpose. V: For me, the purpose is to play in concert tempo, and within reason to make mistakes. I mean not to focus on the mistakes, but focus on the tempo, and then you will have two months to reduce those mistakes. A: Well, but anyway, what I’m talking about and what I’m keeping in mind and what is very important for me that, if I play a recital and I’m really ready for it, I know that I did what I could… V: Mmm-hmm. A: And then let’s say something will happen to me during recital—some unexpected mistakes, or I don’t know, the organ would break or something else—then I would just know that I did what I could and know what happens, just happened. And I would be sort, well… V: Pleased. A: Pleased, yes. But if I wouldn’t be ready for recital for some reasons and I would do a sloppy job then I would feel really guilty. V: By this time probably our listeners are wondering, ‘what did Paulius play?’, right? We’re talking about recital and they don’t know what he performed. So, the first piece on the program was Nun komm, BWV 599 from the Orgelbuchlein by Johann Sebastian Bach. A: And I think the next two pieces also were from the same collection. V: Right. Then the second was BWV 600. If the first was BWV 599 then the next one in the program was in order—600, and then BWV 601. All three of them together. And then Paulius played Nun komm, der Heiden Heiland... A: ... From the Leipzig collection. V: Exactly! From eighteen great chorales, BWV 659, I believe, where the choral melody is in the right hand, ornamented, the famous advent choral. And then, what came next? A: Demessieux V: Jeanne Demessieux. Also ornamented choral on Rorate Coeli. A: That’s right. And then he did his own improvisation, which I think was the best on the program. V: Uh-huh. And the themes for this improvisation was also advent hymns. A: Then then he finished with a toccata, French style toccata by... V: Eh, Carter. A: Carter. V: Mmm-hmm. A: It came from the Oxford Collection of Christmas music. V: Yes. So it took about 25 minutes… A: Yes. V: To perform. It... A: Well actually, he had to take less than 25 minutes because I believe that that last toccata by Carter was performed probably, I would not say maybe double as slow as it should be, but maybe one-third slower than it should be. V: Was it that obvious? A: Well, in some parts, yes. V: Cause he started normally… A: Because tempo wasn’t steady... V: Slowed down. A: That’s what I noticed in that toccata so… V: Uh-huh. A: You just felt that organ is controlling him, not he is controlling things. V: But Orgelbuchlein chorales were performed, I think, well, A: Yes. That’s true. V: All three of them. A: That’s true. Not the last one from the last Liepzig collection. V: Herr Christ, der einge Gottes-Sohn, BWV, 601 Paulius played it many years ago, and it repeated it just for this performance, and was feeling very shaky the night before about it. So I was kind of really surprised that he managed to play it very well. A: It’s not an easy choral. V: Especially if you don’t play it with care and precision. A: It’s the first Orgelbuchlein choral that I have learned in my life. V: Maybe it was one of his firsts, too, when he was studying with me. But that was like at the beginning of our friendship so right when we returned from the United States. A: That’s right. V: In 2007. A: But in general I think that he has a great potential and he showed it on this recital. V: Mmm-hmm. A: I’m just sorry that he doesn’t feel very well himself… V: I think… A: And he knows why, but… V: I think that Nun komm, BWV 659 from Leipzig collection, could have been played even better because he messed up a little bit in ornamented places. He didn’t sometimes know how to perform correctly ornaments. And the easiest way to do this is just to listen to my… A: To listen to recordings. V: To my recording for example. I’m not being very… A: ‘To my recording’... There are wonderful recordings by other organists. V: Wait a second… I’m not being very, what is this word I’m looking for—modest, right, Ausra? A: That’s right? V: But that’s because he’s playing… A: Everybody noticed. V: But that’s because he’s playing from my fingered and pedaled score. He is using my score so he could listen to my performance on Youtube and that would take him five minutes. A: That’s right. V: Unless he doesn’t like my recording. Then he would need to listen to your recording. A: Have I recorded this choral? I don’t think so. V: Then he could ask you to record it. A: But in general if we are talking about Leipzig collection, this is probably the easiest choral from the Great Eighteen Chorals to play. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And it’s a very good piece if you want something not too complicated and beautiful to play. V: Do you think that Paulius could benefit from harmony studies a little bit more? A: Of course, I think…. V: But was it obvious from listening? A: Well, yes, sometimes yes, because I think he needs, and everybody needs, to play more attention to chord structures, to harmonic structures. Then it will help you to show your audience what is more important and what is less important. V: Well to put it another way, the piece will start to speak to you… A: That’s right. V: In a musical way. A: Because it will help you to internalize it’s structure. V: Maybe it now speaks on emotional level, like it’s beautiful, you feel the flow, you feel mood, but you don’t know what’s happening inside. You don’t know how the composer created it, this piece. I’m not even talking about Bach or Carter—any type of music that you play, if you don’t know what’s going on inside, then you’re missing something, right? So Paulius could really benefit from harmony studies. But in general, to summarize, I was really pleased. I thought that he has great potential, considering the circumstances that he was in. So Paulius, if you listening to this, don’t stop. Continue practice. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen! |
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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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