Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys! This is Vidas. A: And Ausra. Vidas: Let’s start episode 703 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Pamela, and she has a dream to be the best organist that she can be. And holding her back is playing anxiety, physical stamina, and lack of concentration. Vidas: So, it’s of course very general, Ausra, not very specific. Right? Ausra: Well, yes. Vidas: “The best organist that she can be. What does it mean? Ausra: Well, I think that’s a nice goal, because especially young people often say, “I want to be the best organist in the world,” “I want to be the best organist in the universe,” and I think that she wants to be the best of herself. So, I think she, in putting her goal as this, formulating her goal as this, she knows that she has some sort of limitations, which I think is important, because I think it’s very important to be realistic about ourselves. Vidas: You’re right, but what I meant was, we don’t know what she’s playing. Right? What type of music she’s playing, what type of organ she is playing, so that is why our advice cannot be very specific, and might not work for her. Right? But we will try. Ausra: Yes, and she mentions a few problems, and we can discuss those. For example, anxiety. Yes? Vidas: Mhmm Ausra: So I think in order to beat the anxiety, what you have to do is actually to perform more often for like a real audience. The more often you go public with your playing, the easier it will get, the less anxiety you will get. Vidas: Is it like similar to driving a car, Ausra? Ausra: Yes, I think it’s the same with anything that requires high quality skills, and it’s happening in time. Vidas: In real time! Ausra: In real time, yes. Vidas: The risk of making mistakes is big. Right? The stakes are high. Of course, driving a car, the stakes are higher than making mistakes on the organ. Ausra: Oh yes! Your mistakes will not kill anybody, so… Vidas: Yes, so… but you still can pretend you’re playing it live for an audience, while recording yourself, while giving yourself, let’s say, an opportunity to perform in front of your family or friends, regular opportunities like that. Ausra: And another thing that Pamela mentions is concentration! And I think I will give her one advice that I hope will help for both, for concentration and for performance anxiety, and this is actually breathing, because breathing is crucial while playing. It helps you stay concentrated and will calm you down so you won’t feel such a big anxiety. You won’t be so anxious. So just before starting your public performance, take a few deep breaths, maybe do some relaxation exercises before that and then take a few deep breaths before starting performing, and remember during your actual performance to keep breathing. It’s very important, because just pay attention to it, because usually people say, “I’m breathing, it’s okay, everything is fine.” But from my experience, I can see that usually people while performing, they don’t breathe as deep and as natural as they should have, because the body gets tense, the muscles get tense, and the people forget to breathe. Vidas: Yeah, it’s a stressful situation, so you tense your shoulders, you raise your shoulders, keep your breathing shallow, and try to rush through that piece as best as you can. Ausra: And you know, the less you breath, the worse your performance will become, because you will get anxious, you probably might make mistakes, most mistakes make you even more anxious, and you, of course, with lack of oxygen, your brain will lose your concentration! You won’t be able to stay focused and relaxed and to do what you have to do. Vidas: She also mentions physical stamina as the challenge holding her back. Stamina means working for longer hours. Right? Playing for longer periods of time. Ausra: Well, you know, we all are sort of not perfect with our physical conditions, so… we all have our own mountains to reach and to climb, so, some people have short legs, short arms, some have too long legs and arms, some have spine problems, back problems, some people have had strokes, cannot move one of the hands or legs equally, so we all have to do the best we can. But actually physical exercises might help, too! Like do some yoga, some Pilates, and do some breaks during your practice hours, because if you’re thinking you will just sit down on the organ bench and do like four hours of practice without stopping, then no, you cannot do that. Even if you don’t have any disabilities, you still have to do breaks and to rest and relax your muscles and relax your mind, do some exercises and do some breathing exercises and to find what works out for you. Vidas: I think the Pomodoro technique works very well in order to figure out when to take a rest. The Pomodoro technique basically can be applied to any type of activity and it lets you practice for 25 minutes at a time, and then you take a 5 minute break, and then again practice for 25 minutes, and then again a 5 minute break. So then those practice activities can be done 4 times for 25 minutes plus a 5 minute break. But then after that, if you still want to practice, you have to take your break longer than 5 minutes. It’s a half and hour break. And then you can start your practice session all over again for 25 minutes with a 5 minute break. So that’s how it works. After 2 hours, you have to have a longer break, basically. 30 minutes. And there are timers to really time your activities and rests for that. You can find your own version of a timer. Ausra: That’s a very good advice! Vidas: Yeah. I, of course, forget that, but on a good day, I apply that and try to take frequent rests. You know, if you take a rest when you are still not tired, you will never get tired! Right, Ausra? Ausra: Oh yes, that would be nice. Vidas: That’s the main idea of the Pomodoro technique, because after 25 minutes, you are not still very tired. A lesson is 45 minutes long, sometimes even an hour. What is a 25 minute interval? After a long piece practice session, you can have 2 or 3 runs of the same piece, and 25 minutes would be over. Right? And then you can take a break without actually feeling too tired. So that’s my advice to Pamela about physical stamina. Take frequent breaks and maybe take advantage of the Pomodoro technique. Okay, was it useful for you guys? Please let us know! And if so, please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, Ausra: Miracles happen! V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: : If you need one-on-one coaching, you can check out our page on Buy Me a Coffee platform: A: Find out more at https://buymeacoffee.com/organduo
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Happy organ duet music today! Hope you will enjoy Duetto VII in A Major by Samuel Wesley which Vidas and I recorded at Vilnius University St. John's church. I love classical Wesley's style. It's no coincidence because he was called English Mozart! Score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/vierhndige-orgelwerke-sheet-music/21723424?aff_id=454957 We support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/en If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo PayPal: https://PayPal.Me/ausramotuzaite My Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.html Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organist Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.lt Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2pXxZgiFPMKiqBRYi9rSLT?si=Xe1nTroTSmOGPtv8bP8MSw Something very warm and unbelievably dreamy today! In this video I'd like to share my rendition of Visione, Op. 156 No. 5 by Joseph Rheinberger which I recorded on our new reed organ at the church. This A.J. Spencer's reed organ (7 stops, 2 manuals and pedals), model "University Organ", No. 2170 from 1929 was recently donated to Vilnius University and placed at VU St. John's church. The instrument was beautifully restored by M.A.M. Fisharmonie i Organy (Marcin Majak and Jakub Wszołek) from Gdansk, Poland in December 2022-January 2023. Hope you will enjoy it! Score: www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/12-characterpieces-op-156-sheet-music/19498701?aff_id=454957 We support Ukraine: www.blue-yellow.lt/en If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo PayPal: PayPal.Me/VPinkevicius My Hauptwerk setup: www.organduo.lt/tools.html Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: www.organduo.lt/total-organist Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! organduo.lt Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg In this video, I explore the intricacies of one of J.S. Bach's most iconic compositions, the Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 546. Through detailed analysis and musical examples, I examine how Bach constructed this masterpiece and the techniques he used to create its powerful and complex sound. Whether you're a seasoned musician or simply a fan of classical music, this video provides a fascinating glimpse into the genius of Bach and the art of composition. Join me as I dive into the world of Bach and uncover the secrets of his music. Score with fingering and pedaling: secrets-of-organ-playing.myshopify.com/products/bwv-546-with-fingering-and-pedaling?_pos=1&_sid=d359b66db&_ss=r We support Ukraine: www.blue-yellow.lt/en If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo PayPal: PayPal.Me/ausramotuzaite My Hauptwerk setup: www.organduo.lt/tools.html Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: www.organduo.lt/total-organist Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! organduo.lt Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/2pXxZgiFPMKiqBRYi9rSLT?si=Xe1nTroTSmOGPtv8bP8MSw Welcome to this video where I'll be showing you 10 steps in achieving a fast tempo in the famous piece "Carillon de Westminster" by Louis Vierne on the A.J.Spencer's Reed Organ at Vilnius University St. John's Church. As one of the most challenging and thrilling pieces in the organ repertoire, "Carillon de Westminster" requires great technical skill and musicianship to master. But with these 10 steps, you'll be well on your way to achieving the concert tempo that this piece demands. Throughout this video, I'll be breaking down each step and providing tips and tricks to help you improve your playing. From practicing slowly and gradually increasing the tempo to perfecting your fingerings and working on your pedal technique, you'll learn everything you need to know to play "Carillon de Westminster" with speed and precision. Whether you're a seasoned organist or just starting out, this video is sure to provide you with valuable insights and techniques to improve your playing. So, sit back, grab your sheet music, and let's dive in! Score with fingering and pedaling: secrets-of-organ-playing.myshopify.com/products/carillon-of-westminster-by-louis-vierne?_pos=5&_sid=ac4f89bad&_ss=r We support Ukraine: www.blue-yellow.lt/en If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo PayPal: PayPal.Me/VPinkevicius My Hauptwerk setup: www.organduo.lt/tools.html Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: www.organduo.lt/total-organist Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! organduo.lt Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg In recent graduation ceremonies at Vilnius University St. John's church I played some nice majestic processionals and recessionals. Today I'd like to share a little compilation video. Hope you will enjoy them! Score: imslp.org/wiki/The_Organist_(Various) We support Ukraine: www.blue-yellow.lt/en If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo PayPal: PayPal.Me/VPinkevicius My Hauptwerk setup: www.organduo.lt/tools.html Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: www.organduo.lt/total-organist Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! organduo.lt Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg When Vidas and I were preparing for our recent recital at Vilnius St. Casimir's church, we had a chance to record some music too. In this video, I'd like to share with you this beautiful Schmücke dich, o meine Seele by Georg Philipp Telemann. This chorale prelude has two settings - a fugal chorale for 3 voices and a bicinium alio modo. In the fugal chorale cantus firmus is presented in the tenor part and in the bicinium - in the soprano part. Hope you will enjoy it! 00:00 Fugal chorale 04:10 Bicinium alio modo Score: www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/choralvorspiele-sheet-music/2424470?aff_id=454957 We support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/en If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo PayPal: https://PayPal.Me/ausramotuzaite My Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.html Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organist Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.lt Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/2pXxZgiFPMKiqBRYi9rSLT?si=Xe1nTroTSmOGPtv8bP8MSw This is a meditation on the hymn tune Bachofen, Op. 219 created for 2 treble instruments of any kind and an organ with two manuals and pedals in the key of F major. The tune is presented in the first solo treble instrument part. The other parts play interesting ostinato figures. This piece will be very effective in liturgical organ playing and recital programs. I recorded demo using Sibelius and Hauptwerk VST link with Salisbury sample set. Score: www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/meditation-on-bachofen-op-219-2-treble-instruments-and-organ-by-vidas-pinkevicius-digital-sheet-music/22426069?aff_id=454957 We support Ukraine: www.blue-yellow.lt/en If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo PayPal: PayPal.Me/VPinkevicius My Hauptwerk setup: www.organduo.lt/tools.html Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: www.organduo.lt/total-organist Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! organduo.lt Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys! This is Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 702 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Leo, and he writes Good evening, Thanks so much for the fine work that you and your staff render. I am currently moving into a new position as organist for the Second Presbyterian Church here in Memphis. I am ecstatic about this amazing opportunity. Are there any secrets or nuggets of wisdom as it pertains to learning difficult pieces quickly. Please advise or share what to purchase on your website. Thank you Leo We already responded privately to Leo, but we thought that it would benefit other people to discuss this question, right? A: Yes, it's a very important question, actually. V: Yeah, if you have an important position and you know that your music responsibility would involve to learn a lot of difficult music very fast, maybe accompaniments, choral accompaniments, pieces with soloists, solo pieces for organ, what do you do, right? What would you do? Any ideas Ausra today? A: Well actually first of all, just keep in mind that not all music that sounds hard is really hard to learn. So you can always search and look for compositions that sound like substantially hard music, but you don’t need much effort to put into that music in order for it to sound well. So, probably you have to select some pieces for playing at church like this. Then another advice would be, when you pick up a new piece, don’t play it from beginning to end. Maybe play it like once from the beginning to end, and then you have to analyze it, and to know what is hard in that piece and what is not as hard. Because even in the hardest piece, all the pages won’t be hard in the same way. There would be easier spots, let’s say like sequences going on, and maybe some pages without pedals, so you wouldn’t need so much time to spend on those, and then each time when you practice, just play through the hard spots first, and don’t play everything from the beginning till the end. That will save you time and make your progress faster. And of course, another advice would be just organize your music well. Because you really don’t have to play everything new every time. When you will build up a significant portion of repertoire, you can start repeating things, exchanging some things, and that will make your life easier, too. What would be your thoughts? V: I want to elaborate a little bit on what you said before about choosing your repertoire wisely, that not all pieces are equally difficult to learn. And it’s true for contemporary repertoire, especially. If you compare it to classical repertoire, Baroque repertoire, or Romantic or even Modern repertoire, standard organ literature, they’re much more difficult than most of contemporary organ composers would write for liturgical purposes. Not necessarily for concert performance, but liturgical purposes. So basically, living composers. And there is a reason for that, because they are practical. They know that their target audience are busy musicians and maybe they have limited skill sets or always need to think about limited practice time, so they want to create the most effective music, but keep it still accessible. When I write music, I also keep that goal in mind, obviously. So if you don’t have lots of time, sometimes picking contemporary works over classical works would be a better choice. But then, you have to be careful about quality. Because time-tested classical works, of course they are quality works. But with contemporary music, you have to select your own pieces and trust your ears, trust your taste, and choose wisely with quality in mind. A: And of course, you know, I think it’s very important to keep sight reading, especially if you are a church musician. Because the more you will sight read, the easier you will learn the new music. V: I agree with that. I think Leo will learn a lot of difficult pieces quickly, because there is no other way around it, yes? Once you are thrown into that situation, as an organist in a large church, then at first it will be difficult, maybe six months or even a year, but I’m sure the second year will be much easier than the first one, right Ausra? A: Definitely. The liturgical calendar, it will repeat the next year. V: Yes. A: And you can just refresh some pieces that you played last year and they will still work nicely for a new year. V: Definitely. So, if you have any other questions, please let us know. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: : If you need one-on-one coaching, you can check out our page on Buy Me a Coffee platform: A: Find out more at https://buymeacoffee.com/organduo In the recent graduation ceremony I decided to play Processional and Gaudeamus igitur anthem in E major key. Hope you will enjoy the beautiful sounds of the elegant organ at the amazing Vilnius University Aula Parva! We support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/en If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo PayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkevicius My Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.html Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organist Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.lt Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg |
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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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