Secrets Of Organ Playing Podcast

This question was sent by Jay, and he writes: Hymns for church service on Sunday. Trying to get to the point where I know the music well enough, to recover quickly if (or when) I mess up.

This time, Colin writes: "Thank you for the bonus materials for the Pedal Virtuoso Master Course, I shall look forward to working on them."

This question was sent by Irineo. He writes: Hello back there maestro! Now that was an interesting discussion you had. But I wonder, which other clefs are there besides two G, two C, and one F? Those are the ones I’m familiar with. And while transposing, you mean when you’re writing a score or improvising? Thank you. Very truly yours, Irineo

This question was sent by Damian, and he writes: Hi Vidas, I've been catching up on podcasts lately and I'm very pleased that you've touched the topic of my little device. It is a very simple solution from the technical side and there is nothing revolutionary in it, maybe only the application is unusual ;) In Poland, displaying song text in churches is very popular, at least in my area there is a display in every church. The ways are different, from the old school slide projector, through the large TV, to the LED displays, assembled by specialized companies in this field. I also know that in some regions of the country the organist only displays the number of the song, and people have the books in which they find the text. A separate topic is how much such displays help in singing. Decades ago, we didn't have such inventions, and people sang much better. It was because they wanted to sing and sang a lot, and what follows, they knew the lyrics by heart. I do not know how it is in Lithuania, but in Poland,

I started hymn improvisation week 5 where I am playing 8th against the hymn tune. I am just not sure what exactly the notes should be apart from the fact that the notes on the beat should be consonant. Do they have to be steps or can you jump up and down? (Ariane)

This question was sent by May, and she writes: Thank you Vidas for sending me this video. I didn't have a chance to watch it yet. The harmony course is challenging enough for me. It's like a brain exercise. With the S-D transposing sequences, I have to first figure out what key it lands on at a major 3rd interval. Then which key is its subdominant and which key is its dominant. I took a long time before I could run through each of the 6 sequences from C major, a minor, Bb major and g minor three times without making mistakes. Today, I just finished watching the week 7 video. I think I have to postpone the sight reading course until after I finished with the harmony course (hopefully in 6 weeks). Otherwise I would not have time to prepare or the music in lent. Actually, how much time we should be spending each day to work on these exercises in order to accomplish the improvement you expect? I guess I can use the pedals with the week 7 exercises. Perhaps I should say I have to use pedals for the bass b

This question was sent by Colin. And he writes: Dear Vidas, Firstly, I’m sorry if you have already received the following message. My computer is playing up and I’m having difficulty in sending and receiving some emails. Thank you for your Pedal Virtuoso Master Course. For some strange reason, I have been unable to download the material of the final lesson. A bit of background about me: I’m retired and I have played the organ for very many years. However, the demands of my job and family have meant that I have not been able to practice regularly, with the inevitable result that my skills have deteriorated. I’m arthritic and find it difficult to move joints easily, especially the ankles and hips. I try to practice your course regularly though I have not been able to progress from week to week as rapidly as I should like. I see no virtue in going on to the next lesson until I feel like I have mastered the current one. I’ve found the sessions on arpeggios etc. particularly helpful, and I feel that I’m begin

@laputis and I today visited our friend organist Paulius Grigonis (@pauliakaz) at his church where we showed him the photos from our recent concert trip to the French Alps. He in turn gave us coffee and cake. Before we left, I asked his permission to sit down on his organ bench and record this training. I wanted to show you guys how to harmonize C major scale in 4 voices - soprano, alto, tenor and bass. Let me know what you think.

This question was sent by Dieter. He writes: In Bach’s Two Part Inventions, if I were to move some of the left hand parts to the pedal, how would I set about that?

Blue Jay (Organ Improvisation) - My entry for Whaleshares Open Mic Contest Week 24 by Vidas Pinkevicius

Mont Blanc (Organ Improvisation) by Vidas Pinkevicius

Adagio from Brandenburg Concerto No. 1, BWV 1046/2 by J.S. Bach by Vidas Pinkevicius

Trying out the organ at Alpe d'Huez.mp4 by Vidas Pinkevicius

Preparing for Mass at Alpe d Huez by Vidas Pinkevicius

This question was sent by May, and she writes: Hi Vidas, Thank you for sending me the week 6 Harmony material. I have been working hard (and struggling) with the chords, the progressions and the sequences in the past 2 weeks. I find it most difficult to play with hands only using 2 right hand fingers and 2 left hand fingers. It is easier to play with left hand doing the bass only and right hand playing the triad (chords in closed positions). Playing the bass with the pedal is also much manageable than playing with 2 fingers from each hand. It takes a long time to go through the exercises first with hands only and then with pedals together. Shall I practice with hands only, with hands and pedals, or both? What do you suggest? I am working on the sight reading master course at the same time. I struggle with the rhythms in week 3 day 2's triplets. I could never play a triplet with one hand and four 16th notes with the other hand together. If I assign 12 units to each quarter note, each note of a triplet will

This question was sent by Tim, and he writes: Dear Vidas, The course is working out fine for me, and I’m able to keep up to date with it. Sometimes, I do a few days ahead, depending on work commitments. I usually use a tempo of around crotchet = 16, and I find I am able to get all the articulation correct in all of the parts. Looking forward to the rest of it. Kindest regards, Tim.

This question was sent by Jeremy, and he writes: Played for church this morning. Krebs e minor prelude and fugue for prelude, accompanied a handbell piece on the organ and ended with Piece Heroique of Franck. Standard hymns and some piano playing in there as well. I did improvise a bit today during the passing of the piece. Played through a hymn, then tried to improvise a canon between the soprano and tenor over a pedal tone while keeping the alto the same. I thought it worked pretty well.

Today, instead of a podcast conversation I would like to share with you my newest organ demonstration I just did for a group of 5th graders from Vilnius International School in English. On the Klais organ at Lutheran church was my colleague Dovile Savickaite and I talked about the pipe organ, J.S. Bach and his music. Let me know what you think.

This question was sent by Jeremy, and he is on the team who transcribes our fingering and pedaling videos. So, he writes: I have been struggling with the Bach Dorian Fugue. The notes for the most part are there at half speed, but getting it up to speed has been… difficult. This being said, I did have a bright moment today that I will verify tomorrow by phone. I am learning the Dorian's Toccata and fugue for the AAGO exam in June. As I filled out the paperwork for I thought today, I realized only the Toccata is on the list of pieces. Huzzah! I can almost play that part of it up to speed already!

Sinfonia No. 3 In D Major, BWV 789 By J.S. Bach Slow Practice Tempo by Vidas Pinkevicius