Secrets Of Organ Playing Podcast

This question was sent by Sally, and she writes: I worked on registration for my prelude this weekend and practiced one of the Hymns. I also worked on the Beginning Pedal studies, Day 5, and reviewed Days 1 through 4. These are a struggle for me because I am trying to following the pedal markings and am not comfortable with thirds. I don't usually want to do them with the same foot (either toe/heel or heel/toe) as I am not very accurate. The pedal studies are forcing me to work on that technique. I also tend to not use my left foot on the upper right side of the pedal board, so I am working on this as well.

This question was sent by Leon. And he writes: Dear Ausra and Vidas, Remind your students of Dupré 79 Chorals, a very useful set. I’m almost halfway through it and he gives the difficulty level on the last page of his introduction. Grace and peace, Leon

Tuning Pedal Trompete 8 Tenor D Pipe by Vidas Pinkevicius

Dies sind die heilgen Zehn Gebot, BWV 635 by J.S. Bach Slow Practice Tempo by Vidas Pinkevicius

Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 634 by J.S. Bach Slow Practice Tempo by Vidas Pinkevicius

Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 633 by J.S. Bach Slow Practice Tempo by Vidas Pinkevicius

Costa And Cat Woman (Organ Improvisation) by Vidas Pinkevicius

Victor - Iron Man (Organ Improvisation) by Vidas Pinkevicius

Sitting on the organ bench by Vidas Pinkevicius

Let’s start question number 407, sent by Jeremy. And he asks about transposing: "I'm taking two lines from a hymn every day and taking it through the circle of fifths."

This question was sent by Justin, and he writes: ​Hi Vidas and Ausra, Greetings from Australia. I’m wondering if you know of any settings of the psalms for liturgical use in Lithuanian? Ideally I’m looking for the responsorial psalms for Sundays only for all three years. I would be grateful for any advice you may have. Regards Justin

This question was sent by Ariane, and she writes: I started with week 3 of my hymn improvisation course and tried to play my current organ pieces at a faster tempo (which I saw on YouTube- St. Sulpice...). But when I play faster it just sounds rushed, irregular and without any real feeling.

And today, I’d like to read some of the feedback we received about the Total Organist program, because I asked recently this question of our members: “How do you like Total Organist, so far?” And, Ariane, Jeremy and Ruth replied with their comments. Ariane: I love the program! I feel very much at home with the organist community and feel that my practicing and learning matters. I am working my way slowly through a couple of courses and the nice thing is I can totally work at my own pace. Thanks Ausra and Vidas! Jeremy: It is fantastic to have a community which understands the issues of being an organist, finding practice time, and the work of preparation for services and music. Ruth: Total Organist means a great deal to me. It is putting me in touch with musicians around the world. It is stimulating through its presentations and discussions. I am truly grateful for this experience!

his question was sent by Dianne. And she is our Total Organist student, and she answered my question of what she is struggling with this week. So, she writes: This week I’m making stupid mistakes (and different ones every time). The difficult passages I practice go well, and I mess up on the simple parts. Focus, maybe? I am also getting over some virus thing, and I feel a bit foggy - brained. (More so than usual, anyway. Haha!)

this question was sent by Ariane. And she writes: I would like to finish my pedal course and move on to a hymn improvisation class, perhaps the one on the lowest level - which one would that be?

This question was sent by Sally. And she writes an answer to the question, ‘What did you work on today?’ At the end of each day, students from the Total Organist program, they all get this question, and some of them choose to reply on BaseCamp. So Sally wrote: Unfortunately, nothing. I work during the day as a Software Engineer, and when I got home I was cold and tired. Instead of practicing I ate and slept on the couch all evening. Let's hope I feel more motivated tonight. I need to work on my prelude for this week, and continued work on the pedal studies I started.

This question was sent by Jack. And he writes: Dear Vidas, Today I received "Week 3 of Menuet, Polonaise and March Training". And last week I received "Week 2" But I never received "week 1", so would you send me that? (Frankly, I can't remember ordering this particular course but I welcome it: I am so much enjoying organ playing again thanks to your instructions that I play for hours a day now, really making some progress!) Thank you very much, Jack

This question was sent by Rob and he writes: Dear Vidas and Ausra, I have purchased several of your fingerings of old music and find them extremely useful. When I learned to play the organ in the 60s, I was taught a legato style that, for example, discouraged using the same finger consecutively for different notes. It’s liberating to see you doing this all the time, and your method makes my playing feel more natural and more musical. I have two questions. First, is your fingering method standard for 16th-18th c. organ music or is it to some extent personal? Would you and Ausra, for example, come up with essentially the same fingering for any given early piece? Second, following on from that, how important do you think it is for a student to stick closely to your fingerings? Right now I’m learning Bach’s Passacaglia with your fingerings and I like them a lot. But occasionally they lead to my making mistakes that I wouldn't ordinarily make using a more modern style. For example, in mm. 204-7 during the fu

And this question was sent by Erika. She writes: Pedalboard on the church organ hasn’t been working for a few weeks. I accompany the piano - the piano is the main instrument. But the organ fills in the bass line and adds depth to the sound. So I have had to find another way to bring out the bass to the best of my ability. What I have done during this time is play soprano, alto, and tenor with the right hand and do the bass in octaves with my left hand, keeping it as legato as I can. It’s been a challenge - kinda figuring things out as I go. Thankful that the organ is not the main instrument - it gives me a bit of space to learn this new way of playing and hide my uncertainties. Thankful also that the organ should be fixed soon. But it has been interesting to have to figure out in a different way what the purpose of the organ is at my church and to find another way to accomplish that purpose.

Hanna writes: When you send a music score by email, it says it is free to Total Organist students, but doesn't let me download it. Do I have to go into Total Organist after signing in, and find the music score on the list of available music, then download it there?