Secrets Of Organ Playing Podcast

This question was sent by Pieter, and he writes, Dear Vidas, Thank you for your email with week 11 of the sight reading course attached. I am persevering with the daily routine and I notice first of all a much greater stability and confidence with rhythm. Some of the figures in the exercises are complex from a sight reading perspective but this has definitely improved over the weeks. I think notation accuracy was not a major problem for me but I still have to be careful to observe accidentals etc. It is very easy to miss repeated ones. ​I am greatly enjoying the routine of the course and am always a little curious as to what the new challenges will be week on week. I will of course contact you if there are any queries but for now it is all very clear and the approach you take is very logical. My very best wishes, Pieter

This question was sent by Wendy, and she writes: “Hello Vidas, Your organ duet recital was wonderful… so inspiring. You and Ausra are a great team. Many thanks for sharing your huge talents. I am one of 3 organists who play for services at a Catholic church in Ipswich Queensland Australia...St Mary's. My training is as a pianist. I don't have an organ at home and my organ pedal skills are very limited. Enjoy your coffee!! Best wishes, Wendy”

This question was sent by Tim, and he writes: “Dear Vidas Are you able to help me please. I am currently learning the Dubois Toccata in G No 3 and have previously downloaded your fingering and pedaling for the piece. I'm having trouble getting it up to the required speed and wondered if you had any tips to help with this or any other tips or practice ideas that might help. Thank you in anticipation Tim"

This question was sent by Vivien, and she writes: “Thank you so much for your acknowledgment and interest Vidas. Next time I will understand better how to enter the amount of money and make it more in line with the quantity and quality of expert help coming from you and Ausra. Lockdown means no Church Services and so has given me a chance to improve my basic skills instead of being stressed with deadlines. I’m trying to improve my trills and am using a manual piece Jesus, meine Zuversicht, BWV 728. I listen to Wolfgang Stockmeier because I happen to have his CDs, copy him and then record myself. The long trills still sound awkward, but then I found your advice of slow, exact and emphasising every other note which I’ve never read before. Feeling optimistic that this could be a breakthrough. Can’t believe the way that you understand such detailed problems. I hope that you both are coping well in this crisis. Best Regards Vivien”

This question was sent by Jeremy, and he writes, "Now that summer is here, I am excited to get into one of the courses on Total Organist again. Maybe the Couperin Mass or improv mini-course. Either actually as I have just signed up for them…"

This question was sent by Dan, and he writes: “Hi Vidas, I hope you and Ausra are doing well in your part of the world. Things are going well here. I’ve had to stop getting instruction for the time being from the local organist that’s working with me, due to how things are with this world-wide pandemic. I’m still working away here though, on my hauptwerk VPO, and it’s good I’ve got that here to still work on stuff. I’m working on Buxtehude’s prelude, fugue and chaconne in c, BuxWV137, and as well as Carson Cooman’s tuba tune. I think you’ve had Carson on the podcast a couple times. I was going to participate in an organ recital with other organ students from the area I’m in, on the 28th of March, and play the Grand Choeur in B-flat major by Dubois, but that got postponed as well. I notice you’ve gotten into Hauptwerk as well, which is cool. What’s the sample set you’re using? it sounds like a nice one, that I might be interested in getting a hold of. A link to it would be appreciated. Take care, a

This question was sent by Ruth, who is our Total Organist student, and she writes: “I am learning a lot about new ways of playing organ, etc. from taking this course. This must be one of the finest courses of its kind on the Internet. Please recall though that some of us are still learning like "wee kids" about the new ways you and others have of using electronic methodology and media. Please hold on to your patience and call forth your skills for teaching us. Thanks. Blessings. Ruth”

This question was sent by María de Jesús Redentor. And Maria writes, "Good evening, Vidas. My goal in learning to play the organ is to play during the liturgical celebrations and I would like to focus on that. In addition, I would like to get to know the organ registration, as well as improvisation and improvised accompaniment, and also the possibility of performing pieces, especially in the Baroque and Classicist style. My obstacles are: 1) I am a beginner organist and I do not have much practice. 2) Because of my personal situation I do not have a lot of time to exercise and I cannot commit myself to systematic and conscientious exercise. 3) What I want to add is that I still have difficulty in performing typical organ pieces with a pedal. Using the opportunity, I would like to thank you very much for this possibility to learn playing the organ online and for very practical and helpful instructions. María de Jesús Redentor"

This question was sent by Bill. And he writes, "I put in 15-30 minutes a day working on the sight reading course. I've been working on BWV 543 Bach Prelude & Fugue in A Minor mostly beyond that. Two things that frustrate me are it takes me about 3 months to learn these big fugues (practicing about 1.5 hours/day) and the playing the strings of 32nd notes evenly at high tempo. Any suggestions to speed up learning and play better at high tempos would be appreciated. I do like the sight reading course, it certainly has me reading better! Regards, Bill"

This question was sent by Amir, and he writes: “Hi Vidas Thanks for your email What I have now in my schedule is a daily time to practice sight reading. It does not take more than 15 minutes daily. At the same time I am redoing the exercises I have done 10 weeks ago. I find that looking at the same things again after 10 weeks of doing them, gives me more confidence that things are getting better. Most important benefit is for me to be regular in the sense of the beat pulse, and I think this is not beneficial for sight reading only but for music interpretation in general. It is better to do an intended "rallentando" than to slow down because the passage is just difficult. In addition these exercises are allowing me to predict to a certain extent my capabilities to keep a steady tempo in a piece of music. Looking at difficult passages and to have a certain estimation about how things can go, can help me to be steady. Changing to unexpected notes and rhythms is always tricky. Hoping that I am getting better

This question was sent by Giovanni. And he asks, How much is the price of an organ for a home, and where can I buy one? Our Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.html

This question was sent by Graham. And he writes, "Hi Vidas, First I would just like to say thank you for your informative videos on playing and teaching the organ. Your passion and insights are much appreciated. 1. I'll mention that I am a complete beginner to playing the organ despite my musical background. I am actually a jazz guitar player who is studying music at university but who has long been passionate about Baroque organ music as well as jazz organ and I decided to start learning recently. Although it isn't serious right now (but I practice a lot) I would love to be able to one day play some of North German music such as Bach or Buxtehude and develop a good pedal technique. For now I only have access to an electric organ (I have a spinet with 13 pedals) but will try to get a Hammond with 25 pedals for practice. So in short I would say my dream would be to become fluent in some North German repertoire (and maybe the opportunity to one day actually play it on a real pipe organ haha). 2. - First l

This question was sent by Hervey, and he writes: “1. My dream for organ playing: To be able to play with above average results for an audience. 2. The three most important things holding me back: a. Not good enough at reading notes. b. Have to memorize music before it can be played. c. I consciously play every note instead of letting it flow freely from the mind.”

This question was sent by Amir. He’s taking our Organ Sight-Reading Master Course. And when I asked him how his organ playing is going so far, he writes: “It was not that bad, my main difficulty are the unexpected changes in rhythms and jumping notes.”

This question was sent by Justina. And she writes, Hello, my name is Justina Pupeikytė and my dream is to get into the Royal Academy of music and after that become a professional organist. But there are few things that are keeping me down. I have very poor sight reading skills and weak transposition. I also learn musical pieces slowly. I am not talking about slow tempo while playing that concerns me, but the time that it takes for me to learn the piece and it's long. Can you help me? Thank you.

This question was sent by Ruth. And she writes, Hi Vidas, I am in the process of memorizing a piece, based upon what I am learning in this course! I am also trying to keep in touch with members of my church, because we did not meet last week.

This question was sent by Maureen. And she’s our Total Organist student. And she writes, Hi Vidas, The concern with the coronavirus is ratcheting up as you will know. Scotland is beginning to grow concerned and lockdown is being implemented for next week. I thought it would be a great opportunity to play as often as possible during the time when this happens here in Scotland. I would like to study the Bach Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532 and BWV 552 (this is Prelude and Fugue in Eb Major). Is this fingered for purchase by any chance? I would love to purchase it if it is. Thank you, Appreciatively, Maureen

This question was sent by Amir, and he writes: “I think you surely heard this question before. What is the rule regarding accidentals if a note with an accidental is to be held for more two bars and after that it is repeated in the second bar, should the note change as an accidental be repeated in the second bar (in case that there is no sign of an accidental) or it is to be omitted? Thanks Amir” 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 anyt

This question was sent by John, and he writes: “I'm wondering if you could help with selecting the next piece I should learn, and give a ranking to the difficulty of these pieces. As you know I'm at a beginner/intermediate level, there's no way I can tackle a large Bach fugue. I know I should learn some French repertoire, but that is also a challenge with finger technique and playing fast passages. Let me know what you think. - BWV 547 Prelude in C major (Prelude only) - BWV 546 Prelude in C minor (Prelude only) - BWV 578 The Little Fugue in G minor - Fanfare by Lemmens - Noel X by Daquin Feel free to suggest any other pieces I should have in my next wish list! I am also hoping to spend some time preparing a basic composition or improvisation for Easter, perhaps on the Hymn tune ‘Christ the Lord is risen today’.”

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: Let’s start episode 585 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by James. And he writes, Hi Vidas, James here from Rustington, England. Hope you are keeping well. Just getting ready for the first ever UK National Organ Day on April 18, when we'll be opening our church for the morning and hoping to welcome visitors- not least young ones- to explore the 'Hidden Mysteries of the Pipe Organ' with demonstrations, powerpoint presentations, to have a go themselves and play nursery rhyme tunes in a group on hand-held pipes if the