Sinopsis
Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast and #AskVidasAndAusra.Conversations about all things organ playing. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene talk with experts from the organ world - concert and church organists, improvisers, educators, composers, organ builders, musicologists and other people who help shape the future of our profession.
Episodios
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SOPP749: Is it worth reading treatises about historical performance practice?
15/10/2025 Duración: 20minWelcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 749! Today let's discuss the question if it worth reading treatises about historical performance practice?Here you will find all my scores: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/category/arrangeme/?q=Secrets+of+Organ+Playing&aff_id=454957Secrets of Organ Playing Mug: https://www.zazzle.co.uk/z/abykn9us?rf=238366920809443329You can support this channel by becoming a member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/joinIf you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduoPayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkeviciusWe support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/enMy Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.htmlTotal Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organistSecrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.ltListen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqR
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SOPP748: How do you choose your keys for your pieces?
08/10/2025 Duración: 18minWelcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 748! Today's question was sent by our friend Rien Schalkwijk and he writes:How do you choose your keys for your recent piece for instance. And how do you choose the modulations in a piece? Next to that I’m intrigued by the style from Ausra where she uses a different key every few bars but it still sounds so smooth.Here you will find all my scores: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/category/arrangeme/?q=Secrets+of+Organ+Playing&aff_id=454957Secrets of Organ Playing Mug: https://www.zazzle.co.uk/z/abykn9us?rf=238366920809443329You can support this channel by becoming a member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/joinIf you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduoPayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkeviciusWe support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/enMy Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.htmlTotal Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.orga
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SOPP747: Can digital piano help learn to play the organ?
01/10/2025 Duración: 20minWelcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 747! Today's question was sent by Guilhermeand he writes:Hi Vidas,I probably won't be able to properly answer these questions, so I apologise in advance for a possibly long email which might not have much use. It's also a bit to help me organise my thoughts.I'm from Portugal (a village close to Porto). I played the organ in church when I was a teenager and into my early 20s. But, like many things I did back then, I wasn't taking it seriously. A few years earlier I started by learning a bit of the piano, and then switched to the organ. But ultimately the only thing I was doing was playing the melody with the right hand and the chords with the left hand, and I never cared at all about the pedals. So I never really evolved from that basic level, until eventually I left the country.After living in a few countries in Europe, I'm currently living in Kraków, Poland. Perhaps it's the midlife crisis, but I recently became interested in pia
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SOPP746: How to avoid mistakes in organ practice
24/09/2025 Duración: 14minWelcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 746! Today Ausra and I will talk about how to avoid mistakes in organ practice. Hope you will enjoy it!Here you will find all my scores: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/category/arrangeme/?q=Secrets+of+Organ+Playing&aff_id=454957Secrets of Organ Playing Mug: https://www.zazzle.co.uk/z/abykn9us?rf=238366920809443329You can support this channel by becoming a member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/joinIf you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduoPayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkeviciusWe support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/enMy Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.htmlTotal Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organistSecrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.ltListen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBco
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SOPP745: How can I improve fingering in general without using annotated scores?
17/09/2025 Duración: 18minWelcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 745! This question was sent by Dawn who is our Total Organist program member and she wants to know how can she improve fingering in general without using annotated scores?Here you will find all my scores: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/category/arrangeme/?q=Secrets+of+Organ+Playing&aff_id=454957You can support this channel by becoming a member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/joinIf you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduoPayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkeviciusWe support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/enMy Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.htmlTotal Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organistSecrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.ltListen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg#secretsoforg
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SOPP744: How to find joy and motivation in organ playing again
10/09/2025 Duración: 23minWelcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 744! This question was sent by our good friend James Flores from Australia and who shared some of his feedback on our recent episode talking how much to practice on the organ per day. He writes:"This was a very insightful podcast. For me it's also about deadlines. I think I may have covered this in a video of my own in the past too. The challenge I'm facing now is not about how much to practice, but about how to find joy and motivation in organ playing again."Here you will find all my scores: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/category/arrangeme/?q=Secrets+of+Organ+Playing&aff_id=454957You can support this channel by becoming a member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/joinIf you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduoPayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkeviciusWe support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/enMy Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.htmlTotal Organi
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SOPP743: The dream I have for organ playing is how to improvise and transpose hymns with ease
03/09/2025 Duración: 17minWelcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 743! This question was sent by David and he writes:Hello Vidas,Thank you for your wonderful advice and tips you give on ‘Secrets of Organ Playing’! I look forward to the articles and appreciate them very much.I have also played the pipe organ for many years and have gone through the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music program. Since getting married over 30 years ago and raising a large family and being a homemaker, my time with music was more spent with our children learning different musical instruments rather than on the organ. Now that they are grown, I am an organist in our church - I really enjoy it! I find you cover many aspects of organ playing very thoroughly in your articles and look forward to your new coaching program! I think the dream I have for playing is how to improvise and transpose hymns with ease. I am wondering how a person can do it with confidence and professionally. That is the only part of my training that was not encouraged and I fe
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SOPP742: How much should you practice organ playing?
27/08/2025 Duración: 14minWelcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 742! Today Ausra and I will talk about an important aspect of organ playing - how much should you practice? Hope you will enjoy it!Here you will find all my scores: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/category/arrangeme/?q=Secrets+of+Organ+Playing&aff_id=454957You can support this channel by becoming a member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/joinIf you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduoPayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkeviciusWe support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/enMy Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.htmlTotal Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organistSecrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.ltListen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg#secretsoforganplaying #vidaspinkevicius #ausramotuza
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SOPP741: My dream is to learn how to play pieces that I love or that are "standard repertoire"
20/08/2025 Duración: 17minWelcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 741! This question was sent by David and he writes:Hello Vidas,Thank you for the email. I am happy to answer the two questions. My dream is to learn how to play pieces that I love or that are "standard repertoire" with confidence and good technique.Three things holding me back are better technique, better ways to learn a piece and playing faster. Most challenging are fingering a piece and ornamentations.I hope this helps.DavidHere you will find all my scores: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/category/arrangeme/?q=Secrets+of+Organ+Playing&aff_id=454957You can support this channel by becoming a member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/joinIf you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduoPayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkeviciusWe support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/enMy Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.htmlTotal Organist - the most comprehensive organ training
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SOPP740: What is the significance, in organ registrations, of grand choeur, grand jeu and plein jeu?
13/08/2025 Duración: 12minWelcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 740! This question was sent by Jeovane and he writes:Hello Vidas, could you help me with a question? What is the significance, in registrations, of Grand choeur, grand jeu and plein jeu? I learned that plein jeu is the combination of all the founds and mixtures; grand jeu the combination of all principals, mixtures and reeds; and grand choeur a organ tutti. Is this correct?Find out more: https://organduo.lt
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SOPP739: My organ teacher taught me various ways to orient myself while playing the pedals
06/08/2025 Duración: 13minLet's start episode 739 of Secrets of Organ Playing podcast. This question was sent by Tamsin Jones and she writes:My organ teacher taught me various ways to orient myself and to find notes while playing the pedals, such as finding the gaps between black keys or brushing up or down to the next note. However, my intuition is telling me that at some point I need to begin playing mainly by internalised knowledge of where the notes are; in other words, the techniques are starting to feel like training wheels that I'd need to jettison in order to play faster and more fluently. Could I please have your thoughts on this topic?During those 10000 hours you have to make decisions about what to focus on. I watch videos of concert organists and they don't seem to be playing by feel, but rather by spatial awareness. However, perhaps they're using touch in a highly efficient way that's not detectable by camera. If it's by spatial awareness, when does a player make the change and is it something tha
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SOPP738: Did the Soviets allow sacred music?
30/07/2025 Duración: 14minLet's start episode 738 of Secrets of Organ Playing podcast. This question was sent by Jeovane and he asks:Did the Soviets allow sacred music? This question reminds me of Arvo Part’s Credo, banned for "political provocation".Hope you will enjoy the conversation!
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SOPP737: Do you also compose for others, after their wishes?
22/07/2025 Duración: 14minLet's start episode 737 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Kathrin and she writes:Do you also compose for others, after their wishes? Do you get such requests sometimes?For what instruments do you compose beside the organ or piano?Hope you will enjoy it!
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SOPP736: Advice about my situation as a passionate organist with health problems
16/07/2025 Duración: 12minLet's start episode 736 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Alessandro and he writes:I am writing to you to ask for advice about my situation as a passionate organist with health problems. I suffer from diabetes, therefore I have problems with the pedalboard to find the notes due to the decrease of the sense of position, typical of the disease. I also have vision problems with difficulty reading the three staves at the same time. I had built in the past, a good repertoire, even done some recitals. Now I feel like I have lost everything. I was already a slow learner, now it takes me a long time to study a piece. In a month I would like to show a friend the first movement of the Eb major Trio Sonata, and the Dorian Toccata by Bach, but the effort and the mistakes are so many, and, if I think that I mastered these pieces, I get discouraged and go days without practicing. I would almost like to start studying (or revising) the organ from scratch because I really like it a lot. I wan
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SOPP735: Ausra, is your technique for composing the same as Vidas?
09/07/2025 Duración: 19minLet's start episode 735 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Dawn and she asks:Ausra, is your technique for composing the same as Vidas?Hope you will enjoy this conversation!Find out more at https://organduo.lt
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SOPP734: Do you have a method not to forget pieces anymore?
02/07/2025 Duración: 15minLet's start episode 734 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Kathrin and she writes:That's a really interesting topic. Can I add a few questions?- Level 1 - 2 - 3 method sounds plausible. But for me, when a piece really looks like level 1, after practicing for a while, it turns out, it's at least level 2. I never found level 1 pieces.What would you suggest?- First I have to prepare my services. It costs me a lot of time to remember pre- and postludes. When I don't play a piece for a few weeks, I have forgotten it. So I don't have much time to learn new pieces.Do you have a method not to forget pieces anymore?If you liked this conversation, you can buy us some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo
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SOPP733: I have shaking hands and the fear of messing up when playing the organ in public
25/06/2025 Duración: 12minLet's start episode 733 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Ann and she writes:I have a related problem. I also have been working on the E flat trio sonata, and have absolutely loved working on it/playing it. But I played it in a recital recently (one movement) and I played it badly, even though it is great when I play by myself. When I started playing, my hands were actually shaking. This is the second recital this has happened to me in, the first was a Guilmant Finale. I play the piano relatively frequently in public and have never had shaking hands. But when playing the organ, which I've taken up again in the last couple of years after many years off) – the shaking hands and the fear of messing up. I can't take a permanent church job to get in more frequent public playing because of schedule issues. Should I just give up playing in public, or is there a fix for this?Get more organ playing advice at https://organduo.lt
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SOPP732: I think some pieces are just inherently "mismatched" with the performer
18/06/2025 Duración: 24minLet's start episode 732 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. These questions were sent by Rien and Benas and they write:Maybe you could answer this question in a podcast (referring to Benas): with some pieces you “feel” while practicing that everything comes together. And if you are there, you stay there. Even if you don’t play the piece for a while, it still flows (maybe with some light practice) out of your hands in the right way, while other pieces don’t seem to “stick”. What’s the reason? Not enough practice, wrong practice routines? Or just a mismatch between the piece and performer?Benas:Hi, Rien, that's a very interesting topic You've touched upon - yes, I think some pieces are just inherently "mismatched" with the performer (I've had quite a few when I was learning piano in music school), but after a while I tried revisiting them and often found that the issue was the skill level required to play as well as understand the piece. But some of them just can't seem to be done
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SOPP731: Is it a good thing to put your hands on the bench during pedal solos?
11/06/2025 Duración: 17minLet's start episode 731 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Dan and he writes:Interesting podcast episode here, on pedal technique, Vidas. You talk about putting hands on the bench during pedal solos. I’ll often do this, as I’m not playing anything in the manuals. Would you say this is a good thing to do, technically speaking? Or would you advise organists that you’re working with, to keep their hands on the manuals, so they can be ready for when manual parts come back in? Speaking of playing baroque music with toes only, with the Toccata, from BWV 564, and the pedal solo that it has in it, how would you play the part that has triplets in it, as smooth as possible? This is a bit in that pedal solo in that toccata that I've always not gotten as smooth as I’d like it to be, and as smooth as I’ve heard organists generally play it. Find out more at https://organduo.lt
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SOPP730: After learning to play Bach's Trio Sonata in Eb major, I found myself reluctant to try and explore the rest of the Trio sonatas
04/06/2025 Duración: 13minWelcome to episode 730 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast! This question was sent by Benas, our student at Vilnius University organ studio "Unda Maris" and he writes:After learning to play Bach's Trio Sonata in Eb major, I found myself reluctant to try and explore the rest of the Trio sonatas. What could I try to overcome this fear? Last year, I played Bach's Trio Sonata in E-flat major (BWV 525) at Vilnius University Unda Maris Studio Recital in winter. I found the entire learning process extremely difficult compared to any other piece I tried to learn. Usually, when I am learning to play any piece of music, at some point I get a certain feeling that it's all going to come together eventually and that has been a good predictor of whether I will perform it well in the concert. However, with this piece, I could not feel that at all and my concert performance was really not up to my liking, making an underwhelming result after practicing it for about a year (although I must admit, the pra