Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 272, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jur. And he writes: My biggest challenge is still to be patient and not rush ahead in a piece before I have mastered it bit by bit. I know this is a very bad habit and this is the reason why I never can play without making mistakes. I am trying to find the discipline! Practising just one piece does get a bit boring so in addition to BWV 639 I have now also started working on BWV 731. I have practised this in the past but with different fingering, I am now relearning it with yours. Best regards, Jur V: So Ausra, Jur is our Total Organist student. A: Yes, he is. V: And it’s very nice that people can take those pieces that we are fingering and pedaling them, and make them their own, right? They can apply to their own situation, and choose according to their level of mastery. A: That’s true. It’s nice when you can have a variety of things to choose from. V: Mmm-hmm. It seems that Jur likes Bach’s music a lot, right? A: True. Because all he talks about is Bach’s music. And I think his chorales is a good start for organists. V: ‘Ich ruf’ zu dir’ only has three parts: soprano part, the middle part played with the left hand and the pedals. They’re really relatively easy. I think it’s probably the most convenient way to start learning Bach’s chorales, or Bach’s music in general. A: Probably yes, because the tempo is slow. V: This was my first practice guide that I created when I started Secrets of Organ Playing back in 2011. So I intentionally first created the Vidor (???), how to master any organ composition, and I taught bit by bit how to master this particular piece. And then three months later I released this practice guide for people. But not only with fingering and pedaling, but I like to do step by step approach, with basically practice schedule. And the fragments that students could master for each day. So in the course of maybe two weeks, someone could learn this piece from our guidebook. A: Yes. So know you talk about BWV 639, and he says that he learned it earlier with his own fingering, and now he is relearning it. So what do you think about relearning pieces? Is it a good way or not a good way, relearning a different fingering? V: It’s been a while since I used somebody else’s fingering. I always create my own fingering, but I can imagine being in Jur’s shoes, or anybody else’s position that use a, let’s say, are used to playing with heels, or with finger substitution. And then he discovers something like my practice guide with a different system. Then, obviously, it takes a while to get used to the new method, right, Ausra? But I think it doesn’t hurt do to this. What do you think, Ausra? A: Well, yes. I remember when before going to study in United States, I played toccata by J.S. Bach, C Major Toccata, Adagio and Fugue. And I played it actually using not only toes, but heels on the pedal. And it think I might [have] used some finger substitutions, especially in the adagio part. But when I played it again in the states with a different fingering and pedaling, using only toes and no finger substitutions, and I think it worked better. V: How did your fingers react at first? Of course you know you have this muscle memory. And when you learn a piece one way, after a while, you come back to this piece, start learning it the new way, the old way sort of is still there. A: It’s was hard. I think it’s harder to relearn piece in a different manner, with a different fingering and pedaling, than to learn a new piece. But I managed it because it’s such a nice piece that you cannot just don’t play it. V: Yeah. You have to always look at your own goals. And if this piece suits your dreams, then you can learn it the right way, even if the old fingering and pedaling was ingrained in your own muscles and body for so long. But it takes open mind, yes? Sometimes, I get comments like, that ‘it’s not possible to play virtuosically, in using toes only’, for example with pedals. And I think we have discussed this earlier, right, on some podcast episode. A: Yes. V: I think it takes open mind. What do you think, Ausra? A: Yes, I think so. You need to be eager to learn all your life. V: And people will say that it’s not possible, from their experiences it’s not possible, right? That’s where they come from. It’s not necessarily true. So his challenge, Jur’s frustrated with practicing a piece, I think too fast, right, before he fully masters is bit by bit. This is a habit that we sometimes all get. A: It’s actually a very common thing. Everybody wants to play faster, very soon. But when you think about the final result, I think it should keep you slowing down and practice slower. V: But people still do it not often enough, right? What’s the main reason for this, Ausra? A: I think everybody wants to get immediate gratification. V: And that’s nothing bad about that, right? A: Yes, it’s nothing bad about that, yes. V: We seek pleasure and try to avoid pain. That’s all we do actually. A: That’s human nature. V: Yeah. Not only human, all living things. Even plants, right, they strive to get to the light because it’s good for them. A: That’s right. V: And they try avoid dark places. But I don’t know how they avoid dark places, (laughs) if people plant them in a dark room. But maybe they can move, you know, when we’re not looking, right Ausra? A: Yes, but I think this practicing slowly, I think we need to keep in mind that bigger, larger picture. That eagle vision, so called. If you would look at the final result from above, then you will find out that slow practice will lead you to that nice final result. V: Mmm-hmm. And this vision is appropriate for big things, for your big goal, right? A: Yes. V: And, what’s the opposite of that, of eagle vision? A: Chicken vision. V: (Laughs). A chicken vision, right? When we seek immediate gratification. A: Yes. V: I see. So, yeah. Probably Jur, and anybody else in his shoes, needs to find a bigger motivation for practicing the right way. Maybe a challenge of some sort. Maybe some public accountability, right Ausra? A: True. V: Maybe, to take it to the next level. If Jur is practicing for his own pleasure or not, but sometimes people get comfortable, or too comfortable in their own practice rooms, right, and only family members can see them, or hear them. Do you think that’s enough? A: Well, it depends on what kind of life you lead. V: Let’s say that a person only does this for a hobby, right, as a hobby. And doesn’t have any dream to play it in public. And the reason I’m advocating for playing in public now is that their playing will improve immensely, right? I understand amateurs and hobbyists. That’s really good. That’s what our organ fans are for. But sometimes you want to improve even more, right? A: True. And then the public performance is [a] very good way to do it, to achieve something. V: Right! And he knows that the reason that he can’t play without mistakes, is probably because he plays the piece too fast right away, and not master it in small fragments, right? So I hope he perseveres, and finds this inner strength to do this right. A: True. V: Let’s wish him well. Thank you guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen!
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Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 249 of Ask Vidas and Ausra podcast. This question was sent by Sarah. She writes: Hi Vidas, My dream for my organ playing: To be confident with articulation, pedals, and registration as I accompany hymns; am I supporting congregational singing? I wish to be an excellent church organist. Three things holding me back: Here, I don't have anything holding me back. I just need to continue to practice, listen, and learn. I have just accepted a position as accompanist at an Anglican church. My background is in...you guessed it: piano and voice. I have had a few organ lessons and have played organ using pieces written for manuals only. I discovered you and am very grateful you are here. I need to put in the time at the organ. This is all doable. I am blessed with a supportive pastor and a beautiful small pipe organ for practice. Thank you for what you are doing. My plan is to work through my basics books and then enroll in your program. Kind regards, Sarah V: So it seems that Sarah is on the right track. A: True, seems like she’s very well organized. She knows what she wants. She has nice surroundings, she has organ, nice pastor support so I think she’s on a good track. V: Of course because her major is voice and piano I think she needs to work on pedal playing more. A: True and on articulation of course because it’s different on the piano and the organ. V: And registration because it’s new. A: True. V: But she knows that already. A: That’s very nice. V: There are not too many people who know what they need, right? Many people know what they want not too many people need to know what they need. Do you think there is a difference between needs and wants? A: Sure, sure. V: What do you need Ausra? A: Many things. V: And what do you want? A: (laughs) Also, many things. V: Same things or different? A: Well probably different. V: Different, yah. And a lot of times when people let’s say come to us with some form of question they write that they want to be such and such organist, to develop these skills and sometimes they don’t realize that they need in addition to that to happen something else too. Right? A: True. V: Because Sarah wishes to be an excellent church organist. That’s her dream in organ playing. And to be that organist she needs to be good with articulation, pedals, and registration in hymn playing because she is a church organist, right? A: True. V: Is there anything else Ausra, that she doesn’t mention here that she needs. A: I think also playing repertoire. V: Ah, you are reading my mind. A: It’s important too because you know any church service does not exist only with hymns because you have to play something at the beginning and at the end and maybe one piece in the middle or maybe two pieces in the middle depending on the service. V: But if you go to any church in Vilnius and count those organists who play the repertoire for prelude and postlude or communion or offering do you think there are five people who do this? A: Probably less than five. V: Right so what are others playing then? A: Well some are doing some kind of hymns. V: Hymn playing, yah. A: True. V: They are singing introductory hymn, opening hymn as a prelude which is not the same, right? And since in Lithuania people in clergy don’t notice, don’t know how to make quality church music. They are satisfied probably, they can’t complain. A: True. But I think that even if you have an opening hymn you still have to have a prelude before it. V: Like introduction. A: Yes. V: So you think Sarah needs to learn how to introduce the hymns then. A: True. Because I think it would be very nice to play some sort of improvising sort of prelude in the same key and the same similar style as the opening hymn. But maybe that would be too much for a beginner, for starters. V: What if she played the first stanza of the hymn without singing, would that be a prelude? A: Sure, why not. You could do that. V: With different registration. A: Yes, yes. V: But of course when you do this often enough and with different types of hymns, little by little this becomes boring to you. A: True. V: So at first Sarah might be satisfied with playing just the hymns but I know that in less than three months she will feel that she needs something else too. To learn to introduce the hymns properly and to create short hymn preludes. A: Well yes and actually you can find even to buy some hymn introductions by other composers that might be suited well for the organist but I think it’s easier to create something on your own. V: Would you buy those collections Ausra, yourself, today? A: If I would be like twenty years ago then yes, I would buy but not now. V: You would introduce yourself. A: True. V: So, do you think Sarah needs to practice hymns and introductions for twenty years before she learns this skill. A: I don’t think so. If I would know so much twenty years ago as I do now I would never do it. V: Uh-huh. So it will come naturally to her if she practices and maybe some creative ways to introduce the hymn. A: Maybe it’s good to study some of examples written by other composers what they have done and maybe she would find some ideas that she could use on her own. V: Don’t you think she could take a look at Orgelbuchlein by Bach. A: Yes, but it might be too complicated. The Orgelbuchlein is quite a source but… V: What specifically is too complex there? A: Well you know thick texture. V: But then she could take a principle like one technique and try to use it in ten or twenty hymns in a row and they she will learn this specific technique with twenty hymns on the spot. That would be very handy skill to have, right? A: Yes. V: OK guys, if you are in Sarah’s situation where you need to transfer your piano skills and singing skills to the organ to accompany hymns and you wish to learn the pedal playing and registration and articulation and you need to learn creative ways to introduce the hymns don’t be afraid to play just in two voices. A: That’s true. V: Soprano and the bass from the hymnal. And soprano could play the normal hymn line, the chorale melody, and the bass, what could the bass do then? Passages then? A: Yes, that’s right. V: What else? Arpeggios? A: Yes. There are many ways to approach it. You can do passages, you can do arpeggios, you could do alberti bass. V: Um-hmm. It would sound like Krebs a little bit. So take a look at what Johann Ludwig Krebs did in his Clavier Übung Part I. A: I think it would be easier for starters to look at Krebs Clavierubung and not probably Bachs Orgelbüchlein. V: Yah, that’s right. They’re more systematic. Thank you guys, this was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Please send us more of your questions, we love helping you grow. And remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen. AVA241: How one knows to play on the manuals or pedals if the notation is not the usual 3 staves?6/28/2018 Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 241 of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. This question was sent by Jan, and She writes: Dear Vidas, Thanks for answering my question. I was just wondering how one knows to play on the manuals or pedals if the notation is not the usual 3 staves. Now I know! Last question...does that then mean that organists also have the discretion of playing other early Baroque pieces (such as Titelouze) on manuals and pedals. I always wondered how my teacher knew what to play when there were only 2 staves and I was asked to play with pedals. V: It’s a complex question, right Ausra? A: Yes, it’s very complex. V: Remember in the 19th Century, Guilmant and other publishers at the time issued lots of early music editions, and many of them were with pedals…. Of early music, right? A: True. V: And today, when we look at that music with fresh eyes, it doesn’t necessarily mean they should be played with pedals. A: That’s right. But, you know, it’s a very complex question as to thought. You need to look at your complete piece of music, actually, and then to decide to play it with the pedal or not. V: And to look at the examples of the instruments of that time and of that period and of that area. A: That’s right, because the best thing would be to know for which organ the piece was intended, actually. V: Let’s say Titelouze, right? It was not like traditional French classic organ, right? Like Cliquot and Dom Bédos wrote about—it’s not like that. It was earlier examples, and of course, fewer capabilities. A: Sure! V: Especially with pedals. A: Sure! And then it depends on the piece. If you see that the bottom voice has many notes, so to say it’s virtuosic, then you will know it is definitely not suited for pedal. V: In general, long notes, such as cantus firmus or chorale melody could be played with pedals to make it more prominent in any voice. This means that if it’s in the bass, you could use a 16’ reed or an 8’ reed, such as a trumpet. If it’s in the tenor you could use an 8’ reed in the pedals. If it’s in the alto, what could you do then? A: Probably still would use 8’. V: But then the range… A: But yes, the range is… V: Maybe 4’ A: Maybe 4’, yes. V: Clairon, right? Or, not necessarily even reed, maybe super octave 4’. A: Yes, that could work, too. V: Or maybe for the soprano, cornet 2’ would work. It was rather common practice to play any voice in the pedal as long as it is a theme, like chorale melody, cantus firmus, and remember who wrote about that? Samuel Scheidt. A: Yes, in his Tabulatura Nova. The preface to his Tabulatura Nova, which comes in three volumes, I believe. So if, for example, we are talking about north German composers, baroque composers, then, of course, you have play the bottom line in the pedal. Because, if you would just look at the north German organs, and also organs in the Netherlands, they have such huge developed pedal towers, that it leaves you no doubt that pedal part was very important in that repertoire. V: Sometimes I even think that this practice could be applied in hymn playing, too. For example, if you have a four part hymn where the melody is in the soprano, you could actually learn the hymn setting in the way that this soprano part could be played with the cornet stop on the pedals. A: But isn’t it hard for you know, let’s say… V: Who said that it has to be easy? A: So now I’m talking about you are making life harder. V: I’m not making it harder for harder’s sake, I’m making it more interesting. A: True. But do you necessarily have to play soprano in the pedal? Is there no other way? V: It’s like transposing a piece in 12 different keys. Isn’t it fun? A: But couldn’t you play on the solo manual with the right hand to make that soprano line, and then alto and tenor in your left hand and the bass line with the pedal? Wouldn’t it be the same effect, but a little bit easier for you? V: Of course, you are right here, unless you want to use a specific stop in the pedals. Maybe you have a beautiful cornet in the pedals of 2’ pitch level, and you want to switch to a more colorful registration. That would be one of the possibilities. A: But don’t you think this cornet stop in the pedal is a very rare case, in general? V: Yes, of course it is very rare. But, maybe you will travel to Germany and play with the instruments there, you know? Maybe you will meet a local organist and he will invite, or she will invite you to try out the Schnitger organ, and what will you play then? A: Well, there are lots of repertoires suited to play on the Schnitger instruments. You could do any piece of Buxtehude, for example. V: Nobody likes my ideas—my crazy ideas. I see! Ok, let’s make it more simple, then. What about playing hymns in four parts, but with double pedals, yes? Yes, I like double pedals. The bass would be played with the left foot, chorale melody would be played with the right foot, and then you would need to add four more parts in the manuals. That would be a six part setting. A: Yes, but when I just imagine that to prepare for a service, it would take forever. I doubt that people have so much time to invest in one hymn. You could do it as an experiment. V: Yes, of course. Whenever I played this… I played some things like that, but I didn’t play for an entire month. I just practiced and see if it’s possible for one service. It was very challenging. But afterwards, my understanding of what’s possible really dramatically changed. A: True, but you know, if we are talking in general about for example Italian music or French music, I mean early music, you can almost avoid the pedal, or to do as little with them as possible. Don’t you agree? V: That’s what Samuel Scheidt wrote, also, in his Tabulatura Nova. Remember, all those pieces are written in two staves, so basically, it could be played with hands only. A: Yes, and it’s very handy, because then you could play them on the harpsichord, too, or only on the positiv organ that doesn’t have pedal. But if you have an organ with pedal, then why not use it as well? V: Right. And the only caveat is to look at the examples from the earlier times that that particular composer perhaps played, so that it wouldn’t sound strange in a modern setting with a modern organ. Thank you guys! We hope this was useful to you. Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 239 of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. This question was sent by Koos and he writes: Hi Vidas, I am an organist that plays mainly organ in church services of a Christian commune in the Netherlands. Also I play at home on a classic digital organ, spiritual classics and music. Baroque and romantic. My biggest wish is that I can improvise. Although I do have time to practice I manage not to learn it. Apart from this wish I would like to be able to play better pedal; I make too many errors. I am searching for organ shoes, but can’t find them in the Netherlands. Also, I am learning to harmonize but that goes slowly. This is what I would like to pass on. Thank you for your articles on playing organ. Koos from the Netherlands. V: That’s a wonderful dream he has, right? A: True, yes. V: To be able to improvise, play better pedals, and learning harmonization. A: True. V: All those things will help one another actually. Harmonization will help to improve improvisation. Improvisation will help improve harmonization. And pedal playing will help to improve improvisation as well. A: Yes, because all these things are related between them. Yes, I would like to answer his question about organist shoes a little bit. I would say you know that if you cannot find real organist shoes you can buy other shoes as well because you could adjust them. Especially for men it shouldn’t be hard to find organ shoes because so many classical men’s shoes are suited to play the organ. V: You just need to check the heels, if they are even and not rubber and not plastic but probably leather. A: Well you cannot find often leather shoes. V: Souls. A: Souls, yes in just a regular store. But it wouldn’t be a problem if they wouldn’t be leather because for many, many years I played with no organ shoes and I played well. I played trio sonatas by J. S. Bach just having regular shoes. The front of the shoe needs to be not too wide so that you wouldn’t hit two keys instead of just one and the heel of organ shoes for women for example needs to be not too thin that it would slide off the pedal. V: Right. A: Yes, but sometimes people think that if you can access and get real organist shoes that all your pedal problems will be solved but that’s just an illusion. What do you think about it? V: Can’t they invent organ shoes that play themselves? A: (Laughs) That would be wonderful but you can just press a button and play a recording for service for example and just read a newspaper or surf through your phone. Actually I have seen things like this especially in the province. V: Ohh. What do they do during the service? A: Well it was not for service but I think for a wedding. V: I see. They press the button and then music will sound through the loud speaker system in the church. A: Not necessarily but sometimes an organist would bring a recording player with him and just cheat from an organ loft. V: And it sounds like real organ but it’s not. A: I know because acoustics are often so good in our churches but that’s not a nice thing to do so don’t do it. But I hope I convinced you that having real organ shoes is not a need. V: Some people play even without shoes and manage to play pedals quite well. About improvisation Ausra, Koos wishes to learn improvisation but he writes that although he has time to practice somehow he doesn’t see improvement. A: Well maybe he could combine learning harmonizing improvisation because this might be a problem that he does not know how to harmonize or what certain chords mean, how to make them, how to connect them. V: You’re right. There are several ways to go about improvisation and one of them is going through the basics first. Basics would be chords, learning chords and chord progressions and harmonizing them in four parts but at first it’s not easy because you have to learn voice leading and avoid parallel fifths, and maybe octaves and augmented intervals and other various rules in classical harmony. So what would be the easier way to learn harmony and then improvisation? Is there a shortcut? A: I don’t think so actually that there is a shortcut. V: Answer this Ausra. What would your answer or suggestions be to your younger self if you could go back in time maybe twenty years or not twenty years maybe twenty-five years? A: Well when I was at school I learned harmony very well actually extremely well. I could play modulation sequences, all type of cadences, in various keys just caused me no problems. But nobody taught me to improvise and nobody taught me to use these things in my practice. V: Although you had some keyboard harmony experiences right? When you had to play on the piano and your teacher would listen to you. A: I think this was a sort of crucial point. At that point I would try to improvise and somebody would teach me to improvise. I think I could do that very easily because I had such a great knowledge of theory and such good basics. V: Now you are teaching harmony for many years, right? A: Yes. V: You cannot say that you lost this skill right? You actually improved this skill to the level that you are an expert in this. A: But I think it’s always easier to start things and to do things when you are young. The younger you are the easier it is. Through the years it becomes harder and harder because when you study something you have more time for that and after that you have to learn how to do other things, you have to learn how to support yourself and money and all. V: I know what you mean. A: You have less and less time through the years. V: So learning as a child is much better than learning as an adult? A: True. V: What if Koos is not a child anymore and of course he is not a child anymore. Can he improve? A: Sure you can improve at any age except that your progress will be probably slower. V: It depends, right? It’s different for every person and since Koos cannot compare himself to Koos in the childhood. He only has this opportunity to practice today. So there is only one option, sit down on the organ bench at home for example or in church and just play. A: True. And you know if you have no time or patience to learn all the harmonic voice leading rules first, but you still want to learn to improvise and to improvise soon what you could do is study easier compositions by composers such as Bach for example. What I would do if I didn’t want to learn theory a lot I would take Prelude No. 1 from the Well Tempered Clavier by J. S. Bach. I would write down myself progressions, it’s not so hard to analyze them and then try to play it maybe in another key or try to play it by looking at the chord progressions not looking at the score myself. Then maybe I would pick up one idea from Bach and let’s say another idea from Pachelbel. Maybe I would take progressions from Pachelbel and texture from another composer and try to mix things. V: It’s an interesting thing you mentioned Ausra. That’s exactly how I created Prelude Improvisation Formula. From the preludes written in the Clavierbuchlein for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach and actually the C Major Prelude, the earlier version, is in it too. And I would analyze and find figures, patterns, that people could practice and give them different cadences, different chordal progressions and different tonal plan to make it a different piece, unique. In major and minor and they can transpose of course. It’s the same system you can apply it to any composition that you want. I applied it to Bach’s style but it works for any creative way you want to express yourself. A: Yes. V: So you basically have to learn as many “tricks” and put them into your pocket basically and later take out at a certain time and to use them. A: That’s right. V: Thank you guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: We hope this discussion was useful to you and please apply our tips in your practice. We know it helps us and we hope it will help you. And remember to send us more of your questions because we love helping you grow. And sit down on the organ bench today before you go to bed because when you practice… A: Miracles happen. Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 231 of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. This question was sent by Robert. He writes: Hi Vidas, ... It's hard to get Bach’s In dulci jubilo, BWV 608 from Orgelbuchlein up to speed .... 3 sharps and some significant contrary motion. Pedal no issue but the left, right hand ... some serious reading there. 😊 Also wondering what concert tempo should be on the beat,.... the half notes. ....... Maybe it helps to figure out the chords progressions in this key. Anyway I would classify this piece ' intermediate to advanced level ..... for me anyway! By the way it really helps as in one of your last videos .... when you play it 1/2 tempo and have the camera covering from the top .... sort of a bird's eye view. As well you can sort of see the pedal motion too. ...... Keep up the great work to both of you. Greeting and blessings from Vancouver/Canada! Robert V: So, Robert is our frequent reader of our blog and he writes these questions frequently, right Ausra? A: True. V: Do you remember this video, when I play in a slow motion and then, people from our team can transcribe the fingering. A: True. Yes, I remember it. V: It’s helpful not only for them to see in a slow motion, but also for other people. So, they are now publicly available, and as Robert says, it helps to see my fingering choices, but also how I articulate. Sometimes even the feet motion are visible. A: True. I think it’s very helpful, especially for beginners to observe more advanced organists playing this, to see how the organist’s body is moving. I think even that can help a lot. V: Yeah. Remember you played Variations In D Major by Mendelssohn. A: Yes, I remember that, yes. V: Before the concert at Saint John’s Church. A: Well, I do not recall that particular moment, but…. V: And I had you play this piece in a rather slow tempo. Not half speed, but slower than usual. And I held the camera above your head, sort of, so that also your hands would be visible. Did you like this, at the time? A: Well, I actually don’t remember it now. V: You don’t? A: Are you sure you told me that you were… V: No, I didn’t. A: So that’s why I cannot remember it. V: And when the time came to turn the page, I held the camera with one hand, and with another I turned the page, and sort of was in your way of playing. But you didn’t know that I was recording. So, you were not particularly happy about that. A: True! V: Yes!. But people who will be able to look at your fingering, and maybe our team can transcribe it and write down fingering and pedaling from that video, of course, will find this video very helpful. A: Well, I hope so! V: So, that’s the same with Robert. At first, of course, he struggles to get Bach’s “In Dulci Jubilo” up to speed. Yes, three sharps make considerable difficulties for beginners. I’m not considering him a beginner, since he’s practicing this piece, but for basic level organists, let’s say. A: Yes, and, you know, he says that those three sharps are making him some trouble, and he asks about progression—if knowing chord progressions would help. It would, if you sort of know theory quite well. If you are a beginner at theory level, then I don’t think it would help so much. V: What I would recommend, probably, for him and other people who are sort of struggling in getting up to speed, is to take a look at my basic chord workshop. It’s not a harmony course, where I play with two hands, but with one hand, let’s say C major chord in C major key would be a tonic chord, and I would play three pitches only: C, E, and G. And that would be a tonic root position chord. And I teach those things from the easiest concept to the most difficult to, let’s say, five note chords. Little by little, they can understand, play themselves, internalize this material, and also, which is very interesting, later discover the same chords in their own pieces that they play. A: True! That’s the point of learning theory. Not only knowing chords, but applying them to real pieces. V: So, maybe before analyzing his piece, Robert could take a look at my basic chord workshop and go from there. A: True. V: And… A: I think this might help for him to get better at his piece, “In Dulci Jubilo”. V: And not only “In Dulci Jubilo.” A: In all the other pieces as well. Because he asks if you learn chords once in your life, you can apply them to any other piece that you are working on. V: It’s like riding a bicycle, right? A: Sure. V: After decades of not doing it, the skill comes back after a couple weeks. A: True. V: One more thing for him to get up to speed is, of course, to play and stop every beat. And then stop every two beats. And then every measure. Every two measures. Every line. Every two lines, right? Every page, always doubling the amount of musical material he has to play in the concert tempo. A: True. V: What do you think about it? A: Yes, I think that’s a very good method. And also, I’ve thought that since the contrary motion gives him the trouble, I think maybe he’s not leaning well enough on the strong beats. Because that’s what helps me, for example, when I have to do some contrary motion. You lean down on the strong beat more, and then you just know very well where you are going to. V: There is one more problem here. If contrary motion is a problem for him, it means that he cannot hear, let’s say, two separate lines at the same time. They are different melodically and rhythmically sometimes. They’re two different parts. I think he has to play solo voices more, and then combinations of two parts. A: Yes, definitely working in combinations always helps. And since he says that pedal is not a problem, I still don’t believe it, because if you are working in combinations you need to do right and pedal, left and pedal, then maybe just right and left, and then all things together. Because when you are playing, it might seem for you that left hand, for example, is giving you trouble, but maybe pedals are giving trouble as well, too. V: What he could do is to record himself on a phone, and listen later to an audio, and see if he is playing in time, rhythmically correct, melodically correct. Is he leaning on the downbeat? Is he articulating correctly? Sort of listening from the perspective like that as an outsider, as a listener will actually help him grow. A: True. And don’t try to push to the right tempo right away. Because, if you are still struggling with contrary motion or some other stuff, it means that you are not ready to play in a concert tempo yet. So don’t do it too early. V: Yesterday, I had a lesson with my piano student at school, and in one spot, he had to play an accompaniment called, I think, “Sarabande,” and then he struggled to play in a fast tempo the chords and the octaves in the left hand. He always played more than an octave in the left hand. He has a wide range. So I said, “Ok, slow down 50%,” and he slowed down 25% only. Just a quarter of what I was asking. “It’s not 50%,” I said, and he slowed down maybe 27%. Which means that a person really cannot judge himself or herself on which level they are playing. A: So that’s why recording yourself is always a good idea. To listen to yourself from outside. V: Yes. And, with time, maybe in a few weeks, he will see some serious improvement in “In Dulci Jubilo.” Thank you guys, this was Vidas! A: And Ausra! V: Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow as an organist. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 186 of Ask Vidas and Ausra podcast. Today's question was sent by Patrick. He writes: I hope you're doing fine. Please, I am requesting to be helped with the PDF files for the "fingering substitution" and "sequences" exercises. Because, sometimes I get stuck when playing organ. And I think it is due to lack of finger movements/accuracy and speed. Kind regards! Patrick V: Do you think Ausra that finger accuracy and speed is important when you play the organ? A: I think that accuracy is more important than speed because you know if you are playing accurately then speed will come. V: Right. Because when you are playing fast and not ready for that fast movement you are making mistakes and being inaccurate. A: That's right and I think this might perhaps you know when Patrick practices. At least that’s the impression I got after reading his question. V: Exactly. I think it’s so important to play the organ slowly enough for long enough. Right? Lots of people don’t have the patience to play, you know, very very slow for a long period of time. For example right now we are playing in a few days Bach’s birthday recital. I’ll be practicing this week Bach’s Passacaglia and three of his organ preludes from the Clavierubung Part III. Kyrie, Christe, and Kyrie. And last week when we practiced with Ausra at the church I played everything at a concert tempo with some mistakes. And now since I know all the spots where I make mistakes my goal for this week is to play extremely slow. Is this a right strategy Ausra? A: Yes, I think so, yes. V: You said yourself that you will not be playing fast this week. A: That’s right. V: So Patrick is kind of getting stuck with accuracy and speed. But it’s not necessarily because of fingering substitution and sequence exercises, right? You can play literally anything you want on the organ as long as you are hitting the right notes. A: That’s right and that technique such as fingering substitution requires especially good technique and it means that you know you need to learn that piece slowly first. But you know all those fingering substitutions which come up naturally. V: By sequences do think that he means those four-part chordal progressions which go upwards in ascending motion or descending motion. A: I’m not sure about this part of the question because he you know talks about PDF files and I think my sequences are on YouTube and not on the PDF. V: So maybe he means something else. But playing sequences is part of the curriculum at school right? Where we teach. A: Yes. V: For harmony. And this is not only good for understanding chordal harmony but probably good for keyboard technique as well. A: Yes and for improvisation and in general for you know for playing repertoire. Because I notice that sometimes you know when my concentration you know disappears during recital for example and I’m at a place of cadence I can just play it. V: A cadence. A: Yes, a cadence. V: Or a sequence. A: A cadence, a sequence and all those you know theoretical things. V: You know I think a few years ago I was substituting for a few weeks in a row for our friend Paulius at his church, he was still playing at the Holy Cross Church here in Vilnius and he was away for vacation and he asked me to substitute I think in Lent. And since I agreed I thought how I could best use the situation to my advantage and what I did I played Prelude, Offertory, Communion, and Postlude as improvisation but in the form of versets and those versets basically were just longer forms of modulations and sequences and cadences that were playing at school. Does this sound like beneficial Ausra? A: Yes, it sounds beneficial. And another thing you know that I laugh at some beginners you know don’t have good muscle technique in fingers. V: Finger independence. A: Yes. So and that’s because the muscles are just too weak. V: I know how to fix this. A: And I think this might be a problem why you know you can not do sequences and playing the fast tempo accurate. V: I know what to do. Patrick and other people could benefit from this too. A: Because so many people come to the organ after playing piano first. And you know piano it’s much easier for fingers to play on the piano because sort of the touch is softer and you have that nice sostenuto pedal which can you know sort of cover up all your you know mistakes and makes things easier. V: And organ doesn’t forget this. A: Yes, organ doesn’t forget it. V: And doesn’t forgive. A: That’s right. Because on the organ if you have to play legato you have to use you know your fingers. If you need to articulate you have to use your fingers. You have no sostenuto pedal whatsoever. So you have to have you know finger independence and you know good good muscles. V: As I said, I know how to fix this. Would you like to hear the solution? A: Sure, of course. And I know you are eager to tell it. V: Like you know the famous answer from “Pride and Prejudice.” A: Yes. V: Tell us. A: (laughs.) “You want to tell me and I have no objections to hearing it.” That’s what Mr. Bennett told to his wife when she was gossipping. V: OK. Then you will be Mr. Bennett and I will be your wife. A: Yes. Excellent. V: So, solution, according to Mr. Bennet’s wife or Mr. Bennet who I am now. So everybody knows the benefit of playing Bach’s inventions right? They are pedagogical little gems but not only pedagogical they are beautiful little miniatures for two voices. One for the right hand, another for the left hand. And you know in our youth you know we have played maybe a few of them, 1,2,3, until our teacher said “That’s OK, were going on to the next collection, maybe three part sinfonias now.” Right? Because in our classroom curriculum there is no time to play everything. But believe me when Bach wrote this collection for his son Wilhelm Friedemann I can guarantee that Wilhelm Friedemann played all fifteen of them. Do you believe this Ausra? A: Yes, I believe it. V: So, if you want to be at least as good as Wilhelm Friedemann and maybe even better, play those fifteen two-part inventions by Bach diligently at least for a few months and then decide if your technique is improving or not because each hand has its own beautiful melody. It’s like a two-part fugue basically, but not quite. Less complicated. But you will thank yourself for this later. Right Ausra? A: Yes, that’s right. V: All of them. But not in the order that you know in the modern collections but in the order that they were written first. And the order was different. It was written in a different setting of keys; C Major, D Minor, E Minor, F Major, G Major, A Minor, B Minor, B-flat Major, A Major, G Minor, F Minor, E Major, E-flat Major, D Major, and C Minor. Imagine that. The second invention that we now have in the modern editions is C Minor but it is the most difficult invention from all collections. So people who learn C Major first and then jump to C Minor get frustrated right away. It’s almost like a canon - very advanced melodic line and I recommend leaving it for the last. A: Yes and if you want to see original there is a facsimile edition of you know Bach’s inventions and you can find the original order in that collection. V: What you do Ausra if you have mastered, even memorized all those fifteen inventions. What would you play next? A: Then I would play three-part sinfonias. V: I knew that. We are very similar. A: And, you know at school we called them inventions as well. I don’t know why. That was the case at least at my school. V: Because they are from the similar collections, right? Fifteen, fifteen. And the order of original ordering of keys is the same. Not C Major, C Minor, but C Major, D Minor. Right? That was original ordering that Bach wrote for his son, Wilhelm Friedemann. So then afterwards, after those two-part inventions, study three-part sinfonias. And afterwards check your technique. You will not believe what you have achieved at that time. So maybe it will take you I don’t know a year or two to do this but since you have a lifetime of education and improvement there is no rush. A: And actually this collection is equally good for piano and for organ. Because for example Well Tempered Clavier, I would not suggest to play it on the organ. But but inventions sounds well on the organ. V: Yeah, because each voice is so obligato and cantabile manner so you could even sing. Oh, you could improve your perfect pitch also, you could sing each line as we sometimes suggest and play the rest. That would be extremely beneficial. Of course, this is not for the weak of will. A: Yes. V: But we teach the best. Thanks guys, this was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen. This is a collection of transcripts from #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast (120 pages). Vol. 6. For students who want to have all our ideas in one place.
Here’s what you’ll learn in this e-book (you'll receive PDF file): HOW TO LEARN TO READ AND COUNT MUSIC WELL I’M 75 YEARS OLD MY DREAM IS PLAYING IN SUCH A MANNER, THAT PEOPLE WHO LISTEN TO IT WOULD LIKE TO HEAR THIS KIND OF MUSIC IN THE FUTURE IS FINGERING IMPORTANT IN IMPROVISATION? MUSIC FOR OPENING AND ENDING OF EVERY SOP PODCAST I NEED FINGERING FOR HALLELUIA CHORUS BY HANDEL I'M SPENDING TOO MUCH TIME WITH LEARNING THE PIECE I STRUGGLE WITH EARLY FINGERING AND ORNAMENTATION I DON'T KNOW HOW TO FULLY APPRECIATE EARLY MUSIC LEARNING HOW TO IMPROVISE IN THE STYLE OF J.S. BACH I FIND IT HARD TO GET IT FAST AND SMOOTH PLEASE TELL ME HOW TO USE THE BOTH FEETS HE IS A VERY POOR SIGHT - READER AND AND LEARNED BY EAR HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH THE ORGAN LOFT GETTING COLD IN WINTER MY CHALLENGE IS WITH CONCENTRATION Until March 22 this Ebook is available for the low 2.99 USD price. If you liked our E-books from #AskVidasAndAusra collection, I'm sure you will enjoy this one too. Check it out here Free for Total Organist students Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 173, of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. Today’s question was sent by Tony. And he writes: Hello Vidas - in answer to your quarry regarding my advancement in organ playing, I am a person who is 'legally blind' and thus can not site read music. I have a very modest ability to 'play by ear' and would like to discover a better way to play than using automated functions for single finger or simple chord methods; I find these limited at best. I am self taught as far as my abilities go. What I want to accomplish is to develop my ability to tease apart the music so I can reproduce hymns, and popular music and be able to play the music so I at least sound like I have a reasonable degree of ability to play music. Any suggestions you might make on how to accomplish these goals would be greatly appreciated. Thank-You for asking, I look forward to your suggestions. Tony U.S.A. V: So, Ausra, Tony is struggling with reading music, right? Definitely. He probably can play a little bit by ear. A: Yes. V: and playing simple chords, right? A: Yes. V: Probably it means that he is using a synthesizer to play with one finger, the left hand chords, but with one finger only, which is sort of a short cut. And he writes he is legally blind, which is in quotation marks. So what does it mean, Ausra? We don’t know. We just can guess that he probably means that he doesn’t know how to do this. He just guesses some methods as he writes. As he writes, he is self taught, right? A: Yes. V: All right. So, imagine we have a student coming to us and asking for help to start reading music. I believe he, if we put a score in front of him, right, and ask him to play just one voice, he couldn’t do this, I think. Either in treble clef or bass clef. What do you think? A: Probably not, if he cannot read music, but it’s crucial that he would learn to do it if he wants to, you know, to achieve his goal. V: Alright, Ausra. Of course you learned to read music a long time ago. And, huh, we almost forgot how we did it, right? Because at that time, we were what, six years old? And uh, teachers just forced us to do this and we did it without any thought. A: Well I was five when I learned how to read music. And actually treble clef first of all, then later on bass clef and my teacher told me that I was, and she was an elderly lady, that she had a lot of experience, teaching experience. She told, you know that I was a fastest learner of the bass clef, so, and I don’t remember that I had struggled with it. I just remember my mom at that time, she’s not musician and she cannot read music, although she sings well from her ear, but she would help me learning, and simply she would just ask, ‘lets see, bass clef, third line, what note it is’, you know, and that’s D, and what is this on upper line that’s, A and so forth and so on, and I learned pretty fast. V: And this was mom who tested you? A: Yes. V: Wow! My mother-in-law. Wonderful. She’s so courageous. I don’t remember my mom teaching these things, to me. A: Yes. V: But, I remember struggling with sharps and flats. I think it took me half of the year to learn seven sharps and seven flats. A: Well, that’s very easy because we have sort of, you know, to learning in art school, we had sort of, like, poem about V: Uh, huh. A: sharps and flats: fis-cis-gis-dis-ais-eis-his, b-es-as-des-ges-ces-fes. Once you learn them you never forget them. V: What you said just a second ago, it’s still confusing to me but, but, I had to figure out another system without using those poetry elements. But it was really hard. A: Well… V: (Laughs) A: It’s different I think, for everybody. V: For adults it’s much easier I think. A: Although, look now, I think you read from C clef better than I do. V: You don’t know, we never,,, A: Although, I’m better than the average musician in reading C clef, but still I think you are better than me. V: You don’t know; we never did an olympic competition on that. A: (Laughs). Maybe we should do. V: We could do, but music is not competition, right? It’s not a sport. A: Yes. And now if you go back to Tony’s question; I think, you know, you could do it in two ways; you could do whatever you are doing right now, and then your progress will be almost non-existing, or you can you know, force yourself to learn how to read music. And maybe this won’t be an easiest way, but I think finally it will be the most gratifying, and most satisfying. What do you think with this about it? V: I have probably two suggestions for him. One would be to try my organ playing, master course. I think it’s level one, just for beginners, where right hand plays a single melody in very long note values, then the left hand in the bass clef. Here I didn’t put the note names. I assumed that people could figure out themselves, where C is, where G is, because it’s so slow and so, basically easy. So that’s one thing. Whenever a person is just a beginner, but especially adult, right, who can force themselves to figure out some note names, this course would be very beneficial because at first it’s in whole notes, then in half notes, then in quarter notes and this level ends in, I think sixteenth note runs, so, but with single melodic line. Level two would be for two voices in two hands. A: How did you write something about how to read music? How to learn to read music? I think you had some material about it. V: In Lithuanian, yes. I had a four week course about that, but just in Lithuanian. A: Maybe you need to do it in English. V: I could. A: And then, you know, people like Tony could benefit from it. V: Yeah. You're right, probably. Yeah, that’s preliminary step, right? Before learning any note names, basically before taking this course, which I’m talking about now, Organ Playing Master Course Level 1, you need to be familiar with note names and where they’re positioned on the stave and the system of the clefs, treble and the bass clef. But if you know it, you could proceed exactly to this course already. So that’s suggestion number one. And the second suggestion, how about, Ausra, if Tony could try to improvise based on just four notes. Remember my favorite exercise; you pick four notes, any type of notes, C, D, E, F, or C, E flat, G and B flat; any sort of strings of four notes, and improvise something interesting, in let’s say, ten minutes, without talking. A: Well you could to that. It’s a good exercise but it’s not final. I mean you cannot just stick with those four notes and improvise for the rest of your life. V: No, you could do this with five notes, and six notes, and seven notes,,, A: Well you know what I mean, you know what I mean. V: And then later twelve notes. A: Because if you will just do that it will be a dead end after while. V: (Laughs). A: That’s my opinion. V: Dead end. Well of course you need a lot of theory and other technical things to do and to know and study in order to be a complete musician. But that’s a good staring point if you want to develop your creativity a little bit at first. A: That’s true. V: So, guys, apply our tips in your practice, whatever suits you, right? It’s just our ideas, how we would do, at least how I would do. Ausra is not necessarily agreeing with me in this, but she is very opinionated and has her own advice for you. That’s okay. We’re different. Because you are different too. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen! During the last rehearsal of our Unda Maris organ studio, I asked one of our students who doesn't even read music to choose 4 notes and improvise something interesting. Would you like to know what this process is like and where it can lead you? If so, my tips are for you.
Vidas: Let’s start Episode 100 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. And this question was sent by Paul, and he writes that he is a slow learner. First of all, let’s celebrate, a little bit, our small achievement: 100 podcasts of simply helping people to grow in organ playing, answering their questions. Isn’t that great, Ausra?
Ausra: Yes, it seems so incredible that it’s already 100 podcasts. I don’t know how much we have to talk about! Vidas: When we first started, we didn’t realize we would go that far, right? It was supposed to be a limited number of episodes--maybe 10, maybe 20. Ausra: Yes, maybe 30, but not 100! Vidas: Yeah, people kept writing to us and kept asking these questions, and we were amazed, right? Ausra: Yes; and it’s really nice to help people, and especially it’s nice to receive a response to our answers. It’s very nice. Vidas: Yeah, and sometimes we put those nice letters we get into our folder called “Love Letters,” which is basically many thanks from people and encouragements for us to continue. So thank you so much, guys, this is really wonderful and we appreciate it a lot. Ausra: Yes, thank you so much! So now, let’s go back to Paul’s question. And really...what do you think he means by being a slow learner? Does he compare himself with somebody else? Vidas: Exactly. How do we know if we learn something “slowly” or “fast?” Ausra: Yes, how do we set those boundaries? Vidas: For example, let’s say a piece is 5 pages long, and we learn it in 1 month. Is it fast or slow? Ausra: So, I think it’s always a question mark… Vidas: Relative? Ausra: Yes, a very relative thing. Vidas: Do we advise people to compete with somebody else? Ausra: Well...yes and no. Because for some people, having that competition is a good thing, because it makes you to work faster and to develop necessary skills faster. But for other people, that competition might just simply destroy all passion for organ. Or anything. Vidas: I think the best competition is with ourselves, right? Ausra: Yeah. Vidas: Because we have to compare ourselves to ourselves yesterday, or ourselves a week ago, or a month ago, or a year ago. Only then will we know our true advancement, true level of how we progress, if we are on the right path or not. If we compare ourselves with other organists, who we listen to on YouTube or in recitals...as Ausra says, sometimes it is inspiring, but more often than not, it is discouraging, I think. Ausra: Yes. If, for example, we would have to compare our childhood experience in Lithuania and our experience while studying in the United States, what could you tell about all that--teacher and student relationship? Vidas: In Lithuania, there were several organ professors at the Academy of Music, and each of them had their studio organ class--maybe 5, maybe 6 people total. And generally, they were closed among themselves, right? They felt sort of a competition between other students of other professors. There wasn’t any atmosphere of collaboration in this kind of setting. Whereas in America it was completely different, right Ausra? Ausra: Yes; and in Lithuania, I always felt that all professors, no matter with whom you studied, would say negative things to you, like, “You did that, and that, and that, and that, badly!” Vidas: So that’s European--we have presenting problems... Ausra: Well, maybe not the European way, but Lithuanian, definitely, yes. Vidas: Ex-Soviet way, basically; because in earlier times, talking about negative things was very common, and not so much of optimistic, inspiring things. Ausra: So, how did you feel about it? Vidas: To me, I always wanted more freedom; so whenever somebody tried to push me, I kind of resisted, because my mind wanted to be free from those boundaries, and I wanted to explore myself all those musical adventures. So in that case, we had one organ professor, Gediminas Kviklys, who was the best, because he let us do whatever we wanted. Of course, by that time we were developed enough--and could be responsible enough--for our own progress. In America it was a completely different story, because it was so supportive and collaborative between organ studios; right, Ausra? Ausra: And that supportive atmosphere--telling good things, nice things to students--made you want to do even more, and to give yourself more, and to practice more, and to become the best. And it was very nice. Vidas: But other colleges and conservatories have different environments, because some of them are very competitive. Ausra: Yes, that’s true. Vidas: And I’m not sure how students get along in those organ studios, but they must feel some kind of competition, because they constantly compete in international and national organ competitions among themselves, right Ausra? Ausra: And that’s what I told you before: for some people it’s a very good thing, because they want to compete all the time. They want to feel that pressure. Vidas: Because they don’t have enough pressure from themselves? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: They have external motivation. Ausra: But actually, I don’t feel that I have to have that external pressure, because it makes me feel guilty all the time and just incompetent. Vidas: That’s true for me, too. I want to be free, and I want to do the things that I want to do. So, I then compare myself...with myself! Ausra: Yes, so like Paul said, be learning slowly--that’s your way to do it. And it’s ok. Maybe you will become a faster learner with time, maybe not. But don’t despair. Just keep doing what you are doing. And it’s much better to learn things slowly but correctly, than to learn them faster and incorrectly. Vidas: Of course, our daily efforts compound; and if you just get better one percent a day, the next day you also get better one percent; but plus that fraction of the percent you got better yesterday; and a week from that day, you get better also one percent, but also plus all those seven percent combined. So it compounds; and after one year--I don’t know, I have to do the math, but--it’s more than one thousand percent! Ausra: Definitely, yes. Vidas: If you do this. Ausra: What could accelerate your progress a little bit, maybe, is if you could find time to practice a day not once, but let’s say, twice; let’s say one time in the morning and one time in the afternoon/evening. That might do things faster. What do you think about it, Vidas? Vidas: It’s an excellent strategy, because our minds can only focus for so long without breaks. So maybe in the morning, for some time before you get tired; and then, you see, your day will already be a good day, because you have already practiced in the morning. You already did the thing that matters to you the most. And then, if anything happens and you don’t have time to practice in the afternoon or in the evening, it’s still a day not wasted, in this case. So early morning practices are always the best; and then if you can do a second practice, that’s even better. Ausra: Yes; so try that, and you’ll see if it works for you. Vidas: Yeah, it doesn’t have to be a very long practice, right? Maybe for half an hour before you take a break and continue--that’s completely possible, right Ausra? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Thank you so much, guys, for listening to us, for applying our tips in your practice. It’s really a small milestone we have achieved, with 100 podcasts of answering your questions. Without our listeners it wouldn’t be possible. And keep them rolling--keep sending your questions to us, because we want to reach maybe another hundred, right Ausra? Ausra: I’m not thinking so far ahead, but...it would be nice! Vidas: But most importantly, we hope you'll do something with this advice. It really makes a difference. Excellent. This was Vidas! Ausra: And Ausra. Vidas: And remember, when you practice… Ausra: Miracles happen. |
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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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