If you have an organ composition that you love and would like to be ready for public performance such as a church service, an organ recital or just informal gathering of friends and family, you have to know how to practice it efficiently and effectively. If you're interested to know my recommendations, please read on to find out.
Before practicing your organ piece you have to decide whether you will be playing it from music score or from memory at that public performance. Some people like challenges, like playing from memory in public. Some people are afraid of playing in public from memory and get a high degree of performance anxiety. They are afraid of losing their memory in technically challenging places. So you have to decide for yourself whether you will be playing a piece from memory or from the score. Keeping that in mind, I still recommend you memorize it. It doesn't mean you have to perform it from memory in public but the memorization process will be for your own benefit and fluency of this piece. So how do you memorize an organ piece? Although there are at least several music memorization systems, I like the following one. Subdivide your piece into fragments of four measures and memorize each individual measure in that fragment. This usually takes about 15 minutes of practice. The way you do this is as follows. Play measure one five times from the score and five times without the score. Do the same for measures two, three, and four. After that memorize two measures at a time: one and two, two and three, and three and four. The next step would be to practice three measures at a time: one, two, three and two, three, four. Finally, you can memorize all four measures the same way. Again, play five times from the score and five times without looking at the score. Can you see where I'm going with this method? The next step would be to memorize the next fragment. Do this for each individual fragment of your piece. After you reach the end of the piece, you have to go back and memorize two fragments in the row. That will be eight measures. Later you will be playing four fragments combined and so on. With every step you will make your fragments longer and longer. Remember that at the beginning of each practice session you have to repeat previously mastered material before learning something new. Try to apply these tips for memorization in your practice and you will be ready for public performance of your organ piece.
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If you have a list of organ pieces that you love and would like to play them in the way that they will be good for public performance such as an organ recital, then your learning should be in a very deep manner.
You see, it is a one thing to play them for your own enjoyment only. It is completely different thing to master these pieces and prepare for public recital. While practicing for your own enjoyment you can be quite satisfied with your results even though you make quite a few mistakes. This way your organ playing still sounds nice to you but it's a different matter when you want to prepare for an organ recital. You see, some organ recitals are not free and people have to buy tickets. So you have to be in a superb shape during an organ recital otherwise people will not be happy with your results and will feel that they were cheated. So if you want to be in your best shape and play without mistakes during your recital, you have to have a plan. This plan should include specific steps of what you need to do and learn each and every week in order to get to your goal on time. Remember to set your goal date one month earlier than the recital because you have to be ready and prepared at least 30 days in advance. This will give you the time to thoroughly master these pieces. This way when you have your plan, I will recommend to master your pieces by memorizing them. You see, although memorization is not required in an organ recital and you most likely will not play your pieces from memory during your public performance but practicing and memorizing these pieces for your own benefit will be of great help in preparation for you. Therefore your plan and steps should include procedures on how to memorize your each and every piece. The next thing to remember is that the recitals usually include at least half an hour of organ music and most likely more. Generally speaking, the average length of an organ recital is about 1 hour. This means about 50 minutes of pure organ music without stops and registration changes. So in order to be prepared for your public recital you should be practicing in a way that in your practice sessions you will be perfecting your entire recital repertoire. Unless you have 3 or 4 hours a day to prepare for the recital, it is not technically possible to practice all 50 minutes of organ music during one practice session every day. What I would like to recommend is to subdivide your program into two halves and practice the 1st half on day 1 and the 2nd half on day 2 and so on. In other words, alternate the two halves of your program every two days. This way you will be able to play the pieces and perfect previously mastered material on a deeper level than just practicing playing one time through for all 50 minutes of organ music. Apply these tips in your practice as you prepare for organ recitals and remember to schedule and set a date at least one month before, stick to your plan and you will succeed in preparing for public performance. Are you in a situation, where you have to prepare for organ recital but the date is approaching really fast? You probably are feeling very stressed out about that. If so, here is what I recommend you do.
The worst thing you can do right now is to panic. By panic I mean you might be tempted to play you pieces really fast at the concert speed all the time, thinking that this approach will help you do more repetitions and consequently will let you to prepare for the recital better. This is not a very good strategy. Instead of forcing yourself and playing the pieces too fast too soon, I recommend you take a deep breath and learn to relax. Relax your body but focus your mind. Don't think about the difficult places in your program, don't think about what the audience might think of you etc. Instead focus your mind on doing one little step correctly and you will succeed. It is best to go over your program pieces in a really slow tempo. This will help you relax and understand that you can do it on time. Success in a slow tempo will lead to success in a faster tempo. Increase the tempo very slowly, only when you feel that the slower tempo is too easy. Also you can try to work in separate voices and combinations of two and three voices. This will also let you to experience success. Once you feel that you can perform a single line correctly at least 3 times in a row, add one more voice. This is a little bit more difficult. So take it slowly at the beginning and slowly increase the speed as you get better. So little by little you will start to feel more confident and secure. Instead of stressing out about the due date and many pieces that still need your attention, you are doing the exact opposite - you are enjoying the process and relaxing. Try this approach for yourself, if you feel that the due date is approaching really fast. You will discover how much faster you can progress by slowing down and working in separate voices and voice combinations. I know, it feels counter-intuitive but it works. Are you in a situation, where you have to prepare for organ recital but the date is approaching really fast? You probably are feeling very stressed out about that. If so, here is what I recommend you do.
The worst thing you can do right now is to panic. By panic I mean you might be tempted to play you pieces really fast at the concert speed all the time, thinking that this approach will help you do more repetitions and consequently will let you to prepare for the recital better. This is not a very good strategy. Instead of forcing yourself and playing the pieces too fast too soon, I recommend you take a deep breath and learn to relax. Relax your body but focus your mind. Don't think about the difficult places in your program, don't think about what the audience might think of you etc. Instead focus your mind on doing one little step correctly and you will succeed. It is best to go over your program pieces in a really slow tempo. This will help you relax and understand that you can do it on time. Success in a slow tempo will lead to success in a faster tempo. Increase the tempo very slowly, only when you feel that the slower tempo is too easy. Also you can try to work in separate voices and combinations of two and three voices. This will also let you to experience success. Once you feel that you can perform a single line correctly at least 3 times in a row, add one more voice. This is a little bit more difficult. So take it slowly at the beginning and slowly increase the speed as you get better. So little by little you will start to feel more confident and secure. Instead of stressing out about the due date and many pieces that still need your attention, you are doing the exact opposite - you are enjoying the process and relaxing. Try this approach for yourself, if you feel that the due date is approaching really fast. You will discover how much faster you can progress by slowing down and working in separate voices and voice combinations. I know, it feels counter-intuitive but it works. Many organists want to develop a successful recital career. This means that they must play recitals regularly. Playing recitals can be very exciting and worthwhile to pursue but you must know how to get such contracts in advance. In this article, I would like to share with you 10 steps for getting successful concert engagements.
1. Create an original and exciting recital program. Think of the ways you could be unique among many hundreds of organists. Keep in mind your audience, an instrument, and your own capabilities. 2. Master this program. Do your best to learn this program thoroughly. Even if you will plan to play your concert from the scores, I recommend you memorize all the pieces in your program. 3. Develop a strong professional portfolio. Create professional website and a page on social media sites with your bio, video samples of your recordings, calendar of past and future concert engagements and start a blog. 4. Start submitting your videos to YouTube. Share them on social media sites. Be careful not to spam and always think of your readers and listeners first so that they get value from your postings. 5. Find a venue. Look online for possible churches, concert halls with nice organs where you would like to play your concert. Make a list of these places with contacts. 6. Send your proposal to the organisers. Write an attractive concert proposal and send it to your prospective contacts. It is crucial that you make an offer that would be interesting to these people. When writing this document, first think why they should select you to play a concert from hundreds of other organists. 7. You can also send some letters of recommendation along with the proposal. Since only a small percentage of your contacts will ever reply to you, it is important that you write to as many people as possible. 8. Decide on the dates and sign the contract. If your proposal will seem interesting to the organisers, you will need to set up your concert dates and sign the written contract agreement. At this point but not earlier make sure you discuss the issue of honorarium with them. 9. Submit the exact concert information to the organisers. Once the recital contract is done and the organisers receive your signed copy of it, it is time to send them the exact program of your recital along with the professional photo and CV. 10. Write the program notes and send excerpts to the organisers. Use a language that the regular organ music listener would understand. This will help for publicity purposes. Use these steps when looking for concert engagements today. If you succeed in getting your first recital contract, it will be quite exciting for you and it may start to open up new possibilities because one event frequently leads to another. You can also recycle the steps you take in preparation for recitals for the future events. This way you will develop a system which will be reliable and efficient. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my free Organ Practice Guide. Or if you want to learn to improvise in the style of Bach, I suggest you check out my free 9 day mini course in Keyboard Prelude Improvisation. Preparing for Organ Recitals: How To Be Ready For Your Concert Performance By A Certain Date?8/1/2012 Do you have a due date when you will play your organ recital? Are you feeling some stress and anxiety and you are not sure if you will learn the pieces in your program on time? The only way you will be able to master all of your compositions on time is if you have a very specific plan for practice.
Follow these steps in preparing for your organ recital: 1. Count the lines of all the music scores you want to master by your recital date. For example, if you have 10 pieces with 5 pages each, and each page has 5 lines, then the total amount of lines you have to master is 250. 2. Count the days you have from now until one month before your recital. Yes, you have to be ready one month before the recital, trust me on this. For example, if your recital is 4 months from now, you have approximately 90 days for learning the pieces. 3. Divide the number of lines by the number of days - this will give you the exact amount of lines you have to learn each day. For example, if you divide 250 by 90, you will get 2.7. Master 3 lines each day and you will be ready on time. 4. Do the steps which are necessary to master these lines every day (repeat each step 10 times). In order for you to learn each line, practice it in a slow tempo in solo voices, 2 voice combinations, 3 voice combinations, and finally all parts together. 5. Repeat the previously mastered material each day (repeat 3 times each line). Remember that every day you will have to not only learn 3 new lines but play 3 times the lines you have already learned. 6. When you finish learning the last line of some particular piece, next day start playing 2 lines without stopping (3 repetitions). That's the time you begin to make your fragments longer because on the day of your recital you will have to play all the pieces in your program without stopping. 7. Next day play each piece you have mastered so far by stopping every 4 lines (3 repetitions). 8. Next day repeat the previous step by stopping every 8 lines (3 repetitions). 9. Play your pieces by stopping every 16 lines (3 repetitions). 10. Finally, play the pieces you already mastered without stopping (3 repetitions). Note: steps 6-10 have to be done while learning new music every day. Make sure your fingering, pedaling, notes, rhythms, articulation and ornaments are correct in each step. Go now, take action and make your plan for preparing for organ recital. Then each day take the exact steps which are necessary to reach your goal. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my free Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Are you wondering what kind of organ music selections are suitable for Bachelor's organ degree recital? In this article, I will give you a list of pieces by Buxtehude, Bach, Handel, Vierne, Langlais, and Franck.
1. Praeludium in C, BuxWV 137 by Dieterich Buxtehude. One of the most famous of all of Buxtehude's organ works will serve well for the opening of your recital. This is a perfect example of multi-movement North German Baroque Stylus Phantasticus writing. This work is also known as Prelude, Fugue, and Chaconne in C major. 2. Chorale Prelude "Komm heiliger Geist, Herre Gott", BuxWV 199 by Buxtehude. This is an ornamented chorale prelude - a perfect example of Buxtehude's style. This piece will make a good contrast with the preceding and following pieces. 3. Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541 by Johann Sebastian Bach. A joyful prelude with elements of Ritornello form. You will find a complex Stretto section towards the end of the fugue. 4. Chorale Prelude "Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland", BWV 659 by Bach. A very famous chorale prelude from the collection of Great 18 Chorales (Leipzig Chorale Preludes). Slow tempo and fascinating ornamented chorale melody in the right hand part. 5. Trio Sonata No. 1 in E flat Major, BWV 525 by Bach. This is the easiest of all of 6 trio sonatas by this composer. However, the organists will still encounter many technical challenges which have to be overcome at the Bachelor's degree recital. 6. Organ Concerto Op. 4, No. 5 in F Major, HWV 293 by George Frederic Handel. This is the shortest of 6 most famous organ concertos by Handel. It consists of four contrasting movements: Larghetto, Allegro, Alla Siciliana, and Presto. 7. Allegretto, Op. 1 by Louis Vierne. A rarely performed early work of Vierne of moderate difficulty. Nice ABA form with charming oboe melody in the right hand. 8. Meditation from the Suite Medievale by Jean Langlais. Very colorful French style modal writing. Slow tempo makes it a wonderful preparation for what is coming next in your program. 9. Chorale No. 3 by Cesar Franck. This is perhaps the most famous and the easiest of all of 3 chorales of Franck. A perfect closing piece for your recital - very dramatic work with a beautiful slow middle section. Take any or all of the above pieces and start practicing for your recital today. The compositions from this list constitute a recital of approximately 1 hour of duration which is an optimum length for organ recital. They provide a welcome variety in character, mood, tempo, mode, keys, and registration for positive listener experience. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my free Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Are you struggling with the quality in your organ recital playing? Or perhaps you are frustrated with the stress level concert playing may bring? My guess is that you haven't played many recitals in the past. You need quite a few recitals under your belt to be an experienced and fearless performer. In this article, I will explain to you what quantity can do to your success level.
Do you remember your very first organ recital? Most people do. The first public appearance is usually very exciting. Yet it may bring a lot of stress and the performer can make quite a few mistakes, if he/she is not properly automated his/her playing. Then usually the 2nd and the 3rd recitals go worse than the first because now you know what to expect. You get nervous and start making mistakes in places which are ridiculously simple. I have to say that this is perfectly normal. It is just a natural learning progress. Then starting from your 5th recital, you begin to feel good about your playing. When you reach 10 recitals, you can consider yourself passing to the next level. Although playing 10 recitals is a good start, you need around 50-60 to gain experience. Try to play as many recitals with the same program in different venues in the same year as possible. Then learn a new program and do the same. Imagine you learn a concert program and play a concert once a month for a year. That makes 12 concerts per year. If you learn one new program a year, which is easy to do, and keep the same concert schedule for 5 years, you will have 60 recitals under your belt. That's the initial number you should aim for. Incidentally, notice how your playing becomes very solid after about 10th recital of the same program. You may even memorize the pieces to feel even more secure. Use these tips in playing organ recitals. In time, they will empower you to become a respected expert who will have no fear in playing concerts. This way your performances will become of high quality level and free from mistakes. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Do you want to achieve success organ concert playing? One of the vital points here is quality. If your recital is of a high quality level, your listeners will more likely to enjoy it and remember you in the future. In this article, I will give you tips on how to achieve quality in playing organ recitals.
Both in preparation and in performance you should strive for minimum mistakes. Try to be very precise and exact in playing and releasing every single note. Of course, this is very difficult to achieve but keeping a slow tempo in practice will make this task easier. For example, if the tempo of the piece is allegro or 120 quarter notes per minute, you should not practice it in the concert tempo. Instead, take a tempo, which allows you to play without mistakes, something like 60 quarter notes per minute or even slower. There is one thing which really helps to minimize mistakes - keep the focus of your mind. Stay focused in every measure and don't allow yourself to relax until your recital is over. Basically this is the practice of your mind. Deep and slow breathing helps to keep your mind focused. Your body should be relaxed but your mind should feel like on fire. I remember one of my best recitals in terms of focus. I focused my mind on the breathing for about 20 minutes right before the recital. Some people might call it meditation. Towards the end of this time my mind became very clear. Then it was the time for me to start the recital. I forced myself to keep this feeling and focus of mind every single measure even during breaks between the pieces. Consequently my playing became free of mistakes because I was fully in control of my every movement. Use these tips in playing and preparing for organ recitals today. In time, they will empower you to become a respected expert who can play recitals without any mistakes. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Have you ever thought what successful concert organists have in common? They all think outside the box. They try to be different than their competitors which makes them unique. In this article, I will show you how thinking outside the box in programing organ recitals can help you to achieve success as a concert organist.
If you want to become successful in giving organ recitals, try to be different from the majority of organists. Think of what can you do differently than anybody else in the organ world? Think of your listeners. If there are many organ concerts in your area, you should be thinking of what will propel your audience choose your concert instead of others. In other words, why they would go to your recital? You should think about the program of your concert very carefully and try to make it unique. You see, the majority of organists play organ recitals which consist of a mixture of pieces from various historical periods and national schools of organ composition. Although this approach works perfectly fine when programming organ recitals, it will not necessarily make your recital unique. Consequently, the listeners might not be drawn to your recital because they will think of it as one of many others and not something extraordinary which shouldn't be missed. Possible solutions to this issue might be giving your recital a unique title, programming it around a specific and colorful theme, including informative and/or entertaining verbal presentations and explanations about organ pieces and composers in your program, and even thinking about the involvement of members of the audience. Use the above tips and think outside the box in your preparation for your organ recital today. With time, this approach will put you in a situation when you can become a leader in your field and you will be considered as an expert by others. Consequently, being an expert will give you success you deserve as a concert organist. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. |
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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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