Would you like to master In dich hab' ich gehoffet, Herr, BWV 640 by J.S. Bach?

I've created this practice score with complete fingering and pedaling so that our students could master this chorale prelude from the Orgelbuchlein efficiently, saving many hours of frustration and achieving ideal articulation - articulate legato.

Thanks to Jan Pennell for her meticulous transcription from slow motion video.

Basic level. PDF score. 1 page.

This score is free for Total Organist students.

Check it out here

Vidas: Hi guys!  This is Vidas.
 
Ausra:  And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 447 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.  This question was sent by David, And he writes:
 
Hi Vidas, I bought shoes from Organmaster but I didn’t quite like it. Do you have any recommendation? Regards, David
 
Well, what would you say to David, Ausra? Because I have my own recommendations.
 
A: Well, if I would be, you know, Mr. Bennett, from The Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austin, I would say it seems like a hopeless business, but since I’m not… Well, I don’t like the Organmaster shoes myself so well, and why I don’t because they are not made from genuine leather, except of the…
 
V: Soles?
 
A: Soles, yes.
 
V: Really?
 
A: Yes. And that’s why I don’t find them of really high quality. At least, that’s my opinion. But, after using them for many years, they sort of softened, and it’s becoming more comfortable.
 
V: Do you remember, Ausra, when we first bought Organmaster shoes? How long did it take for you to get used to your shoes? How many weeks?
 
A: It took quite a while. A month, maybe.
 
V: A month. So if David, and this is the start of my recommendation, if David doesn’t like the shoes at first, maybe it doesn’t mean the shoes are bad at first. Maybe he just needs to play for a few weeks to a month, and see if they soften up a little bit, and your feet get used to your shoes this way. Do you think, sometimes, that might be the case?
 
A: Yes. It’s like with any new shoes. They often give a struggle at the beginning, so.
 
V: But not all shoes.
 
A: No, not all shoes, but some of them, yes. I’m not talking about sneakers.
 
V: Mm-hmm. Sneakers are very comfortable. What I would suggest, also, to take a look, for David, into TicTacToes. This is another company, which specializes in shoes. Let’s see their website.  TicTacToe.  TicTacToe Shoes,” I think. There is a game called Tic-Tac-Toe. These are shoes for ballroom dancing, and organ shoes and square dancing. You know, all kinds of shoes they have, and in addition to that, they have a collection for organ shoes, and if I click to enter their collection, they have men’s organ shoes, they have women’s organ shoes, and they also have special organ shoes, which look… (laughs) strange, Ausra, right?
 
A: Well, they’re shoes that look really soft and you can bend it, you know?
 
V: Yes, it’s bent, like, at a ninety-degree angle, downward.
 
A: I don’t think anybody could… do their foot like this. They would break it.
 
V: So that’s my also recommendation; to look at TicTacToes.com
 
A: But, anyway, you know, I wonder how David is doing with other shoes. Are other shoes comfortable for him? Because it might not be a problem with these complete shoes, but it might be, you know, a problem with, I don’t know… feet? (inaudible) Or what he wears on a daily basis? It’s really hard to tell, because, actually, he didn’t explain why he doesn’t like these shoes. We don’t know what the problem is.
 
V: Exactly. I think when I wrote to him and answered in an email about TicTacToes, he was quite happy with it. Maybe that solved his problem. So anyway, organist shoes, sometimes, it’s a great challenge to find for us, right, and not every person has the, you know, the ability to buy something online and get shipped from overseas to their country. They need to buy something locally. For example, in Venus, we have, also, a store for dancers. And I found that our Unda Maris students also need organ shoes, so I recommended them to take a look at their collection for dancing shoes, ballroom dancing, specifically.
 
A: Ballroom? Do you think those shoes are fitted? For men, maybe, but for women, I highly doubt it.
 
V: No? Why not?
 
A: Because, well, look at women’s shoes. You know, ballroom dancing shoes.
 
V: They’re very similar. I mean, some of them.
 
A: Well, this company, yes, but in general, they’re not, because the heel is much higher than short in these.
 
V: But, remember, if you play with--
 
A: You have professional dancers on the TV. We never wear shoes like these.
 
V: Ah, I see. So maybe, full dancing, then…
 
A: Yes, I would say it’s more like full dancing shoes. But also, if it’s to play the organ.
 
V: Uh-huh. Could be, could be. Interesting. So basically, you could accommodate your own feet this way with various kinds of shoes, and sometimes, you might even don’t need to buy something. You could look at your own shoe collection at home, if you have one, and see what you can use for the organ. Sometimes, you can find one. Not always, though. Right?
 
A: It depends.
 
V: It depends, as everything in life. Thank you guys. This was Vidas…
 
A: And Ausra.
 
V: We hope this was useful to you, and please keep sending us your wonderful questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice…
 
A: Miracles happen.

Would you like to learn Poco Allegro in C Minor from L'Organiste by Cesar Franck?

I hope you'll enjoy playing this piece yourself from my PDF score.

Thanks to Juan Osorno for his meticulous transcription from the slow motion video.

What will you get?

PDF score. Basic Level. 2 pages.

Let me know how your practice goes.

​This score is free for Total Organist students.

Check it out here

This is the continuation of SOPP446.

Vidas: So anyway, let’s take a look at the remaining of the question—when to play pedals—right?
 
Ausra: Is it necessary to add pedals?
 
V: No.
 
A: What do you think about it?
 
V: No. Especially on English organs—they don’t have much pedal stops I think.
 
A: Because I don’t think that Noel’s were intended for to be played with pedals too.
 
V: Well maybe…
 
A: Maybe sometimes at the end of cadences.
 
V: When you play the Grand Jeux right? It’s actually in parenthesis. The Guilmant edition has in parenthesis, pedal sign. So whenever you have large chords, you could add, but it’s…
 
A: It’s optional.
 
V: It’s optional, completely optional, because sometimes the chords are not in four voices but in three voices. And if you play the pedals instead of the left hand, then what do you do with the left hand?
 
A: Well, would you double it?
 
V: Yeah probably double. And sometimes even one octave lower, I would think, if you need more gravity. That’s how I would do it. Fast arpeggios is a problem in this Noel, right Ausra?
 
A: Well…
 
V: It doesn’t start fast, because it starts with chords, but it gradually speeds up. At first in quarter notes, then in eighth notes, then in triplets, and then in sixteenth notes.
 
A: That’s what happens in most of the these variations, especially in the baroque variations, that you start with slower note values then everything becomes quite fast.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: Because of smaller note values. We can see this since the time of Sweelinck.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: So basically what you actually have to do with playing piece like this [is] you have to choose your tempo wisely. So you need basically to see what can you, how fast can you play in the hardest spot of the piece and accordingly that spot you need to pick up the opening tempo.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. I think the left hand makes big trouble with those arpeggios, and, well, you have to improve you left hand technique then.
 
A: True.
 
V: Maybe try our left hand training course.
 
A: And it’s very useful to play piece like Noel on the piano. I think it might help a lot. Because obviously, it’s well suited for piano, for developing organ technique, especially in the spots like this.
 
V: Trying to speed up the tempo is a good idea to start in very small fragments. Basically stopping every two notes, then every four notes, every eight notes—talking about the left hand.
 
A: Yes, and the trouble with the spot like this is that some of the people would simply play it very mechanically like an etude. And I don’t think that’s right attitude. Because some of those notes in the left hand are more important than others, and you really need to find what the melody is telling you to do. Because not each of those notes is equally important.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: And you need to shape it like that.
 
V: Right. So in this Noel, John is also wondering about the registration on English organs. And the main idea is sometimes those big chords to be played with the Grand Orgue registration, and variations in two parts to be played sometimes in Cornier registration and also in Krummhorn registration. English organs don’t necessarily have those stops…
 
A: But do they have some reeds?
 
V: Some reeds and some Cornet sounds would be possible to find. For example, obviously if you need Cornet, you could collect flutes of 8, 4, 2, 2 2/3 and 1 3/5. That would be a Cornet. If you need a Krummhorn, but English sound would not maybe have, but maybe have Clarinet, right?
 
A: That might work, yes.
 
V: It depends on what you have. If you don’t have Clarinet at all, if you don’t have reeds at all, it might be the case too. Well, what to do then. What would you do?
 
A: Well, now I’m wondering if it’s worth playing piece that if you could not reproduce registration that can warrant it. But I think that even registration of flute and principles would work nicely for this kind of music.
 
V: Yes. Imagine playing this variation on our piano at home. Wouldn’t it be nice! It would sound nice. Even though our piano is out of tune.
 
A: Well it would sound obviously different, but…
 
V: Yeah, it would be a different piece. So if you are transferring to a different type of organ, it would sound differently. That’s okay I believe.
 
A: True. Except that I’m thinking what about voicing, when you have such a fast running notes in the left hand. Because some organs are just scaled in such a way that left hand is not audible so clearly.
 
V: True! True, true, true! They’re not suited for fast passages. So maybe use higher pitched principles—maybe 4’ principle.
 
A: That’s what I thought about a spot like this. And again, if we are talking that fast arpeggios, you really need to lean down on the strong beats of the places like this because otherwise you might lose the control. And leaning on the strong beat might help to control yourself better.
 
V: Excellent! So we hope this conversation was useful, not only to John but to anyone who wants to try something French for Christmas next year. And this is, this piece has some tricky passages. It’s a wise idea to start earlier.
 
A: True. And to start learning from those hard spots.
 
V: Exactly. Not from the beginning but from the fast running passages. Alright guys, we hope this is, this conversation will spark a new set of questions from you. We always love helping you grow, so keep sending us your feedback. And also John finishes his question by saying, ‘I hope you have a great day!’ So what are we doing today, Ausra?
 
A: We are going to Ikea.
 
V: Ikea, right. And we are buying there?
 
A: A bed, but I don’t think you are going to care because of the bed. You are going because of the Swedish meatballs.
 
V: Yes! Whenever we go to Ikea, I always imagine I would be eating Swedish meatballs. (Laughs.) I hope they will have it today. Alright, guys, this was Vidas.
 
A: And Ausra.
 
V: I think today we also, later, after we get back, we will practice organ duets for our upcoming organ recital in Denmark this summer. So, I also hope that you can practice some organ music today. Because when you practice…
 
V: Miracles happen!

Would you like to learn Andante in Db Major by Cesar Franck from L'Organiste?

I hope you'll enjoy playing this piece yourself from my PDF score.

Thanks to Alan Peterson for his meticulous transcription from the slow motion video.

What will you get?

PDF score. Basic Level. 1 page.

Let me know how your practice goes.

This score is free for Total Organist students.

Check it out here

 Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
 
Ausra: And Ausra!
 
V: Let’s start episode 446 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And this question was sent by John. He writes:
 
“Hi Vidas and Ausra,
How are you today? Soon I would like to start learning Noel X by Daquin as we discussed a few months ago. Could you please give some guidance and teaching on these points?

How to play the French trills in this piece? Please spell out exactly what notes to play.
When to play pedals, and do you double the left hand in this case?
How to play the fast arpeggios in the left hand accurately especially on page 4?
What registration would you use on a small two manual English style organ?

I hope if I start learning soon then I can have it ready by Christmas this year! I really enjoy listening to you play this piece in your Christmas Concert at St Johns I think in 2016. I have read your podcast SOPP346 which has some great advice!

I hope you have a great day!
Take care, God bless,
John...”
 
V: So, John starts his question by asking how are we today. How are you today, Ausra?
 
A: I’m fine.
 
V: What does it mean?
 
A: It means that I am fine.
 
V: Excellent. And how am I today?
 
A: I don’t know.
 
V: So ask me!
 
A: How are you today?
 
V: I am excellent, today. And do you know why?
 
A: I know why, but I don’t think everybody would have to know why!
 
V: Because, I played two concerts this week. One was on, I think, Wednesday, for a group of Canadian tourists, and I also played, yesterday evening, part of the concert together with the Finnish choir in our church. I supplied two improvisations for them.
 
A: And you will play tomorrow in Kėdainiai.
 
V: Yes. Kėdainiai is, basically, right in the center of Lithuania. Medium sized town, which has at least two churches, and two historical organs. And I will be playing organ improvisations as part of the opening of the exhibition of one of the most famous painters in Lithuania. Aloyzas Stasiulevičius is his name. So anyway, John is working on Noel X by Daquin, and is wondering about the French trills. Ok? What is the main feature of French trills? How do you start? From the main note, or from the upper note?
 
A: If we are talking about trills, then you start on the upper note. If we are talking about mordents, then you start on the main note and play with the lower note. Basically, the same rules apply for French Baroque music as for J. S. Bach. I think we have talked about it a number of times, that Bach played his ornaments according to French tradition. Don’t you agree?
 
V: Of course. Yes. Obviously. Obviously, French trills need to be played most of the time from the upper note, and in this piece, yes, we have so many French trills, and I think that we can discuss a little bit of mordents, too, because there are some mordents playing on the main note, but then adding the lower note, and coming back to the main note. So, let’s say on page 4, the first measure is the mordent on the note C. So, I wrote C-B-C with 2-1-2. Or in the second line, second system of that same page and second measure is the note E with mordent, so E-D-E, 3-2-3. You see? But there are trills, like in the third system on that page, so this means we play from the upper note.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: It’s written on the note A, so we start from the note B. B-A-B-A. Probably 4 notes.
 
A: And for a place like this, actually, you could do even a double trill, longer. That’s like in the D minor Toccata, for example, some organists play only one repercussion, but some do two repercussions.
 
V: There is an interesting trill on the same page where both hands have to play a trill for more than two measures.
 
A: How would you play it? Would you play it exactly rhythmically?
 
V: No.
 
A: I thought so. I also wouldn’t play it rhythmically, so how would you play it?
 
V: Well, before we play the trill, I have to tell a little bit what’s happening before that trill, right? Before the trill, we have at least one measure of both hands playing in parallel thirds right here, and even a half measure before. So, in 16th notes, it’s a fast passage. Basically, it’s a diminution on the minor and major third. The left hand plays from the beginning of that measure B, and the right hand plays D. Right? So the hands move up and down in parallel thirds. And then in the next measure it lands on the same minor third, B-D. But it’s a long trill. And I’m wondering whether we should play it from the upper note or not, because the trill actually starts a half measure before: D-E-D-E-D-E-D-E
 
A: So you have to just continue and accelerate the tempo
 
V: Absolutely. Yes, starting from the…..
 
A: And then of course slow down at the end of it.
 
V: Starting from the main note, I think, in this case,
 
A: Yes, in this case yes!
 
V: because it’s a continuation of the same trill, which was spelled out a half measure before, and then you have to accelerate, as Ausra says, and then slow down. How would this make sense? Okay…
 
A: But the best thing, I think, is to listen to recordings of this.
 
V: Obviously yeah. If John listened to our rec...to my recording…. Haha, I said “to our recording,” as a duet, it would be funny. I would play the right hand and you would play the left hand!
 
A: Yes, very tricky!
 
V: Yeah...

​[This conversation continues in the next podcast episode. Stay tuned...]

Would you like to learn Poco Lento in C Major by Cesar Franck from L'Organiste?

I hope you'll enjoy playing this piece yourself from my PDF score.

Thanks to Gerrit Jordaan for his meticulous transcription from the slow motion video.

What will you get?

PDF score. Basic Level. 1.5 Pages.

Let me know how your practice goes.

This score is free for Total Organist students.

Check it out here

Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 440, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Carlos, and he writes:
 
Thanks a lot Dr. Vidas and Dr. Ausra. Well, the primordial matter that I would like to reach in organ playing it's a fine performing level in public. One thing that I think it holds me, and also a matter of my capital focus it's the control of the nervousness in performance. I think that there is a lot of technique to control the panic in scene, I have used some of them and they work well, but I'm sure that you have some great hints for prepare the mind to get a major level for focusing one self in public performance. Thanks a lot for your course, it's pretty good and accurate. Greetings to you all!

A: Well, okay, Dr. Vidas...
 
V: Dr. Vidas.
 
A: What can you tell us?
 
V: Dr. Ausra, I think you all also have some experiences, right?
 
A: In what, nervousness?
 
V: (Laughs).
 
A: Yes, we all do. I guess the main reason is a question you need to ask yourself—what causes your anxiety. Because, well, the reasons may be various, but I think one of the most important is that you are not prepared as well as you should be.
 
V: And this is right that you are saying this of course. But to be well prepared means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. Right, Ausra? Because, how many times have you been in such, in a classroom setting, when your kids, your students said, ‘oh, I practiced for hours and hours, and I could sing it if it’s an ear-training class, sing it without mistakes at all at home. But now I cannot do it in class’.
 
A: They are lying. That’s what I realized after teaching for so many years. Because either they, if you practice for so many hours as you said and you will still could not do it, it means something is really wrong with you and maybe musician path is not your path.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: Or you a little bit exaggerated the hours of your practice, which is I think more often the right case. So, of course we are all human beings and we might all experience some sort of panic during the actual performance, and there [are] always things that might happen with the instrument, or with yourself, or with your audience, or something that might not go as well as it was planned. But still I think anxiety, to have some of anxiety during performance, it’s a normal thing. And I don’t think it’s good to get rid of it entirely, because that fresh adrenaline, it gives something really vivid to your music.
 
V: Vitality!
 
A: Vitality, yes, to your music.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: And excitement and audience gets it and it’s really fun—all this experience. So I think some of anxiety is really good—it helps you. Because otherwise your music might sound boring if you will play it like a machine, let’s say like [a] Sibelius program—it always plays no mistakes, no tempo changes, everything is perfect, but it’s dull and it’s lifeless.
 
V: You could write down accelerando and ritenuto and they could play back to you with fluctuations in tempo of course, but that’s about, not everything the program can do today. I guess that the software is getting better and better, but to reach human interaction level, I don’t think it can, yet.
 
A: So, basically, I could say what I do to Carlos, in order to help myself. So my first thing is I really try to prepare very well for my recitals, that I would be really confident that I did everything what I could. It means if I know I will have to perform, I need to practice in advance.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: Because you always have to leave some time for yourself just in case you will have some unexpected things happening in your life.
 
V: Imagine if you are a professional musician like yourself, but not at your level, but at the student level. But still you’ve been learning the organ and music for maybe, I don’t know, fifteen or more years, yes, before going to America. But even then Dr. Ritchie suggested you to be ready at least one month before your recital, to have a run-through one month before. Is this realistic, Ausra?
 
A: Yes, this is realistic, I think. And that’s the way how it should be I think.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. Would that help?
 
A: Yes, that would help.
 
V: To you. But for people who are not professionals and just playing organ as their hobby, I think two months are needed.
 
A: Yes, that would be really wise. Another thing you also need to know, to breathe, during your actual performance. Because some anxiety comes during your performance, and panic attacks, because many people, especially inexperienced ones, simply forget to breathe. And breathing is crucial—it’s very important. So if you cannot control your breathe during performance then just take a few deep breaths before starting the peace and then maybe at the end of it, or maybe at the slow section of it—remember to breathe.
 
V: It takes practice.
 
A: Yes. It’s not so easy.
 
V: Don’t expect to breathe during public performance when you never focus on your breathing during practice, right? Panic will do it’s own work and you will forget. Maybe you will remember a moment here and there, maybe, if you’re lucky. But if you really want to be free during public performance, you need to incorporate breathing into your daily routine.
 
A: And the third thing which is very important, especially for those who have very few public performance experience[s] yet, you need to perform as often as you can. The more often you perform, the better you will get on the stage.
 
V: Every ten recitals or public appearances, you will have a breakthrough.
 
A: Yes, because, look, if you will perform often enough, you will get tired of being actually nervous, of having that anxiety, because you cannot be always afraid of it.
 
V: Mmm-mmm. Remember Dr…
 
A: It will become a habit for you to play in public and you will enjoy it actually. You want to be on the stage. You see some of the musicians, we are old, and we can hardly walk but we still want to play to sing in public—as they make not maybe a nice jokes about them that they will probably die on the stage.
 
V: Remember Dr. Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra at Eastern Michigan University, told us about her experiences in Germany when she was studying with Harald Vogel. She would have to perform publicly at least once a week, or maybe more, I guess, for that time, maybe for how many months she was there. And that helped her to reduce the stress level to basically zero. It was like daily task for her. Nothing special.
 
A: And the same in America when we had studio class every week and everybody in Lincoln, everybody would play what we have learned during that week. So that way you would have to perform in a studio class each week and then we would have to play service on Sunday, and sometimes even on Saturday evening. So that’s at least two public performance a week, not counting all kind of recitals where you would take either a part in the recital or you would play solo recital.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: And that’s how you built up an experience.
 
V: The reason I live stream my practices for example, from my church on the organ on Facebook, is that not only I want to promote the largest pipe organ Lithuania, not only I want to reach more people with my playing, but I also want to reach the confidence level of my public performance and the freedom it gives. That’s, it’s not a big deal, right, for me to play in front of the camera, or in front of strangers. It’s the same thing for me too. I know I won’t stop the camera at any time. It has to be live without editing and even if I make a mistake I will have to play around it so that my audience wouldn’t notice it.
 
A: Yes and I think there might be some cases when people cannot overcome themselves, cannot overcome that performance anxiety and it’s just there and you can do nothing. In that case I would probably suggest for such a person, especially if it’s a young one, probably not to, not play any more. That’s very sad but I think there are some cases like this. I have seen kids who would keep just shaking and shivering and panicking, and, I think that because if it’s [a] case like this, and you cannot do anything about it, maybe it’s not your way to be a professional musician.
 
V: I have to clarify this, because I know what you’re thinking; you’re suggesting that this person might play privately, not in public.
 
A: Or just switch to another major.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. Earn a living in a different way and keep…
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: playing an instrument as a hobby.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: Yeah, if it costs you too much of nerves and stress, then it’s not worth the effort, probably. Unless there is a clear path to overcome this.
 
A: True.
 
V: Unless you’re seeing the progress in over the months and years of reducing stress, gradually.
 
A: Because, anyway, I think music needs to give joy, and not nerve.
 
V: Okay guys, this was a good question. So please send us more questions like that. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice…
 
V: Miracles happen!