Would you like to master Prelude and Fugue in A Minor, BWV 543 by J.S. Bach?

I have created this score with the hope that it will help my students who love early music to recreate articulate legato style automatically, almost without thinking.

Thanks to Jeremy Owens for his meticulous transcription of fingering and pedaling from the slow motion video.

Advanced level. PDF score. 10 pages. 50 % discount is valid until December 26.

Check it out here
​
This score is free for Total Organist students.

Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 354 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And this question was sent sent by Marion, and Marion writes that the goal is mainly learning to play hymns, and the time for practice is the hardest thing.
 
V: Ausra, when you see that people are writing about finding time, what do you think they really mean?
 
A: Well…
 
V: Because it’s a deeper, I think, question than…
 
A: I think it might mean two things. One that they are very busy and it’s hard for them to squeeze organ practice into their schedule, but I think it also might mean, well, laziness, a little bit.
 
V: Why do you say laziness, specifically? Because, I have another theory.
 
A: Well, because I think it’s in the human nature that sometimes we don’t want to do something, and then we find ourselves excuses for not doing that, and usually, the best answer to it is, “I don’t have enough time.”
 
V:  Oh, so you mean like running is easier than flying, walking is easier than running, standing is easier than walking, and then sitting is easier than standing, and lying down is easier than sitting! And, we would be lying all day long.
 
A: True! And what is your theory?
 
V: My theory is that when a person says that they can’t find time to do something is that they don’t want it badly enough. As you say, you need to sacrifice something, right? And this sacrifice is not worth the trouble—not worth the result, maybe, for them. For example, why do you keep practicing organ after those 25 plus years? You’re busy, right? You’re teaching etc., but why do you keep finding the time?
 
A: Well, I wish just to say that I have that need in my blood to keep practicing,
 
V: Your DNA
 
A: but it’s not always true! Sometimes I’m just having a recital coming up, and that’s what pushes me to practice.
 
V: Deadlines!
 
A: Yes, deadlines, although I really hate them. I hate this forced motivation, deadline, duty… ooh!
 
V: Your favorite words from American college education!
 
A: Yes. I remember that! It was horrible! Horrible!
 
V: Would you be motivated to keep finding the time without those external deadlines?
 
A: It would be much, much harder, and I don’t know how long I would be able to keep practicing. But anyway, since Marion wrote that she needs to learn to play hymns, obviously she works at church, so she has a goal, and she needs to practice, because if she plays at church, probably she gets paid, and so…
 
V: She didn’t write that she works at church, and maybe we are just speculating.
 
A: Well, but maybe she wants to become a church organist.
 
V: Aha, that could be her priority, then. To become better at playing the organ, and you can’t become better unless you practice everyday.
 
A: Well, and I think everybody in their schedule might find time to do that. You just have to sacrifice something. Maybe you don’t have to watch TV, maybe you don’t have to surf your Internet in your smart phone…
 
V: Like you did when I was posting a blog post, right?
 
A: True! Yes!
 
V: Nice. I do that also, sometimes.
 
A: I think that’s a bad habit that everybody has—almost everybody.
 
V: Except when you did this on your phone, you were not looking on Facebook, you were at least doing something productive—helping people on the Steam blockchain.
 
A: True.
 
V: So, I think it comes don’t to managing your priorities, not managing your time, actually. We all have 24 hours, not more and not less. How we spend our time is up to us. At least, I think so. Sometimes people think that it’s not up to them, that they don’t have the choice. Other people force them to do something. What do you have to say about that?
 
A: That’s true! You might find somebody who will push you real hard to play.
 
V: I mean no, no, no….not play, but exactly the opposite, that your day is filled with activity that other people want from you. And then you don’t have time for yourself.
 
A: Well, but that’s so true for so many people, because you have real responsibilities that you must do. If you have, let’s say, a family, have kids, so you probably have to take care of your kids.
 
V: What about….
 
A: If you have a job, you have to go to a job and do it!
 
V: What about doing this totally, with neglecting your own needs. Is this, okay?
 
A: Well, it’s not okay, but that’s what happens in so many cases, especially for women.
 
V: And, are there any hacks or shortcuts to this, to go around and maybe not do everything at 100%, top notch quality, but maybe 95%. Would this work?
 
A: Maybe, I don’t know. I think it would be really nice if people who are around us would think about our needs, too, and maybe they could do some things for themselves, and that would save us some free time, and we could practice more.
 
V: That’s a lot to think about, right?
 
A: Let’s say you have a dog, and you have to take a dog for a walk twice a day. So maybe if you do that twice, maybe you could do that once, and somebody in your household could do it another time. So for that time you could practice.
 
V: But what if….
 
A: It’s just one example. It could be doing dishes, doing laundry, doing whatever domestic…
 
V: I would prefer doing dishes and other errands, because walking the dog is healthy! Movement!
 
A: That’s true.
 
V: I think even twice a day is really good, and it depends on how active a person is. If he or she is already active, then maybe, as you say, once a day would be enough. But for a person who would work in a sitting position all day long, then it’s healthy. And if you sit down on the organ bench, during that time, it’s even more stressful for your body, right? So, it’s a constant struggle, right Ausra, finding courage and motivation to find time—to make time.
 
A: True! And I think that through life, always what suffers first is practice time when you have other needs.
 
V: Do you think, Ausra, that playing organ is a creative activity?
 
A: Of course it is!
 
V: And then, if it is a creative activity, would it make sense to do it first thing in the morning?
 
A: Of course, if you can do that, I think this would be the best thing, to practice in the morning. But…
 
V: And then you can do everything else, right?
 
A: Well, but since, let’s say myself, for example, I start teaching at 8 A.M., I get up at 6 A.M. I cannot imagine myself getting up at 5:00 or even earlier, just in order to practice before my school day….I think I would be dead in half a year after living like that.
 
V: But if you could play the organ from 8 A.M. to 10 A.M. and start teaching at 11…
 
A: It would be ideal, but not in this life time, probably.
 
V: So, we leave our listeners to figure out for themselves what’s the ideal time for them to practice, and how to find motivation, actually, to do this more often. What works for us obviously is to find some external motivation like playing in public once in a while at least, regularly. Then you’re forced to get on the organ bench, because you know that other people will depend on you. And actually, you will be ashamed to play in public without preparation. Right Ausra?
 
A: I hope so!
 
V: But not everybody, right?
 
A: I know!
 
V: There are people who schedule public performances without practicing!
 
A: I have heard so many sloppy performances, and it seems like people have no shame!
 
V: And we have friends like that, actually!
 
A: True.
 
V: I hope they are listening.
 
A: I hope not.
 
V: Okay guys, this was Vidas,
 
A: Ausra,
 
V: And remember, when you practice,
 
A: Miracles happen.

Would you like to master Two Part Invention No. 6 in E Major, BWV 777 by J.S. Bach?

I have created this score with the hope that it will help my students who love early music to recreate articulate legato style automatically, almost without thinking.

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

Basic level. PDF score. 1.5 pages. 50 % discount is valid until December 24.

Check it out here

​This score is free for Total Organist students.

Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 351 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent sent by Lev, and he writes:
 
Hi Vidas,
Thank you for the hints. Maybe it is a good idea to make a particular podcast or a course about "optimal hymn pedaling for beginners" if one doesn't already exist.

Best regards,
Lev
 
V: Ausra, Lev has sent me a few of his pedaling choices for a few hymns that he is working on to correct for him. And at first, he made, in my view, some choices that need to be changed, but then little by little, I think in the third hymn, he already started to do this very efficiently, and almost like I would do it. So, people are progressing, and I’m very glad.
 
A: Yes, it’s very nice to know.
 
V: If you were a beginner, imagine yourself like 25 or 30 years ago, and if somebody asked you to play a hymn from a hymnal in church, remember, you worked at Holy Cross church, but not necessarily as a beginner, but still close, I think.
 
A: But sometimes I just think that you don’t know how old I am, and how old I was when I started to play organ.
 
V: Oh, please, reveal!
 
A: Because if you said, “30 years ago,” I definitely hadn’t played organ yet.
 
V: So, when? How long was that?
 
A: Well, never mind, but yes, I remember when I worked at the Holy Cross Church, and it was my second year of playing organ. I was almost 19 years old at that time.
 
V: 90 or 19?
 
A: 19! Okay, stop teasing me, because I lost my thought. So, when I was just a beginner organist at Holy Cross Church, not the pedal part was that hard for me, but understanding all the liturgy and knowing the Mass so well that I could follow it, and come right on time, with all those answers that are not as easy in the Catholic Mass, at least for a beginner.
 
V: The order of the Mass was more difficult for you than pedal playing.
 
A: True! And it’s really funny, because in general, I knew the order of Mass very well by that time. But since I knew it from, let’s say, downstairs…
 
V: From the listener perspective.
 
A: Yes. It was a very different thing to be upstairs and to play for it.
 
V: To lead.
 
A: Well, yes. But of course, I played with the pedal, and I don’t know how well I pedalized… was it right or wrong? I had no idea, at that time, what I’m doing.
 
V: I thought once that left foot should play the notes on the left side of the pedal board, and the right foot should play the right notes on the pedal board.
 
A: Well, at least you played some with the pedal, because as it’s often in Lithuania, organists don’t use the pedal at all!
 
V: Church organists, you mean.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Ok, so I think we talked about it, and have written quite a few posts about hymn pedaling, but not only hymn pedaling, in general pedaling, because we have to treat hymns as real organ compositions, I think.
 
A: Of course! They are real compositions!
 
V: But they’re very short, like maybe one minute long, one verse, and relatively easy to learn. And I think we could remind our listeners of some of the more important points about choosing the best pedaling. For me, it’s first of all looking at the date of the hymn. When was it created? Why is it important, Ausra?
 
A: Because, I think, the date determines what type of pedaling you need to use! Either you just need to use toes, or heels as well!
 
V: Yes, and starting from 19th century, we could start to use heels, but not always, right? Still, I think whenever possible, alternate toe works well all the time. But in Romantic hymns, 19th century hymns and 20th century hymns, we have more options. Okay, so if the hymn is created in the early days, before the 19th century, what’s the most common technique, Ausra?
 
A: The same as playing Bach, or any Baroque composition.
 
V: So, you mean alternate toe pedaling?
 
A: That’s right!
 
V: Left-right-left-right or right-left-right-left. But then there are exceptions, obviously. You can’t apply this technique all the time.
 
A: Sure, of course there are, as in any composition.
 
V: And exceptions are that you need to play with the same foot when the melody changes direction, when there are very long note values—in hymns there are not very many instances like that—but the third instance is, I think, when notes are very far in the edges of the pedal board, either in the base or in the treble.
 
A: Of course, because they are very hard. In the bass, you definitely want to play it with your left foot only.
 
V: For your physique, what’s convenient to you? What’s the lowest note that you could play with the right foot?
 
A: Well, probably… maybe I could do G.
 
V: Me, too. G is still okay. And after G, I play with the left foot, most of the time. I could do somethings with the right, but also as an exception. And in the top range, what do you do then?
 
A: Well, probably A is the highest note for my left foot.
 
V: So it depends what’s the highest note on the pedal board.
 
A: Sure!
 
V: We almost always have the lowest note of the pedal board as C, but the top note varies. So from G to C in the bottom octave—it’s a perfect fifth. I suspect that also we need to look at the interval of the perfect fifth in the top range, and play the fifth below that top note with the left foot. And above that, only with the right foot. Conveniently, I mean.
 
A: Well, yes. I’m talking about these extremes.
 
V: Yeah. A seems like a doable thing for a lot of people. And then, of course, there is an instance when you could repeat the same foot before the strong beat, in order to articulate.
 
A: True.
 
V: Agree?
 
A: Yes, that helps.
 
V: Okay, so that was for early type of hymns. If you have modern hymns, I think you have more choices, but also more freedom. Where would you start, your method?
 
A: Well, it’s as you know, you just pedaling it as you would pedal any Romantic composition.
 
V: And, what would that look like?
 
A: You could use legato technique in the pedal. It means you use not only toes, but also heels. So, it gives you more choices.
 
V: Obviously, when you have sharps, you play with the toes.
 
A: Obviously, of course, because that’s how our physiology works. And I don’t think anyone could do vice versa.
 
V: In legato technique, normally we could play with heels and toes, and vice versa, two adjacent notes, which are one step apart.
 
A: Yes, and in these types of hymns the organists shoes are very important, too. As you know, in earlier music we can play whatever, but here we need real organ shoes.
 
V: With about 2 inches of heels. 2 inches or 3 centimeters, something like that. In our organ studio, Unda Maris, there is one older student who has now acquired special shoes, but they are not organ shoes, but he uses them for playing organ only. And they’re a little bit too long for him. So, he’s struggling with hitting the wrong sharps.
 
A: That’s, I think, a very bad idea to play with those shoes that are too big for you. They need to on the edge, actually.
 
V: And when he’s placing his toes on the edge of the sharp keys, then the end of the shoe is actually in the middle of the key.
 
A: That’s horrible.
 
V: Maybe he will find something else, too. So that’s the general observations, and I think the more you play, the more variety you practice, I think the more experience you’ll get, too, and the process will become easier to you.
 
A: That’s right, I think everything comes with experience and with practice.
 
V: And it’s natural to be bad before you get to be good. It’s at anything.
 
A: Well, I still think that it’s not pedaling that’s the hardest thing in hymn playing, but the left hand. The tenor voice. That’s my opinion.
 
V: That’s why I think too many people play bass and tenor in the left hand, and they double the bass line in the pedals as well, which is not good.
 
A: Yes, I noticed that quite a few times.
 
V: Okay 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 355 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.  This question was sent by Tamara and she writes:
 
“Dear Vidas and Ausra:
 
Thank you so much for your instructional emails, conversations about certain issues related to repertoire and organ playing, and support.  They have been so extremely helpful in my own work.  I've been following/completing each email as best I am able to get the time.  I work a part-time organist position, but also 4 additional positions (as pianist/conductor/teacher) in the music industry here in the U.S.!
 
I missed the Black Friday/Cyber Monday discount on Total Organist, which I hope you will offer again around Christmastime!  At that point I will take advantage of it.  I will be very busy anyway until third week of December, so I will have time to concentrate on organ over the holiday break.
 
I will for now purchase your edition of the Hallelujah Chorus from Messiah, as well as the Karg-Elert Nun danket alle Gott--the latter which I played for our Thanksgiving Service two weeks ago.  I will appreciate your take on the fingerings and pedal markings.
 
Sending you both very best wishes!
 
Sincerely,
 
Tamara
 
PS--I also enjoy your cartoons!”
 
A: That’s very nice.
 
V: Tamara is very diligent listener of ours and tries to apply our tips in her practice in her church service work a lot and this is extremely pleasing to know right Ausra?
 
A: Yes, I’m glad she finds it useful.
 
V: For people like that it’s worth doing what we are creating because these people like Tamara can really reap the benefits of their practice and they can help themselves and we’re glad to be part of this.
 
A: And we are glad that somebody like Tamara responds to us back and we know that we are doing a useful job.
 
V: And she says that she didn’t take our offer for Total Organist for Black Friday and Cyber Monday and she hopes to get around it for Christmas time.  Will we offer it Ausra?
 
A: Yes, I think we will.
 
V: And Christmas is really not far away.
 
A: Yes, it’s coming really fast.
 
V: So when Tamara will join Total Organist and if other people will join together with her they can practice any course that there is in our repertoire, any material that they wish to download, any program that they find useful.  We have music theory courses, harmony courses.  We have improvisation right Ausra?  What else we have?
 
A: Yes, plenty of to choose.
 
V: Sight reading, hymn playing, pedal playing.  Just about any area from organ playing.  That’s why we call it Total Organist.
 
A: Yes, plus a lot of pieces with the fingering and pedaling written in.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  It’s really helpful.
 
A: You know what I noticed when we were reading Tamara’s letter that she has so many positions as a musician.  Do you think it’s hard for a person to have three or four part-time positions or it’s harder to have one full-time position?
 
V: I would think that having one full-time position is easier than five part-time positions because then you can concentrate fully, give 100 percent in your one job.  What about you Ausra?
 
A: But maybe it’s nice when you have part-time positions then sort of you never get bored because you have to change surroundings all the time.
 
V: And there are certain advantages, right?  If you get kicked out of one position you have four more left. 
 
A: Yes, you have four more left or three more left.
 
V: What do we call it?  Diversification right?
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: And diversification is the path to financial independence and that’s what people in today’s world are striving for a lot these days because to be dependent on one full-time position is scary these days.  You have the job and maybe your priest is transferred to another church and then you can lose it.
 
A: Yes.  So I guess it’s sort of nice to be a musician because you have all these options.
 
V: You can be a free-lancer right?  You can be substitute organist.  You can position yourself as a person who can play services for other churches when there isn’t anybody around.
 
A: And since Tamara also is pianist and conductor and a teacher it gives her broad perspective of things to do and I think it’s very often the case with organists that we play both organ and piano and can conduct choir and can teach too.
 
V: Exactly Ausra.  Would you prefer being a full-time or part-time musician in several institutions?
 
A: Well it’s a tricky question.
 
V: Like today I will explain a little bit situation.  Like right now you are working at National Children’s School of Music with lots and lots of hours.
 
A: Yes it’s a full-time, more than a full-time.
 
V: How many classes do you teach?
 
A: Twenty-six hours per week.
 
V: Twenty-six and plus all the grading papers and additional…
 
A: Yes, preparation and all that paper work.
 
V: So it’s a full-time. 
 
A: Yes.
 
V: It takes probably forty hours of your week easily.
 
A: Definitely.
 
V: And would you rather teach less there and do something else in other fields.
 
A: Well I can’t imagine how I could teach less then I would get less money and even now sometimes it’s hard to survive from teaching full-time and plus I’m also a part-time organist at Vilnius University.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  It depends on where you live in the world, how advanced your country is and ...
 
A: How we are valuing teachers let’s say because my country is not obviously.
 
V: Just last week-end we had strike and demonstration of teachers and other unions in the center of Vilnius demanding respect for this profession, bigger salaries, lesser classrooms and what else?  In general, more respect.  Do you think they will succeed?
 
A: I don’t think so.
 
V: And the same week-end they had strikes and demonstrations in Paris, violence.
 
A: Yes, they were breaking windows and burning cars.
 
V: And our teachers just were protesting with bells in their hand and books and very politely.
 
A: Very intelligently.  But nobody listens to you when you are too polite.
 
V: Yeah, you are right.
 
A: But we are northern people, we don’t know how to protest.  We had not thrown us off.
 
V: Exactly, we have cold blood.
 
A: I don’t think so, I think we hide our emotions inside.
 
V: Oh, that’s why we have so many psychological illnesses.
 
A: Yes, and so many alcoholics.
 
V: Umm-hmm.
 
A: And also you know…
 
V: Suicide rate is quite high.
 
A: Yes, it’s very high.  I believe it’s the highest in the world.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  Yeah.  Every country has its own advantages and disadvantages and you have to live where you are and make the best of it I guess.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: Luckily today we live in a global world where we can teach, right?  You can teach not only your school but teach globally in 89 countries.
 
A: Yes, that’s a very nice thing.
 
V: And anybody who has any sort of skill they can do similar things today and writing a blog and getting paid for it is so easy today with blog chain technologies.  Just five years ago it wasn’t possible at all.  You had to do what we’ve been doing, right Ausra?  You usually have product or service in addition to your blog selling to people, helping in other ways who would prefer to pay you.  But today you could just post your teachings online and the platform itself pays for it.
 
A: I wish more people would take advantage of this and do such a sort of work but for me now seems that so little understands about it.  For example we have so many teachers, some are friends you have especially.
 
V: Alex, from our book club.
 
A: And we are all in all teaching languages and most of them work at school or at university but we just don’t understand what we are doing and Vidas tries to explain to them so…
 
V: I was once proposing to get our communication into the telegram group where instant chat and messaging services is much more efficient and flexible and easy to do and user friendly and most of them were stuck with email.
 
A: Yes and Vidas was so persistent and he’s never tired of educating people.  He tried so hard to convince them but nobody took advantage of it, almost nobody.
 
V: Anyway you have to always be curious about new developments, about new technologies and how they can help creative people and I can tell you quite surely that there hasn’t been a better time to be a creative person.  And we are all creative.  It doesn’t matter which field you are in, teacher or musician or artist, we all are creating something from our brain.  Ideas.  We generate ideas and today is the best time to generate ideas and get paid for them.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: So for Tamara, maybe for others who are also struggling with part-time positions you could actually look online and take advantage of new technologies, such as Steem, ONO, Whaleshares, Trybe and others and do what you are still doing actually but diversify your income even more than you are doing and actually get paid while you sleep.  That would be wonderful right Ausra?
 
A: Umm-hmm.  Yeah.
 
V: You got paid while you slept right for your cartoons,
 
A: That’s right, yeah.
 
V: (Laughs.)  Pinky and Spiky.  Thank you guys for listening.  Thank you guys for applying our tips in your practice.  If just a few people do what we are experimenting with and leading by example I think this is a good precedent and they can also start developing their own new ideas and create new circles.  And remember when you practice…
 
A: Miracles happen.

Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.

Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 356, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jay and Pauline. They are responding to my blog post from yesterday about playing with pointed high-heel shoes. I talked about when one lady, beginner organist, came and tried to play with high heels and pointed toes. And at the end of it I asked what our listeners think, should she keep trying to adjust to the difficult of playing with these high heels and pointed toes, or should she just get a pair of real organ shoes. So Jay responded with following message:
 
I think it’s better if she (or anyone) can get closer to a ‘real’ pair of organ shoes.  I’ve found that it’s more difficult to learn and remember good pedal technique, when you’re changing shoes constantly on which you play pedals.  It’s better to have some consistency.
 
Some people may not have the funds to purchase great organ shoes, like from the Organmaster site for example, especially students. I don’t have a ‘genuine’ pair of Organmaster shoes either. I’ve thought about purchasing a pair of those, but just haven’t yet. Mainly because I had an older pair of shoes that I just had resoled—just had a leather sole and a higher heel put on them, and they work fine for me. Cheaper too! In doing that though, you need to make sure that if you just replace the heel, that the rest of the sole is leather, or at least not rubber. Something that will slide easily on the pedals.
That’s my two cents worth.

And Pauline writes that she plays organ shoes less. So she writes:
 
Hi, I play organ shoeless. Because when I took organ lesson before we’re not allowed to wear shoes into the studio. And at home we also don’t wear shoes inside the house.
And after so much practices without wearing shoes, I felt more comfortable without shoes. I can feel the pedals better. 1st day I played in church I also took off my shoes. So I m a naked feet organist. In your opinion what do you think? No standard or just being natural.
 
V: Interesting comment, right?
 
A: Yes, it is. And maybe outside [of] answering to Pauline’s part of letter, it’s a very nice one, and I also know some organists in Lithuania who always play without shoes. But, and I played without shoes myself too. I find it sometimes it’s very beneficial to know how to do it. Because let’s say, if you are traveling, and you didn’t take your shoes…
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: with you, and you want to try some new organs, you cannot play with the street shoes. At least I don’t do it because I feel that it’s disrespectful and it’s not a nice thing to play organ with street shoes.
 
V: Unless you wipe the dust...
 
A: But, still, I just take my shoes off and play on my socks. A disadvantage of it is, actually there are two disadvantages, because if you are playing a really virtuosic piece, let’s say romantic or modern, not Baroque piece, your ankles will, might get hurt. Because you will have to…
 
V: Flex it.
 
A: To flex it too much. And it might be really harmful for your foot. And another thing is that, imagine that you are playing a recital, and organ is not upstairs in the balcony but it’s downstairs in front of people, of your listeners. How do you imagine that happens? Because often in that case, the pedal board is turned in such a way that people would see your feet because it’s one of the most exciting thing for people to watch for organist is dealing with the pedal.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: And then can’t you imagine that you are walking on your socks, next to the organ bench?
 
V: With slippers!
 
A: With slippers. I don’t know, how you go with shoes and then you take the shoes off and put next to the organ bench and then sit down and play. So you might get in a really comical situation.
 
V: Make this large artistic movement of taking your shoes off so that everybody will see it. it’s part of the game.
 
A: True. True, and it’s so you might find this very comical situations.
 
V: Not right that you’re playing without shoes but actually expose your socks and expose the process of taking off the shoes.
 
A: So I guess it’s a good thing to know how to play without shoes, organ, and to be able to do that, because it’s very useful sometimes. But I also believe that you need to adjust some shoes and practice with them as well.
 
V: Plus it’s cold in the winter—without shoes.
 
A: True…
 
V: Right?
 
A: But it might be cold with shoes also, and sometimes it’s better to play on your socks in winter when it’s cold. It’s less dangerous...
 
V: Why?
 
A: to play in shoes.
 
V: Why? This is counter-intuitive, right, Ausra?
 
A: Well….
 
V: Explain please!
 
A: Because your organ shoes is always right on the edge of being too small for you.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. They fit very…
 
A: Tightly.
 
V: Tightly.
 
A: And I had such experience in my life, maybe, I don’t know, twenty years ago. It was December, right around for Christmas and I was performing in one small town in Lithuania, and I was using my organ shoes for like, what, hour and a half, and actually my toes froze.
 
V: Mmmmm.
 
A: And I was in a big, big, big trouble. And I’m lucky that everything was fine after a while, but it was really bad. I didn’t feel it at the beginning but when we went, left the church, and went to our house, to our, to my parents’ friends house, actually, and I started to feel that something is really, really, really bad with my feet.
 
V: Mmm-mmm.
 
A: I had that feeling that somebody took many needles and started to…
 
V: Hammer.
 
A: To hammer my toes. And I took my socks off and I saw that my toes are red and they are actually swollen.
 
V: Wow!
 
A: And was really, really bad.
 
V: What degree of frost is this?
 
A: This is the first degree, I believe.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: And I got lucky that it wasn’t the higher degree. Because I might end up without toes left at all. So, but luckily that there was a medical student next to us and she told me not to do anything like external with my toes—not to rub them, not to try to put some ointment on them, but she said that I need to get warm from inside. So actually they gave me like…
 
V: Brandy.
 
A: Yes, brandy.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: Like a hundred of brandy and I really got warm from inside and somehow when I put woolen socks on my feet to keep them warm, and well, I got fine after a couple of days.
 
V: What if you went to the bathroom and put your feet into the bathtub with a little bit of warm water?
 
A: Well, she told that it wouldn’t be good.
 
V: No?
 
A: No.
 
V: Not hot water but…
 
A: No, no!
 
V: But lukewarm...
 
A: No, no, no, no...
 
V: Room temperature.
 
A: Because your skin is very sensitive in cases like this and you might do more harm than good.
 
V: I’ve noticed that when you are really cold, you’re fingers are cold and you put them under the hot water flow—it’s extremely hot.
 
A: And actually after that time, I learned my lesson. That now when I know when I will have to perform during winter time in a cold church, I put the woolen socks on my feet instead of organ shoes, and that way I know that I will not froze [freeze] my feet.
 
V: That’s good to know for other people, I guess, too, who are playing without shoes. But now you are playing with shoes every time, right? In public?
 
A: Yes, but if it’s really cold, I try just to put them right from my performance and then to take them off.
 
V: Uh-huh.
 
A: As fast as I can.
 
V: Not for a long period time…
 
A: True, true.
 
V: But just as short period of time as possible. That’s good to know. Thank you guys. If you have any observations about playing with, without regular organ shoes, please keep, send them to us.
 
A: And another remark about Jay—I think he find a great solution—that he remade his shoes into an organ shoes. I think that’s a very good way to do.
 
V: Yes. You don’t always have to buy things.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: You can repurpose.
 
A: True.
 
V: Just make sure that the soles are from leather, and that the heel is like three centimeters or two inches high.
 
A: Yes. And another thing about that lady who played with high heels; maybe she has a French blood. Because I have heard so many stories about these French madams, like Madam Durufle who came actually to Lithuania to perform, way back.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: And some older colleagues of ours listened to her recital we told that she actually was playing with high heels and really fashionable shoes, and she was just brilliant. So I guess some people can do it.
 
V: Do you think that Madam (???-12:23) started with high heels?
 
A: I don’t know.
 
V: As a beginner organist?
 
A: I don’t know.
 
V: That’s the question.
 
A: I guess French women are very special.
 
V: But I have no doubt that it’s possible to play with high heels too. It only takes much more effort and much more time to get used to this, because it’s much easier to slip, because of narrow heels. It depends on your needs, I guess, and how fashionable you want to look on the…
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: organ bench. Okay guys. Wonderful questions! We hope to help you grow. And remember, when you practice...
 
A: Miracles happen!

Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.

Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 353, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jonathan. He writes:

Memorizing a 3-voice piece. I’m not sure how best to do this. I’ve been memorizing a phrase at a time, then gradually stringing them together. Any suggestions?

V: This is seems like a good idea, right?
 
A: Yes. That’s how I thought, when I was studying at school. That you need memorize two measures, then add next two measures, then two measures. It is actually…
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: But, really memorization is probably the hardest thing for me. And I have struggled with it for many, many years. But now when I’m thinking back, I think that I was just too lazy and didn’t start to memorize things on time. Sort of why I always fell behind the schedule and, right before exam or concert, I would be just faking out.
 
V: Wait! You said you were too lazy. I thought I was the lazy one.
 
A: Well, yes. Back at school I was lazy too.
 
V: Wow!
 
A: Not about everything but about memorization, yes. Somehow I always procrastinated this thing—starting to memorize pieces.
 
V: Maybe that’s because nobody told you the technique, how to do it.
 
A: No, I just was too lazy. Because if you would spend enough time with it, you wouldn’t have such a struggle. Of course there are different techniques, but you have also to know your structure of the piece, how it’s put together, and all these things but definitely there is no technique which will teach you to memorize things without putting effort into it.
 
V: Yet! Maybe later you will have photographic memory, and then you can memorize right away.
 
A: Well, I think what kind of memory you have since your birth, that’s what you have. And if you don’t have such a memory, photographic memory, you will not develop it. It’s not as easy.
 
V: Remember how electronic organs sometimes have MIDI capabilities, and sometimes you can play a piece of music and record at the same time. And then push the button and the organ will play, playback for you. You can actually listen from the pews.
 
A: So, what about…
 
V: Maybe in the future we will have some kind of memory card inserted in our brains.
 
A: I hope that not.
 
V: And then we don’t need to memorize. Everything will be in the cloud.
 
A: But right now, if you still have to memorize something, I would suggest for you to analyze the piece that you are working on and you have to memorize it. So this is the thing that I didn’t do when I was a child, and I think that’s a big mistake but nobody taught me to do it. So you need to know what form is your piece written in. You need to know the tonal structure of it. And then of course you need to do that memorization thing, and I would do it in phases—learn two measures, then add another two measures, and then another two measures and repeat everything from the beginning. And I think when you actually perform it, you will have no trouble. And when playing you really need to know in which exact spot you are, at the right moment. Because sometimes when we are playing from memory, we just let things happen.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: And it works sometimes, and it works well sometimes but not always. Because suddenly if you will think about something, you might slip and you might lose the general flow and then you will not have idea where you are and what are you playing. Have you had such experience before, Vidas?
 
V: Many times.
 
A: So…
 
V: That’s why I started improvising. So that I could play something even though I would forget what’s written on the page.
 
A: Yes. And I think playing from memory, I still have this nightmare, time after time, that I’m back in the school and I have to play exam and I just don’t remember a thing.
 
V: My nightmare is that I have to play an exam and I don’t even know the music.
 
A: Well, I have that with organ recitals, this nightmare, that I’m sitting at the organ bench and I hear that bell towers already ringing…
 
V: Uh-huh.
 
A: And it means that I have to start my recital to play, and I look at the music rack and I don’t recognize these pieces at all. Or I recognize them and these are like massive organ compositions that I have played either many years ago or haven’t played at all.
 
V: Reger.
 
A: Yes, Reger, and all these big long compositions.
 
V: My recent nightmare was that I had missed a piano exam of my student and now I myself have to play that exam.
 
A: Instead of him?
 
V: Instead of him.
 
A: That’s a funny dream. But I guess it wasn’t funny when you dreamed about it.
 
V: No. Just yesterday, last night, I had a dream that I went to the school and sort of, it was a meeting of piano teachers, and I, in the middle of that dream, I understood that I’m no longer a teacher there.
 
A: Excellent.
 
V: And I told everyone.
 
A: Excellent. But in general, do you think when talking about organ music and memorization of organ music—do you think it’s a helpful and it’s a good practice to memorize things and to play, to perform from memory or not? What is your opinion?
 
V: It depends on your goals. If you want to play just a few pieces perfectly, then yes. But if you want to play a lot of pieces, then it really slows down the process. It actually doesn’t help with your sight-reading skills, and you lose that ability to read many musical compositions fluently, if you just memorize things. It’s really good for blind people for example, and I would add actually to Ausra’s ideas about memorization, that Jonathan could try out Dupré’s method, how to memorize. It’s not in two measure phrases but in sentence long excerpts.
 
 
A: So that’s four measures.
 
V: Four measures, but not entirely in four measures. But first you repeat ten times, five times looking at the score and five times without looking at the score—one measure, just one measure. And then the same thing—the second measure, then the third measure and the fourth measure—basically each measure separately. Then the second stage is to do two measure excerpts—one and two, two and three, three and four. Then memorize three measures—one, two three, two, three four. And then finally one, two, three, four—entire sentence together, playing five times from the score, five times from memory. And always starting and finishing on the downbeat of the measure. And that helps to connect different fragments. And after you do that, you can take a break, or continue with the next fragment of four measures. And the next day maybe you start your practice with repeating previously mastered material a few times, and then learning something new again, four measures at a time. It’s very systematic. I’ve done this before, and it then helps me retain this music in my memory for a long time.
 
A: For how long?
 
V: For a month. And then after a month I have to repeat the process a little bit to refresh.
 
A: Well, so it seems that it is much harder to keep your repertoire alive in that way if you memorize everything. Just think how much things you will have to repeat.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. I guess this is for people who either have extremely good memory, you know, phenomenal memory, or who don’t play a lot of music. Maybe they have two, three hours total of repertoire and that’s it. And they do in cycles—refresh the memory and once they have three hours they’re set and tour the world. That could be done, but it’s not my goal, I mean it’s not interesting to me just to have that kind of music and not to learn anything else. But because it definitely requires…
 
A: A lot of time.
 
V: Lot of time and refreshing of memory of old memorized pieces. But I would advise anyone to try it as an exercise. You have to learn a few pieces this way. It’s very helpful, I think.
 
A: Yes, definitely it is.
 
V: In order to know what works for you and what not.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: Alright! We hope this was helpful, right Ausra?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: And please keep sending us 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 352 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.  This question was sent by Anders and he writes:
 
“Hi Vidas and Ausra

I have written to you before and I was quite happy that you published my thoughts.
What I’d like to tell you is that I’m really happy to have entered the world of organ playing. It is indeed a world in its own. So sad sometimes when I realize that my work mates or friends really don’t understand what they miss. They just don’t know what I’m talking about, poor souls.

I have been given the keys for 2 of the churches in my parish and I’m quite grateful for that. One organ has pneumatic action and the other is mechanical. It is very interesting to change between them, they are very individual and have their own personalities. I’m not at all good at playing, only simple pieces, but that doesn’t stop me from enjoying what I’m doing or trying to make progress.

1.) I’m very happy that I can sit alone in a church and play. It is a very special and somewhat mystical experience to see the afternoon sun shine through the beautiful coloured windows when I play some soft piece of music.
2.)The organs make a lot of mysterious sounds sometimes and I think somebody entered the Church.
3.) It’s much more demanding than I could imagine to play with the feet. My shoes seem to be way too big sometimes, though I have special shoes. Sometimes I mix up my hands, the feet and manuals totally….Then it’s a good thing no one listens.
4.) It’s much more difficult to play with a lot of stops pulled out. The voices of one manual may be completely drowned by the other and I’m lost…Registry is an art.
5.) If I have "mastered" a piece, then I may try to play loud and not before.
6.) I have escaped from my work many times (without my boss knowing) to be able to find time for the organ. That’s very bad for my future career. But I just couldn’t resist.
7.) When I become retired after a few years I don’t need any money like so many others dream about. I’ll just sit in the Church playing organ. That’s really good! And completely free.
8.) Your advice has been really helpful. Partly because of the specific information but mostly as an important inspiration. Especially about the necessity to have a "professional" attitude about practicing in the face of being tired or feeling that time is scarce.
9.) I can play for about 2,5 hours, then I get tired and have to make a pause of at least a few hours before continuing. It is contra-productive to press on too much. The music has to sink in for a while.
10.) As you say that practice make miracles happen, that is true. Even if the miracles are a bit slow in my case, practice and practice intelligently is the only way forward.

Best Regards
Anders Ståhl, Sweden.”
 
V: Well that’s a very comprehensive question.
 
A: Actually its not more like questions, like sharing Anders experience with us and we are very thankful for it because it’s a wonderful letter and we appreciate it very much.
 
V: When I read this actually it’s like a post, right, with ten points.  It could actually be written with the title “Top 10 Things I’ve Learned In My Organ Playing Career” or something.  “The List of 10 Things You Should Be Aware When Playing Organ” or something.  These types of titles are very user friendly and readers are just eating it up.  Would you suggest Ausra to put Anders’ post online, maybe on his own website or on any other platform?
 
A: Yes, if he has it then definitely yes.  Why not do it?  It’s wonderful how he shares his experience.  I think that many organists will feel with him together while reading his letter because I think some of those moments we all experience.
 
V: Exactly.
 
A: And I strongly believe that we organists we are sort of very happy ones because we have this experience with the organ that others don’t and it’s truly magical.
 
V: Let’s take for example point by point.  Number 1 for example.  Are you happy when you sit alone in a church?
 
A: Of course it’s truly my time, my time and organ time.
 
V: When I do this every morning when I go to church and I see the janitors doing their work, cleaning the floors, or drinking some tea, or chatting, I am very happy that I can sit and play and I’m free to play whatever I want.
 
A: Yes and I think that the most magical time to spend at the organ is the night and I sometimes envy the night guards in some churches because if I would have such a position I would spend it on the organ, practicing.
 
V: What about number 2?  That organs make a lot of mysterious sounds.
 
A: True and especially this is true if you are playing at night because at that time all the other surrounding sounds are dead so that’s when the organ really speaks to you.
 
V: And number 3 is it’s harder for him to play with the feet than he imagined before.
 
A: I think it’s often the case with many beginning organists.
 
V: But not all, I’ve seen people playing very easily with pedals too.
 
A: Well some have better coordination, some don’t.  In general it’s a problem for many.
 
V: Number 4.  He talks about registration, it’s difficult to play with loud voices.
 
A: I have to agree with this point.  I feel the same way when I play at St. Johns Church.  If you are playing only with a few stops then tracker action is much easier.  But if you pull out many stops then yes, it’s much harder to push the key and to control everything.
 
V: In number 5 he talks about that he usually practices softly and only after he masters the piece then he plays loudly.
 
A: That’s a very wise way to do it because if you will practice loudly all the time you might damage your ear because it’s not good to practice always with loud registration.  You might become deaf with years and that’s actually the case for some organists and some percussionists.
 
V: In number 6 he writes how he escapes from work to organ bench and it reminds me how kids escape from school, go to the movies but here he goes to play the organ.
 
A: It’s fascinating absolutely.  I just love this point.
 
V: Number 7.  After a few years he will have the freedom of playing the organ all day long because he will be retired.
 
A: And I find that actually many people who have tried organ before in their lifetime but then they didn’t have time to practice during most of their life they come back later to this habit, to this passion and they start to play more when they retire and I think that’s a very good way to keep yourself in good shape both physically and mentally.
 
V: And we both know people in our acquaintance area who are retired but don’t do much.
 
A: Yes, just watch TV and that’s about it.
 
V: And that makes us sad.
 
A: True.
 
V: But what can you do?  Number 8 he talks about how our advice is helpful for him not only because of specific information but as a general inspiration.
 
A: I think we all need that inspiration.
 
V: When somebody sends their words or whispers in your ears as a Podcast every day something, right?  It definitely, inevitably sinks in day after day and whatever you are saying, it might be something that your saying about registration, pedaling, or fingering and the problem that another person is having is about something entirely different, about practicing, about performance anxiety, improvisation, but the fact that we are there for him or her makes those people realize that they can achieve so much more too.  It’s like a little bit of a community feeling when somebody else is doing the same thing.
 
A: I think it’s very much a community feeling because we all have problems and I think it’s nice to share them and try to help and try to share them because even just telling about your problem is a big help.  And for us too, this kind of work is sort of like an anonymous alcoholic.
 
V: Alcoholics Anonymous.
 
A: Yes.  Where everybody gather and talk about the problem so we are sort of talking about organ problems and enjoying them together sharing our experience.
 
V: It starts like “Hello, I’m Vidas and I’m an organist.”  And everybody says “Hello, Vidas.”  (Laughs.)
 
A: True.
 
V: In number 9 he talks about how he can practice for 2 and a half hours and then he has to rest.  For me it is just 30 minutes and then I have to rest.
 
A: Well, obviously Anders is more advanced in practicing for many hours than you are.
 
V: I generally tend to stop before I’m tired.  I’m kind of cautious.
 
A: I guess you are very soft on yourself.
 
V: Like my mother.  That’s what my father used to call me.
 
A: Maybe he was right.
 
V: In number 10 he says that miracles really happen but in his case it’s more like slow miracles.
 
A: I think for all of us it’s slow miracles but at least they happen and that’s good.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  The only way that miracles happen is you have to make them happen.
 
A: True so you need to put some effort in order to have that miracle.
 
V: OK.  Thank you guys for sending these wonderful questions and definitely put your thoughts online, not only to us.  It’s nice that people are sending these questions but they are not sending every day.  Anders is not writing to us every day but maybe he’s thinking every day you see and those ideas might be very helpful to a lot or organists around the world too.  Thank you guys, this was Vidas.
 
A: And Ausra.
 
V: And remember when you practice…
 
A: Miracles happen.

Yesterday I had our Unda Maris studio rehearsal where one lady beginner organist came to try out her shoes for organ playing.  Her name is Diana and she is playing a trio No. 1 by Lemmens.

These weren't regular organ shoes but the shoes from her collection that she sometimes uses for violin recitals on stage.

​They had pointed toes and high heels. I don't usually have a problem with high heels but this time they were narrow. We tried to put them against the pedals and it appeared it would be easy to slip between the keys.

Also their pointed toes would mean that if she placed her toes on the edge of the sharps as we should do, the real end of the shoes would come somewhere in the middle of the sharp key.

I told her to try out and see if this seems comfortable or not. I said that it would take maybe 5 times the energy to hit the right pedals with this kind of shoes.

Of course, we all know the stories about female virtuoso organists who play with high heels but this is really advanced level.

What do you think? Should she keep trying to adjust to the difficulty of playing with these high heels and pointed toes or should she just get a pair of real organ shoes?

Would you like to master Aus tiefer Not schrei ich zu Dir, BWV 687 by J.S. Bach from Clavierubung III?

I have created this score with the hope that it will help my students who love early music to recreate articulate legato style automatically, almost without thinking.

Thanks to Annabel Brown for her meticulous transcription of fingering from the slow motion video.

Basic level. PDF score. 2 pages. 50 % discount is valid until December 17.

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This score is free for Total Organist students.