 I have just received the news that Marie-Claire Alain, a legendary French organist, teacher, and recording artist passed away on February 26, 2013. She was 86.
Her influence on the modern organ world is beyond words. She will be greatly missed. Her father was Albert Alain (1880-1971) - organist and composer, as were her brothers Jehan (1911-1940) and Olivier (1918-1994). She graduated from the Paris Conservatory with 4 Grand Prix. She was an organ student of Marcel Dupre and studied at the harmony class of Maurice Durufle. Please read about her in Minnesota Public Radio Blog. (There you will find links to Michael Barone's two radio shows about her in Pipedreams). Also watch her play her brother's Jehan Alain Second Phantasie. Requiescat in Pace.
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Here is a list (incomplete) of topics an organist who wants to master harmony should learn:
1. T, S, and D chords 2. Connection of the same chords in a different position 3. Harmonization of the bass line 4. Skips of the third 5. Cadences 6. Cadential second inversion chord 7. Chords of the relationship of the third 8. Root position chord and first inversion chord and vice versa 9. S-D6 and S6-D chords 10. Skips in root position chords and first inversion chords 11. Two first inversion chords 12. Passing and neighboring second inversion chords 13. Dominant seventh chord (D7) 14. Inversions of the D7 15. D7 inversions with skips 16. Chord of the 2nd scale degree and its first inversion 17. Harmonic major 18. Chord of the 6th scale degree 19. Seventh-chord of the 2nd scale degree and its inversions 20. Seventh-chord of the 7th scale degree and its inversions 21. Dominant ninth-chord and ninth-chord of the 2nd scale degree 22. First inversion of the chord of the 7th scale degree 23. Root position chord of the 3rd scale degree 24. Dominant chord with a sixth 25. Natural minor 26. Diatonic sequences (seventh-chords of any scale degree) 27. Double Dominant chord in cadences 28. Double Dominant chord in exposition 29. Tonicisation 30. Chromatic sequences 31. Modulations to the keys of the first relationship 32. Natural minor in modulation 33. Modulating sequences 34. Dominant chords with alteration 35. Subdominant chords with alteration 36. Modulations to the keys of the second relationship 37. Modulations to the keys of the distant relationship 38. Enharmonic modulation through diminished seventh chord 39. Enharmonic modulation through dominant seventh chord 40. Major-minor and minor-major system 41. Diatonic modes Assignments should include harmonizing the melody in the soprano and the bass in any of these topics on paper and at the instrument as well as playing cadences, sequences, and modulations. Harmony leads to analysis. Analysis leads to composition. Composition leads to improvisation. 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 video Organ Practice Guide. The winter is almost over and today I thought I'll give you a short update on my activities at this time.
The last 16 weeks was a fun and busy time for me because I prepared a couple recitals from the series of "Seven Centuries of Organ Music" at Vilnius University St. John's church. Recital 11 was devoted to the music of Johann Pachelbel (1653-1706) and his cycle of variations "Hexachordum Apollinis" (1699), and Recital 12 - to the 6 Biblical Sonatas (published 1700) of Johann Kuhnau (1660-1722). Also as many of you know, just last weekend I played an improvised concert "The Fight Between David and Goliath" at the same church with the saxophonist Petras Vysniauskas who feels equally at home in the realm of jazz and free improvisation. It was extremely fascinating event both for us and our listneners. Additionally, at this time I was busy creating training materials for my Organ Sight-Reading Master Course and Bach Organ Mastery (Level 1) simultaneausly. This week I finished recording the last video for the Bach course. Since many of my readers asked for a different pricing options and a possibility to sign up for individual Prelude and Fugue from the Bach course, today I made some adjustments to this course. My upcoming plans for March are to play the 13th recital from the series of "Seven Centuries of Organ Music" this time devoted to the music of Bach. And of course, I will continue writing helpful tips and advices about various aspects of organ playing so that all of you could grow as organists and achieve your goals. Thanks to everyone who sends me questions about specific issues or problems you are facing. This way I can be more in tune with your needs. Because the Secrets of Organ Playing community is growing constantly (currently 850+ people), to answer every email and question the same day is becoming a little challenging but I will continue trying hard to answer as soon as I can. But if ever there is a time when you don't receive an immediate response from me, please understand the situation and don't feel ignored. Since we are in the liturgical season of Lent now, today I would like to share a video of my organ piece for Communion I wrote in 2011 as part of the Mass for the Laetare Sunday in Lent. This colorful yet quiet piece might resemble modal style of Jean Langlais. This video was recorded during a live concert of my organ compositions on May 26, 2012. The great organ at Vilnius University St. John's church works well for this kind of writing, I think. The piece is constructed in this way: at the beginning it starts with a short introduction in which the right hand part plays sixteenth note ostinato motive in high range on a flute stop over second inversion seventh chords played by the left hand and feet which play a long sustained pedal point. The chant presented in the right hand and pedals at the same time alternates with this episode of sixteenth notes. I think what makes this little piece quite colorful is the Ionian mode (just like in natural major) presented in several modulations with the relationship of the minor third. In other words, the modes are transposed a minor third up or down from time to time. This is not a difficult piece to learn, by the way. All you need is a little of hand and feet coordination during the two episodes where the chant is presented. However, all these colors have a flip side also - sometimes there are quite a few sharps or flats next to the treble and bass clefs in the score. 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 video Organ Practice Guide. Transposition is a process of playing or writing a piece of music or a section of it into a different key. It can be extremely powerful tool in developing your music theory skills and will most definitely be one of the most important assets any musician can have. Today I will teach you how to transpose any hymn into any key you want on the organ.
The very first thing you have to do if you want to play your hymn in another key is to understand the original key first. In other words, there is no point in trying to blindly copy note by note, interval by interval the chords of the hymn in a different key unless you know how it is put together and unless you understand the meaning of each note in your hymn. There are a few possible techniques how to go about this and in this post I'll share with you one of my favorite and simple ways in hymn transposition. In order to understand your hymn, first you have to determine what the key of the hymn is. You can do this easily by looking at the couple of things: the accidentals next to the treble and the bass clefs, and the ending note in the bass part. If you know the system of circle of fifths, the accidentals will tell you the pair of paralel major and minor keys with the same number of accidentals. For example, if you see 3 flats next to the clef, this means your hymn might be written in the key of E flat major or C minor. To determine the key exactly, look at the last note in the bass part, as it is most likely the first scale degree in that key. For example, if your bass note is E flat, then the key is E flat major. If it's C - then it's C minor. Once you know what the original key of the hymn is, write in the scale degree numbers for each note in each part with pencil. This is relatively easy to do except in places where the tune moves to another key (modulation) which you can see from the new accidentals. Remember that in the minor key, there is often a raised 7th scale degree present (harmonic minor mode). In the case of modulation, switch to the scale degrees of the new key for a moment. By having written in scale degree numbers you have prepared yourself for the actual transposition of the hymn. Now I recommend you transpose your hymn in the order of ascending number of accidentals. First, start with C major or A minor which don't have any accidentals. Obviously, hymns in the major key will have to be transposed to major key only and hymns written in the minor key will work in the minor key but not in major. After C major or A minor play it in the key with one sharp and one flat. Later - in the key with two sharps and two flats and so on until you reach 7 sharps (C sharp major or A sharp minor) and 7 flats (C flat major or A flat minor). Remember this rule - the scale degrees of the original key you have written for each note must match with the scale degrees of the destination key. A word of caution: if you are new to transposition exercises, don't try to play all four parts together in the new key. To make this process as easy and as enjoyable as possible, just like while learning a real organ piece, first practice each part separately. Then - combinations of two voices, three voices and only then - the entire four-part texture. The focus here is on the word PRACTICE. It means you should aim for at least three correct and fluent repetitions in a row of each part or combination before advancing to the next one. Take a slow but steady tempo. Practice short fragments of one hymn phrase at a time before putting them together, if you need to. Although it may seem like a bit complicated process, the above advice is all you need to do in order to transpose a hymn on the organ. Be patient, enjoy each moment and know that while practicing transposition, you are doing things that at least 80 percent of organists have never had the courage to attempt but only dream about. Give it a try today with the hymn of your choice. 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 video Organ Practice Guide. Yesterday night I played a long awaited concert of improvisations called "The Fight Between David and Goliath" with perhaps the most famous saxophonist in Lithuania, Petras Vysniauskas at Vilnius University St. John's church in Vilnius, Lithuania.
The program was modeled after the Biblical Sonata No. 1 by Johann Kuhnau (1660-1722) I played a month ago at the same church as part of my ongoing series of organ recitals from the cycle of "Seven Centuries of Organ Music" where I introduce to organ music lovers composers and pieces from various historical periods and national schools of organ composition. This Kuhnau Sonata was part of the 12th concert from this series devoted to the Middle German Organ Baroque School. So yesterday we used all 8 of Kuhnau's descriptions of the fight between David and Goliath including boasting of Goliath, trembling of Israelites, the courage of David, the fight itself, the flight of Philistines, the joy of Israelites, women's concert in honor of the victory, and general rejoicing and dancing. However, to make a musical story more complete, we also added 4 additional movements at the beginning: David with the sheep at night, David's journey to his brothers at Saul's army, the armies of Philistines and Israelites and Goliath's appearance. I hope you will enjoy listening to this video excerpt from this concert as much as we enjoyed creating music together. This video is an additional improvisation we played right after the David and Goliath program. It starts slowly and quietly in the B Dorian mode. Then we create conversations between saxophone and various organ stops. It all ends with a joyful Fortissimo using most of the resources of this magnificent organ. 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 video Organ Practice Guide. Organists who are conscious of historically informed performance practice know that the early music composed before about 1800 should generally be performed using the touch called articulate legato or Ordinary Touch as it was often called back in those days. Of course, some compositions have special legato signs and we must pay attention to them if they are original.
However, if you are following this articulate legato principle honestly in every voice (even in the middle parts), then there is an inherent danger to go with articulation too far. One of the possible pitfalls is to play everything too detached which can make you pieces sound too choppy or even comical. Another danger is playing with some good articulation but articulating too much at the end of musical figure (a triplet or a group of sixteenths etc). This kind of playing prevents your music from natural flow. It seems like you are hesitating because of lack of practice when, in fact you might know the piece fairly well to play it fluently. But this very pronounced articulation makes your musical line stop and the general feeling non musician listener would have is a sense of boredom. So what you can do about it? I believe this is not so difficult to fix because all you need to do it pretend you are playing legato but using one finger only. In fact, you can even check a specific spot in your music while playing with one finger but aim the musical line to sound as legato as possible. Then attempt to recreate the same articulation using your normal fingering. Bach would call it cantabile manner of playing. Cantabile means singing or singable style. Actually try to really sing along when you are practicing your piece. "Sing each line", my professor Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra used to say. Of course, don't play some of the notes legato and some with articulation. Be very systematic. Also don't make the last note of the group of notes too short because it will create a larger break which in turn prevent your playing to have a natural sense of flow and direction. 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 video Organ Practice Guide. If you are wondering about technical aspects in creating your own music, at some point you must have come accross the term "ostinato". It refers to the fragment of music which is repeated for some time. This fragment may be just a couple of beats long or it can extend over several measures.
In organ improvisation and composition ostinato technique can become very handy. Since there are 3 main elements of music: melody, rhythm, and harmony, any or all of them can become the basis for ostinato. When keeping the same melody, you can change the meter, the rhythm, and the chords. When keeping the same rhythm, your melody and chords can be different. When keep the same chords, you can change your melody and rhythm. And don't forget to use different textures and modes to make it really colorful and spicy. Of course as in everything when improvising, you should be conscious of time. It is best to keep track of time by counting measures and the repetitions of the fragments. I find that an episode of about 1-2 minutes based on two or three similar but somewhat different ostinato figures used interchangibly can be very interesting to hear. You can even construct fairly lengthy and advanced pieces by alternating the contrasting ostinato episodes, resulting in rondo forms, such as in A B A B A or A B C B A or A B A C A B C A etc. Try the ostinato technique in your organ composition and/or improvisation today. It's fun and easy and interestingly, leaves a powerful impact on the listeners. 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 video Organ Practice Guide. My recent posts about how to control performance anxiety while playing organ in a public setting sparked a nice discussion. So today I will give you my personal favorite technique which helps me to get rid of stage fright.
First let me say this - the reason for performance anxiety might seem like a lack of focus, therefore I recommend breathing and focusing on the current measure which helps to stay focused. But in reality, lack of focus is only a part of this. If think the most important reason why people are afraid, shaking, and having stage fright when it comes time to play in public is because they are not sure of their abilities. If they are not sure they can do this, then a simple thought like "Oh my God, it's this tricky part coming up next" will mess everything up. So how do you achieve this confidence in your abilities? How do you remain calm when there is so much going on in your piece? It is memorization. But it's not only knowing which notes to play when without looking at the music. It's much more than that. You have to know the reason why these notes stand in this specific spot of the score. In other words, you should know how the piece is put together. It's like you should be thinking like a composer who created it. It's the process of deconstruction and deciphering the piece. I find that one of the simplest means to achieve this level is to mark scale degree numbers above each note (if you can't quickly say it aloud when playing). The difficulty is that you should also notice any modulations (change of keys) within the piece and think in scale degrees of that particular key. Once you do that, memorize your piece in fragments of one, two, four, eight, sixteen measures and so on until you can play it fluently without stopping from the beginning until the end. Then do transposition exercises playing the piece in various keys starting with no accidentals and progressing through the circle of fifths (also in fragments). Advance to the next key only when you can play in the current one at least three times in a row correctly. Of course, ability to transpose requires a knowledge of music theory so make sure you brush up on the basics of that field, too. Memorize your piece and transpose it to 12 different keys (from memory). Then no matter what happens during your public performance you will never be in peril. 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 video Organ Practice Guide. A few days ago I wrote a post about how to overcome stage fright. It seems like very relevant topic for some organists. So today I would like to share some additional tips which were sent to me by Gena Bedrosian, NY (with her permission, of course):
To get over stage fright she used some additional techniques (original language preserved): 1) Recorded myself on MIDI, played back some times to check my mistakes. 2) Had people watch me play on face time (like Skype). 3) Practiced while church being cleaned. 4) Practiced while playing other unrelated music loudly on radio or Pandora radio on my IPhone right by the organ (made me focus really well). 5) Tried chewing gum (helped). 6) Had people stand near organ and talk while I was playing. 7) Had people stand nearby and stare at me. 8) Talked to myself saying, "OK look ahead, you can do this, you are ready to play this very well." Try any or all of these tips while preparing to play on the organ in public (recital or church service or just provately for your friends and family). I'm sure you will find many of them helpful. 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 video Organ Practice Guide. |
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