Blog Archives - SECRETS OF ORGAN PLAYING - WHEN YOU PRACTICE, MIRACLES HAPPEN

Organ Playing Tips to Share: March 2012

3/31/2012

At the end of the month it is a good idea to summarize the Top 20 organ playing tips of March. Here they are, all in one place. Feel free to share any of these tips with your friends.

Have a constant practice schedule.

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Limit distractions when you practice organ playing.

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Use pedal preparation.

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Practice in a slow tempo.

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Have a goal in mind.

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Choose pieces according to your level of ability.

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Find a mentor you can trust to push you.

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Practice in voice combinations to avoid mistakes.

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Practice in fragments to correct mistakes.

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Make a plan for your daily practice.

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Play with the inside of your feet and point your knees inward.

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Do not use force when playing organ.

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Do not lift your feet off the pedal board.

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Write in fingering and pedaling.

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Depression and release of keys are even more important on the organ than on the piano.

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Looking at the mirror and having eye contact with the conductor always helps.

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Do not start practicing pedal scales from the beginning when your pedal technique is weak.

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Push-off with the opposite foot when changing position.

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Point your knees to the direction of the feet.

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Keep your upper body straight when playing organ.

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What's your favorite tip from March? Let me know in the comment section.

By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

Announcing My Brand New Practice Guide on Playing "Ich ruf zu dir" by Bach - Special Offer Inside

3/28/2012

How would it feel to be able to play the chorale prelude "Ich ruf zu Dir", BWV
639 by Bach with correct fingering? Never guessing which fingers are best to use in every specific place, never playing with accidental fingerings, which leads to mistakes.

How would it feel to be able to choose the best and the most efficient pedaling? The one which is the most appropriate for the Bach style of writing? This pedaling alone will create an ideal articulation for the pedal line.

How would it feel to be able to use the right articulation? Using the precise articulation is incredibly important for playing Baroque pieces. It helps your playing to sound in style.

How would it feel to be able to play this piece with correct ornaments? When it comes to ornaments, Bach has left specific instructions and tables how he wanted his ornaments to be played.

Most importantly, how would it feel to know the exact steps in mastering this fantastic piece? Not knowing how to practice the composition is the single biggest obstacle for many people to achieve success in organ playing.

Would it feel good to be able to play like this? Would you feel like you make an important step in advancing your organ technique to the next level?

If so, I am releasing my brand new Step-by-Step Guide on Learning How to Play and Master “Ich ruf zu Dir, Herr Jesu Christ”, BWV 639 by J.S.Bach on the Organ in 10 Days While Working Only 30 Minutes a Day.

Get the practice guide on mastering "Ich ruf zu Dir"

Look for my special offer in the link below, which will expire next Monday night. Go ahead and get this practice guide, don't worry, if you are not completely satisfied, I will give you 30 days money back guarantee!

Get the practice guide on mastering "Ich ruf zu Dir"

Discover the 7 Benefits of Organ Improvisation

3/24/2012

If you have ever seen or heard skilled organ improvisers creating real music on the spot, you were most likely dazzled by their seemingly supernatural abilities. After such an encounter many people have a strong desire to start learning improvisation themselves. Before teaching yourself the art of organ improvisation, it is crucial that you understand these 7 benefits that improvisation can give to the organist.

1) You can learn to create your own music like composers do. It is very satisfying to be able to compose music. Since improvisation is composition on the spot, you will learn all the tools needed to compose your own music.

2) You will develop the ability to think musically. Since every composition consists of various elements of music (melody, rhythm, harmony, and many others), by creating your own music it will be possible for you to recognize these elements in other compositions which leads to musical thinking.

3) By teaching yourself organ improvisation you will develop creativity. All of us were very created in our childhood but through the years this ability often diminishes because of various reasons. Since improvisation is an inherently creative process, it will greatly enhance your creative capabilities.

4) Improvisation can help you to become a complete musician. The art of improvisation involves also mastering such areas as organ technique, registration, repertoire, piano technique, ear training, music theory, figured bass, harmony, musical form, counterpoint, fugue, music composition and others. Therefore, your musical education will be complete.

5) Improvisation will enhance your worship playing. If you are a church organist, the ability to improvise will be a great help to your service playing. There are plenty of opportunities to improvise during liturgical services and organist who has acquired this skill has many advantages than the organist who never tried to improvise.

6) Listeners love improvisations during recitals. If you have listened to the performance of a good improviser, you know how audience appreciates the organists who can improvise. The listeners are simply in awe of such abilities and skills to create music on the spot which sounds like a real composed and written-out composition.

7) Improvisation can propel your organ playing technique to the next level. In order to excel in improvisation you must also gradually develop the technical ability to express your musical ideas. In other words, you have to be able to play fluently all the different technical details, like scales, modes, arpeggios, and chords of all kinds. Therefore, a skilled improviser is fully equipped technically to play even the most advanced organ music effortlessly with precision and clarity.

Have you ever tried to create your own music on the organ? Although the art of improvisation might be very complex to fully master it, the basics are quite simple. You will be surprised at how easy it is to start learning to improvise. The best way to proceed is to get a good organ improvisation textbook and start making your music today.

If you are interested in learning to improvise in the style of J.S.Bach, I highly recommend „Bach and the Art of Improvisation“ by Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra. The approach that she uses in her book is rather unique among other books on improvisation. It is not only a textbook with exercises but much more than that. The students who will be studying this book will acquire comprehensive knowledge about various 18th century performance practice aspects, such as articulation, fingering, and pedaling etc.

By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

Organ Improvisation: 5 Reasons to Start Making Your Own Music

3/23/2012

For many centuries improvisation on the organ has been an important requirement in organist position. Skills in improvisation enable an organist to fulfill the duties of an organist on a much higher degree. Before beginning to teach oneself improvisation, it is important to realize the 5 reasons for learning organ improvisation.

1) Improvisation can enhance person's musicianship. By learning to create a musical composition, an organist will develop a better ability to recognize scales, intervals, and chords. In other words, skills in improvisation will also serve as ear training which in turn will improve general musical abilities of an organist.

2) An improviser will appreciate organ repertoire better. Because improvisation involves studying works of various composers, in turn it gives its practitioner enormous wealth of information about various historical music styles and national schools of organ composition. Indeed, an improviser will know ins and outs of every aspect of organ repertoire.

3) By improvising on the organ, you are continuing a tradition which is centuries-long. If you look back at the origins of organ composition, you will discover that the surviving organ repertoire is just a tip of the iceberg. The majority of music making on the organ was improvised. Many of important composers were also brilliant improvisers (Bach, Handel, Mozart, Beethoven, Mendelssohn, Chopin, Liszt, Franck, and Messiaen to name just a few).

4) Learn how the piece is put together. Because much of improvisation studies involve deconstruction of existing musical material, you will be able to analyze organ works at a very deep level. In fact, your analytical powers will become much greater whether you are looking at the music composed on paper or listening to a performance.

5) You can learn to recreate the styles of your favorite composers. Do you like the music of Sweelinck, Scheidemann, Buxtehude, Bach, Franck, Reger, Widor, Vierne, Messiaen or any other composer? It is possible to imitate the style and musical language of any composer that you love. Ever wish that your favorite master would have composed more works for you to play? If you learn to improvise, you will easily be able to play like your role models.

As you can see, improvisation on the organ gives many advantages for the organist. If you never tried improvising before, you might be surprised at how easy it is to start making your own music. Just get a good improvisation method book and start practicing developing your creative abilities today.

If you are interested in learning to improvise in the style of J.S.Bach, I highly recommend „Bach and the Art of Improvisation“ by Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra. The approach that P.Ruiter-Feenstra uses in her book is rather unique among other books on improvisation. It is not only a textbook with exercises but much more than that. The students who will be studying this book will acquire comprehensive knowledge about various 18th century performance practice aspects, such as articulation, fingering, and pedaling etc.

By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

How to Squeeze in Organ Practice Time in Your Day - 6 Tips

3/22/2012

One of the main things that keeps many organists from practicing is the lack of time. They say they would want to play the organ more but their job takes so much of their time, not to mention commuting, their families and other important tasks they have to do during the day. However, I believe it is possible to squeeze in more organ practice time in your day. Try applying the following 6 tips and you will be able to spend more time playing organ without sacrificing your other important responsibilities.

1) Prioritize your time. Take a look at your daily tasks and try to make a list of them on the sheet of paper. You will have 10 or more things that you do each day. You will be surprised that some of the things are not really important. So number this list from the most important to the ones that can be omitted. This way you will be able to have more time for organ practice.

2) Practice during TV commercials. You may not realize this but TV commercials might be a great time to practice organ playing. Usually there are 3 or more times when commercials are shown during a show or a film. Each commercial might last at least 5 minutes. This gives you to play the organ at least for 15 minutes or even longer.

3) Practice longer on the weekends. If you work from 8 to 5 on weekdays, then the most productive time for your organ playing might be the weekends. You can spend even 2-3 hours on the organ bench this way. However, make sure you rest every 30 minutes, stretch, have a drink and relax your mind and body.

4) Limit distractions. If you look at the usual day of an ordinary person, you will soon notice at least several distractions which are serious wasters of time and energy, if used not efficiently. These are various social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Youtube and many others. Note that I am not suggesting you should avoid them completely. Just check your email twice a day. The same applies for social networking sites. You can spend the time saved on your organ practice.

5) Get up earlier or stay up longer. The great times for organ playing during the day are mornings or evenings. 30 minutes might be all you need for practice. Note that you can spend this time doing other important tasks that you need to accomplish which in turn will allow for more organ practice time during the day.

6) Have a constant practice schedule. Whatever time you choose for your organ playing, make it constant. Put it on your calendar so that you will know the exact time each day for playing the organ. Let your family members know about your commitment and ask for their support.

Although these tips may seem self-evident, only surprisingly small number of people put them into action. Many of them would want to spend more time practicing the organ but they lack perseverance to see their commitment through. Just like anything worthwhile, organ practice takes conscious effort from the organist's part but if you stay focused on your goal, you too, can do it.

By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

Happy Birthday JSB! - The Greatness of Johann Sebastian Bach

3/21/2012

Since it's Bach's 327th birthday today, I thought it is appropriate to commemorate his genius by outlining some of his greatest achievements.
At the end of this article, I hope will enjoy the video of one of my favorites Bach organ compositions - Ton Koopman's performance of chorale prelude "Schmucke dich, o liebe Seele" from the Great 18 organ chorales.

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) was arguably one of the most influential composers, organists, and pedagogues of all time. He surely can
be considered as one of the greatest composers in the history of music. The
features of D major Prelude and Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier II, B flat major Prelude and Fugue from the Well-Tempered Clavier I, the cantata “Ein feste Burge ist unser Gott”, St. Matthew Passion, Clavierübung III, and ”Musical Offering” will demonstrate his genius.

The first sign of his greatness is Bach’s productivity. Although part of his
compositions is lost, what has survived shows that his compositional output was far greater than any other composer who lived before or after him. In addition, Bach created music in almost all known genres of the time, except opera and ballet. However, his vocal works, such as St. Matthew Passion have elements of baroque opera (da capo arias). Furthermore, he composed instrumental and vocal, sacred and secular music.

Bach tends to exhaust all available possibilities within the piece. For example, D major Fugue from WTC II and Kyrie, Gott Vater in Ewigkeit Clavierübung III show that he used all available pitches of the scale for the beginning of the subject, time and pitch intervals, and form of the subject. If one particular possibility was unavailable, he would modify the subject in order to imply that one entrance of the subject. In addition, as is evident from the Fugue in D major and Kyrie, Gott Vater, he draws a piece from a short idea from which everything is constructed. Bach used his musical ideas so economically, that it seems at times there is hardly any other motive besides the theme and countersubject.

In case of D major and B flat major preludes and fugues from WTC, Bach seems to be very much concerned with the relationship between the pieces. Very often prelude foreshadows the fugue by having initial notes of the fugue subject. In addition, Bach’s interest in polyphonic devices (double invertible counterpoint) can be seen in the Fugue in B flat major from WTC I.

The crucial element in Bach’s music is symmetry. All pieces mentioned above
include various forms of architectural thinking. Proportionally, often his pieces can be divided in two (1/2), three (1/3 and 2/3), and four parts (¼ and ¾). Yet symmetry for Bach sometimes means even further (Clavierübung III, St. Matthew Passion or Cantata 80). Here the cycle is symmetrical in terms
of general structure.

Another feature which makes Bach so great is number symbolism. Perhaps the most evident example of this is Clavierübung III where Trinitarian
symbolism is all pervasive. This is not only apparent in chorale-based works,
but also in the Fugue in E flat where number of subject entrances reflect on
number Mass, catechism, and non-chorale based pieces. In addition, Bach often included his signature in numbers.

Bach’s all vocal works, such as Cantata 80 and St. Matthew Passion deal with
text painting. In Cantata 80, especially noticeable place is opening Chorus where cantus firmus is in canon in outer voices and symbolizes God the fortress which surrounds us. In the St. Matthew Passion, all of the recitatives are full of instances of text painting where dramatic leaps, dissonant and unresolved chords etc. symbolize the particular dramatic word. Moreover, in case of Passion, Bach often, if not always employs simple images which are apparent from the particular phrase of the aria or chorale verse.

Bach’s love for polyphony and learned devices, such as stretto, augmentation,
diminution, retrograde, and inversion are most clearly displayed in the Musical
Offering. To notice that, one can only look at one of the ten canons which are
often notated so that the performer has to figure out the time and pitch interval, and the form of the canonic voice. Here Bach explores all the possibilities where not only accompanying voice but the Royal theme itself is in canon.

Ricercare a 6 from the Musical Offering displays another feature of Bach’s
music which makes him so unique, namely perfect balance between seemingly opposing and contrasting elements. Here polyphony and vertical chords are in perfect balance. In addition, symmetry and forward drive are in balance as well. Furthermore, his ability in this piece to combine emotions and mind are especially noticeable.

Another important feature of Bach’s music in general is his universality in style and influences. He not only uses models of various composers for his own compositions, but often expands them and tries to make them more advanced. In addition, he combined French, Italian, and German practices into one universal musical language. That is especially apparent in E flat major Prelude from the Clavierübung III where Italian ritornello, French overture (dotted
rhythms), north German virtuoso pedal part, and central German fugal writing is combined into one unified piece. Italian ritornello influence is always evident
in the chorale preludes of the collection and arias of Cantata 80 and St. Matthew Passion. Furthermore, influences on Bach range not only geographically but historically as well. Movement III from the Trio Sonata of Musical Offering shows various features the style galant, the most fashionable style of the day, while Aus tiefer Not from the Clavierübung III is an
example of the style antico which was a typical style of the Palestrina
music. Sometimes, these two contrasting styles are combined in one piece (Fugue in E flat major from Clavierübung III).

Among other composers, Bach is perhaps the only one who can be called musical scientist. His importance, influence, and greatness are often compared with his contemporary scientist Isaac Newton. Like Newton’s universal laws of gravity, Bach’s well tempered tonality is the universal product of reason. Bach, like a scientist works with the smallest musical idea and that way composes a piece of music. Bach’s worldview is still influenced by the classical quadrivium principle (traditional approach) but he also explores the newest tendencies and fashions.

For Bach, the ultimate goal and reason of all music is glory of God and recreation of the spirit. In the beginning of the piece, he usually would write
Iesu iuva (Jesus help) whereas at the end he would include Soli Deo Gloria (to God alone be Glory). His theological and pietistic statements are not only evident in his music, but in his own commentary to the Bible as well. Therefore, it is evident that Bach’s theological views deeply formed and
influenced his music. The features discussed above clearly show that Bach is
surely world’s greatest composer.

By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ
Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

How to Play the Organ Effortlessly - 6 Tips

3/20/2012

Many organists share a common dream - to be able to play effortlessly on the organ like the masters do. They want to achieve this level, when the listeners have the impression that their fingers and feet play without any conscious effort from their part. If you would like to reach such heights in organ playing, study the following 6 tips.

1) Pay attention to details. When you are practicing a new organ composition, make sure that musical text is correct. This includes playing without mistakes such details as notes, rhythms, fingering, pedaling, articulation, phrasing, ornaments and registration. To achieve the best results, play the above points at least 3 times correctly in a row.

2) Develop a good finger and pedal technique. If you truly wish to play the organ at the level of world-class organists, you should regularly practice some special finger and pedal exercises which will strengthen your technique. My personal favorite exercise collections are Hanon's "Virtuoso Pianist" and George Ritchie's and George Stauffer's Örgan Technique: Modern and Early.

3) Use pedal and finger preparation. This technique is one of the main tricks used for playing automation. In order to successfully implement it in your practice, try to work in short fragments repeatedly. As you depress one pedal with one foot, slide the other foot in a position for the next note immediately and let it rest there waiting for its turn to play. The same principle applies in finger preparation.

4) Correct your mistakes. If you play your organ composition from the beginning until the end, there is a high risk of making mistakes in many places. It is best to work in fragments of 1-8 measures at a time depending on the level of difficulty. Once you make a mistake, go back to the beginning of the fragment, correct your mistake and play this fragment at least 3 times.

5) Practice in a slow tempo. Your organ playing will be much more precise if you practice at a tempo in which you can avoid mistakes. This usually means taking a slow tempo. Remember that practice is not the same as performance. While performing the piece you might be required to play much faster, slow down in your everyday practice to achieve the best results.

6) Keep your fingers and your feet in contact with the keyboard and the pedal board at all times. This technique will allow you to feel the keyboard and the pedal board better. This means that although the finger or the foot is not playing, it should still be touching the key or the pedal. Just let them rest on the keys or the pedals.

As you can see, your practice should be very focused and precise. You must have a very clear picture of what it is you are trying to accomplish in each practice session. If you want to be able to play the organ effortlessly like any of the top-level organists can, start using the above 6 tips today.

You can also download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

4 Tips on Resuming Organ Playing After a Long Break

3/19/2012

Many organists after playing the organ for some years for various reasons stop practicing. They quit playing because of the changes in their lives, such as moving to a different area, starting a family, finding a new job etc. All of this contribute to the lack of time, motivation, practice instrument and a person simply does not continue playing the organ. However, even after many years of silence he or she can feel the renewed interest in organ. In this article, I will give you 4 tips on how to resume organ playing after a long break.

1) Do not practice for long periods of time at first. Although you might have used to play the organ for several hours a day, I do not recommend you jump in and resume the practice in the same way. You have to realize that while your motivation and interest in organ might be the same as 10, 20, or 30 years ago, your stamina is not. In addition, your body might not like sitting in the same position for hours. Therefore, I think it is best to expose yourself to organ playing gradually.

Start practicing with just 30 minutes a day. This way you will avoid overexertion which is not very healthy. The most important thing about your practice is that it should be regular. You will achieve more if you practice for 30 minutes every day than for 3 hours just once a week. Of course, with experience you can practice for an hour or even longer but especially long practice sessions should be avoided.

2) Choose easy pieces first. Although after resuming organ playing you might have plans to learn your favorite technically advanced organ pieces, you should be aware of your current technical abilities. Remember that after years without practicing organ your level is not the same anymore. Just because you might have played and learned some advanced level pieces years ago does not mean you will be able to play similar ones right away. Therefore, I suggest you do not pick up your organ practice where you left in the past. Instead, play some shorter and easier compositions at first.

These could be works with thin texture, slower tempo, simple melodic lines and rhythms and long note-values in the pedal part or even manualiter works (without the pedal). Especially suited for this purpose are 8 little preludes and fugues, BWV 553-560 formerly attributed to J.S.Bach, some easier chorale preludes from the Orgelbuchlein, chorale preludes by J.Brahms, slow movements from Mendelssohn sonatas, pieces from L'Organiste by C.Franck, "Practical Organist" by A.Guilmant and other works.

3) Have a goal in mind. In order to resume organ practice successfully, you must also have a dream. This is what keeps you practicing in the first place. Without this goal, it will be difficult for you to learn the pieces that you choose. Instead of focusing on your goal, you might play many different compositions without ever learning them. However, if you truly want to improve your organ playing, having a goal in mind will greatly facilitate your progress.

4) Make a practice schedule. I have noticed from my personal experience that a detailed step-by-step plan is essential in any kind of undertaking. This plan is precisely what helps your dream become a reality. Your plan might include steps in mastering any particular piece that you like. Once you have your plan, create a practice schedule for fulfilling your plan. Be very precise and indicate specific time of the day which you will use for practicing organ.

Your practice time might be the same for every day of the week or you can reserve different times for different days. Whatever you choose, make it constant. Then all you have to do is to stick to your plan and follow your schedule diligently.

Of course, adhering to my suggestions will require some willpower but if you truly want to practice for many years, you will not regret it.

You can also download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

How Not to Give Up Your Organ Practice - 4 Tips

3/15/2012

Although many organists start playing the organ, only a small portion of them ever achieve success. This may happen for a variety of reasons but one of the greatest obstacles is when people give up playing this instrument and quit. If you want that this will not happen to you, try applying the following 4 tips.

1. Have a goal in mind. First and foremost your have to find goal which you can focus on. It could be like a dream which keeps you going. Your goal could be a general one, like to become a good organist, or a more specific, like to master any specific piece.

However, if you play aimlessly, your chances of keeping up your practice for years to come are not high. In other words, if you play one day this, another day that - such practice will not lead you anywhere. Note that I am not talking here about sight-reading which you should also practice. Instead, I am referring to the pieces that you want to master at a deeper level.

2. Have a schedule for practice. Once you found out what your goal is, prepare a plan with specific steps and schedule for your regular practice. Remember that it is important that you practice regularly.

If you skip one day without practice, only you will notice it. Spend two days without a practice and your teacher or friends will start noticing it. As the old saying goes, practice is like boiling water - without constant heat it cools down.

Note that your practice sessions do not necessarily have to be very long. Only 30 minutes a day might be all you need to start seeing some positive results after a few short months.

3. Choose pieces according to your level of ability. Try to be realistic about your technical level when practicing organ. Although your dream might be to play something technically very challenging, like Widor's Toccata, you might not be ready for it yet.

Instead, take some shorter, slower works from the same period and master them. Think of them as a preparation for your goal which you eventually will attempt to achieve.

4. Find a mentor you can trust to push you. Although you have chances to succeed when working alone, having a good mentor, a teacher, or instructor is much more beneficial. Your mentor can tell you to practice harder, motivate you, give you a daily plan, and other valuable recommendations.

However, you must listen to your mentor and do what he or she asks you to do. There is no point of working with a mentor and doing things that contradict with mentor's teachings.

Key points to remember: find a goal, prepare a schedule for practicing, practice pieces that are not too difficult for you at the moment, find a mentor and listen to your mentor. If you follow my advice, you will have many more chances to practice for many years successfully.

You can also download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

How to Avoid Frustration When Practicing the Organ - 3 Tips for Organists

3/14/2012

Every organist wants to see great results from practicing the organ playing. However, if the results are not as good or if they cannot be achieved fast enough, some people might feel disappointed and frustrated. Practicing with this feeling is not going to help them to advance in organ playing. What they need is to overcome the frustration and focus on what is important. In this article, I will give you 3 tips which might help you to avoid frustration when playing the organ.

1. Check if the piece is not too difficult. Very often organists with modest technical abilities have quite ambitious goals and start playing compositions that technically are too challenging or they simply are too long. For example, such a person might like Bach's or Widor's Toccata or Prelude and Fugue on BACH by Liszt or any other difficult piece.

However, no matter how beautiful these works are, beginners have to start with more modest and shorter pieces first. For instance, if you like Bach's D minor Toccata, try several shorter preludes and fugues from the collection of 8 Little Preludes and Fugues, BWV 553-560.

Or if you eventually plan to master Widor's Toccata, why not to start with an easier piece from the French symphonic school, such as Berceuse by Vierne, pieces from L'Organiste by Franck or works from Practical Organist by Guilmant.

Instead of Prelude and Fugue on BACH by Liszt, play easier movements from Mendelssohn's sonatas, or choral preludes by Brahms. Although they are short and not as difficult, the artistic level of these works is very high.

You are probably wondering, how to know if the piece is too difficult? Try sight-reading it in a very slow tempo, and if you make mistakes in every measure, I suggest taking an easier piece first.

2. Practice in voice combinations to avoid mistakes. If the piece you are working on is of your technical level then there is one more thing you can do to make things easier. In order to avoid making mistakes, which will save you a lot of frustration, try practicing your organ piece in separate voices first.

After that work on two-voice combinations, do not rush and achieve the level when you can play them at least three times in a row correctly. Then play three voices the same way and finally, the entire four-part texture.

3. Practice in fragments to correct mistakes. If after playing according to the above point you are still making some mistakes, it is best not to play your piece all the way through. Instead, work on one small episode or fragment at a time. It could be as short as 1-2 measures or longer (1 line).

If you make a mistake, just go back to the beginning of your fragment, take a slower tempo, correct your mistake and play it at least three times in a row without any errors. Note that your fingering, pedaling, notes, rhythms and articulation must be precise.

To summarize: choose the piece which is not too complicated for you at the moment, work in voice combinations and in smaller fragments for best results. Practicing this way will lead you to success in organ playing and will help you to avoid much frustration.

You can also download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.