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Many church organists have a dream in giving their best on Sunday services and learning new pieces to enhance their worship playing. However, sometimes they might lack motivation to practice new music because their might have good sight-reading skills. If you find yourself in this situation, I will give you some ideas which will help you to solve this problem and to advance in organ playing.
The goal to learn new music as opposed to sight-read them is wonderful. In fact, the two are strongly connected. You see, if your primary goal is to play in church, then this might well be your motivation behind learning new music for services. You don't need to play everything new every Sunday since this will be a very great burden. You want to enjoy music and not to feel like you have to prepare something new in a short amount of time. Usually there are 4 places for organ music in the worship service of various denominations today (prelude, offertory, communion, and postlude). One possibility for you would be to learn one new short work each week or every two weeks and repeat others from your current repertoire. This piece does not have to be long nor too complicated. In fact, a chorale prelude of 1-2 pages is an optimum duration for liturgical organ playing. If you like sight-reading, this does not necessarily mean you should stop practicing it. In fact, this is a tremendous tool in any organist's arsenal of skills. Many people would like to get better at sight-reading, so if you already have reasonable skills, you have an advantage. An ability to play unfamiliar music at sight makes a process of learning new pieces much easier. If you really want to develop unbeatable sight-reading skills, check out my systematic Organ Sight-Reading Master Course. To complete the practice material of this course will only take 15 minutes a day of practice but you will learn to sight-read any piece of organ music effortlessly. I often suggest organists two practice both sight-reading and learning new material regularly. This ensures that both skills are being developed at the same time. The ultimate goal would be to be able to play the music that you love at sight fluently, without interruptions, and mistakes. However, you are probably thinking that nobody can achieve this level. There is a story about Bach, who was a great sight-reader and usually could play anything written on the music sheet. But one day during his visit with his friend he made a mistake on the harpsichord by trying to play the same spot three times in a row and said: "No, it is not possible to sight-read everything". So the take-away message for you would be to take a piece of your choice and practice it on a deeper level for church service. For best results work in separate voices and voice combinations. Practice in short fragments to avoid mistakes. 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. Hymn playing is essential for every church organist. Although generally we use only one technique, very often you can enrich your service playing by using a variety of ways to play hymns. In this article, you will discover the 6 main methods in playing hymns on the organ.
1. Play hymns in octaves with two hands. This is the most simple version of all, very practical if your technique is not strong enough to play with more voices. It is also very useful in introducing any unfamiliar or complicated hymn to your congregation because the tune will be clearly audible and recognizable. 2. Play hymns in two voices. If you are hesitant to use pedals in your hymn playing, you can always choose the two most important outer voices and play the hymn this way to create a bicinium. The melody will be clear in the right hand and the bass will give the harmonic foundation and support. 3. Play hymns in three voices. If your pedal technique allows, it is always possible to create a trio version of the hymn. This texture makes your playing sound transparent and clear. You can place a tune in any part - the right hand, the left hand, or the pedals for more variety. 4. Play hymns in four voices. This is the most widely used method. You can either play the harmonized version from the hymnal or create your own. It order to do this, you will need to know the basic rules of harmony. 5. Play hymns in five voices. Have you tried to add an extra voice to your four-part harmonization? This may be a descant in the right hand on a solo registration. You can also play a tune in the tenor voice while adding a double pedal line. Another option would be to place the tune in the bass and play an alternate harmonization of the tune. 6. Play hymns in six voices. If you want some real challenge both in your pedal playing and harmonization skills, you can play two voices in the right hand, two - in the left hand, and two - in the pedals. The hymn tune could be placed either in the top or the bottom voice to be most prominent. Try any of the above methods when you prepare for your next church service. If you execute them well, you will be surprised how pleased your congregation will be with your hymn playing. Remember, that some of these methods might take considerable practice time, so plan accordingly and be patient for best results. A great resource for playing hymns is Art of Hymn Playing by Charles E.Callahan. It has 250 Introductions, Preludes, Free Accompaniments, and Alternate Harmonizations. The pieces range from 2 part voicing to more complex. It is meant as a graded guide to hymn playing. 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. Many organists tell me that mistakes can be very difficult to fix in organ playing. If they fail to correct the mistake or can't play the piece fluently and without interruptions, they feel like they have to give up practicing organ and do something else. In this article, I will share 6 tips with you of how I overcome frustration when playing the organ.
When playing the organ, I make mistakes, too and I get frustrated, of course. But for me it is inspiring to know that many other famous organists have taken the same path and had similar problems I have. In fact, the great Bach himself was known to have superb sight-reading skills. He had a habit of playing some unfamiliar pieces on the harpsichord while visiting with his friends. Usually he could sight-read them very well on the first try. But one time, as he was playing one particular work on the harpsichord, he got stuck at one spot. He stopped, went back a few lines, played it again, and got stuck at the same spot for the second time. Surprised, he tried again the same thing but made a mistake in the same place for the third time. Then he said, "No, it is not possible to play everything." Isn't this an encouraging thought? To think that the genius who was said to be able to play anything written on the music score by his contemporaries, himself admitted the limitations of human nature. So what does it mean for you? You see, it's OK to make mistakes. When you try to correct them and it doesn't help, it doesn't necessarily mean you should give up your organ playing because of this. Have you taken note of how many times do you usually try to correct the mistake before you give up? Thomas Edison, the inventor of light bulb, was known to have 10000 failed attempts in this project but he didn't give up. And of course, organ playing is a lot easier than inventing a light bulb. You will not need so many repetitions. You just have to approach this problem from a different angle and perspective. This will help you to stay positive. Here are some things that are worth remembering: 1. Try to remember your goal. It could be both short-term and long-term goal in organ playing. 2. Create a daily practice schedule. This schedule or plan will help you to know the steps necessary to achieve your goal. 3. When you practice, always take a slow tempo. Practicing very slowly helps to avoid mistakes. 4. Choose pieces of your technical level. Many people take compositions that are too difficult for them at the moment. Save them for the future. 5. Learn the piece in separate voices and voice combinations. This is especially helpful for playing polyphonic music, such as fugues. 6. Master short fragments first and later combine them together. This technique helps to correct mistakes very quickly. Try these 6 tips today in your organ practice and you will be surprised how much easier is to stay positive and not to give up your organ playing. 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. Double Pedal Challenge - Announcing My Brand New Practice Score of Benedicamus by Samuel Scheidt4/26/2012 Have you ever tried to play two voices with your feet at the same time? This is a double pedal technique which was used in the music of North German composers, such as in the works of Samuel Scheidt.
Samuel Scheidt (1587-1654) went to study with Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck in Amsterdam who was called "the Maker of German Organists" because of his many German students. Scheidt became one of his most influential students because of his ambitious collection "Tabulatura Nova". The Tabulatura Nova is written in 3 parts and contains settings of Magnificat, psalms, choral variations, other liturgical compositions, fantasias, ricercars, a toccata, variations on popular dance tunes and songs, canons and two preludes in six parts with double pedal. One of the pieces in six parts is called Modus Pleno Organo Pedaliter Benedicamus (The Mode of Playing the Organ with Pedals Benedicamus). Like other works in this collection, Scheidt notated this composition on separate staves - in this case on six staves with different clefs. The texture of this work is extremely thick, with frequent imitations of the thematic material in various voices. Therefore, the character of this piece is solemn and festive. How would it feel to be able to play the Benedicamus by Scheidt with correct early fingering? In fact, early keyboard fingering of Renaissance and Baroque periods is completely different from the legato style of fingering used in the Romantic music because it helps to achieve the correct articulation naturally. How would it feel to be able to choose the best and the most efficient pedaling? The one which is the most appropriate for this style of writing? This pedaling alone will create an ideal articulation for the pedal parts. How would it feel to be able know how to use the right articulation? Using the precise articulation is incredibly important for playing Baroque pieces. It helps your playing to sound in style. 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. Wouldn't it be great to be able to play two voices in the right hand, two - in the left hand, and two - in the pedal simultaneously? If the task of playing a composition with six parts seems daunting to you, don't worry - with my step-by-step approach the entire learning process becomes super easy and simple. Because I want to see your success in organ playing so much, I am releasing my brand new practice score of Benedicamus by Samuel Schedt which will help you to master this piece in 12 days or less while working only 30 minutes a day. If you are an intermediate level organist, this composition will be perfect for you. Get the practice score of Benedicamus by Scheidt Instead of original 6-stave-notation with many different clefs, I transcribed it to the usual organ notation on 3 staves with treble and bass cleff only. The music reading will be easy and simple for you, so go ahead and get this practice score now - your pedal technique will become a lot better after mastering this work. If you are not sure whether this work is right for you, don't worry, like all my scores, the Benedicamus comes with a 30-days-money-back-guarantee! Get the practice score of Benedicamus by Scheidt To your success in organ playing, Vidas Pinkevicius Every organist sooner or later has to face the question of what is the most efficient way in memorizing music. Since every person is different, it is no surprise that we all use different systems when it comes to learning and playing music by heart. Discover the main approaches in memorizing organ music by picking the answers from this quiz that suits your learning style.
How do you memorize organ music? A. I learn in fragments of 4 measures. This is a system that the French master organist Marcel Dupre used in his playing and teaching. Basically, you have to subdivide the piece into many fragments each having 4 measures. Then you memorize measures 1, 2, 3, and 4 of this fragment separately always starting and finishing on the downbeat. Repeat each measure as many times as you need to master it. Then learn 2 measures (1-2, 2-3, and 3-4), 3 measures (1-2-3 and 2-3-4), and finally, 4 measures (1-2-3-4). After you master these 4 measures, go on to the next fragment, memorize it in the above manner and so on. B. I learn in separate voices and voice combinations. The famous German blind organist Helmut Walcha was fond of this system. This approach is especially valuable for learning polyphonic organ music, such as fugues, Baroque chorale preludes, music of Bach etc. You first learn soprano, alto, tenor, and bass, separately from the beginning until the end. Then memorize combinations of two voices (soprano-alto, soprano-tenor, soprano-bass, alto-tenor, alto-bass, tenor-bass) and three voices (soprano-alto-tenor, soprano-alto-bass, soprano-tenor-bass, alto-tenor-bass). Finally, play all four voices from memory. C. I learn by memorizing a piece in fragments of one measure and later doubling their size. With this system you start by learning a piece and stopping every measure. Then play two measures at a time from the beginning until the end. Then master your piece in fragments of four measures, one line, two lines, one page, two pages and so on. D. Depending on the difficulty and style of the piece any of the above. E. I don't use any particular system for memorization. I just play my organ piece many times over and over and somehow naturally the music sinks into my memory. F. I am scared to death of memorization and believe that only geniuses can play the music by heart. If your answer was A, B, C, or D it means that you have a system for memorization and this process is more of a science than art for you. If your answer was E, I suspect that sometimes you might struggle in playing the piece from memory not to mention the process of memorization. If you answered F, then you could give it a try and discover the strengths and weaknesses of each approach by starting to memorize an organ piece of your choice today. Having a system of some sort will make this task much easier than you might think and you will have a lot of fun in the process. Do you have your own system in memorizing music? You can share your answer in the comment section below. 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. Are you in preparatory stages for an organ recital? Do you have some ideas but are not sure what are the best ways to program it? If you want to achieve success with your playing, there are 3 things to keep in mind here. In this article, I will explain each of them one by one which will help you to make the best decision.
1) Instrument. This is perhaps the most important point to keep in mind and many people fail to give it some serious thinking. Because every organ is different and no instruments are alike, consider the technical capabilities of it. Ask some questions, like what is the ideal musical style, historical period, technical and registration limitations for your organ etc. 2) Audience. Once you have decided over the above point, think of your listeners in planning the recital. Give them something interesting, unexpected, and original in the theme of the event. It is really vital to the success of your recital that the program should be engaging and have a balance between a unity and contrast. A unity could mean that there should be an overall general recital theme or idea, like liturgical occasion, one composer, one style, one historical period, one country etc. Although you can play a mixed program where all the pieces are chosen by accident, it is much easier to publicize the recital, if the above point is kept in mind. People will feel more interested in coming to your recital if you give them something unique, original, and special. A contrast in your program might mean that you should give the listeners the ability to relax by programing pieces in loud-soft-loud-soft manner. Also, keep in mind the balance between the compositions in major and minor modes. 3) Performer. You must think also about yourself as the performer. Ask yourself, if the pieces you have chosen are not too difficult for you at the moment. Or perhaps you can play them one by one but when you put them in a row, they are too exhausting to play. A good idea is also to have some contrast between fast-slow-fast-slow compositions. Additionally, not the least important is that the pieces should be interesting to you personally. Try to keep the above points in mind when you prepare for an organ recital. The more balance between the instrument, audience, and performer your program has, the more success you will achieve. What are your thoughts on this important subject? Do you have some organ recital experiences that you want to share? Or perhaps you learned some lessons along the way? I am curious to know. 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. Have you tried to make an organ arrangement of a popular aria or a choral work? If not, it is worth giving it a try because not only you will have a lot of fun in the process, will be able to create a new organ piece that you will love to play but also you will learn a lot about the composition itself. In this article, I will describe how to make a 4 part arrangement of the famous Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring by Bach for organ in 6 easy steps.
1. Take a music staff paper and write the treble clef for the right hand, the bass clef for the left hand, and the bass clef for the pedals. Connect the 3 staves into a system. 2. Add a key signature (F sharp) and a meter signature (3/4). 3. Write the Violin I part in the right hand with the stems up in triplets. 4. Write the Violin II part in the right hand with the stems down. Be aware, that according to the usual practice in Bach's time, in the original score this part is notated using dotted eight notes and sixteenths which should be played together with the last note of each group of three notes in the top voice. When you transcribe it in the right hand part, you can use groups of quarter and eighth notes in triplets. 5. Write the Soprano part in the left hand one octave lower. This way the chorale tune will sound in a tenor range. The chorale tune will sound well on a solo registration, such as a soft reed. 6. Write the Cello part in the pedals which will be played using soft 16' and 8' stops. The Violin II part will fit nicely to the right hand part. Although there are some voice crossings between the two violins, in general, the right hand can play these two voices very easily. You can play this part using flutes 8' and 4'. Because in this arrangement you have to play 2 voices in the right hand, for some people who have little proper organ training experience it might not be as easy as it may seem. If you are at the beginning stages of organ playing, I recommend the 3 part version which will also sound very well. Just omit the step 4. If you want to learn this piece in 10 days while working only 30 minutes a day, you can download my fully edited instructional 3-part arrangement of this composition from here. It comes with complete fingering, pedaling, articulation, tempo and registration suggestions and detailed step-by-step practice plan. After the process of arranging this fantastic piece for the organ you will know how the piece is put together on a much deeper level than before which will also help you to advance in the field of music theory. You can play your arrangement from the written down version on paper or you can use your favorite music notation software to transcribe it. Choose whatever is more comfortable for you but do not forget to treat your arrangement as a genuine organ composition while you play and practice 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. Some organists have electronic organs with one octave pedal board at home which they use for practice. While this idea is very practical, such organists have to face several difficulties with this kind of instrument. In this article, I will discuss what problems arise when organist has an electronic organ for practice purpose and how these difficulties might be overcome.
One octave pedal board may be the cause of the back pain, if used incorrectly. It might arise from playing with the right foot in the bottom of the pedal board of such organ. This kind of instrument is mean to be played with the left foot most of the time. And of course not that kind of music with the independent pedal part like most of classical polyphonic organ music. Incidentally, the right foot usually is busy operating the swell pedal and pressing the toe studs where available. Originally, the electronic organs with the short pedal board were intended either for playing classical transcriptions from popular works or the arrangements of tunes from pop music. In both cases, the texture is rather homophonic with the melody in one hand (usually in the right) and chordal accompaniment in another. The pedal part in such music is mostly the bass voice which only supports the chords and serves as harmonic foundation. Very seldom it is required to play an independent melodic line in the pedal part of such arrangements. Therefore, one can easily use only the pitches of the available one octave to play the harmonic foundation with or without some rhythmical syncopation. Contrary to such arrangements, in classical organ music the pedal part is very often independent. The organist is required to use the entire compass of the two-octave pedal board, often playing the higher notes up to treble F. Naturally, performance of most of organ music on electronic organs with one octave pedal board is quite challenging. The solution for this problem is rather simple. The organist could try to extend the short pedal board by attaching a wooden board with similar dimensions as the pedal board. One can go even further and draw the rest of the notes on this wooden board. This way it is possible to pretend and imagine the full pedal board very easily (and avoid dangerous tension in the back). Some organists try to compensate the short compass of the pedal board by lowering the pedal part in various places of the music score. This is a possible solution to the problem but is rather inconvenient and might cause some frustration. Instead, it is probably better to extend the pedals with a wooden board. If you will continue playing pedals on your electronic organ, it is best if you avoid playing with the right foot on the extreme left side of the pedal board while practicing. This may mean adjusting the pedaling when necessary. In addition, use the idea of extending your pedals. Otherwise, you could try to get some practice time in churches that have organs with pedals of at least two octaves in compass in your area. 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. One of the most popular movements from the cantatas by Johann Sebastian Bach is the famous "Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring". This work was originally composed as a choral part from the Cantata No. 147 sung at the end of parts I and II of this cantata. Many organists love to play this work for weddings and other joyful occasions. Because of the popularity of this work, there are so many organ versions available which are not necessarily perfect for you. In this article, I will show you how to make an organ arrangement of this composition for organ in 3 voices which will sound very well and will be comfortable to play.
Before we can make an organ arrangement, we have to become familiar with the orchestral instrumentation. If we take a look at the original scoring, we will discover that this work is notated in 9 staves. The harmonized chorale tune is performed by the 4 part SATB choir which in Bach's time might have been sung by the 4 soloists, too. The top soprano voice is also reinforced by the Trumpet in C. The bass line is performed by at least 5 people: vocal bass, cellist, harpsichordist (or organist), the double bass, and perhaps the bassoonist as well. The vocal bass joins in choral phrases. We can imagine Bach himself playing the harpsichord or the organ and conducting at the same time. He would have been playing the bass line in the left hand and adding chords or another fully worked out solo voice from the basso continuo notation with the right hand. The double bass player would be playing the cello part one octave lower (at 16' pitch level). The 3 instrumental parts are meant for two violins, viola, and also 2 oboes doubling the violin I part. The viola player would have to play from the alto clef. Note that the meter of the violin I part is 9/8 while other voices are notated in 3/4 meter. This is probably done to avoid triplets in the violin I part. As you can see, it must have been quite an ensemble of at least 14 people. In order to make an organ version of this piece, we have to decide which parts are most important because naturally we can't play every part on the organ at the same time. Obviously, there are 3 most important lines in this composition - the chorale tune, the violin I part playing orchestral ritornellos, and the cello part giving the harmonic foundation. By playing these parts on three separate divisions, we could make a very nice and satisfactory organ version in a trio texture. The violin I part could be played using 8' and 4' flute combinations in the right hand. The chorale tune would sound best, if played in the tenor range (one octave lower) in the left hand on the solo registration, perhaps using a soft reed stop, such as an oboe. We can take the cello line in the pedals using 16' and 8' soft stops. The 3 part version of Jesu, Joy of Man's Desiring will sound very well on the organ and it will not be too difficult to learn. Just make sure you treat this arrangement like a real organ composition, and practice slowly with correct fingering, pedaling, articulation, and phrasing. It is best to practice repeatedly one small fragment at a time. If you want to learn this piece in 10 days while working only 30 minutes a day, you can download my fully edited instructional 3-part arrangement of this composition from here. It comes with complete fingering, pedaling, articulation, tempo and registration suggestions and detailed step-by-step practice plan. 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 Playing: Why Developing the Left Hand Technique Is More Difficult Than the Right Hand?4/14/2012 When it comes to building your organ technique, very often you will notice how weak your left hand is. Moreover, when you continue playing the organ, your right hand might improve but your left hand still might be underdeveloped. This realization causes a lot of frustration among organists. In this article, I will explain why it is much more difficult to develop the left hand technique than that of a right hand and how to overcome this problem.
You see, for all of us who are right-handed, playing with the left hand precisely is much more difficult than with the right hand. This is because not only we do everything with our right hand much more often but also because in the music you can find many more places when the melody is in the right hand. That's why we like to practice the right hand first and more often that the other hand. It is like a closed circle: we have a weak left hand, practice more the right hand, and consequently, our right hand develops faster but the left hand not. To break this circle you need to work on the left hand more. That's why you realize that playing with your weak hand is more difficult and you may have to practice this part more times in your organ pieces. Obviously, if you do like every good organ instructor would teach (practicing parts alone, combinations of 2 voices, combinations of 3 voices, and finally, all parts together) all of this will come naturally to you. You will start developing your left hand technique the same way as the right hand. Another great help in overcoming this problem is to practice piano exercises either on the piano or on the organ. Good piano exercises will develop both of your hands equally well. In addition to exercises, you can practice scales, chords, and arpeggios in various keys. Especially valuable are scales in double thirds and double sixths. This type of practice is of course a little more advanced so it is best to master simple scales in parallel and contrary motion first. If you don't like the dry nature of exercises and scales, you can practice piano etudes on the organ. Great piano composers like Czerny, Berens, Lemoine, many others have left invaluable collections of etudes you can use for your daily practice. If you are an advanced player, try etudes by Chopin and Liszt. Whatever you choose, play slowly, practice repeatedly, and don't worry about the concert tempo. You will reach this tempo when you are ready. Remember that this kind of playing will help you develop your left hand technique at the same level as the right hand. 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. |
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. 
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