Yesterday I did my first live-streaming on Twitch since being promoted as an affiliate. During the Coronavirus epidemic SoundCloud has a partnership with Twitch for Pro account users. This partnership allows anyone with SoundCloud Pro account to be streamlined into an affiliate status on Twitch without having to wait to fulfil the other requirements of Twitch (reaching a certain number of followers, stream and watch hours. Since I have done some live-streaming with them in the past, I decided to take a leap. Affiliate status allows me to earn fro: my streams.
So yesterday was the day I tested this on my new 3 manual and pedal Hauptwerk setup. I only used one manual because I worked on mastering the third movement, Allegro vivace, from Sonatina Prima in A Minor from Clavierübung III by Johann Ludwig Krebs. It’s a fast movement so I had to take about 8 steps to reach the fluency required to record it live without cuts. At first I was worried that I would be nervous when practicing it live. But actually it was fun. I expected to be done in 10 steps and 30 minutes but I did it in 8 steps and 21 minutes. Of course, setting up the camera was the biggest challenge as I haven’t done this before with this new 3 manual setup. I experimented on putting a camera high from the right hand side, from an eye level on the right and from an eye level on the left. For this livestream I chose the second one, from the right hand side from an eye level. After the streaming was done, I checked the video and it appeared that I have most of my lighting from the left so I should have put the camera from the left too. Maybe I’ll do this next time when I start working on Sonatina Seconda in D Major. This livestream was shared with my Patreon supporters first before it will go public on YouTube.
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I have played this piece on Gedackt 8' and Gemshorn 8' in the left hand, Rohrflot 8', Kleingedackt 4', Quinta 1 1/2 and Tertia 1 3/5' in the right hand, Subbass 16', Violonbass 16' and Octavbass 8' stops in the pedals using Velesovo sample set of Hauptwerk VPO. If you like our music making, you can support us on Patreon and get free organ CD's at https://patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying Yesterday I the morning I set up Viscount MIDI 30 note pedalboard. Had a problem connecting to the computer first because I mixed up MIDI out and MIDI in cables. At first I thought it might be the problem that I was using too many USB connections, one for each keyboard and one for pedalboard. My 7 slot powered USB C adapter hasn’t arrived yet so I had to find some substitutes which take up space and energy from the computer. Luckily, after a while I figured out which cable goes where and it worked! Both Aušra and I recorded some solo music on it and also practiced our opening chorus from Easter oratorio by Bach as a duet. Then I adjusted the manuals even further to make them easier to reach.
In the evening we had a Zoom call with a friend from a book club so we chatted about the quarantine for an hour and later watched a couple of episodes of Ozark. SOPP579: Definitely counting while reading new music is helping me to keep on a stable rhythm4/4/2020
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 579 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Amir. And he writes: Hi Vidas, Definitely counting while reading new music is helping me to keep on a stable rhythm. I still found rapid shifts in note values and spacing of melodies in my left hand a bit challenging. Thanks. V: Ausra, what does he mean about “spacing of melodies” in his left hand? A: I guess he has trouble in his left hand in general... V: Mm hm. A: ...it seems to me. Well, because he is keeping talking about playing music in a stable rhythm. What I would suggest for him to do, since he has trouble with the left hand, that he would not sight read music with both hands together. V: Go back to single lines. A: That’s right. V: Mm hm. He is working on my Organ Sight Reading Master Course, and I’m not sure which week he is on, but from the beginning, and quite a few weeks involves only one single line. A: I see. V: Soprano, then alto, then tenor and bass. A: But I guess he’s talking about when he plays both hands together. V: Mm hm. A: Or if it’s the Sight Reading course, then maybe he just needs to take a slower tempo. V: Yes. I think his question was aimed for this course, this particular course. And ideally, a person should take a very slow tempo and just play it through, one day. And the next day will be the next exercise. Not to master completely, one exercise, but just to sight read it. It could be done twice actually. One, and the second time through also works. But for him, I think sometimes the tempo is too fast. You know, when I say play it slowly, people are just saying to what they think is slow. And for some people, I think, or for most people, slow is not slow enough. A: Yes. Do you think it’s really important to keep steady tempo when you sight read things, or you may slow down when things get harder? V: I would prefer to keep a steady tempo. Even though it’s really slow. I would take it twice as slow - even more than twice as slow. You know, if you take a really slow tempo and it’s still unsteady and uneven rhythm, and it’s still too difficult for you to play without mistakes, it means that either the texture is too complicated for you, or the tempo is too fast. So you can slow down, right, but you cannot omit one line from a single line; already, it’s already too few notes. So in general, might be just a good idea to slow down. A: Yes, I think that’s a good suggestion. V: Yes. You guys, may be noticing a change in our audio quality, and we’re just testing the first recording we’re making on our new MacBook Pro, using Garage Band app, and I’m not sure how it will go, but so far we’re just testing it. Let us know if the quality is different or better, or whatever you feel, whatever you hear. Okay? So, and keep practicing of course, and sight reading. Sight reading from my Organ Sight Reading Master Course is really helpful, because we start with one single line, then going to two parts, three parts, and finally four parts, of Bach’s Art of Fugue. But then, in Bonus Content, we have seven weeks, seven additional weeks. We have Reger’s small chorale preludes. So basically, the entire course is baroque-like course with articulation, but the bonus material is dedicated for legato playing as well, because people were asking about modern technique as well, modern touch. Okay, and let us know how your practice goes, and keep sending more of your questions. We love helping you grow. V: This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. Yesterday was a rather big day for me. After waiting for some days to quarantine to pass, I assembled Jaspers 3 keyboard stand and set up 3 Nectar Impact GX61 keyboards in our organ room. Aušra and I tested them out with playing Bach’s Wachet auf from Schubler collection as an organ duet using Hauptwerk software. It worked! I will need to adjust the manual height even further to be playable while sitting on the bench and set up Viscount MIDI pedalboard later today. Stay tuned...
In other news, Soundrop has finally delivered one of my tracks to Spotify. This is a good sign after my troubles with Distrokid and Mixnauten. I have played this piece on Gedackt 8', Quintathen 8' and Viol di gamba 8' stops using Velesovo sample set of Hauptwerk VPO. You can support me on Patreon and get free CD's: https://patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying Yesterday I started practicing and recording the 3rd part of Clavierubung by Johann Ludwig Krebs. It has 6 Sonatinas with 3 movements each. So I first recorded the opening of the 1st Sonatina, Allegro. It’s a fast movement and it gave my fingers a good exercise. There is something about Krebs that I like - maybe this playfulness, perhaps gracefulness but always with an amazing amount of artistic beauty. In other words, even though Krebs lived in the generation after Johann Sebastian Bach, it’s evident the old master had a good influence on him. Aušra is in the middle of recording his Clavierubung I, the 2nd part is done and I hope to record the 3rd part in April.
Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 576 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Julie. And she writes, I tend to focus too much on what I am playing on Sunday and don’t make as much progress on the “bigger” pieces that take much longer than a week to learn. Sometimes there isn’t much I can do about that if things are particularly busy at work. V: Ausra, this challenge seems to be particularly common among liturgical organists, right? A: Yes, I think so, yes. V: Who have constant duties at church, preparing hymns, preludes, and other liturgical music week after week. But then, what comes after that is really hard to learn, right? After a month or three months from now, a person doesn’t have enough time. A: True. Although I think there are some solutions that could be applied. First of all, if you are a church organist for more than one year, well, each liturgical year has its own festivities and occasions. And after some time, you will see that, you will notice that the hymns will come back, and you will be playing the same hymns as the last year or the year before that. So I guess after knowing your hymnal really well, it doesn’t take so long to prepare hymns for Sunday. And the same with preludes and postludes. You don’t need to play new things every Sunday. Maybe you can repeat some of older pieces after some time. And you can alternate between them, so that will save time, too. V: This situation kind of reminds me of your schoolwork and preparation for it. How much time did you have to spend in your first or second year? A: A lot. Many hours. V: Many hours. Mm hm. Half an hour for each lesson, class? A: Yes, for when I worked the first year, probably yes. V: And you were teaching, like maybe 20 or more classes every week? A: Yes, around that. I started with 18 hours per week, and then I had more. V: Mm hm. But then the second year, did you notice some things got easier? A: Well, some things. But still, it was quite hard. V: Obviously, because the course was more advanced, right? A: Yes. V: Eleventh grade. You started from the tenth grade, then eleventh grade? A: Well, I have taught since the fifth grades. V: Uh huh. A: When I started to work, so… V: And then the third year afterwards it got even more complex, right? A: True. V: With twelfth grade harmony. But when did you start to notice things to be repeating, and your skill level and experience level helping you out? A: Well I guess after five years, I noticed. V: I wonder how long Julie is working in church, and is she having five year’s experience or not? A: But now it takes me one hour for, to prepare for entire week, so, at the very most. V: So I would imagine with your experience, a person who would play at church for a decade or more, they could simply practice those hymns and liturgical music and preludes one hour in advance, maybe on Saturday evening, right? A: Yes. And when we are talking about problems like this, I just think, how blest are the organists who can improvise. How much time they can save. V: Yes, that’s a great idea. So Julie, I think Ausra is suggesting you to improvise. A: Yes. V: Or do some kind of combination of repertoire playing and improvisation. At first, you will be very, you will feel like you are a beginner at this, inadequate skills. It’s like starting to play the organ from the, from scratch. But little by little, after a year or two, you will get more experience. A: And another thing: If you are working on the larger scale repertoire for, let’s say a recital, you could integrate some of that music into a liturgical service as well. Maybe not to play an entire piece, but maybe just an episode out of it. V: And finish with a nice cadence. A: I know. And that way, you will then go both ways. You will add to your larger repertoire, and you will fill in your service. V: Yes, I know what you mean. It’s like a cycle. Prelude and Fugue has two parts, right? You could play the Prelude in the beginning and Fugue at the end. A: That’s still a lot of music. V: Still a lot? A: Yes. V: So what you could do, to play just the prelude, but split it in two parts, and finish it with a nice final cadence, maybe with extension towards subdominant key at the end and then coming back to the tonic. And then this would be your prelude, half of the actual prelude. And then the other half could be repeated after the service. Maybe starting with some kind of gradual introduction so you could drive into this postlude gradually, musically, in an aesthetically pleasing way. A: Yes, that’s a good suggestion. V: This requires obviously harmony skills, maybe music theory skills, and even a little bit more experience. But the general suggestion could be like this. Incorporate your bigger works into liturgy. A: And of course, when you’re picking up larger pieces for recitals, you could think about that too, if they would strategically fit into the service music. Because obviously there are lots of organ repertoire that could be easily included into the service music. Let’s say partitas, Pachelbel’s partitas or Bach’s partitas. They work just well and these segmented pieces, so you wouldn’t need to worry about making up the cadences. V: And in general, I think you have to gather more and more repertoire, so that when the time comes for you to play in public, let’s say a recital, then you don’t have to learn everything from scratch, but as Ausra says, learn just one or two pieces from scratch, and repeat everything else this time. And next time, you can learn two more pieces and repeat everything else, you see. And you gradually will supplant your repertoire, refresh your repertoire this way, but won’t overextend yourself. A: That’s right. V: Yeah. That’s our suggestions for this question, and they should be helpful for people, right, Ausra? A: Yes, I hope so. V: So please, guys, send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen! Yesterday I ordered an unlimited internet for home plan from Telia because with Bite we couldn’t get any work done from Monday when the whole online teaching and learning in Lithuania started. It took 5 minutes just to load a page, not to mention, stream an audio or video... Aušra had some GB from her Telia plan and it worked flawlessly without any glitches even under these circumstances so we decided to take a leap even though we still have 15 months of subscription with Bite left to pay.
Also I started recording Clavierubung II by Krebs, an opening Allegro from Sonatina Prima. Delightful little gems... After lunch I set up our weekly newsletter to go out to our email subscribers asking a question of how organists are dealing with Coronavirus these days. In the evening Aušra and I started watching series Ozark on Netflix starring Jason Bateman and Laura Finney. It’s about a financial adviser who is fleeing a drug lord to some small town in Missouri to clean his 8 M dollars. I wish season 4 of Stranger Things would come faster... Ausra and I have been sitting at home and practicing on our MIDI keyboard using Hauptwerk VPO. Some of our subscribers have already heard the recordings. Ausra is going through entire Clavierubung I (chorales) by Johann Ludwig Krebs and I - yesterday finished Clavierubung II (suite). Today I started Clavierubung III (Sonatinas). It's a delightful pre-classical music!
Of course, it's very sad to listen to the news about the deaths of Coronavirus in the world. We hope that the peak of the pandemic will be reached soon and that the cases and deaths will start to decline. It's so important at this time to observe proper social distancing and personal hygiene. Talking about social distancing, just about the only thing we do outside is to go for a walk in the woods and avoid places where more people go. When I went to the grocery store, on Monday morning I wore protective glasses, gloves and face mask. Soon after I returned, a currier delivered a large parcel with Viscount MIDI pedalboard from Thomann, a music store from Germany. We are still waiting for the organ bench to arrive. After these packages will be cleared from quarantine in our Pinky and Spiky cabin, I'll be unboxing them and setting up our Hauptwerk in the organ room. Hopefully you will hear more pedal music and even organ duets soon. Stay tuned... I hope you and your loved ones are safe. How do you spend your quarantine as an organist? Please share your thoughts in the comments. |
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
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