Because of the COVID-19 pandemic I recently been asked to play for graduation ceremonies at Vilnius University not at the church but in the courtyard in open air. For these events I'm going to use Organteq software and my Nektar MIDI keyboard.

Therefore today I decided to test out this software with this improvisation. I have recently subscribed to Sietze de Vries' Patreon page where he teaches improvisation. His newest Lesson 3 teaches to create variations on manuals only using I, IV and V chords.

You can support Sietze and check out his course here:
https://patreon.com/sietzedevries

Here's the plan for this improvisation:
Theme: Chorale harmonisation
Variation I: Musette
Variation II: Echos
Variation III:
Running bass

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I'm delighted to present to you this improvisation recital. The idea behind it takes me at the beginning of this week when I first heard the chorale tune In dich hab ich gehoffet Herr (English translation - Thou who art my dearest gem) played by the Dutch organist and improviser Sietze de Vries during organ Vespers at Martinikerk Groningen.

In Dutch this tune is known as Lied 241. When he shared the video I couldn't get out this melody from my head, it started sounding to me day and night. I started singing and playing it continuously. There I decided to play a recital based on this tune alone.

So today you will hear a set of variations based on In dich hab ich gehoffet Herr which I'm naturally playing on Martinikerk Groningen. Hope you will enjoy it!

Watch Sietze's Lied 241:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lSXHF...

Watch his postlude improvisation on Lied 241:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LdZy6...

Subscribe to Sietze de Vries' YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkNc...

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My friend from Australia John Higgins recently published a video playing hymn setting Will Your Anchor Hold. I decided to analyse this hymn and play my own rendition on Nancy Cathedral sample set by Piotr Grabowski using my Hauptwerk setup. I couldn't find it in any of my hymnals at home so I looked at the tune I found on the Internet hence you will see my head turn to the screen on the left.

Subscribe to John Higgins' channel:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ5A...

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I recently ordered a bunch of new music by some French composers - Jeanne Demessieux, Nadia Boulanger and Maurice Durufle. Most of the pieces are quite difficult and will need a lot of practice so I will focus on them at a later date. But this Meditation was quite doable and it sounded charming on Nancy Hauptwerk sample set by Piotr Grabowski.

I hope you will enjoy it!

Score:
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/...

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Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!

Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist.

V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius...

A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene.

V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ

A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011.

V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today.

A: We hope you’ll enjoy it!

Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!

Ausra: And Ausra!

Vidas: Let’s start episode 650 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jay, and he writes: 

“Vidas:
I think I’ve seen that you use ForScore on an iPad for reading music.  I was wondering what size iPad do you use?  Have you had experience with more than the one size you use regularly?  I’d really like to do that but I’m not sure which size would work best for me.  I think the iPad 12.9” is likely optimal but so expensive.  Perhaps the 11” model would be adequate, being a bit less expensive.
Any thoughts you would care to share here or on your podcasts would be helpful.
Thank you!
Jay”

Ausra: Well, since it is your expertise, you need to talk and to explain everything.

Vidas: What will you do when I talk?

Ausra: I will listen.

Vidas: Okay, but don’t fall asleep just yet, because I might ask a question, too.

Ausra: Okay, I’ll try.

Vidas: Remember last Spring when our Hauptwerk gear was starting to arrive?

Ausra: Of course I remember that. How could I forget?

Vidas: I also bought an iPad which was recommended by my friend James Flores, and the reason I did that was because James, at the time, was using iPad as a touch screen with the Duet app connected to Hauptwerk so he could change the stops by tapping on the iPad screen. So, I liked that idea and decided to buy it at the same time as Hauptwerk. But then, I found out about the ForScore app, which is a really great application which allows you to read any type of pdf files and actually turn pages by the click of the button if you have a special device, a Bluetooth page turner for example. So I’ve been using this for some of my organ playing. You notice that, surely, right?

Ausra: Yes, of course I have noticed. And I use a little bit of that myself, too!

Vidas: What was your experience. Can you tell us?

Ausra: Well, since our music rack is so far away, I found out that the music score is a little bit too far from me, because the iPad screen is not that wide and not that big. So, if there is a possibility, I prefer to play from the paper score.

Vidas: The iPad is 10.2” screen, so it’s not the biggest one. I would say the bigger, the better, I think. The larger the screen, the better for your eyes.

Ausra: Definitely.

Vidas: And if Jay likes the idea of playing from a device like this, then it would be worth it to save a little bit more money for this, because your eyes will thank you for the bigger screen.

Ausra: Yes. And our iPads I use sometimes, for example, if I’m playing a piece with a page turn, and I don’t want to do that page turn, you know, it’s uncomfortable, then I would do two pages from the paper score, and then the last page from the iPad.

Vidas: Yeah, to avoid photocopying. Right?

Ausra: Yes.

Vidas: If you the original score and a piece is not very long but still has a page turn, like three pages long.

Ausra: Yes, that’s often the case, and it’s really annoying.

Vidas: And usually, you can record... practice and record a piece like that in one sitting. Right? Three pages.

Ausra: Sure.

Vidas: It takes maybe, I don’t know, an hour, maybe sometimes less, depending on the texture, but it’s possible, so it’s kind of an optimal size. It’s liturgically very appropriate. Three pages. Right? Under three minutes.

Ausra: Yes, it’s a very common length of compositions.

Vidas: Right. But still, sometimes you have pages turns, so what we have, of course, is the original score and then a one-page photocopy…. A photo of one page on the iPad. It’s a little bit smaller than the original, obviously, but still, you get comfortable because you don’t need to turn the page. But I use the page turner app… not app, but page turner device… Bluetooth page turner… I turn with my feet. What do you think about that. Have you tried it?

Ausra: Yes, I’ve tried it, but somehow for me it’s not that easy to do, because that device is… sometimes I simply kick it off from the pedal board.

Vidas: At first I bought one type of device with smaller buttons, so then it was really difficult to press with my feet at the right spot where the button is. It didn’t really make sense, so I bought another one with large buttons, and then it’s very comfortable right now, except, as you say, this device needs to be positioned so that it wouldn’t interfere with your feet when you rest, or the swell pedal, or we have another pedal for the toe pistons. These are sometimes confusing to find with your toes while playing.

Ausra: Plus sometimes when I try to press that button it doesn’t work so easily. Maybe I don’t press it hard enough, I don’t know. So it’s sort of a little bit risky for me.

Vidas: Yes, for organists using iPad and ForScore app, it’s a good deal, except you need to think about how you will turn the pages. Right? If you invest in another device, like this, like we do, blue tooth page turner, smaller/larger doesn’t matter, but the idea is the same. You can turn it either with the right foot or left foot, depending on which one is free, or depending on where you put it on the pedal board, too.

Ausra: Because, anyway, if you will get the iPad for the music score, you will have to do a lot of page turning, because there is only one single page per screen.

Vidas: I’ve seen people using some kind of device in their mouth, and they could turn the pages by biting that device.

Ausra: Jesus!

Vidas: Yes, Aarnoud...

Ausra: It’s really scary. Could you by chance swallow it and you know…

Vidas: No, it looks like a rubber band. You put it in your teeth, and it’s Bluetooth generated, of course, bluetooth powered, and once you press it, it turns the page on your iPad. So your hands are free and your feet are free. You see?

Ausra: Yeah. Maybe you should try it someday.

Vidas: I don’t know how Aarnoud de Groen uses it, from the Netherlands, but I’ve seen him do that, and he actually uses two iPads! Left and right! One is bigger and the other is smaller for him. But ideally, you could have two iPads, and therefore both could be connected, and you don’t need to turn the pages as often as with just one.

Ausra: But it’s very expensive. In general, the productions of Apple are so much more expensive than Android.

Vidas: Correct. But their screens are well worth the investment, I think, because it’s really good for the eyes. I mean not good for the eyes, but at least not bad for the eyes.

Ausra: Yes, I could confirm that, because now for one full year I’m grading my students’ papers actually looking at my iPad, because it has a touch screen, so I can correct their mistakes, for example, in the harmonic exercises or ear training exercises, so I don’t know how I would live without it.

Vidas: So are you slowly turning into an Apple person?

Ausra: Well, very slowly.

Vidas: Very slowly. That’s because for school, you really can’t use Apple products completely.

Ausra: Sure, because my teacher’s diary that I have to fill out every day to put in all the grades and put in all assignments, actually, and the subjects that they’re learning on, actually, cannot be filled out by Apple. And it frustrates me greatly.

Vidas: It works only with Windows.

Ausra: Sure.

Vidas: Maybe in the future they will create an app for Mac.

Ausra: I guess not so many teachers in Lithuania can afford buying Apple computers, so they don’t bother to improve on that subject.

Vidas: Right. So, we hope this was useful to Jay and other people who are thinking about playing from a tablet. Of course the ForScore app works with any, I think, any device. Not only iPad, but iPhone, I think, too, if you have iOS. And I have to double-check if it works with Android. If it does, then you could effectively use Android based tablets like Samsung or others. But I’m not sure. It might be just Apple. IOS app. At least for now. Alright, thank you guys for listening, for sending these questions. We hope this was useful to you, and please keep sending new questions for us; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, 

Ausra: Miracles happen!

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Today I installed Nancy Cathedral sample set by Piotr Grabowski. It's a magnificent 4 manual Cavaille-Coll organ with the ability to set pipe detuning. At first I tried 100% detuning and it sounded funny. Then reduced to 50% and after discussion with my friends @James Flores and Jerry Martin settled down to 40%. The result is very realistic when you will hear me set the registration for the 1st Part of Sonata No. 1 in F Minor, Op. 65 by F. Mendelssohn. After that I demonstrate my process of mastering this part in 11 simple steps. Hope you will enjoy it!

Score:
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/...

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Today I wanted to improvise on a well-known tune so I sat down on the organ bench and played the famous children song Twinkle Twinkle Little Star in 8 different variations:

1. In the soprano with pedals
2. In the soprano without pedals
3. In the soprano with solo stop
4. In the tenor with solo stop
5. In the soprano on the pedals (4' stop)
6. In the tenor on the pedals (8' stop)
7. In the right foot with double pedals only
8. In the right foot with double pedals and manual parts

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In this video I will teach you how to improvise on Genevan Psalm 31 in 10 simple steps.

1. Playing the tune in each hand and feet separately
2. Adding the second voice
3. In the soprano without pedals
4. In the soprano with pedals
5. In the soprano with solo stop
6. In the tenor with solo stop
7. In the soprano on the pedals (4' stop)
8. In the tenor on the pedals (8' stop)
9. In the right foot with double pedals only
10. In the right foot with double pedals and manual parts

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Welcome to our joint recital! Vidas and I are delighted to offer to you this wonderful choice of music today. Hope you will enjoy the sounds of two different sample sets - Obervellach with Martinikerk Groningen Impulse Response Reverb and Alessandria.

PROGRAM:

Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene and Vidas Pinkevicius, organists
Hauptwerk Obervellach sample set (Piotr Grabowski)

Martinikerk Groningen Impulse Response Reverb (Sonus Paradisi)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Prelude and Fugue in C Minor, BWV 546 (Ausra)
Score with fingering and pedaling:
https://secrets-of-organ-playing.myshopify.com/products/bwv-546-with-fingering-and-pedaling?pos=1&sid=e8bb34bcd&_ss=r

Trio Sonata No. 1 in Eb Major, BWV 525 (Vidas)
Score with fingering and pedaling:
https://secrets-of-organ-playing.myshopify.com/products/trio-sonata-in-eb-major-bwv-525-by-bach?pos=1&sid=0507edaf0&_ss=r

Hauptwerk Alessandria sample set (Piotr Grabowski)

Jeanne Demessieux (1921-1948)

12 Chorale Preludes on Gregorian Chant Themes, Op. 8 (1947)
Score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/twelve-choral-preludes-on-gregorian-chant-themes-sheet-music/1588067?aff_id=454957

Rorate caeli (Choral orné) (Ausra)
Adeste fideles (Musette) (Vidas)
Attende Domine (Choral paraphrasé) (Ausra)
Stabat Mater (Cantabile) (Ausra)
Vexilla Regis (Prélude) (Vidas)
Hosanna Filio David (Choral fugué) (Ausra)
O filii et filiae (Variations) (Vidas)
Ubi caritas (Ricercare) (Vidas)
In manus tuas (Litanie) (Vidas)
Tu es Petrus (Marcia) (Ausra)
Domine Jesu (Berceuse) (Vidas)
Veni Creator (Toccata) (Ausra)

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I felt divine when I recorded Attende Domine by Jeanne Demessieux! I recorded it so that people on Facebook could criticise me. There is a saying that dogs bark but caravan keeps going. Hope you will enjoy Alessandria sample set by Piotr Grabowski!

Score:
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/twelve-choral-preludes-on-gregorian-chant-themes-sheet-music/1588067?aff_id=454957

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