Organ Practice: What Is The Real Reason Organists Don't Use Pedal Preparation Often Enough?7/31/2012 We all have heard about pedal preparation technique in organ playing. It provides lots of benefits to the organists - pedal playing accuracy, fluency, and automation. Yet very few people take advantage of this incredible technique and in result their pedal playing will not develop up to the high level. If you are struggling with your pedal playing, read this article in which you will find out why organists don't use pedal preparation often enough and I will provide the tips for you to successfully apply it in your practice.
First of all, if you don't know what pedal preparation means, let me explain it to you. Pedal preparation is a technique in which the foot is placed on the pedal right after the previous pedal is released. In other words, if you want to use pedal preparation, you just slide your foot to the next note in exactly the same instant after releasing the note you just played. Don't press this new pedal but let your foot rest in place and be ready for your next note. Playing the pedals this way will give you the necessary fluency and automation because you will not have to think about what is coming next in your pedal line. Although the benefits of pedal preparation hopefully are very clear to you, there are not too many organists who practice this way. Are you wondering what is the reason for that? Although every person is different, for many people this is because of laziness in organ practice. You see, it is much easier to play the organ piece you love from the beginning until the end without stopping and without paying attention to such details, as pedal preparation, eliminating mistakes, correct depression of the pedals and so on. In reality we all are quite lazy when it comes to practice. We want to achieve the results fast but don't realize how much work needs to be done in order to achieve our goal. The same holds true in pedal preparation. In order for this technique to work, you have to practice short fragments of your pedal line alone repeatedly. In other words, if you want your pedal playing to become automated, play an excerpt of about 4 measures in a slow tempo 10 times in a row. With each repetition try to focus and reach for preparing your foot in place for the next note. Now this is not easy but it is simple enough to understand. You just have to push yourself to do it correctly each time. The next day you come to your organ practice repeat the previously mastered fragment 10 times with this technique. Do this 10 days in a row and you will have your fragment fully automated, I guarantee you. Try this experiment: repeat one pedal fragment at least 10 times for 10 days with pedal preparation in a slow tempo. The fragment doesn't have to be long - up to 1 line of music. Practice other lines as you normally play without applying this technique. After 10 days, compare the result of these 2 different fragments. I bet after those 10 days you will never want to play the old way again. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my free Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Are you wondering what kind of organ music selections are suitable for Bachelor's organ degree recital? In this article, I will give you a list of pieces by Buxtehude, Bach, Handel, Vierne, Langlais, and Franck.
1. Praeludium in C, BuxWV 137 by Dieterich Buxtehude. One of the most famous of all of Buxtehude's organ works will serve well for the opening of your recital. This is a perfect example of multi-movement North German Baroque Stylus Phantasticus writing. This work is also known as Prelude, Fugue, and Chaconne in C major. 2. Chorale Prelude "Komm heiliger Geist, Herre Gott", BuxWV 199 by Buxtehude. This is an ornamented chorale prelude - a perfect example of Buxtehude's style. This piece will make a good contrast with the preceding and following pieces. 3. Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541 by Johann Sebastian Bach. A joyful prelude with elements of Ritornello form. You will find a complex Stretto section towards the end of the fugue. 4. Chorale Prelude "Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland", BWV 659 by Bach. A very famous chorale prelude from the collection of Great 18 Chorales (Leipzig Chorale Preludes). Slow tempo and fascinating ornamented chorale melody in the right hand part. 5. Trio Sonata No. 1 in E flat Major, BWV 525 by Bach. This is the easiest of all of 6 trio sonatas by this composer. However, the organists will still encounter many technical challenges which have to be overcome at the Bachelor's degree recital. 6. Organ Concerto Op. 4, No. 5 in F Major, HWV 293 by George Frederic Handel. This is the shortest of 6 most famous organ concertos by Handel. It consists of four contrasting movements: Larghetto, Allegro, Alla Siciliana, and Presto. 7. Allegretto, Op. 1 by Louis Vierne. A rarely performed early work of Vierne of moderate difficulty. Nice ABA form with charming oboe melody in the right hand. 8. Meditation from the Suite Medievale by Jean Langlais. Very colorful French style modal writing. Slow tempo makes it a wonderful preparation for what is coming next in your program. 9. Chorale No. 3 by Cesar Franck. This is perhaps the most famous and the easiest of all of 3 chorales of Franck. A perfect closing piece for your recital - very dramatic work with a beautiful slow middle section. Take any or all of the above pieces and start practicing for your recital today. The compositions from this list constitute a recital of approximately 1 hour of duration which is an optimum length for organ recital. They provide a welcome variety in character, mood, tempo, mode, keys, and registration for positive listener experience. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my free Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. When I reviewed the answers from my subscribers about what is their goal in organ playing, I was surprised how many people were interested in learning to improvise. In particularly, the style of J.S.Bach is so fascinating to many people that majority of organists want to learn to improvise using similar techniques that the great master used in his compositions.
Actually, this is of course easy to understand because improvisation develops your creativity, helps you to become a complete musician, you can create music like composers do, and you can enhance your worship playing by introducing your improvisations to your congregation. Therefore, I decided to create a free 9 day Keyboard Prelude Improvisation Mini Course on improvising keyboard preludes in the style of Bach. You can sign up for this fantastic free course here (you will only need to enter your email address). If you sign up for this mini course, in the next 9 days, I will teach you specific techniques that I use to improvise keyboard preludes in his style. Each day you will receive a short exercise which will empower you to be able to create a prelude on the spot after just 9 days. Even though you might have never tried your hand at improvisation, this course will be easy and playable even for the beginner and I promise to you that these exercises will be fun, short, and to the point. I hope you will join me in this fascinating journey into the world of improvisation. If you are wondering what benefits can improvisation provide for you, here is an article I wrote some time ago about it which you may find useful to read. Each of the exercises of this free Keyboard Prelude Improvisation Mini Course will teach you the necessary steps to compose while you play (yes, that's a great explanation of improvisation) a prelude suitable for performance on any keyboard instrument: organ, piano, harpsichord, clavichord, electronic keyboard, virtual organ, computer organ, and even harmonium. Get free access to Keyboard Prelude Improvisation Mini Course Each day we will focus on some particular technique or aspect in improvising a prelude in the Bach style. Here is the curriculum of this mini course: Day 1: Mastering the Figure Day 2: Opening Cadence Day 3: Cadence I Day 4: Descending Sequence Day 5: Ascending Sequence Day 6: Closing Cadence Day 7: Applying the Figure to Different Harmonic Structures Day 8: Improvisation of the Chordal Outlines Day 9: Improvisation of the Prelude Bonus: you get unlimited email access to me during the time of this course. So if you get stuck on something or need help with anything, just let me know. This is really an incredible value and I'm giving it to you for free. Free Keyboard Prelude Improvisation Mini Course Please forward the link to this post to any person who would find this mini course useful. I'll see you on the inside, Vidas Pinkevicius P.S. If you want to create your music like composers do, to develop your creativity or if you want to enhance your worship playing, then I highly recommend this mini course. One of the best known pieces in a fascinating collection of 8 Short Preludes and Fugues, Prelude and Fugue in F major, BWV 556 is an outstanding example of how a composition of superb artistic quality can be created using fairly simple musical language.
The prelude is written in a ternary ABA form in 3/8 meter. The character is joyful, even playful and because of that many performers choose a rather quick tempo. Part A consists of the musical idea which establishes the F major key in opening 4 measures and ends on a half cadence. Then we can see series of ascending sequences with triplet figures which end on a perfect cadence in the tonic key of F major. Part B is much longer the Part A. Here we find the same kind of sequences with triplets and haf cadences in F major, G minor and perfect cadences in D minor, C major, and A minor. The Prelude ends with exact repetition of Part A giving us a complete rounded ABA form. The Fugue (4/4 meter) starts with a subject in the tenor voice the first part of which moves in eighth notes and the second part in sixteenth notes. These sixteenth note figures give the fugue a joyful character which requires a quick tempo. As you listen to the recording of this fugue, it is best to count the number of subjects and notice in which voice it appears. There are total of 6 full subject entrances in this fugue. In other instances, the theme appears either in part or in modification. Below you can see the general plan of this fugue. Exposition: 1. Subject in the tenor (F major) 2. Answer in the alto (C major) 3. Subject in the soprano (F major) 4. Answer in the bass (C major) (This completes the exposition) 5. Episode Counter-exposition: 6. Answer in the soprano (C major) 7. Episode 8. Subject in the bass (F major) 9. Episode 10. Partial subjects 11. Closing cadence in F major. Episodes are written using melodic and rhythmical material from the subject. They are meant to connect various subject entrances and/or key areas. One of the easiest ways to achieve this is through sequences which we also encounter here and there. From the above plan we can see that this is a rather simple fugue without subject entrances in other keys or without the canonic fugal entrances, called Stretto. Nevertheless, this entire Prelude and Fugue is so elegantly crafted that we never hear this simplicity and its artistic quality is very high. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my free Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Organ Playing: The Exact Steps to Mastering Short Prelude and Fugue in F Major, BWV 556 in 10 Days7/14/2012 Mastering the Prelude and Fugue in F Major, BWV 556 is easier than you might think. In this article, I'll give you the exact steps which will help you learn it in just 10 days.
Here are the steps in mastering Prelude and Fugue in F major, BWV 556 in 10 days: General comments: 1. Play slowly to avoid mistakes 2. Practice each day in solo voices, combinations of 2 and 3 voices, and only then the entire 4 part texture, where applicable) - play 10 times each combination. 3. When you repeat previously learned lines, play them 3 times correctly. 4. Practice one line at a time, unless indicated otherwise. 5. Make sure the notes, rhythms, fingering, pedaling, and articulation are correct in each step. Step-by-step plan: Day 1: Learn lines 1-2 2. Repeat 1-2, practice 3-5 3. Reinforce 1-5, master 6-7 4. Remember 1-7, learn 10 and 11 5. Repeat 1-11, practice 12-13 6. Reinforce 1-13, master 14-15 7. Play the entire prelude and fugue by stopping every 2 lines 8. Practice the entire piece by stopping every 4 lines 9. Play the entire composition by stopping every 8 lines 10. Play the entire prelude and fugue without stopping In order to reap the best results, it is best if you just follow the above steps exactly and you will have it ready for public performance in 10 days. This public performance doesn't necessarily have to be a recital. You could play it in church during liturgy as a postlude or just for fun for your family and friends. By the way, if you would like to start practicing this prelude and fugue tonight, check out my practice score with complete fingering and pedaling which will create the ideal articulation. If you just follow the above steps exactly, you will have it ready for public performance in 10 days. Or if you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster, download my free Organ Practice Guide. The Prelude and Fugue in C Major of North German Baroque composer Georg Bohm is one of his most popular pieces. Contrary from the majority of multi-movement Stylus Fantasticus works of Buxtehude, Bruhns, and other composers from this region, it is a true two-movement piece resembling later works by Bach. In this article, I will give you 5 tips which will help you play this piece on the organ.
1. Articulated legato. Apply the articulated legato touch throughout this composition. This touch was also called the Ordinary Touch in the Baroque period. When you use it in your organ playing of Baroque pieces, make short breaks between each note. However, this touch should not make the music sound unconnected. Instead try to achieve a singing manner of playing. 2. Feel the meter. In addition to the articulated legato, feeling of alternation between strong and weak beats is very important. Make the beats 1 and 3 a little stronger while the beats 2 and 4 - weaker. Since dynamics on the organ are not achieved primarily through touch, make the strong beats longer and weak beats - shorter. You can also come in a little late on certain important downbeats to emphasize the meter even more. 3. Count the themes. Before you play the fugue, take a pencil and number the subject entries in each voice. This helps to understand how the piece is put together. You can also notate the main key areas of these subjects. If you want to take this one step further, write in the chordal functions of these keys in relationship with the home key of C Major. For example, C Major would be the Tonic while G Major would be the Dominant. 4. Keep the hands on the knees in pedal solo. As you play the long and exciting opening pedal solo, it is best to keep your hands on the knees. Although there are methods which allow you to hold with the hands on the bench or on the sides of the keyboard, I really suggest that the hands should be placed on the knees. You see, you have to learn to play the pedals without the help of your hands. When you place them on your knees, your feet alone have to do the job and you will gradually learn how to keep your balance. 5. Change position in pedal solo. This pedal solo runs from the lowest C to the highest D of the pedal board. Therefore, it will be necessary to change your position while you play. If the melody goes upwards, like in the opening two measures, simply push off the pedal with the left foot and shift your lower body to the right. Remember, your upper body should always stay straight and face the music. Use these tips when you practice Prelude and Fugue in C Major by Georg Bohm today. If you apply them carefully in your playing, you will be able to achieve stylistically correct performance, precision, and clarity. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my free Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. Have you experienced problems playing organ with organist shoes? Is it easier for your to play with socks on? In this article, I will give you tips and advice on how to overcome this challenge.
It seems to me the following issue is making the difficulty in playing with the shoes the pedals for you. You are used to playing without shoes. Socks are more sensitive and therefore you might think it is better without shoes but when it comes to playing with heels, you really need shoes. Although the sole of the organist shoes is not thick but comparing to the socks, you still run into problems feeling the surface of the pedalboard. In other words, when you have to press the pedal, it is actually easier to feel it without the shoes on. However, organ pedal technique consists of using both toes and heels (at least in modern legato organ school). Therefore, using heels is a lot easier by playing with organist shoes. Technically speaking, the higher the heel of the shoe, the less motion you have to do from your ankles. I have seen great French ladies organists play impeccably on the pedals with high heels. Of course, the accuracy comes from correct practice but for most people the heels should be around 3 centimeters or 1.2 inches. If you are experiencing problems playing with organist shoes, start practicing with your organ shoes on any organ regularly (at home, on your teacher's organ or at church). Don't worry at all about the mistakes. They have to occur since you are not used to playing with shoes. Be persistent and you will discover gradual improvement over time. When you make a mistake, go back a few measures, correct it and play fluently at least 3 times in a row very slowly. Also make use of pedal preparation technique which will automate your pedal playing. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my free Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. If you are struggling with the fingering, pedaling, articulation and practicing the short prelude and fugue No. 4 in F major, BWV 556 for organ, read this article in which you will find my tips and advice in mastering this wonderful composition.
Concerning the fingering in measures 1-4 of BWV 556, if you play it with the usual technique, it feels strange to your hand. However, if you use them correctly like I will teach you now, they will be perfectly natural and most importantly, they will create the articulate legato touch for you without you having to think about them. You see, the fingering in this piece is based on the paired fingering technique meaning the strong fingers are placed on the stronger beats. Although in measure 1 you could say, 3434 looks like finger crossing, it is in fact, finger shifting. This means you should not attempt to play legato and cross over 3 after 4. Instead, play 34 and shift the entire hand to the new position for another 34. In other words, move your fingers together as a unit. When you shift this way, you are naturally articulating correctly. In measure 3, the right hand part has pairs of thirds which look like this: 2/4 1/3 2/4 1/3. Do not try to cross your fingers but shift your hand from 1/3 to 2/4. Crossing would be very inconvenient but shifting will naturally create a break between the pair of thirds. The same thing applies to the pedaling in the fugue. Try to move both of your feet together as a unit on eighth and sixteenth notes. Another important principle to notice is the finger skipping technique. This means that the same intervals (especially wider ones) should be played with the same fingers. For example, in measure 4 from end of the fugue you can see the 4 consecutive sixths in the right hand part which could be played with 1/5 1/5 1/5 and 1/5 fingering. Be careful not to make very large breaks between the notes also which make the music sound choppy and unconnected. The touch should be singable or as Bach calls it "cantabile manner of playing". When you are good in articulating this way, you could also make subtle adjustments in order to emphasize the meter. Make larger breaks between the stronger beats. As far as accuracy in triplets of the prelude are concerned, try not to lift your fingers off the keyboard and stay in contact with the keys at all times. This will help you to improve your accuracy. For best results, practice in separate voices, 2 voice combinations, 3 voice combinations and only then the entire 4 part texture. Do not play the entire piece from the beginning until the end (at least at first). Instead, choose a fragment of about 4 measures and master each combination in it. Then take another fragment and so on. After you learn all the fragments, combine them together, playing 1 line, 2 lines, 4 lines, 8 lines, 16 lines and so on without stopping. Bottom line: the early fingering helps to achieve the desired articulation. Do not reach for the keys but instead shift the entire hand or both feet into a new position. Make it as connected as possible but not legato. By the way, if you need complete fingering and pedaling of Prelude and Fugue in F Major, BWV 556, check out my practice score. When you click on this link you will be able to see the preview of the actual score with fingering and pedaling which helps to create ideal articulation (articulate legato) naturally. Or do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my FREE Organ Practice Guide: http://www.organduo.lt/organ-tutorial.html Are you wondering what kind of organ music selections are suitable for Bachelor's organ degree recital? In this article, I will give you a list of pieces by Buxtehude, Bach, Handel, Vierne, Langlais, and Franck.
1. Praeludium in C, BuxWV 137 by Dieterich Buxtehude. One of the most famous of all of Buxtehude's organ works will serve well for the opening of your recital. This is a perfect example of multi-movement North German Baroque Stylus Phantasticus writing. This work is also known as Prelude, Fugue, and Chaconne in C major. 2. Chorale Prelude "Komm heiliger Geist, Herre Gott", BuxWV 199 by Buxtehude. This is an ornamented chorale prelude - a perfect example of Buxtehude's style. This piece will make a good contrast with the preceding and following pieces. 3. Prelude and Fugue in G Major, BWV 541 by Johann Sebastian Bach. A joyful prelude with elements of Ritornello form. You will find a complex Stretto section towards the end of the fugue. 4. Chorale Prelude "Nun komm' der Heiden Heiland", BWV 659 by Bach. A very famous chorale prelude from the collection of Great 18 Chorales (Leipzig Chorale Preludes). Slow tempo and fascinating ornamented chorale melody in the right hand part. 5. Trio Sonata No. 1 in E flat Major, BWV 525 by Bach. This is the easiest of all of 6 trio sonatas by this composer. However, the organists will still encounter many technical challenges which have to be overcome at the Bachelor's degree recital. 6. Organ Concerto Op. 4, No. 5 in F Major, HWV 293 by George Frideric Handel. This is the shortest of 6 most famous organ concertos by Handel. It consists of four contrasting movements: Larghetto, Allegro, Alla Siciliana, and Presto. 7. Allegretto, Op. 1 by Louis Vierne. A rarely performed early work of Vierne of moderate difficulty. Nice ABA form with charming oboe melody in the right hand. 8. Meditation from the Suite Medievale by Jean Langlais. Very colorful French style modal writing. Slow tempo makes it a wonderful preparation for what is coming next in your program. 9. Chorale No. 3 by Cesar Franck. This is perhaps the most famous and the easiest of all of 3 chorales of Franck. A perfect closing piece for your recital - very dramatic work with a beautiful slow middle section. Take any or all of the above pieces and start practicing for your recital today. The compositions from this list constitute a recital of approximately 1 hour of duration which is an optimum length for organ recital. They provide a welcome variety in character, mood, tempo, mode, keys, and registration for positive listener experience. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my free Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. One of the best-known organ chorale preludes by Johannes Brahms, Herzlich tut mich verlangen, Op. 122 (6/4 meter) can be considered a beginner level organ piece. It is easy to play because of very slow tempo, straightforward pedal line and lack of imitative polyphony. Its gentle but sad character can make a nice contrast in your organ recital if you play it between two louder and/or faster pieces. In this article, I will give you 5 tips on how to learn this chorale prelude.
1. Repeated notes. There are several half notes which are repeated in the chorale melody in the pedal part. According to the tradition of legato playing technique, repeated notes should be shortened by an exact rhythmical value. Shorten these notes by the smallest most frequently used rhythmical value in this piece (unit value). This would be a sixteenth note. It means that you should make a sixteenth note rest. The repeated notes in the left hand part should be made shorter by a sixteenth note. 2. Pedal preparation. It is best to automate your pedal playing in this piece by applying pedal preparation technique. For example, as soon as you release a pedal played by the right foot, immediately slide this foot with a quick motion in the position for the next note and let it wait there. The same applies for the pedal preparation in the left foot. 3. Lean on dissonances (harmony). Not all notes are considered equally important in this piece. The most significant notes in the Romantic music tend to be the ones which form a dissonant chord. A dissonant chord consists of dissonant intervals, such as any second, seventh, diminished and augmented intervals. In this case, emphasize the chords which have four or more chordal tones and chromaticisms. In other words, lean on dissonances by coming in a bit late or holding them a bit longer. 4. Long melodic lines. A signature by Brahms are his endless melodies, somewhat similar to those of Richard Wagner. The difficult part of performing long melodic lines is that you can't take a breath in the middle of the line. Instead, use your mental focus by seeking the end of that line. Do not stop mentally in the middle of the phrase. Also try to count out loud the parts of the measure. In this way, the long melodies will have a purpose and direction, and listeners will be able to follow and appreciate the lines. 5. Registration. Since the dynamic level of the manual part is piano, you should use several 8' stops combined. It is best to play the middle part on the secondary manual. The chorale melody in the pedals should be based on the 8' stop. Do not use 16' in the pedals here. Instead, choose a soft 8' reed or 8' principal with or without 8' flutes. Use these tips when you practice the chorale prelude Herzlich tut mich verlangen, Op. 122 today. For best results, try to be very precise in executing every detail, such as repeated notes, using pedal preparation, and emphasizing the dissonant chords. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my FREE Organ Practice Guide. Or if you really want to learn to play any organ composition at sight fluently and without mistakes while working only 15 minutes a day, check out my systematic master course in Organ Sight-Reading. |
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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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