Blog Archives - secrets of organ playing - when you practice, miracles happen

The poetry of organ music

7/31/2016

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #53!

Why organ music is so poetic and mysterious?

Listen to the conversation with Glenn Tompkins from Mesa, Arizona who is a fellow blogger, artist, improviser on accordion and a great lover of organ music.

How to create a beautiful melody

7/30/2016

By Vidas Pinkevicius

What a beautiful melody does Cesar Franck's Prelude from Prelude, Fugue and Variation have!

Ever wondered what does it take to create one of your own? Here are some steps to create a melody in the form of a period:

1. Choose a character and a key with a meter that work for that character.
2. Start on any of the scale degrees of the tonic chord.
3. Use rhythms that work with this meter.
4. Create a melody that's 4 measures long (sentence 1).
5. End on the degree other than the tonic (question).
6. The last note should be longer than the rest.
7. Try to aim for only one main culmination (the highest point) within this sentence.
8. The culmination can be in the beginning, middle or end.
9. Repeat or create a similar melody that's another 4 measures long (sentence 2).
10. This time end on the note of the tonic chord (answer).

You can try your hand on the paper or at the instrument. If you're curious enough, you can construct the entire piece out of beautiful melodies.

Forget to blink

7/29/2016

By Vidas Pinkevicius

Can you improvise in one mood, one mode, one tempo, one texture, one rhythmical idea, one type of harmony for an extended amount of time?

Sure, you can.

But would your listeners stay engaged?

It's possible to fix your listener's attention using minimal technique without any contrast for a long time but it's obviously more difficult. You need to stay laser focused.

It's for people who have advanced mental skills.

In majority of cases, though, your listeners will become bored after about 1 or 2 minutes.

In order to keep people fixed to your playing, you need some contrast.

Fast-slow.
Loud-soft.
Joyful-sad.
High-low.

Change while you have the height of interest.

Then people will not see it coming. Then it will be surprising.

Then it will be a page-turner and a cliff-hanger.

You want them to forget to blink.

PS BWV 533 with fingering and pedaling and Finding Practice Time 50 % discount offer expires July 31.

What is a tetrachord?

7/28/2016

By Vidas Pinkevicius

A tetrachord is a building block of modes. It is a succession of 4 notes in a stepwise motion. The distance between the two outer notes is a perfect 4th (2 and 1/2 tones) or an augmented 4th (3 whole tones).

In school we only learn 5 species of tetrachords (Major - C-D-E-F, Minor - C-D-Eb-F, Frygian - C-Db-Eb-F, Lydian - C-D-E-F#, and Harmonic - C-Db-E-F) but in reality there are 12 tetrachords (6 with perfect 4th and 6 with augmented 4th).

Take two Major tetrachords and you get a major scale (C-D-E-F and G-A-B-C). Take two Minor tetrachords and you get a Dorian mode (C-D-Eb-F and G-A-Bb-C) etc.

So out of these 5 tetrachords you can get 3 major and minor scales (natural, harmonic, and melodic) and 7 diatonic modes (Lydian, Ionian, Mixolydian, Dorian, Aeolian, Frygian, and Locrian).

But what is even more interesting, that the ancient Indian system of 72 modes rely on these 12 tetrachords (6 C-F X 6 G-C = 36 modes and 6 C-F# X 6 G-C = 36 modes = total of 72 modes).

In case you want to get to know all tetrachords and experiment with them in your improvisations, here they are:

1. C-D#-E-F
2. C-D-E-F
3. C-Db-E-F
4. C-D-Eb-F
5. C-Db-Eb-F
6. C-Db-Ebb-F
7. C-D#-E#-F#
8. C-D#-E-F#
9. C-D-E-F#
10. C-D-Eb-F#
11. C-Db-Eb-F#
12. C-Db-Ebb-F#

A good exercise is to take just one of these tetrachords and play something interesting for 10 minutes, exploring different octaves, manuals, stops, tempos, rhythms, meters, textures, forms etc. Notice how each of the tetrachords have a different character and try to reveal it in your improvisations.

It goes without saying that you can build any of these tetrachords from ANY other pitch so color possibilities are virtually endless.

Telling the truth

7/27/2016

By Vidas Pinkevicius

What do you worry about when improvising on the organ?

A lot of us worry about not knowing what to play. We don't trust ourselves.

So we try to memorize our improvisations. Sometimes we write them out like compositions and then commit them to memory, sometimes we repeat passages over and over until they're become second nature.

I'm not sure if that's the ideal way to go about improvisation. Puts a lot of stress on the perfect and flawless performance. This creates fear. With fear and anxiety, we can't function properly in front of other people.

A more relaxed way is when we simply tell a musical story. A real one.

Without ever memorizing a thing. But noticing opportunities that present themselves. Always conscious of the story arch.

Mark Twain was right. Tell the truth.

Steps to overcome this dragon

7/26/2016

By Vidas Pinkevicius

Are you terrified of looking at the eyes of the dragon of improvisation? Do you feel like he'll kill you with his terrible gaze if you if you face him?

Remember, he can be defeated only by placing a mirror in front of him.

Here are the steps that helped me in this process:

1. Sit down on the organ bench
2. Don't criticize yourself
3. Don't praise yourself
4. Don't compare yourself to others
5. Start anywhere
6. Keep it interesting
7. Change to something new WHILE it's still interesting
8. Make use of 5 note, 6 note, 7 note, and 8 note modes
9. Explore different rhythms, tempos, dynamic levels, registrations, ranges of the organ
10. Watch how various themes emerge from your improvisations
11. Make use of repetition and variation techniques
12. Be mindful of the story arch
13. Think of it like a musical thriller
14. Don't stop for 60 minutes

Print those steps out and put them wherever you play.

Your're done! I know you will feel terrified, your will feel like you're risking everything but know that the fear is not real.

Remember, the only fear worth clinging to is going out with your songs still inside you.

That's how I overcame it last Saturday in improvisation storytelling recital "the Legend About the Basilisk". Enjoy the video!

PS Let me know, if you want to chat about a storytelling improvisation recital for your organisation.

Afternoon in the desert

7/25/2016

By Vidas Pinkevicius

For people who are afraid to improvise on the organ but are curious about it, here's a quick 7 minute exercise in C major which anybody can do. We can call it "Afternoon in the Desert". After you improvise it, you'll know why such a title.

You will need a two manual organ with pedals. The right hand will play a melody on the solo registration, the left hand and the pedals will accompany it on the softer stops (everything is in C major - no sharps at all, slow tempo, 3/4 meter):

1. Play 3 notes in the pedals in quarter notes, such as C-F-G for 1 minute.
2. Play a scale in the left hand in parallel 1st inversion chords (sixth chords) - C-E-A, D-F-B, E-G-C, F-A-D etc. up and down for 1 minute.
3. Starting and ending on a C note, play a melody with mixed rhythms (sixteenth notes, eighth notes, eighth note triplets, dotted eighth notes) for 1 minute.
4. Play both hands together for 1 minute.
5. Play right hand and pedal part together for 1 minute.
6. Play left hand and pedal part together for 1 minute.
7. Play all parts together for 1 minute. You can begin with a little intro of solo pedals, then adding the left hand, then - the right hand.

That's it.

Was it scary? How did it sound?

Please share your experience in the comments.

Communicating the Ideals of Universal Church in Music

7/24/2016

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #52!

How the work as an organist helps to communicate the ideals of Universal church in music?

Listen to the conversation with Dr. Marie Rubis Bauer who is Archdiocesan Director of Music – Cathedral Organist at Saint Cecilia Cathedral in Omaha, Nebraska which houses the landmark Martin Pasi, Op. 14 dual temperament pipe organ.

How much exercise do you need?

7/23/2016

By Vidas Pinkevicius

Not much actually. As soon as you can play some decent eighth and sixteenth notes with your hands and feet, start feeding yourself with plenty of quality repertoire.

Sight-read and improvise daily. Make sight-reading and improvisation your mantra.

Not only you will find this immensely satisfying but very soon you will discover that it becomes easier and easier to play unfamiliar organ music.

And as soon as you can master just a few pieces and are able to create some short musical ideas on the spot, go out of your way to schedule some public performance opportunities.

Maybe a church service here and there. Maybe a joint recital. You know, low risk, big smiles.

There are too many people who practice and practice dry exercises for months, even years all with the hope of being more secure, more ready.

You see, we will never feel safe in front of strangers so we might just as well jump in and get over that fear.

There will be plenty of failures. Plenty of self-doubt. Who am I to play in public in front of a (paying) audience? Do I really need this?

There will be plenty of successes, too. Perhaps a tear on a listener's eye. Perhaps some kid who will want to play an organ. Just like somebody inspired you.

Don't hide behind exercises and practice rooms.

Inspire others. We need your art. Now more than ever.

When the organist plays very poorly

7/22/2016

By Vidas Pinkevicius

These moments are always very embarrassing to watch.

I witnessed twice recitals of organists with splendid international reputations (performances were during two separate international organ conferences, so it was really big deal). The playing were very poor. The more they played the worse it became. Mistakes every line or so, tempo became slower and slower etc.

These things can happen to any of us - maybe they were ill, maybe their families were in a state of emergency, who knows, or maybe they were just unprepared.

The question is what to do when you are in such a situation yourself?

Obviously, keep playing, don't stop no matter what, don't try to correct your mistakes, keep up the flow of the music and keep your eyes fixed on the current measure. Remember all this is largely mental issue. So if you can control your mind and keep it from panicking (while knowing that you haven't done your homework) - you'll win.

It's very difficult, though, to fool yourself, to make yourself forget that you're unprepared.

But there's no other way, only focusing your mind, like a piece of steal.

The opposite can be also true - the organist can be extremely well prepared but the performance can bomb.

[Thanks to Karl]