Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
 
Ausra: And Ausra!
 
V: Let’s start episode 454 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Abraham, and he writes:
 
“Thank you Mr Vidas Pinkevicius for this wonderful opportunity...
 
First and foremost, my dream for organ playing is to be able to play classical pieces like the professionals do, and also to be able to play church hymns with varied hymn harmonies or alternate harmonisations...
I'll also be glad if you could share me PDF files of hymns with alternate harmonisations, and hymns with varied harmonies...
 
2. The 3 things holding back from practising hard are
(a) it takes me weeks to be able to practice and memorize a classical piece which always pisses me off....I do ask rhetorically, how long does it take professionals to learn and practice a particular classical piece and memorize it?
This has always given me much concern.
 
(b)Unable to gain access to worship materials...
Here I mean, I don't have full access to practice on the organ, and this also makes me feel discouraged..
 
(c)Inability to play the organ pedals like a professional because i don't have access to the organ..
 
Thank you once again Mr Vidas for this wonderful opportunity...
 
I look forward to hearing from you”
 
V: Well, let’s start, Ausra, with his dream. Right? With everyone’s dream. He likes to be able to play classical pieces like the professionals do, and supply alternate harmonizations for hymns. How difficult is it to achieve this goal, do you think, Ausra?
 
A: Well, I think it’s quite demanding! Of course, it depends on at which point you stand right now. You know, how advanced are you, or not? Plus, how much are you willing to practice every day?
 
V: Yes, he didn’t write that.
 
A: Well, but what I noticed most from his message is that he asked how long it takes for a professional to learn a given piece of music. Well, it depends on how difficult the piece is! If it’s an easy piece, like some piece of music from, let’s say, Franck’s “L’Organiste,” then it’s almost sight-readable. Maybe you need to play it twice, and you will be ready to perform it. But if we are talking about a difficult, complex piece, like a big Prelude and Fugue by J. S. Bach, or a chorale by César Franck, or Chorale Fantasia by Max Reger, then yes, it will take a while, even for a professional.
 
V: That’s right. I think it also depends on the level of the professional’s ability, because there are various kinds of professionals, who can sightread well, and who are not so good, I think, even though they’re professionals. Professionals, meaning playing organ in public for a living.
 
A: True!
 
V: What I think is important to understand here about Abraham’s question is, he writes that it takes him weeks to be able to practice and memorize a classical piece, and he gets frustrated. Right? Well, I think this is normal to practice and memorize for weeks. Not necessarily overnight.
 
A: True! I will have another question. Why does he need to memorize it? Because, not very often do organists play from memory, and you don’t need to memorize each piece that you are learning. It might give you more time to practice new pieces instead of memorizing old ones. Don’t you think so?
 
V: Obviously! At some point, I also had to make a decision whether I would memorize a certain number of pieces or if I would like to do something different, and I chose not to memorize, because, as you say, it takes a lot of time, and during that time, I might learn something else.
 
A: Because people might wonder why a concert pianist would play from the score, but nobody will wonder that about the organist.
 
V: It’s a tradition, I think, and pianists also, from the beginning of public performance didn’t always play from memory. The earliest instances, of course, included playing from the score. And I’ve seen people still play from the score—even pianists, today. It’s unusual, of course, but it happens from time to time.
 
A: Especially when they are playing modern music, I think, because usually it takes too much time to learn it, to memorize it. So, another thing about playing pedals. That’s what frustrates most beginners or not-advanced organists. But the thing is, if you will not practice with pedals every day, you will not improve. It’s as simple as that, because you need to polish your coordination.
 
V: So there are two choices, I think. Either you get some access to the local church and get to know the local organist, and this way make connections and gain the possibility to practice on that organ, or you save some money and invest that money, your savings, probably, into some kind of instrument with a pedal board.
 
A: And it depends on your situation in life. Because, if you eventually want to make some money with the organ, you’ll have to invest into accessing an instrument.
 
V: It’s like both options require sacrifice, I think. This option of buying your own pedal board and possibly keyboards, as well, requires an up-front investment. It’s very obvious. Right? If you don’t have money, you can’t buy an instrument. But, the first option, where you get access to the local church’s organ, is also a trade-off. I think it’s rare to expect that the church will give you access for no reason. Right? For a person from the street, basically, unknown to their congregation. You have to be either a part of the community, and being part of the community means doing something for the congregation. Volunteering, most likely.
 
A: So, I guess getting access to an instrument is crucial for Abraham, because if you won’t practice, you will not become a professional.
 
V: But, he writes that it takes weeks for him to practice. It means that he is practicing somewhere, right? Somehow… Maybe not with pedal board, but still, he has some keyboard, probably access to the keyboard. So, those are things to consider about how serious you are about your organ playing commitment in the future.
 
A: True, because I don’t think there is an easy way or a shortcut.
 
V: This is true. And the same is with PDF files of hymns with alternate harmonizations. If we had those, we would gladly give it to you, but there are options, of course, to buy from music publishers, and those collections we can recommend, of course, but another path would be to harmonize yourself!
 
A: I think so! I think this would be the better path.
 
V: Exactly. If you….
 
A: Maybe you could buy a couple at the beginning, to see how they look, and what they are like, and if you like them or not, and maybe if you like some of them, you could do something similar to the other hymns, and make your own alterations.
 
V: Right. But, I wouldn’t rely too much on alternate harmonizations as well as on hymn books, as well, because this will not teach you to harmonize. Probably you need to take a pencil and eraser, and get to the staff notation, and try to harmonize for yourself! And if you need some help, we have courses for that!
 
A: True! I think music theory is important.
 
V: Right. This will open up a lot of doors for you. A lot of musical horizons, because then, you will be able to see what kind of chords and keys are being used in your own pieces that you play. Basically, then you will be able to understand the composer’s mind, and this is a wonderful opportunity. Okay, thank you guys for these questions; we love helping you grow. We hope this was useful to you, and please keep sending us your feedback and questions. And remember, when you practice,
 
A: Miracles happen.​

Would you like to learn Andante in Db Major (long) from L'Organiste by Cesar Franck?

I hope you'll enjoy playing this piece yourself from my PDF score.

Thanks to Gerrit Jordaan for his meticulous transcription from the slow motion video.

What will you get?

PDF score with complete fingering written in which will save you many hours of work. Basic Level. 6 pages.

Let me know how your practice goes.

This score is free for Total Organist students.

Check it out here

Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.

 Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 455, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Kiel, and he writes:
 
Hi Vidas,
I found a Facebook video of an organ student of yours playing the Dupont Meditation. I have two rhythm issues I’m wondering if you can help me with.
One being the 5 against 4 sixteenth notes. This is when the melody is on the moves down to the great and are on off beats. The way I’m currently playing it is the f’s are together, g flat is two by itself, three four and five are with the remaining three sixteenth notes. Is that correct?
The other spot being the six measures of two groups of three triplets against the four sixteenth notes. Would you be able to explain where the sixteenth notes fall against the two groups of three triplets?
Thanks.
-Kiel.

V: I’m looking at the score from Petrucci library now. Do you remember how Egle Rudokaite, my student played this piece?
 
A: I have heard it once, once or twice.
 
V: Yes. It was her application piece for music academy, I think, when she just graduated our school to learn this national arts school. And let’s take a deeper look. Five against four sixteenth notes—let’s take a look. Can we find this? Not on the first page. Yes, on the second page, second system, second measure, the right hand part plays five sixteenth notes on the second beat, and at the same time left hand plays four sixteenth notes.
 
A: So, could you explain now, what has to come together and what does not, in general, when you have four against five?
 
V: I think four and five are so close together that nothing is really, only the first note is together.
 
A: And the same when you play four and three too—only first of those falls together.
 
V: And the same is when you play three against two.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: Only the first note of the group is together. Which of course is a challenge if you have five against four. You need to play both hands separately—a lot.
 
A: But don’t you think that you have to know mathematically exactly which comes after which?
 
V: Maybe you have some ideas.
 
A: I think, but you have to do that.
 
V: Well it is visually possible to see, which note goes where or not.
 
A: So the first comes down together of course.
 
V: Uh-huh.
 
A: Then the second of the fifth comes, yes?
 
V: Of the right hand, the second note…
 
A: If we are looking at the same measure.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: If we are all looking at the same measure.
 
V: Yes. The second note goes a little bit earlier than the second note of the left hand...
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: sixteenth note. Then the third note goes a little bit after the second note.
 
A: Yes. And then comes the third note of…
 
V: Yes.
 
A: left…
 
V: Then the left hand, the third note as you say, and then right after that comes the fourth note of the right hand part. And then…
 
A: The fourth note of the left hand, and then right after that, the left, last of the five notes.
 
V: It sounds really complicated, but in general, because the right hand part is a little bit faster, then you squeeze those extra notes in between of those left hand notes.
 
A: How would you practice—piece like this?
 
V: I would practice very separately for a while. Not like the left hand alone, and then do it 100 times. No! I would do right hand alone just one beat and then right afterwards, left hand alone, just one beat. But alternate between right and left—right and left. And then at some point they will connect. Does this make sense, Ausra?
 
A: Yes, it does make sense. That’s what I would do, too.
 
V: Uh-huh. We’re thinking similar things. Let’s take a look at some other instance. Are there any other instances of four against five? On the third beat of third page there isn’t any. But on the fourth measure there is six against four, right? Six against four. Let me check if this is the case for the concern that Kiel has.
 
A: No, I think he mentioned four and three.
 
V: Four and three you say.
 
A: Yes. That’s what I remember from his question.
 
V: Me too. Me too. Let me check the question one more time. He writes ‘the other spot being the six measures of two groups of three triplets against the four sixteenth notes’. So yes, three triplets against four notes. So basically six against four. That’s what I understand. Do you agree, Ausra?
 
A: But six against four is the same if you would play triplets with duplets.
 
V: Yes, it is very simple.
 
A: It’s the same yes. It’s very simple.
 
V: It’s very simple. If you divide—we’re looking at the fourth page—the first system, the first measure. At the last beat of that measure, right hand plays four sixteenth notes, and the left hand has sextuplets.
 
A: But basically it’s like triplets against…
 
V: Yes. You subdivide those sixteenth notes into two groups of two notes.
 
A: That’s right. So the first beat comes together, yes?


V: Yes.
 
A: And then left hand follows and then comes right, and then left again. And then, when you play the third note in the right hand, it falls together, the fourth note of the left hand.
 
V: Yes. This is much easier than the previous instance...
 
A: True.
 
V: five against four. Because you can think about duplets and triplets.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: Alright. But in general those special grouping of notes are tricky to practice, right, in modern scores especially. Alright. We hope it’s been useful to Kiel. So there are many other pieces like that in modern music, so keep…
 
A: And not necessarily modern music. In Romantic music as well.
 
V: In Franck.
 
A: Well, and even in Bach’s music.
 
V: In Bach’s music also?
 
A: Well, don’t you think, like for example, that ‘Vater unser’ from the 3rd part of the Clavierubung is quite rhythmically challenging?
 
V: Yes, it is challenging.
 
A: It is! So you can find things hard rhythmically to play even in Bach’s music. And then think for example about Franck’s music too, like Fantasy in A Major.
 
V: Yeah.
 
A: We recently listened to it. It also has fourth against three. So it’s… And of course modern music is mentioned.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: Unquestionably it’s the, probably the hardest thing, this modern music is to count it right.
 
V: Four against three is even, I think, more difficult than three against two.
 
A: Definitely. It’s harder. It is hard.
 
V: But the principle is always the same to learn—first play one part and do the other part, and alternate between those two parts, this sort of fragment.
 
A: I think if you can master three against two, you will be able to master others...
 
V: Mmm-hmm
 
A: as well. Because you will find the sort of…
 
V: Key.
 
A: Key.
 
V: Alright. Thank you guys. This is interesting discussion. Please keep sending us your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice…
 
V: Miracles happen!

Would you like to learn Andantino in D Minor from L'Organiste by Cesar Franck?

I hope you'll enjoy playing this piece yourself from my PDF score.

Thanks to Jeremy Owens for his meticulous transcription from the slow motion video.

What will you get?

PDF score with complete fingering written in which will save you many hours of work. Basic Level. 1 page.

Let me know how your practice goes.

​This score is free for Total Organist students

Check it out here

Vidas: Hi guys!  This is Vidas.
 
Ausra:  And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 456 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.  This question was sent by Gavin, and he writes:
 
G’day Vidas,  Thank you for your work. My dream for my organ playing is to really enjoy playing well. What’s holding me back from this I think is good practicing…and not just in the amount of time, but also in how practice is done. I know that there can never be one solution that fits everyone, but guidelines are difficult to come by!     Cheers, Gavin
 
Well, let’s talk, Ausra, about what are some basic guidelines for efficient and effective practice?
 
A: Well, that’s a very good question, I guess.  Because, if you know would have like universal rules, probably you could win the Nobel Prize.
 
V: Oh, really?
 
A: True.  Because I think what suits one person might not suit another one.  But of course, there are some common features that can be adopted by many of us.
 
V: Mm hm.
 
A: And I think the rule number 1 is, stop practicing all your pieces from beginning to the end.
 
V: Why?
 
A: Because, each piece has easier spots and harder spots.  And if you only play them throughout the piece each time, it means that harder spots stay harder spots, and that’s not a very good thing to do.
 
V: What Ausra means, probably, is that if you play the piece from the beginning until the end, the easy spots will get easier, right, because you’re mastering them.  And you’re not making mistakes in easy spots, and you’re making mistakes probably in difficult spots.  So, if you’re playing from beginning until the end, those difficult spots are not really improving because you are always making similar mistakes.
 
A: Maybe they are improving, but not efficient enough.  And not as fast as it could be if you would work more on those difficult spots.
 
V: And in general, our psyche is conditioned to be pleased when we do something right, and not when we do something wrong.  So when we play the pieces from the beginning to the end and make many mistakes, we obviously are aware of that, hopefully, and the feeling is not very pleasant, right? We are not satisfied with our practice that day.  It’s better to keep conquering new spots of music without making extra mistakes.  Which leads me to another point – start practicing really slowly, and then you will not make so many mistakes.
 
A: Yes, I also wanted to tell about the tempo, but first of all, I also wanted to tell the second step would be not to play all the parts together right from the beginning.  What people always like to do, too.   You need to work in voice combinations.  Because, it’s not piano, it’s organ, you have pedal board attached to your instrument, and it’s important, too.  So you have more things to think about while playing organ, comparing to the piano.
 
V: Mm hm.
 
A: So you really need to learn the separate voices first.
 
V: All right, so let’s recap a little bit.  Playing…
 
A: …hard spots first.  Playing in combinations. Then parts together.
 
V: And then playing slowly.
 
A: Playing slowly, yes.  I guess these are three keys.
 
V: But there are more keys.
 
A: Of course there are.
 
V: Let’s talk a little bit about how often should you practice.
 
A: I would say every day.
 
V: Every day.  Okay, daily practice. Then, the next point should be, when you play in those fragments, do you play them only once, or several times, or multiple times.
 
A: Well, it depends how well you’re able to do them, and how hard they are.  If they are easy, maybe it’s enough to play once, but I highly doubt it.
 
V:  I would say at least three times.  But make sure those three times are correct in a row.  And if it’s not correct, then you go back and correct those mistakes, and aim for three fluent repetitions in a row.  That would be ideal, I would say.
 
A: True. And also, you need to know what you are doing.  Because very often, people just practice for the sake of practice, but we don’t have goals.
 
V: Such as?  What an example of the goal might be?
 
A: Well, let’s see…  I’m playing, let’s say, Trio Sonata, yes? And I’m working on left hand and pedal.  And let’s say this time I will play through and I will really think about my articulation – am I doing it right or not?
 
V: Mm hm. You mean probably that it’s not possible to learn entire Trio Sonata in one sitting. You have to think about goals for each day.
 
A: That’s right.  Or let’s say today I’m working on F Major Toccata by J.S. Bach.  I know that the cadences are the hardest thing for me to play in that toccata.  So maybe today I don’t have much time, so I’ll just go through the cadences for a few times.
 
V: Which leads me to another point.  When you say cadences, you have to understand what a cadence is, so probably it’s beneficial to know a little bit about music theory and harmony.  Or even if you don’t know, study it.  Study it right from the beginning, right from the start.
 
A: And maybe when you start to learn the pieces of music, it’s beneficial to look at it from the scientific point of view, and to analyze it a little bit.  To analyze structure, the keys, how they change, all the structure, it will be helpful for you while performing it and learning it.  And then of course, if you have your performance coming not far ahead, maybe you want to work on the right tempo, to check it if it’s even throughout the piece.  So there are various aspects of practicing.
 
V: And also, fingering, pedaling.  Those…
 
A: Well, yes.  But this comes from the beginning of learning the piece.  You will not check your fingering and pedaling right before recital.
 
V: Ornamentation, phrasing, registration, all those things need to be considered.  What about, Ausra, when you practice an organ piece, and memorize.  Is it healthy to try to memorize some pieces?
 
A: Yes, sometimes it’s helpful.  Maybe not entire piece throughout, but some of the spots definitely.  The most difficult spots, or places where you need to turn the page.
 
V: We would need to probably record an entire episode on page turns, how to do them.  But that’s an important consideration to think about in each practice that you do.  So, what else, the final ideas, would you have for Gavin and others who want to learn to practice efficiently?
 
A: Well, you know, your head needs to lead, your mind, your mind needs to lead your practice, not your body.  And if you feel tired, you cannot control your body, then you better stop practicing and get a rest.  Because there won’t be much of the benefit of practicing just for practicing.
 
V: I would agree on this one.  I usually finish my practice before I am getting tired.  And I’m never tired.
 
A: Good for you.  Not everybody can do it.
 
V: Yes. Thank you guys.  This was Vidas.
 
A: And Ausra.
 
V: Please send us more of your questions.  We love helping you grow.  And remember, when you practice…
 
A: Miracles happen.