How to Compose or Improvise a Toccata or Praeludium in the North German Organ Style in 7 Steps?9/12/2012 Are you struggling with composing or improvising an organ piece, similar to the famous D minor Toccata and Fugue, BWV 565 by Johann Sebastian Bach? If you knew how to do it, I can assure you, that you would have much fun in the process. In this article, I will teach you how to compose or improvise such piece in 7 simple steps.
Bach created this composition when he was very young, perhaps 18 years old. At that time he imitated the North German style which composers like Buxtehude, Bruhns, Lubeck and many other were using. Toccata or Praeludium in North German style is composed in the so-called Stylus Phantasticus - a multi-sectional composition which has alternating free improvisatory and fugal imitative sections. Very often such composition has 7 sections: Free-Strict-Free-Strict-Free-Strict-Free. When composing or improvising such piece, use these 7 steps: 1. Choose a key. Open with Passagio in 4/4 meter - a melodic line in 1 voice, 2 voices for manuals or pedals which emphasizes the tonic notes. Then write the free section based on the figure from the Passagio. The first modulation is in the Dominant key. Also use excursions in the relative keys. End this section with a perfect cadence. A sample chordal plan for this section might look something like this: I ii42 V65 I V6 ii7-vii6/V V V6 I V65/V V V65/vi I6 IV V7 V46 V7 V46 V43 V7 I. Duration - 1 page. 2. First fugal section in 4/4 meter. Find or compose a theme and use a basic plan - exposition and counter-exposition. End with a perfect cadence in the tonic key. Duration: 2 pages. 3. A short free section: use more suspensions here, modulations, runs and passages in the hand parts. End with a half cadence. Duration: 8 measures. 4. Second fugal section: convert your fugue theme to another meter (3/2). Create exposition and counter-exposition. End with a perfect cadence. Duration 1-2 pages. 5. Short free section: similar as Step 3. Use different figure this time. Duration 8 measures. 6. Third fugal section: convert you theme to triple meter (6/8, or 9/8 or 12/8), use the same plan as in Step 2. Duration 1-2 pages. 7. Ending short free section. Emphasize the key of Subdominant with extended plagal cadence. Duration 8 measures. If this section is a continuation of the preceding fugal section, keep the same meter and tempo. Bottom line: for best results, always study first the works of above mentioned composers, especially those of Buxtehude. Final tip: in order to create free sections, you could analyze his piece of your choice, take his harmonic structure but add your own figures in different keys. By the way, do you want to learn to improvise in the style of Bach? If so, I suggest you check out my 9 day mini course in Keyboard Prelude Improvisation. 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? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. Playing mechanical organs can be a physically challenging task. Especially large tracker instruments might have a key action which makes it difficult to press the keys even without couplers. Organists often struggle when playing such instruments and quality of their performance can deteriorate because of that. If you are finding yourself in a similar situation, I have 5 tips for you in this article.
1. Relaxation. This is the most important point to remember. Although playing organs with a hard tracker action can create much tension on your body, you must learn to relax while practicing and performing. Deep regular conscious breathing helps your body to relax. 2. Use large shoulder muscles. When you encounter an instrument which keys are difficult to press, you should not work so much from your fingers which have a relatively short endurance span. Instead, use your deep shoulder muscles which will allow you to play for longer periods without tiring. 3. Play scales in double thirds and double sixths. It is a very wise idea to build up your technique in order to be physically fit. One of the best ways to develop the independence of your fingers is through regular practice of scales in double thirds (and even double sixths if your technique allows). 4. Practice with couplers. If you know that you will be playing a large mechanical instrument in the future, one of the effective ways to simulate the conditions on the organs that you usually practice is to engage mechanical couplers (if there are any). This way at least one of your keyboards will be more difficult to play and you will be able to get used to this touch ahead of time. 5. Take a slower tempo. When you play complicated instruments, it is always a good idea to reduce the performance tempo significantly. You don't need to play at the same tempo as you would on electronic instruments. Furthermore, very often such organs are located in buildings which have large reverberation so actually playing at a slower tempo significantly increases the clarity of your performance. A word of caution: always listen to your body for best results. It is important that when you practice these strenuous exercises, you must rest before you are actually tired and before you feel the muscle fatigue coming in. To feel some tension is OK but you should be always very careful of not to overexerting yourself. This way you will avoid muscle strain which can be dangerous to your arms and hands in the long run. Use these tips in your organ practice today. If you consistently apply my advice in your practice, you will have no problems playing large organs with complicated key actions. Remember that you have to prepare for challenging conditions in advance so practice accordingly even on small practice organs. 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 want to learn to improvise in the style of Bach, I suggest you check out my free 9 day mini course in Keyboard Prelude Improvisation. Many organ pieces require using the so-called Organo Pleno registration. Such compositions could be large Baroque free works, including preludes and fugues, fantasias, toccatas, and even passacaglias and ciacconas. In this article, I will teach you how to build Organo Pleno registration on your organ.
First of all, let me explain what Organo Pleno registration means. This term simply means - the Full Organ. However, it should not be confused with the term Tutti. In the broadest sense, Organo Pleno means full principal chorus. This means that you can take principals of various pitch levels (8', 4', 2', 2 2/3', mixtures etc.) and use them all together to create a festive and joyful sound. Here are my tips for building up a full principal chorus: 1. Use 8' principal as a foundation of your registration in pieces which have fast running and complicated polyphonic texture. In such cases it is best if you avoid 16' in the manuals for more clarity. 2. Use 16' in your registration when you want a majestic sound and more gravity. Always listen to how your piece sounds out in the room and decide if the playing is clear enough. 3. Use 16' in the manuals when your mixture is low. In other words, if the mixture on the main manual is based on the 4' or even 5 1/3', it is best if you add 16' in your manual registration. 4. Add 8' and/or 4' flutes when the principal scaling is very narrow or when mixtures are extremely high-pitched, for example on Neobaroque organs. This trick will give some softness and vocal quality to the sound. 5. You can have a 16' reed stop, such as Posaune in the pedals along with the principal chorus. This reed blends well with the principals. By the way, in performing Bach's music, if you want to have 8' Trompete, I recommend 16' Posaune as well. In other words, 16' reed comes before 8' reed in such case. 6. When you play the North German Baroque music, such as pieces by Buxtehude, Bruhns, Scheidemann, Tunder, and others, it is best to avoid doubling stops at the same pitch level. For example, if you use 8' principal, don't use 8' flute together with it. This rule is valid equally well for manuals and for pedals. 7. In the music of Central Germany, such as music by Bach, it is OK to double stops at the same pitch level as long as it does not affect the clarity of the polyphonic texture. Use these tips when performing pieces which require Organo Pleno registration. If you register such compositions effectively, they will have much more positive impact on your listeners and you will be showing the best qualities of your organ. 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 want to learn to improvise in the style of Bach, I suggest you check out my free 9 day mini course in Keyboard Prelude Improvisation. Many people ask me about whether it is better to practice many pieces at the same time or just one or few for best results. In other words, is it better to go wide or to go deep in organ practice? In this article, I'll give you my thoughts about this topic.
You see, it all depends on the situation you are in. If you are preparing for an organ recital and you have some 9 or 10 organ pieces then you have to find a way to practice all of them from time to time. But if you are playing organ just for fun, it is probably more beneficial to you, if you could practice just a few pieces at a time. Let me explain why is it so. The thing is that every fragment of your piece, every combination of 2 and 3 voices requires at least 3 correct repetitions to successfully master it. I would say that even playing solo voices at least 3 times in a row correctly is a very first step. And all of this has to be done in a slow tempo. Then the answer to the question about wide vs deep practice is quite clear. If you have time in your day to practice many pieces at the deep level like I described above, then of course you can play 9 or 10 of them in one practice session. But be aware that this kind of practice would require at least 4 hours a day of your time. Not everyone has this kind of perseverance, right? Plus we all have other different responsibilities during the day. So what is the best solution in this situation? I suggest subdividing your entire program into blocks of 3 or 4 compositions. Then practice one block on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, and leave the rest of the program for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. In other words, you can alternate the two parts of your program so that you can easily practice them on a deeper level in each practice session. Note that here I don't mean the sight-reading practice. The sight-reading should be done by playing new and unfamiliar compositions once or twice in a systematic manner. By practicing sight-reading, you don't need to master each piece and play it many times correctly. But with practicing organ repertoire, deep practice is much better than wide practice. If you are preparing for an organ recital, then playing the entire program occasionally is also necessary. This will give you the required stamina and endurance to perform a long program without breaks. Use this advice in your organ practice today. Try to go deep and you will begin to notice some tremendous improvement in your pieces and your technique in a matter of just a few weeks. 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 attended some organ recitals where organists would talk about the music between the pieces, you might wonder how he or she is able to do all that? For most people, performance anxiety is so strong that any kind of distraction, like interacting with the audience and even changing registration is a big deal. Furthermore, such organists can crack jokes like they would be talking to you in person. If you would like to achieve this level when you could freely communicate with people without any sense of fear or being nervous, I have some tips you can use. The advice in this article is fully applicable to any type of public performance - church service playing, playing for your friends or family, performing organ recitals etc.
First of all, you have to understand one thing - top level organists who can introduce the pieces during the recital they really feel the passion for what they are doing. They believe that there is value in communicating with the audience. It's not so much about them during the recital as it is about the people who are listening. Many times I was told that you have to excel in your recital. Although it may be partly true, to be sure, this attitude is incorrect. It gives unnecessary tension to the performer. The organist feels like he or she has to perform at the top level without any mistakes and if mistakes do occur, then it is going to be a bad recital experience. This is why this fear or anxiety arises - because of fear to make mistakes. Inevitably if all you are thinking is how not to make mistakes or how to play the pieces correctly, then you are very likely to make mistakes, even in easy spots. Instead you have to try to enjoy what you are doing. Try to feel like you are creating something of value to your audience. Think of how people will react to your playing. Some of them might attend organ recital for the first time and this experience might be an eye opener to them. Some of them can even cry during your playing and you can see their tears afterwards. If you think about all this before playing, if you imagine that you are giving people the joy of music, then all your insecurities and tensions fade away. You will not be so much worried about your playing, your mistakes, your registration changes. You will be communicating with your audience. It could be through music you are playing or it could be through your talks between the pieces. Then you will have this wonderful relaxed feeling and you can crack some funny jokes to loosen up your listeners as well. The recital experience for all of you will be like talking to a friend at the table while drinking coffee. Very natural. In order to achieve that you also have to be a master of your program. You have to know the pieces so well that you could play them by heart if you awake in the middle of the night. In other words, you have to do your homework ahead of time so honestly that there should be no difficult places in your pieces for you anymore. Then you can rise above all the technical things and above the emotional stress which is natural to have before and during the recital. Then you can give people joy they deserve. There is another thing which frees you from anxiety during playing. The more times you perform in public, the more experience you get, and consequently, the less fear you will feel. 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 perhaps you want to learn to improvise in the style of Bach? If so, I suggest you check out my free 9 day mini course in Keyboard Prelude Improvisation. Do you want to know how to learn to improvise preludes in the style of Bach? Basically there are only 9 easy steps in learning to improvise such preludes and if you master one step each day, you are progressing towards this goal one step at a time.
Here are the 9 steps: Step 1: Mastering the Figure. In this step you get familiar with the figure upon which your prelude will be build. The figure is a melodic or rhythmic formula. Usually in a prelude there are only very few figures. In order to fully understand the structure of the figure, you need to memorize it and transpose it to as many keys as you can. Step 2: Opening Cadence. This is the opening formula of the prelude. It establishes the main key and has a tonic pedal point. Usually it also has some excursions to the key of Subdominant. Memorize and transpose it for best results. Step 3: Cadence. Contrary to the opening cadence which introduces the main key for the first time, the cadence brings a musical idea to a close. Cadences can be found at least several times during the course of the prelude. Again, memorize and play it in various keys. Step 4: Descending Sequence. Such sequence is a common device to connect two different keys. In other words, it is used as a way to modulate. Step 5: Ascending Sequence. It is perhaps somewhat less common than the descending version but nevertheless very useful. It creates a rising tension because it ascends upwards. By the way, sequences can also stay in the same key as it started. As with previous step, you need to memorize it and transpose to various keys. Step 6: Closing Cadence. You need some kind of harmonic idea which would suit well for the ending of your prelude. Some closing cadences also have pedal points (both Dominant and Tonic). By the way, if you use Dominant pedal point the listeners will feel a tension rising because there is a constant emphasis on the Dominant note (5th scale degree) without proper resolution. Tonic pedal point, on the other hand, emphasizes the Tonic note (1st scale degree) in the bass and has a feeling of completeness and tranquility. Step 7: Application of the Figure. After mastering Step 6, you are now equipped for every kind of compositional device to improvise the prelude. However, it is very useful first to apply the figure to different harmonic structures. For example, we can take chords from some other existing compositions and play them by using our figure. Step 8: Improvisation of the Chordal Outlines. Contrary to the previous step, where the chords where given, you will now improvise chords for your own prelude. If you mastered all the steps so far, Step 8 is not that difficult at all. Step 9: Putting It All Together: Improvisation of the Prelude. This is the culmination of the entire learning process. You take figure, sequences, and cadences and create (improvise) a prelude based on the previous step. As always, transposing everything to various keys will give you much freedom. If you internalize many different figures, cadences, and sequences, they will become truly your own. This way you will become a master at improvising any prelude you want. I bet this would be a skill you could be really proud of. By the way, do you want to learn to improvise in the style of Bach? If so, I suggest you check out my free 9 day mini course in Keyboard Prelude Improvisation. 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? If so, download my free Organ Practice Guide. Transposing organ pieces to different keys is a wonderful way to get thoroughly familiar with the music. By transposing, you are making composition of other composers your own because you are internalizing the musical language of that piece. If you are wondering what transposition is and how to apply it to your organ practice, read this article.
The simplest meaning of transposition is performing or writing a musical passage in different keys. Let's imagine for a second the two keys with only white keys, that's C major and A minor. Play the scales of these keys up and down. Since you know the 2 keys which do not have any accidentals (sharps or flats), it is only normal to assume that there are keys with 1 sharp or 1 flat, with 2 sharps or 2 flats, with 3 sharps or 3 flats etc. until all the 7 notes of the scale are sharp or flat. In order to transpose to different keys, first you have to know how to construct a scale with 1 accidental, 2 accidentals etc. This is simple. The term that we need here is the Circle of Fifths - a system of organizing the keys in ascending or descending number of accidentals. If you have C major scale and want to find a scale (or a key) which has only 1 sharp, you have to count 5 scale degrees up the current scale. For example, since the 5th scale degree in the C major scale is G, the key with 1 sharp will be constructed from the note G, that's G major. Now go ahead and play the G major scale ascending and descending. Note that this scale also has to have same system of whole and half steps, as C major: G, A, B, C, D, E, F# G. Yes, F# is needed because between the 7 and 1 scale degrees you should have a half step. Play this G major scale on your keyboard upward and downward. By the way, what you did just now, you transposed the C major scale to another key, to G major. OK, now in order to find a minor key with 1 sharp, we just go down the G major scale 3 steps and find our minor key with 1 sharp - that's E minor key. Go ahead and play this scale on your keyboard up and down. Don't forget to add F#. Notice how you just transposed the A minor scale to another key - E minor. Now you just only need to find another pair of major and minor keys which have 1 flat. In order to do this, take the 1st scale degree of our C major scale but instead of going upward the scale, now you go downward 5 degrees - C, B, A, G, F. Yes, that's the starting note of F major scale. Play the F major scale up and down but now add B flat (or Bb) to the scale. We need this, because, remember, whole and half steps have to be arranged in the same order as in C major. In order to find a relative minor from F major, just go down 3 scale degrees from F up to D. That's D minor. Now play the D minor scale on your keyboard (with Bb). In order to fully take advantage of transposition exercises, find an easy piece of organ music in C major or A minor and try to transpose to the keys with ascending number of accidental. If you are new to transposition exercises, then try transposing one hand at a time first and later put them together. To make things easier, I also recommend you write in scale degree numbers with pencil above each note at first. If you find a sharp next to the note, write a + sign, or if you find a flat next to the note, write - - sign. These signs simply mean that these notes have raised or lowered scale degrees. If you pencil in every scale degree in your organ piece, then you will be able to play the scale degrees in any key you want. Just play the scale of that key ascending and descending first. 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. Many organists play organ pieces without ever thinking about how the piece is
put together, what is the compositional materials used in the piece etc. These are advanced questions, of course and everything must start very simple at the beginning. In this article, I will explain, what is a major and minor scale, the foundations of every tonal organ composition. The major scale consists of 7 notes (the 8th being a repetition of the first 1 octave higher) and the distances between the notes are as follows: Whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, whole step and half step. Let's take an example of the scale which consists of white keys only, C major scale. For example, the notes of the C major scale are: C, D, E, F, G, A, B, (and C - repetition). The minor scale also consists of 7 notes but the distances between the notes are a little different: Whole step, half step, whole step, whole step, half step, whole step, and whole step. The scale of A minor also consists of white keys only. That's why it is called a relative key of C major. For example, the notes of the A minor scale are: A, B, C, D, E, F, G, (and A - repetition). Does it make sense so far? If so, let's proceed further: the note of the scale can also be called a scale degree, meaning that there are 7 scale degrees in a scale: in C major: C(1), D (2), E (3), F (4), G (5), A (6), B (7) and C (8 or 1). In A minor: A (1), B (2), C (3), D (4), E (5), F (6), G (7) and A (8 or 1). Play now the two scales C major and A minor on your keyboard. Listen in particularly how the 1st, 3rd, 5th scale degrees sound. They sound very stable. This is because they comprise a Tonic chord (C, E, G in C major) or (A, C, E in A minor). 2, 4, 6, 7 are unstable and they lead to the closest stable degrees. By the way, the 1st scale degree of A minor is located just 3 scale steps lower than C major. Is it easy to understand so far? Practice playing C Major and A minor scales for a few times. After you are fluent with these scales, you can start constructing similar scales in other keys as well. 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. Some organists have a difficult time measuring their true progress. If they practice every day, they might see very little day-to-day progress. Therefore, it gets very frustrating for them when they make mistakes in organ playing. However, there is one experiment you can make to see your if you are making a true progress.
Don't feel discouraged about your mistakes in some pieces. Stay the course and you will find that the progress is usually just around the corner. I understand that it might be difficult to see the progress for yourself because you are measuring yourself everyday. There is one thing that is used in measurements and testings of all kinds in many educational systems which you can take advantage of. Take an unfamiliar piece and play it through just once. Record yourself playing this piece. You will make many mistakes, of course. Too many, actually. And that's the point. Then leave this piece alone and practice your own compositions which you normally practice daily. After several months you come back to that new piece and play it once again (and record it). Then you'll see what happens. The thing is, because you are practicing many different pieces now, your overall level improves and because of that your sight-reading abilities also improve gradually. So when you come back to this new piece after a few months, you will be able to sight-read this new piece at a higher level than before regardless of whether your practiced it or not. Does it make sense? So that's why it is better to stay positive when you are noticing yourself making mistakes in your organ playing. Because you meet yourself practicing every day, you just can't appreciate how much you are progressing in reality. It is kind of similar if you meet a person and go away for a few months, come back and you notice how much he or she has changed. But if you spent that time with this person every day, you just couldn't notice many important changes that took place. The same is with organ practice. You just have to give it time and test your progress after a few months to notice some tremendous changes in your abilities and technique. Just test the two different recordings of the same piece. And that's when it get's really inspirational and exciting. Try this technique in your organ practice today. Test yourself and you'll be surprised about your true skills and progress. 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 frustrated because some of the lines of your organ pieces are easier to learn while others take so much time just to get the basics down? Are you wondering why is this so and how to overcome this challenge? In this article, I will explain it in more detail.
You see, a lot of this to me is simple mathematics. Some parts of the piece are easier than the others. For example, if the fugue starts with just one voice without pedals, this will naturally be much easier to play. If you can play one voice smoothly and without interruptions after just several careful repetitions, it doesn't mean you will have the same success when you have 4 voices with pedals. Adding one more voice add just one more constrain to your practice. It is like just one step further. Especially having pedal part in you score can complicate things because naturally you are much better with your hands than you are with your feet. You have to be ready for the next step. For example, if you take 3 voice combination without mastering 2 voices and separate voices first, then the success will not be as great as it might be. My advice is not to advance to the next combination unless you can play the current one fluently and without interruptions at least 3 times in a row correctly (with correct fingering, pedaling, notes, rhythms, articulation, and ornamentation). So you see how in reality there is no need to be frustrated about slow progress. You have to understand that there are no shortcuts in organ playing. If you want the fastest possible progress, just stick to the systematic practice method when you learn by voice, by two voices, by three voices, and by four voices one short fragment at a time in a slow tempo. 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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