She has received touring artist grants from the Arkansas Arts Council, California Arts Council, the American Embassies in Prague and Vienna, and the Czech Embassy in St. Petersburg. Dr. Scheide regularly performs chamber music with Le Meslange des Plaisirs and Voix seraphique on historic string keyboard instruments; and as Due Solisti (flute/organ) with Czech flutist Zofie Volalkova.
Scheide earned degrees in early music (with honors) and organ performance (organ department prize) at New England Conservatory and the University of Southern California. Her teachers have included John Gibbons and Cherry Rhodes. She teaches harpsichord at Westminster Choir College of Rider University, Princeton, and teaches online and sometimes traditional classes for Rowan College at Burlington. She lives in a 17th-century stone house Wiggan, and plays organ in the 1740 stone barn at Church of the Loving Shepherd, Bournelyf, West Chester. A Founding Member of various early keyboard societies, Dr. Scheide was recently elected to a second term on the Executive Committee of the Philadelphia Philadelphia Chapter., American Guild of Organists. She is also a Past Dean of the San Diego Chapter. Dr. Scheide is also a published composer with a significant discography. Her compositions have been made available through Darcey Press, E.C. Schirmer, Piano Press, Time Warner, Wayne Leupold and World Library. Current commissions include a piece for the 10th Anniversary of the Kimmel Center Organ. Her recordings are available on Dutch HLM, Organ Historical Society, Palatine and Raven labels. In this conversation, Dr. Scheide shares her insights about her fascination with the Nasard stop, Olivier Messiaen's cycle "L'Ascencion", "Labyrinth" by the Czeck composer Petr Eben, and her collaboration initiatives with chamber music. At the end she gives her 3 steps in becoming a better organist so make sure you listen to the very end. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Listen to the conversation Related Link: http://kathleenscheide.com
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Vidas: Let’s start Episode 66 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. And this question was sent by William. And he writes, “My question is I started working on the first sonata of Mendelssohn. How is it to be articulated. Detached or legato? The fast passages are very difficult to keep smooth at tempo. Also who has ideas on how to register this opening movement. I am working from score from 1920's. I think there has to be some thought on playing these great works of Mendelssohn!"
Hmm, interesting question! Have you played a few pieces by Mendelssohn, Ausra? Ausra: Yes, I definitely have. Vidas: Me too. So, I think we can talk about articulation first, and then about registration: general ideas about articulation, about registering Mendelssohn’s pieces; because remember, he wrote that preface. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Great. So, articulation: Do you think that in the mid-19th century, when Mendelssohn created these pieces, articulate legato was already out of fashion, or…? Ausra: I think it was getting definitely out of fashion, and I think that legato was the main way to articulate music--to play music. Vidas: So, yeah, of course, in different places, you would discover some remnants of Baroque articulation, for sure, even in those places; because in even village organs, instruments would have mechanical action and Baroque specification--they would still be tuned in meantone sometimes, right? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Meantone temperament. Remember, we recently heard Professor Pieter van Dijk from the Netherlands, play a piece by Romantic Dutch composer Jan Alber van Eycken--who was actually a student of Mendelssohn-- Ausra: Yes. Vidas: --And sometimes he articulated this piece with articulate legato. Ausra: Yes, that’s true, but still, you know, the main way to play it is legato. You use that “articulate legato” or you know, non legato only to emphasize the structure of a piece, when the score advises it. Vidas: So...all the notes should be slurred, except in certain places, right? Ausra: Yes, like repeated notes, of course you have to shorten them. Vidas: And staccato notes? Ausra: Yes. And ends of phrases, and the beginning of a new phrase, you have to take a break, to show the structure. Vidas: Or unison voices, when one voice overlaps with another and makes a unison interval, like C in one voice and C in another voice; you have to shorten the previous note also, so that it would be possible to hear that two voices sounding and not one. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: And there is an exact amount of rest you have to make, right? In these cases? Ausra: Yes. Usually you have to shorten it by half of its value. Vidas: So if the note is an 8th note value, so you make it a 16th note, and 16th note rests. Ausra: Yes. And it’s fairly hard, especially if you have, for example, more than one voice in one hand; and you have to keep one voice smoothly legato, and another voice detached; so that’s a challenge. You have to make sure you play with the right finger; and, of course, you have to use a lot of finger substitution. That’s the way to do it. It takes time. It’s a really hard thing to do. Vidas: And then, if you have, for example, triple meter, when the notes don’t divide exactly in half--so then it’s kind of tricky, right? You have to calculate what’s the unit value--what’s the most common, fastest rhythmical value in this piece, right? Maybe 16th note, maybe 8th note if it’s a slower piece. So then, it means that you should make a rest between repeated notes, between staccato notes, with the exact rest that unit value has. In this case, 16th note, or 8th note. So that would be very precise articulation. And your playing would be much, much clearer, this way. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: So Ausra, now let’s talk about registration. Mendelssohn himself wrote the preface for the six sonatas, and he wrote registration suggestions, right? First of all, do you remember, those pieces should be played with 16’ in the pedal, or not? Ausra: Yes, they have to have 16’... Vidas: Always, except when composers notate differently, right? Ausra: Yes, so always use 16’, except when, you know, it’s written in the score not to do it. Vidas: Then, Mendelssohn gradually explains the dynamic signs: pianissimo, piano, mezzoforte, forte, and fortissimo, I believe. Ausra: So basically five levels. Vidas: Five levels, yes. You can add a couple more, like mezzopiano, if you want; but the general feeling would be the same. So, what is pianissimo? In Mendelssohn’s terms, it would be very very simple, right? Just the softest stop on the organ. Ausra: Yes. Probably 8’ flute. Vidas: Or a string. Ausra: Or a string, yes. Strings became, I think, more and more common in those days. Vidas: Then piano would be a couple of those soft stops, combined. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Then he goes to mezzoforte, right? So...But we could talk about mezzopiano. Mezzopiano probably would mean, maybe, combined few soft stops but not only at the 8’ level but… Ausra: At the 4’ level. Vidas: At the 4’ level, too. What else? In mezzoforte, can you engage already some of the louder stops? Maybe principals... Ausra: I think yes, you could try; it depends on your organ, but yes, you could definitely try. Vidas: Forte for Mendelssohn means full organ without some of the loudest stops. Basically, this means without reeds? Ausra: I would say so, yes. Vidas: Without strong reeds. Ausra: Because you already have to use mixtures, I guess, for forte; but not reeds. Vidas: And fortissimo means simply, full organ with reeds. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: And with couplers, if you want to. So that’s the basic idea, how to register Mendelssohn; but not only Mendelssohn, right? Ausra: Yes, you can do, I think, the same in Liszt pieces. Schumann probably. Vidas: To some extent, Brahms. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Maybe even Reger, right? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Maybe even Reger. Although, Reger requires a special pedal, Walze they call it, like Rollschweller. It’s like a crescendo pedal, basically. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: You gradually add stops by moving this pedal. That’s a later idea than mechanical action organs that Mendelssohn and Liszt played, right? We talk about, basically, Ladegast organs which were built in the mid-19th century; and maybe, to some extent, the earliest Walker organs, too. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Excellent. So guys, please try to adapt those ideas into your situation. Maybe your organ that you have available, it will be different, you have to make compromises; but the general idea will be the same. Thanks guys, we hope this was useful to you. And please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow as an organist. And...this was Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. Vidas: And remember, when you practice… Ausra: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Let’s start Episode 65 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. And today’s question was sent by Patti, and she writes, “Dear Vidas and Ausra, here is a question that you might be interested in addressing in your podcast. It is about learning to cope with differences in resonance and delay when you play the organ.
The church where I normally play has a very “flat” acoustic -- no resonance -- and the organ sounds immediately, with no delay. So when I play a note, I immediately hear that note, and that’s what I’m used to. If I try to play somewhere that has a quite noticeable delay, or a lot of echo, I can manage simple or medium-difficult pieces, but if I try to play something that requires difficult coordination (a Bach fugue with a very active pedal part, for example) the delayed feedback is confusing and I can’t keep myself in sync. How do you manage this? Do you play more slowly, or more detached? Is there a way to learn not to listen to yourself, for example by practicing silently? Thanks for any tips on this, and thanks for all your advice and encouragement to us organ students, best wishes, Patti.” So Ausra, this is a question about, basically, adjusting to different acoustics. Ausra: Yes, that’s right. Vidas: Do you remember the time when we were students at the Lithuanian Academy of Music--we were just starting playing the organ--and of course, all the practice organs and even the studio organ were in rooms with dead acoustics? Ausra: Sure, yes. Vidas: So we were used to that setting. And then, it happened that somebody took us to a church. With lively acoustics. Do you remember the first church organ that you played? Ausra: Well, yes, and actually it’s interesting because it was the Casparini organ from 1776 at the Holy Ghost church here in Vilnius, and I played the C minor Prelude and Fugue, BWV 546 by J. S. Bach. I was just so fascinated with that organ; but, you know, at that time I didn’t even think about acoustics and all those sort of things, because it was so fascinating. But I could tell you about the time when I played in the northern part of Lithuania in Biržai when I was still a student; and that organ was a pneumatic organ, sort of Romantic style, like late 19th century, early 20th century organ; and simply, I could not manage playing it, because the sound was so delayed no matter what I did. And instead of just letting organ sound, to let it go, I was pushing harder and harder; and the more I was trying to control that organ, the more delayed it sounded! It was so frustrating! But when I came back to the same instrument many years later, I found no difficulty to play it. So to make a long story short, the more you try different instruments in various settings, the easier it will get. What do you think about it? Vidas: Good story, I believe I played in Biržai too--I think maybe not on that occasion--but yes, if you listen to what you basically hear in the room, your playing starts to be slower and slower and slower. But if you try to mechanically play with your fingers and your feet, just like it would be in a normal setting, and disconnect your ears a little bit from the echos --then it’s normal. But of course, as a beginner it’s extremely difficult to do this. Ausra: But as Patti mentioned in her question, it’s very true what she mentioned: that if you’re playing in large acoustics, then definitely you have to articulate more. Especially when playing Bach, or any kind of polyphonic music. Because that will give you better sound; and of course, you might want to slow down just a little bit, in large acoustics. Vidas: Yeah, we usually slow down and articulate more. Make larger spaces between the notes when you play in large settings with huge reverberations. For example, at our church, St. John’s Church, at night when I play the full organ, then it is very very quiet in the church, and outside the church too; so the reverberation increases up to maybe 5, 6, or even 7 seconds, especially when the room is empty. So it’s a lot of difference, very different feeling, playing during the day--or playing during a concert, when the room is packed! Ausra: Sure, then the acoustics just disappear--not entirely, but a little bit, yes. Vidas: So we always listen to what is happening downstairs with our sound. We listen to the echo: not what we are playing right here, but what the listener is actually hearing. Ausra: Yes, and when you are playing in large acoustics, you always have to keep in mind phrasing: the end of sentences; never jump on to the next one, because it will sound bad. Just listen to the end of the sound. Vidas: You mean those places where the musical idea ends, and another musical idea begins-- Ausra: Yes, definitely! Vidas: You have to breathe, take a rest, and wait for the reverberation--wait for an echo a little bit. A little bit. Not too much, probably, if it’s just a mid-piece section. Ausra: Yes. But still you have to take a breath. And when playing on a mechanical organ, it works nicely if you register it yourself, and you change stops during performance, yourself; because it also gives you correct timing. And it works well, because if you have to move your hand and to add or delete a stop, it will give quite a good amount of time, and it works nicely, acoustically. Vidas: And even on electropneumatical organ with combinations, you can pretend that you are pushing the stops yourself by hand; imagine that you are not pressing the pistons, but you are moving the stop knobs yourself; and that way, you will make larger breaks between sections. Ausra: And you need to think about these things in advance, not just when you will go to an actual instrument. For example, if you have settings, when you are learning a piece on the classroom organ with dead acoustics (or at your home church with no acoustics), but you know that you will have to perform it, on a different kind of instrument with larger acoustics. You need to pretend that you have that acoustic already. You need to think about things in advance. Because, it will not be so easy, especially for a beginner to change, for example, articulation; so maybe just practice with a shorter touch before going to that actual instrument. Vidas: Good idea. Prepare in advance in your practice room. And of course, don’t despair if you don’t get it right the first time, second time, fifth time, or even the tenth time. When, Ausra, did you discover, yourself, that it’s easier for you on a big acoustics? Ausra: Well, it took quite a while. I think it took a few years, at least. Vidas: A few years of many performances! Ausra: Yes, many performances. Vidas: Maybe think this way: every tenth performance you will discover something new about that acoustic, about this instrument, about yourself. And it will be like a small breakthrough for you. Ausra: Yes, but I guarantee, when you will play many times with large acoustics, it will be much harder for you to play with dead acoustics. When you can actually hear every little thing, that you even would not have noticed on the large organ and big acoustics. Vidas: Yeah, it’s very slippery to play in dead acoustics! Everything is visible, and you’re sort of naked! Ausra: I know, if now I would have to play at the Academy of Music in that room where we played all our exams...I would probably just die! Vidas: Okay, guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please send us more of your questions, we love helping you grow as an organist. And you can do this by subscribing to our blog at www.organduo.lt if you haven’t done so already, and simply replying to any of our messages that you get. Thanks guys, this was Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. Vidas: And remember, when you practice… Ausra: Miracles happen. #AskVidasAndAusra 64: How not to find multiple keyboards of the organ to be a bit intimidating?9/7/2017
Vidas: Let’s start now Episode 64 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. And today’s question was sent by Dan. And he asks, “How not to find multiple keyboards of the organ to be a bit intimidating? Take care, and keep up the good work with the podcasts and stuff. Dan, a loyal listener from here in Ontario Canada.’
Wonderful! Ausra, isn’t it fun, that people from Canada listen to us? Ausra: Yes, I think it’s very exciting! Vidas: And they’re having various challenges, and we’re trying to help them! Ausra: Sure! Vidas: It’s really fun. So, when you have multiple keyboards on the organ--two, three, four, sometimes even five; the largest pipe organ in the world has seven keyboards!--it’s incredibly intimidating, right? What was your first experience when you tried to play a three-manual instrument, Ausra? Ausra: It was difficult, actually, because, I don’t have such long legs and long arms, so it’s always a challenge for me to play on the upper keyboard. So I just have to register my piece in a clever manner, and to choose my manuals correctly. Because otherwise I might be in big trouble! And I don’t think I ever would go playing higher than the fourth keyboard. I would never play on the fifth. It would be just, physically for me, impossible. And it’s okay; there are still many ways, how to register and to play well even not using all of the keyboards. But now, I’m pretty comfortable with using the fourth manual. Vidas: Here is the exercise I think people can apply in their practice, if they have three manuals (or four!) at home or in church, but they’re not used to this. They’re struggling with changing manuals and adapting. How about this: you play your piece on multiple manuals (even though stylistically it would be incorrect (it doesn’t matter). But let’s take a piece and play a phrase or a sentence or a musical idea (a complete, probably, musical idea) on one manual, and then you start another musical idea on another manual. And so on: you go through multiple manuals, sometimes like in an echo manner. Like if the manuals are registered loud-softer-softer-softer; or soft-louder-louder-louder; you could do different kinds of dynamic effects this way. But that’s not the point. The point is to get used to the multiple keyboard changes. Would that help, Ausra? Ausra: I think that’s a good exercise. And in general, the more pieces you will practice while changing manuals, the more comfortable you will get in time. Vidas: Try to improvise on that unfamiliar organ more. Try to explore different sounds and manuals yourself, maybe playing with one hand on one manual, and drawing the stop by hand on another manual, preparing; and after a short break, trying to play it with the left hand on another manual, and then transferring your right hand on another manual, then looking at another registration on a third manual with right hand, and then probably jumping from keyboard to keyboard this way. Ausra: And even if you practice on the piano, or on a small organ that has only one keyboard or two keyboards, just in those spots where you know that you will have to change manuals, imagine that you’re changing manuals, and do it physically; basically, maybe by taking a longer pause, and making that extra motion with your hand. This will help you when you will have to do it for real. Vidas: As Professor Pieter van Dijk says, it’s all mental, right? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: All kinds of physical things all begin in your head. So even though you don’t have three manuals, four manuals, or five manuals, you might have just one manual, but you can pretend to be jumping from manual to manual. Ausra: Definitely it will help you. I do that a lot, myself, and it really helps. Vidas: Yeah. Otherwise you get used to this one-keyboard layout; and when the time comes to go to perform in public in a different situation, with a different keyboard layout...as Dan says, it’s really intimidating. Ausra: Yes, but it will get easier with time. The more experience you will get, the easier it will be. Vidas: The more experience with different organs, right? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: And playing different kinds of music, too. Ausra: Sure. Vidas: Okay guys, we hope this advice was useful to you. Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And you can do this by simply replying to our messages that you get as a subscriber to our blog at www.organduo.lt. So, this was Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. Vidas: And remember, when you practice… Ausra: Miracles happen. Would you like to master the famous Bach's Two-Part Invention No. 1 in C Major, BWV 772?
If so, join Ausra as she works with Victoria on this piece. PDF score with complete fingering for efficient practice and 110 minutes of MP3 audio training available immediately after payment. 50 % discount is valid until September 13. Free for Total Organist students.
Vidas: And let’s start Episode 63 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. And today’s question was sent by Kae, who is helping, actually, to transcribe our podcasts for us. And she’s very helpful, and a very accurate transcriber. So thank you so much, Kae, for doing this.
And now, back to her question. She asks, “When do you usually register a piece: before or after you learn to play all the notes? I think registering a piece can be the most fun part of preparing a performance, but maybe it should be saved for last? If my piece is very loud, I will usually practice using softer registration, but this means I get used to the quieter sound and start to prefer it. I don't know. What is your opinion? Thank you for all your work, it's wonderful to read all of your posts. I especially like your new podcast feature with text instead of just audio.” She’s wonderful, right? Because without her help, it wouldn’t be possible! Ausra: Yes, and an excellent question, actually, a very interesting question. Vidas: Let’s start with how we do it. It’s not necessarily the only way, because some people advise to analyze the piece, and know how the piece is put together right away, and even to figure out the registration just before you learn the notes. And some of them do the notes first, and decide on the registration later. So how do you do it, Ausra? Ausra: Well, usually, I learn the music first, actually. Vidas: But while learning notes, don’t you sometimes think, “Oh, in my upcoming performance on this particular instrument, I’m going to use this combination. Or that combination. Or manual change--I will go the third manual instead of the fourth manual or eighth manual instead of the ninth manual:).” Ausra: Of course. I always keep that in mind, because otherwise I would not know how to play. But for example, as Kae mentioned, if it’s a loud piece and she practiced it on soft stops, and she will get used to that sound and she will prefer it--I would still suggest to play Organo Pleno pieces on softer stops during just regular practice. Not always, not all the time, but most of the time. Because otherwise, you could just hurt your ears, and that wouldn’t be good. But while playing even on the 8’ flute, you can still imagine you’re playing Organo Pleno. Because then even your touch will be different--a little bit different. Vidas: Absolutely. Ausra: But I often register the final version of the piece when I’m on the actual organ on which I will be performing that piece. Vidas: Do you sometimes register on the table in your head? Ausra: Yes, I do that sometimes. Vidas: To save time? Ausra: Yes, and then I just have to adjust some things when I get to a real organ. Because you are in sort of a luxury situation if you know the instrument on which you’re performing in advance, and I mean, in a practical way, that you have played it. But most often--for concert organists--you can only imagine what you will get! Of course, you see the specification lists, but you still cannot hear the actual sound until you get to the organ; and most of the time, you have one or two rehearsals, sometimes even almost no rehearsal before your actual performance. Life is life. So, you sort of do your imaginary registration; and then you do the real one, when you get to the real instrument. Vidas: And the more experience you have with pipe organs, then the more closer to reality your mental preparation will be. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Although there are exceptions, right? You discover that, let’s say, this principal is not loud enough; or this flute is not making sound that you want. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: So you need another combination. Or when the reed is out of tune... Ausra: Yes, sure. And especially when you are learning pieces where you have to use two manuals at the same time, try various combinations when you practice on your home organ or your school organ. Because otherwise, it might be very hard for you to switch--to change the manuals, for example. Imagine you’re playing a Trio Sonata by Bach. And you always play the right hand on the second manual and the left hand on the first manual. And when you go to the real organ where you will be performing this piece, you see that it has to be the other way around--left on the top manual, and the right on the lower manual. It might be a problem for you to do that. Vidas: Absolutely. Ausra: So practice all these combinations. And of course, if you have access, regular access, to the organ where you will be performing that repertoire, then it might be a good idea to register pieces right away, and to practice in that way. Vidas: And talking about trio sonatas, and this kind of texture--make sure you practice also dropping one octave lower one part… Ausra: Yes, because you might need that, too, and register. Vidas: Dropping probably the left hand part an octave lower, because otherwise you get Cross-relations between hands. But 8’ stop sometimes is not as beautiful as 4’ stop; so you should choose 4’ registration...but then you need to drop one octave lower, your lower voice. Ausra: But as Kae mentioned in her question, registration--registering her piece is really the most fun part of organ playing, because each time you can explore and find new colors. And it’s sort of strange for me, but some organists keep the registration. For example, they perform a recital in one place, and they write down that registration and try to keep it for the rest of their life! I don’t like doing that, because if I will come back to that instrument, let’s say after 10 years, it doesn’t mean that I will register it in the same way; because maybe my taste will have changed in that time… Vidas: Or your level might have grown, too. Ausra: Yes. So I would suggest each time you would do your own new registration. Vidas: For example, right now as we’re recording this, we’re mentally preparing for our upcoming performance in Paslek, Poland on the Andreas Hildebrand organ from 1717. So that was Bach’s day and age--a Baroque organ. And we’re practicing sometimes at home, sometimes at St. John’s church here in Vilnius...but always mentally thinking about Poland, now. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: That’s how we save time; that’s how we save energy and prepare for the real situation. It doesn’t mean that we will be 100% right, but we will have a starting point from which to begin practicing and rehearsing in Poland. Ausra: Yes. And another important thing is that you always have to choose your repertoire for a particular organ. It just amazes me how sometimes organists try to play all kinds of repertoire on one instrument. I mean it’s good if you are in the United States, and you have sort of “universal organ” on which you can play any kind of music; but in that type of instrument I don’t think that any music will sound equally well. But still it’s possible to register and to play it. And otherwise if you’re playing on a historical organ, or a replica of a historical organ, you have to choose your repertoire right. Because you cannot play any piece of music on any instrument; that’s just impossible. Vidas: Nevertheless, for example, a lot of organizations prefer to have an eclectic instrument, and I just read the guidelines for AGO composers’ competition (you can compose organ music and receive a prize if you’re selected). So they want this music to be performed on any type of instrument. Mechanical, electromechanical, Baroque, Romantic. They’re saying, “You should write a piece which will fit any type of organ.” That’s kind of silly, right? Ausra: Yes, I could not agree more. Vidas: But that’s life, right? That’s their requirement. So sometimes, you have to make those hard decisions, if you want to have the most opportunities in life (at least at first, when you don’t have so many opportunities). But always think about the target organ when you will be performing in public, and that way your registration work will become very efficient. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Thanks, guys! I hope this was useful to you. And please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. Okay! This was Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. Vidas: And remember, when you practice… Ausra: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Let’s start Episode 62 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. And today’s question was sent by Adeniyi, and he writes that he has no organ to use. And that’s his challenge, right Ausra? Can you practice organ without an organ?
Ausra: Well, you can do a lot of work not on the organ. But later you still have to apply it on the organ. Because you can do mental preparation, to work with a score without any musical instrument; then you can practice on the piano and do a lot of things, too; but finally, you still have to get access to an organ. What do you think about it? Vidas: You’re right, mental practice, keyboard practice, all are very useful things, especially when you have to save time, if you travel, if you are in a room without an organ. But then let’s talk, Ausra, about getting access to a church organ someplace in your area. You don’t have to have an organ in your house or in your home? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: So obviously, there are churches nearby--maybe five miles around you, or ten miles around you, in your neighborhood, in your city, maybe in your region. If you live in a remote area, you can practice, let’s say, just once a week-- Ausra: Yes. Vidas: And do all your work on the keyboard, and get better this way; but then, get access to a real organ with pedals, let’s say just once a week. So Ausra, how would you imagine the situation: You have no organ at home; you have a piano, for example; you want to practice organ playing; and you have a church in mind in our neighborhood. And pretend you are not a university organist! So you have to go someplace and ask. What’s your first step? Ausra: Maybe I would just go to the nearest church, and just ask them if I could use the organ, time after time; and I would suggest something in exchange, maybe a volunteer program. And not necessarily to play during the service, at the beginning; if I would be just a beginner organist, maybe I would suggest to be an usher or to do some other kind of work. Vidas: Yeah, especially if you have no organ playing skills at the beginning, it would be too strenuous for you--too stressful--to volunteer liturgical organ playing once a week, or do some other, professional work, right? But then of course later on, maybe in a few months, or even half a year, or the next year, you can definitely volunteer to play for them in the church service, in exchange of letting you practice in their room. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Do you think the church administration would be willing to do this kind of exchange? Ausra: I hope so. Maybe not each church would agree on that; but I think most of them, yes. Vidas: Because most of the churches need volunteers, right? They are not too packed with volunteers; there may be some work they could offer you to do in exchange of your services. Or maybe they would need some kind of other help. Maybe you know how to do computer work or maybe you can do some manual work, too. Ausra: Yes. There are all kinds of possibilities. Vidas: So, the church is one possibility. Do you know of any other possibilities to get access to the instrument in your area? Ausra: Well, there might be some neighbor who has an instrument… Vidas: For example, if you have a group of friends who are interested in organ playing, and one of them has an organ at home, so let’s say three of them or five of them could get together and play recitals for one another, and also get regular exchange practice on that instrument. Maybe make a donation for the maintenance of the instrument, and the use of their time. That’s possible, if you live around organists. So usually that happens in a city situation, not in a remote area. Ausra: Not so much. Vidas: Okay, but what if you have this access once in a while to the church organ, but you want to practice regularly on a keyboard without pedals organ music which has a pedal part. Can you do that, Ausra? Ausra: Well, you can do that. You can just draw yourself a pedalboard, and imagine that you’re playing it. Vidas: Or print out a pedalboard from the internet. Ausra: Sure. Vidas: Glue the parts together to make the paper sheets larger, and a real-size pedalboard can be assembled in six or twelve sheets of paper; and you can put them on the floor, right? Ausra: And if you will be able to play on such a pedalboard, then definitely you will be able to play a real one. Because this way is much harder! Vidas: Do you remember, Ausra, in our Unda Maris organ studio, we have a number of keyboards and pedalboards printed out. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: And some people do use them. And sometimes we even do coordinated, simultaneous practice, when one person plays on the real organ, and the rest of them play on the silent keyboards or paper sheets. Right? Ausra: Yes, it works very well. Vidas: They hear in their head what is sounding, but they all practice together at the same time, the same piece. Very very slowly, of course. Maybe not all of them are at the same level; maybe one is beginner level, another is intermediate level, so intermediate level organist would play all parts together, and beginner would play just one part alone, right? Ausra: Yes. So there are various solutions, actually, for a situation like this. You just have to explore your area and to check all the possibilities. And I hope that you will find a right solution for you. Vidas: And we hope to help you grow as an organist further; so please send us more of your questions, and simply reply to our messages that you are getting from this blog at www.organduo.lt as a subscriber. And remember, when you practice… Ausra: Miracles happen. Pieter van Dijk on Teaching Students at Master Classes and Recording Complete Organ Works of Bach9/3/2017 Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #110!
Today's guest is Pieter van Dijk who is City Organist, and organist of the Grote Sint Laurenskerk, in Alkmaar, the Netherlands, where he acts as custodian to two of the world’s most significant historic organs. As one of Europe’s most sought-after teachers, Van Dijk is Professor and Head of Organ Studies at the Conservatory of Amsterdam, a position he combines with a Professorship at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Hamburg. Together with Frank van Wijk, he is Artistic Director of Organ Festival Holland, which places the renowned Alkmaar instruments at the center of a prestigious international organ competition, organ academy and concert series. Pieter van Dijk was a pupil of Bert Matter at the Arnhem Conservatory, before going on to further his studies with Gustav Leonhardt, Marie-Claire Alain and Jan Raas. As a performer he was awarded prizes at international competitions in Deventer (1979) and Innsbruck (1986). His many recordings on historic organs throughout the Netherlands and beyond have included the Fugue State Films DVD ‘The Organs of the Laurenskerk’, which in 2013 was awarded the Preis der Deutsche Schallplattenkritik. In 2017 he commenced the recording of a complete Bach-cycle for DMP Records. Van Dijk’s research interests have led to the publication of articles about Weckmann, Sweelinck, Bach and the playing style of the great early 20th century German organist Karl Straube. He was one of the advisors behind the much-lauded reconstruction of the organ at the St Katharinenkirche in Hamburg, on which Bach famously performed in 1720. As a performer and jury member at international competitions, Pieter van Dijk has appeared throughout Europe as well as in the USA and Japan. You can also listen to my previous interview with Pieter van Dijk (SOP Podcast #22) from 2015. Pieter came to Vilnius to teach and perform at the Summer Organ Academy which my colleague Balys Vaitkus and his team organized. We met at the restaurant of his hotel and talked about his teaching and performing experiences at the Academy as well about his project to record complete organ works of J.S. Bach on significant historical instruments of Holland, Germany and Norway. Enjoy and share your comments below. And don't forget to help spread the word about the SOP Podcast by sharing it with your organist friends. And if you like it, please head over to iTunes and leave a rating and review. This helps to get this podcast in front of more organists who would find it helpful. Thanks for caring. Listen to the conversation Related Link: https://www.dmp-records.nl
Another message went straight to our Love Letters folder. It was sent by our former professor Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra, an exceptional expert on early music, generous teacher and brilliant improviser and creator, in response to #AskVidasAndAusra 55:
Dear Vidas and Ausra, The two of you are beautiful, generous, and brilliant! Thanks for making the world a better place. With love, Pamela Vidas: Let’s start Episode 61 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. And today’s question was sent by Adeniyi, who says that he has no organ mentor--that’s his challenge. And today we we’re going to try to help him out, right, Ausra? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Can you practice organ and get better as an organist over time, if you have no teacher? Ausra: I think actually that you can. Maybe the progress will not be as fast as if you will have an organ mentor, but still it’s possible to achieve progress. Vidas: We have to make some difference between mentor and teacher, right? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: A mentor is a person who helps you without any financial reward/payment, and a teacher is, of course, a person who can do this for money. So as I understand, he might live in a country where there are neither teachers nor mentors at all--basically he’s on his own, right? Ausra: Well but today the world is so global, and it’s so easy to get access to the best mentors, actually, and best teachers; you just have to get online. YouTube is full of excellent recordings; you can get all kinds of resource books. So that’s a big help. It’s not like twenty years ago. Vidas: Even our little blog, www.organduo.lt, has thousands resources, right? And trainings, and coaching programs; and this blog is very extensive. I just looked--we started, when--at the end of 2011? So...And, we write every day. Ausra: Sure. Vidas: And that means that for more than 5 years in a row, we’ve published some kind of thing every day, written or audio or video. So that’s really thousands of great materials and useful exercises and advice and tips.. You just have to apply those tips in practice--that’s more important, right? Ausra: I think nowadays it’s not hard to find information as it is hard to select which of that information is useful and is the best. To limit your resources. Because otherwise you can just spend all your time just researching things and not doing actual work. Vidas: Do you think, Ausra, it’s better to randomly pick one training or resource and start applying it in your practice, or do you have to look deep at your needs first? Ausra: I think first of all you need to find out what you really need, what is your biggest problem or your largest concern, and then choose. Vidas: True. So Ausra, what’s the first step in order to discover your needs? Ausra: Well, it depends on what your goal actually is. Vidas: For example, if you want to play in church liturgical organ music. Obviously the first place to start would be the hymns. Ausra: The hymns,the hymn playing, yes definitely; if you’re a church organist that’s the most important thing, for a beginner. Later on you can get more into the repertoire, and to increase your knowledge in stylistic details; but the hymn playing is sort of the cornerstone of church organist. Vidas: And I’ve seen people progress through the ranks of organists just by playing hymns, because they can master the coordination between hands and feet at the basic level first with hymns, and then they can advance to the repertoire easily this way, too. Ausra: Sure. Vidas: And hymns are very fun to practice. Ausra: They are! And they are very good for sight-reading; it’s a very excellent source. Vidas: Exactly. If you, for example, choose 100 hymns and sight-read one hymn a day, in 100 days you will be a better sightreader. Ausra: Definitely, yes. Vidas: Great. So I guess, people should not despair if they have no teachers or mentors in their country available to them. They just have to look online: for example, start with our resources. And more important than a teacher is regular practice. Ausra: Yes, definitely, because even the best mentor or teacher will not play instead of you--you will still have to do all these steps yourself, to take them and to practice everyday. Nobody else can do it. Vidas: Have you had that experience in your teaching career, Ausra, where you had a student, and you give everything to that student, but they don’t do anything with that information? Ausra: Yes, I’ve had such disappointments, that’s true. But I had one excellent example when I was teaching for two semesters, one person. And actually she had a pretty good foundation--she was not majoring in organ, she was minoring in organ. And the first semester she would never listen what I was telling her to do, she would never do it. And you could not reach any result, or any result that I was expecting, from her. But later on, she somehow started, to follow what I’m saying, and started to do those steps, taking those steps, and practicing in that way as I suggested her to do; and the result was just fantastic. Vidas: So even though at first, she sort of, declined to apply your tips in her practice, later she started to trust you, more. So it’s important to trust your teacher if you have one. Because otherwise you’re wasting your time and your teacher’s time, too. Ausra: Yes, definitely. Vidas: Remember Ausra, sometimes people write to us messages that their current teacher tells them to do something differently than we advise, right? They have their own opinions, and the teacher is recommending to do one thing, and they are sort of hesitant to apply our tips in their practice because they trust their teacher first. Ausra: Well that’s okay, everybody has to decide for themselves what to do. Just always listen to what you’re doing because you ear is the best advisor. Vidas: And if you choose your teacher, please trust him or her and do what they tell you to do because otherwise, you’re not progressing into the right direction--and basically wasting your resources and your energy. Ausra: Sure. Vidas: Okay Ausra! I hope people will apply our tips in their practice--I hope people will trust our advice! And if, guys, you want more help, please subscribe to our blog at www.organduo.lt (if you haven’t done so already) and send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow as an organist. Okay, this was Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. Vidas: And remember, when you practice… Ausra: Miracles happen.
Before we recorded yesterday's portion of our podcast conversation, Ausra and I had a big smile on our faces - Minori wrote a kind note to us:
Thank you for #AskVidasAndAusra 58! I do appreciate your advice, which, I am sure, suggest the best solution and help me to tackle my struggle! What is most enlightening (and what I have failed to pay attention to so far) is the fact that you cannot play everything on every single instrument and that you need to pick the right music for the right instrument. Organ playing begins when you select the repertoire for the instrument, not when you sit on the organ bench... I will keep your advice in mind so that I feel more comfortable and confident when I encounter a new instrument. And thank you for another great advice, "Every tenth instrument" principle, which encourages me to keep trying overcome my struggle. I will take every opportunity to play on as many instrument as possible in Japan (to begin with) and overseas (if conditions permit)!" These type of messages go into our special Love Letters folder because it shows that we are helping real people. So anyway, now let's go to the podcast for the day. Vidas: We’re starting Episode No. 60 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. And today’s question was sent by Minori. He writes that he has a small physique: “My height is 155 cm; small hands (I reach an octave, but not beyond); I have difficulty in maintaining postural stability while playing organ works with pedal part (perhaps because of poor muscle strength). I am always wondering what kind of exercise would improve my postural stability while playing the organ.” So Ausra, you are well-equipped to answer this question, because you are a little bit taller, I would say, but not too tall. Ausra: Well, yes, I’m 162 cm high, so just a little bit higher than Minori is, but still not as high as I wish to be. But actually, at first I can suggest what he could do about strengthening his muscles. So, I just found a year ago the so-called Pilates system of exercise, and actually it helped me a lot, to strengthen the whole body, to strengthen my muscles. And since I started to do Pilates, I have never had any trouble with my back anymore. And I can sit and practice on the organ very easily. Vidas: Yes, it’s very good for recovery after illnesses, after stress, after injuries, and it’s a low-stress exercise, basically. You can have muscle fatigue after that, but not necessarily--sometimes you even feel refreshed. Like after yoga, but the difference between yoga and Pilates is that you move quicker in Pilates. Ausra: Yes, and you know, for me, for example, it’s hard to do yoga because I don’t have such a slow character. It’s hard for me to focus while doing yoga; but in Pilates, you just keep moving all the time. But it’s not like a very fast movement as it is in some other kinds of sports; but it’s sort of well-balanced between motion and breathing. So it’s very good. I suggest, really, every organist to try it. Maybe you will not like it, you never know, but I have learned a lot from these exercises. Vidas: Somehow it’s not very popular with men, right? In Lithuania... Ausra: Well, it’s actually too bad. I think it would be very good for both genders. It’s very useful. Vidas: What about breathing? Is Pilates helpful for developing your breathing, and focusing too? Ausra: Sure, you have to learn how to breathe correctly in order to do those exercises; breathing is very important. So then, it helps you too, because knowing how to breathe well, you can use that while sitting on the organ bench, especially during performances, or before performances. And that short height… I know, it might be a problem when you have to reach for example the fourth manual and reach pedals at the same time, but you can get used to it. Sometimes maybe you have to adjust the height of the bench; sometimes maybe don’t use the upper keyboard; but still, you can do it. I think it might be even easier to adjust while being just, 155 cm high, than to be 2 meters and 20 cm high! Vidas: Exactly. To reach with your short legs the extreme edges on the pedalboard is easier than being extremely tall, and trying to tense your leg muscles and abdominal muscles all the time when you sit on a lower organ bench. Ausra: And also, you have to choose your repertoire wisely; because definitely there is some kind of music that I would not suggest Minoru to play. It might be too hard; because he reaches only an octave with his hands, so that means that some pieces by César Franck, or some pieces by Max Reger would be unreachable. Vidas: Late Romantic… Ausra: Late Romantic, yes. When you choose new music, maybe just sight-read it and look if the intervals are not too wide in the hands. For example, such pieces as Franck’s “Prière”--which is a beautiful piece--I would never play it myself, because I might hurt my hands, not being able to reach those intervals. And when I looked at pictures of Franck, actually I saw that his hands were just enormous! So that’s why he composed pieces like this. Vidas: He could reach a tenth, probably. Ausra: I think easily, if not more. Vidas: So guys, if you are struggling with adjusting to the organ because of small physique, I think yes, you could strengthen your muscles and tone your muscles with some kind of exercise system. Do you think, Ausra, that martial arts would help Minori? Ausra: I don’t know how he feels about martial arts. It might help but I think it’s more for focusing your mind, maybe. But I practiced karate for one year, back in the States. And it was good, but I find Pilates much more useful, at least for my nature. And also, you need to find, the pieces which will be your strength; for example, mine is with trio texture, which is the best texture where I feel very comfortable, where I have three different voices and they are all on an equal difficulty. And that way, because I am sort of small, I can move very easily on the organ and feel comfortable with it; I don’t hurt my hands, and my feet while playing, for example, a trio sonata by J.S. Bach. Vidas: You mentioned earlier karate and martial arts, how they helped focusing and mind strength; it’s the same with Pilates too. Pilates also develops your focus, too, because you can focus on your breath. Ausra: Yes, and Pilates is very good for your back. I know organists very often have back pain. Vidas: Because of slipping? Ausra: Yes. Because of slipping, and because of playing pedals. It’s not that easy, but it’s very good for your back. Vidas: Okay, so Pilates would help; playing pieces with thinner textures, like trio textures, or early music, probably? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: What about improvisation, Ausra? You would think that when a person improvises, he or she could really play whatever is comfortable for his or her physique, right? Ausra: Yes, that’s true, but it’s actually your strength, improvisation; so maybe you can tell us more about it. Vidas: Well, it’s very simple. Because when I improvise, I never play something I cannot play, right? I play something which I can do. Of course there are challenges, and things I’ve never tried; and I push myself a little bit further each time. But those things that Ausra was talking about--reaching an interval of a tenth or more, or playing in extreme edges of the pedalboard--it’s not really necessary when you improvise. You can do all kinds of things without that. Ausra: Yeah. Vidas: Wonderful. Please, guys, send us your questions; we love helping you grow. And you can do this by subscribing to our blog at www.organduo.lt if you haven’t done so already, and simply replying to any of our messages. This was Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. Vidas: And remember, when you practice… Ausra: Miracles happen. |
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
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