Would you enjoy listening to my rehearsal of improvisation recital "David and Goliath" which I played a couple of weeks ago during organ music festival at the Cathedral in Liepaja, Latvia. This is the largest mechanical organ in the world from 1885 with 4 manuals and 131 stops.

Listen to the audio here

Let me know what you think.

Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 295 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Anne, and she writes:
 
I started working on Bach Prelude and Fugue in D Major, BWV 532.  The opening pedal run is not hard except that I am a short person.  The benches I sit and practice on are not adjustable so I have to sit close to the edge of the seat to be able to use the pedal board.
​
In order to do this pedal run using only toes - I have to adjust myself as I go up the scale because my legs are not long enough.  Somehow I will have to figure out how to do the adjusting and also have my hands ready to play the opening chords at the end of the run.  Should be an interesting few weeks until i get this figured out!
 
V: Ausra, do you have long legs?
 
A: No, I don’t have them.
 
V: So, maybe you could recommend some tricks for Anne, in this case.
 
A: Well, you know, as she mentioned herself, sitting on the edge of the organ bench is one of the things. Another, I think, when you are playing baroque music, you need to get sort of the feeling that you are walking on the pedalboard.
 
V: Walking?
 
A: Yes. It means that you don’t add so much weight on your tush, but more on your hips.
 
V: Mhm.
 
A: I don’t know if it’s any clearer.
 
V: I see. So when you sit on the end of the bench, your legs weigh more, and have more strength, right, to depress the pedals. But you’re meaning something different.
 
A: Well, not so much that your legs have more weight, but that you put your weight of your body on your hips.
 
V: Ok, so maybe Anne can try that, too.
 
A: But, if she would try to play that in a passaggio with the heel, I think she would be in even more trouble.
 
V: Right, because it extends very high…
 
A: Because it’s easier to reach things with your toes, not with your heels on the pedalboard when you have short legs.
 
V: What if she played one octave lower?
 
A: Well, that’s a possibility, too, but I don’t know how good it would sound. But still, you have to reach the low D, which is also the problem. But, you know, the other thing, if the bench is nonadjustable, you cannot regulate its height, maybe you need to put it closer to the keyboards. That’s also a possibility to sort of extend your legs.
 
V: What about to extend your heels like high heels? Use shoes with higher heels?
 
A: And what’s that for? You are playing only using your toes?
 
V: Oh, exactly. That’s a stupid suggestion.
 
A: I know. And of course there are shoes with the platforms,
 
V: Platforms, yes.
 
A: But I wouldn’t want to play with those.
 
V: No.
 
A: Because that way, you would just lose your contact with the feel of the pedalboard at all. So, basically, put your bench closer to the keyboards, and sit on the edge of it, and try to put more weight on your hips, not on your tush.
 
V: And, sometimes, when the organ console is movable, you could actually, underneath the console, put some wooden bricks.
 
A: That’s an easy thing to do, you know, but we are talking just an opposite.
 
V: Not under the bench, but underneath the console, to make the pedals higher.
 
A: Is it possible?
 
V: If it’s movable. Not always, yeah. But…
 
A: I highly doubt it….this possibility…
 
V: I’ve seen people do that. In America.
 
A: Interesting. I have never seen it.
 
V: So, if the bench is not adjustable, you can maybe adjust the organ.
 
A: Yes, but in the future, maybe you would want to select another piece by J. S. Bach, because he wrote so many preludes and fugues where the range in the pedalboard doesn’t go to the extremes. Maybe, it would make your life easier.
 
V: Or maybe it goes to the extreme, but maybe not as fast in a 16th note run!
 
A: And not the opening, right at the beginning. I remember myself playing this D major prelude and fugue. I think it was a disaster.
 
V: At that time, when she plays the opening passaggio, she could hold herself a little bit with her hands on the bench.
 
A: That’s what some organists do. I wouldn’t suggest that, because then you have to jump to the keyboard, and it might be an unsuccessful thing to do, because you have too little time to prepare.
 
V: What about holding your hands on the sides of the keyboard?
 
A: I have seen that, too, but I also wouldn’t suggest it.
 
V: It looks very unnatural.
 
A: Unless it’s completely necessary.
 
V: I had a similar situation in Liepāja a couple of weeks ago, when I played my improvisation recital about David and Goliath, in Latvia, and the fourth manual there is very deep and far away, so when you play the fourth manual and the pedal, you almost are slipping from the bench. Actually slipping! If you are playing with one foot, it’s ok. You can place the another foot someplace forward and make yourself more comfortable, or if you’re playing without the pedals, then it’s ok, but when you are playing from the score and there is music written down in a certain way, you cannot change the music, and I think I suggest not to use the fourth manual and the pedals in that case. But in my case, I was free to adjust my music, so sometimes, when I was slipping, I was just playing with one hand and pedals and adjusting with my other hand touching the bench.
 
A: Fascinating, but now let’s go to Anne’s case. Another thing that she might do and that might work, at least for the opening of this piece, she might sit just a little bit more not in the center, but more on the right side—Just a slight bit. Maybe just a couple inches. And I think that might help, too.
 
V: To reach those two upper notes.
 
A: Sure. Yes.
 
V: C sharp and D.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: Yes, we hope people can experiment with different bench positions, different body positions, and maybe sometimes, if anything doesn’t work, maybe choose another piece. But, I think Anne will figure it out. What do you think? Based on our feedback….
 
A: Well, I hope so.
 
V: If she was determined in her letter.
 
A: Do you think it would be a big sin to use heels from time to time in a passaggio like this?
 
V: If it helps, no. I don’t believe in such a sin, you know? Because, everybody is different. The physique is different. Because, as you say, playing with heels is sometimes even more difficult when the bench is not adjustable. Right? Although, we’ll find out. Maybe Anne will write her experience in a few weeks, too. Thanks, 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.

This blog/podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's.  ​You will NOT find more value anywhere else online...

Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more... Sign up and begin your training today. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime.

Join 80+ other Total Organist students here

Please let us know what you think.

Before we go to the podcast episode for today, we'd like to thank everyone who sent us nice feedback about our organ duet recital at St Paul's Cathedral in London. It means more than you know...

​And here is SOPP294:

Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 294 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.  This question was sent by Andrew and he writes:
 
“Mass for Fathers Day this morning went well. Parts of the Mass were sung to the Glendalough Mass by Liam Lawton. The school's REC (Religious Education Co-Ordinator) is a guitarist. I've rigged up a mixer to feed through the organ's amplifier and speakers. He puts his amplified acoustic guitar through it, plus a couple of microphones for the singers. He leads with rhythmic strumming, and he has a small choir consisting of students from his class who lead the singing quite well. I add judicious, unobtrusive organ support beneath. I create my own organ accompaniment for the mass setting, reading from the choral/keyboard score and blending the parts so that the soprano line of what I'm playing doubles the congregation's melody but I add other bits from the keyboard accompaniment to make it interesting. Playing only the SATB part or only the organ part doesn't work - it has to be an amalgam of the two. Some of the songs come with melody and guitar chords only, but fortunately I learned many, many years ago how to improvise my own accompaniments based only upon this material. In the end it was all OK. I don't choose the songs as that's not my job, but stylistically I can play just about anything that gets thrown at me. One of the songs was handed to me shortly before the Mass - I'd not seen it before, but it was dead easy - mostly based around the chords of C and G, with a D major chord thrown in here and there for good measure. The opening song was a bit of problem - at one point I was playing a G minor chord (as marked on the score) but my colleague was strumming G major!!! Also, he suddenly decided to cut the third verse of the final song and wrap it all up after just 2 verses, but I try to keep my wits about me at all times - I caught this just in time and was able to round it all off smoothly! Just as well I love theatre organ music as those keyboard stylings come in handy for some songs. Now I hope to get back to some of my own work.”
 
V: So Andrew plays organ accompaniments for the choir and also this choir is being led by a guitar as I understand, right?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: This is not an easy job to do for an organist actually, to provide accompaniments sometimes based entirely on the chords, abbreviations of chords.
 
A: Yes, it’s not easy if you don’t know harmony and have no experience but it’s very often the case that church songs come with only one line.
 
V: Umm-hmm.
 
A: And some chords written for a guitar.
 
V: To me I can relate a little bit to this because it’s part of the improvisation tradition.  You could play just the chords with or without the pedals and that would be almost fine but not that interesting.  But if you for example take a solo stop on the organ and play some melodies over that accompaniment.  And remember the choir is singing and guitarist is playing the harmony too then you are sort of creating an additional solo line like a descant with the pedal accompaniment in the bass line too.  That would be like a short chorale prelude don’t you think?
 
A: Yes, but I think you could do that if the congregation knew that hymn very well because if you would start doing such a sort of thing with unfamiliar hymn then I think nothing would happen.  It would be hard for a congregation to follow you.
 
V: Obviously you are right.  The way to do it is to play the bass line with the pedals and with the left hand to take three upper parts in the closed position.  So your thumb almost always plays the soprano line in the left hand, maybe one octave lower, I don’t know.  And then the right hand plays on the second manual or the solo manual something nice which would suit the harmony and the choir too.  But additional, not doubling the voices.  You could double the tenor line actually, one octave higher but you could actually improvise additional descant and it sounds nice.
 
A: For myself I am more conservative and when I am accompanying congregation I’d like to do rather do less than more.  At least that what works for my character.  I remember our last recital together when we played that last motet.
 
V: Umm-hmm, by Hans Leo Hassler "Tibi laus, tibi gloria".
 
A: That’s right and then you were just like a dog, sorry for such a comparison, that got out of his house and then free through the fields.  You were adding so many things that it was really hard to follow you.
 
V: What could you.  You could also feel like you are off the leash too.
 
A: I felt like that this is the last piece of the recital and that you haven’t started to do it right from the beginning.  That somebody still had to hold the rhythm together.
 
V: (laughs)  I was so happy that it was the last piece and I got so inspired by my speeches between the pieces that I told the public that we’ll be improvising this interpolation, adding many flourishes and cadences and runs.
 
A: Ha Ha but he forgot to tell this to me before the recital.
 
V: I didn’t forget, I just didn’t think about it. 
 
A: No.
 
V: But you were OK about this.
 
A: Yes, I was OK.
 
V: (laughs)  But if I told that I was planning to do this like a week ago before the recital it would be distressful for you.
 
A: So when instead of to do from the start, that’s right, during recital.
 
V: To suffer just for three minutes is better than for seven days.
 
A: Well yes, but to make a long story short, I think it’s nice to add things but you need to make it tasteful and to fit the occasion.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  Was my improvisation tasteful?
 
A: Well…
 
V: You doubt it. 
 
A: I think it suited because it was the last piece of the recital.  Then the public sort of forgives anything.
 
V: Thank you.  You are very nice.
 
A: You are welcome.
 
V: Should I listen to my recording one more time.
 
A: I don’t know.  I would be too scared off to listen to it.
 
V: Interesting.  But that’s what happens when you improvise.  Sometimes you think you are playing one thing but sometimes your public is hearing another thing.  And your partner, in this case Ausra, is listening to the third thing so you have to be aware of your surroundings.
 
A: Yes, that’s right.  So basically I would suggest sometimes to make recordings of yourself especially when you create your own accompaniments and to listen to how it sounds from the distance.
 
V: Or after the mass.
 
A: Because maybe everything will be just fine and you will love it but maybe you will get different opinion after listening to yourself from the side.  But anyway I think Andrew does a wonderful job.  I really respect people who are very creative and very brave actually and wants to try new things and improvise as Vidas or Andrew do.
 
V: What do you mean Vidas?  Is that a compliment?
 
A: Yes, it is.
 
V: Wow.  Thank you.  Guys, today will be my very lucky day.  I received my third compliment this morning from Ausra.
 
A: I’m glad you like it.
 
V: How many compliments did I give you today?
 
A: I don’t remember.  Maybe none.  None yet.
 
V: When we stop this recording we’ll start counting, right? And tomorrow we'll share with you the video of this Florilegium Portense recital that we were talking about earlier. It has this organ intabulation by Hans Leo Hassler  and many other fascinating pieces of 17th century. Hope you'll enjoy listening to it. Look forward to it tomorrow. Thank you guys, this was Vidas.
 
A: And Ausra.
 
V: Please send us more of your questions.  We love helping you grow and we hope that our answers are either educational for you or inspiring or even entertaining.  This was Vidas.
 
A: And Ausra.
 
V: And remember when you practice…
 
A: Miracles happen.

This blog/podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's.  ​You will NOT find more value anywhere else online...

Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more... Sign up and begin your training today. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime.

Join 80+ other Total Organist students here

Would you like to master Christ, unser Herr zum Jordan kam, BWV 685 by J.S. Bach from Clavierubung III?

I have created this score with the hope that it will help my students who love early music to recreate articulate legato style automatically, almost without thinking.

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

Basic level. PDF score. 1 page. 50% discount is valid until October 3.

Check it out here

This score is free for Total Organist students.

As many of our subscribers know, this summer Ausra and I played at St Paul's Cathedral in London. Today we'd like to share with you audio recording.

Here's what we played:

​1. Sonata in D Major for organ duet, K. 381/123a by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart: Allegro-Andante-Allegro molto
​
This is a sonata, originally intended be played on the piano for 4 hands but as many pieces from this period, sounds wonderfully on other keyboard instruments, such as the organ. As is the case with most classical sonatas, the middle gentle and slow movement is surrounded by the energetic and fast-paced outer parts.

2. Adagio für die Flötenuhr, WoO 33/1 by Ludwig van Beethoven

Beethoven composed this piece as part of the suite for the organ in the mechanical clock. Here enchanting melodies and lush harmonies alternate to create a dream-like delightful atmosphere.

3. Fantasia on the Themes by M.K. Ciurlionis, Op. 11a (2013) by Vidas Pinkevicius, arranged for organ duet by V. Pinkevicius

This Fantasia originally was created for flute and organ and is based on the themes taken from 2 piano preludes by the greatest Lithuanian painter/composer of all time, Mikalojus Konstantinas Ciurlionis (1875-1911). The themes alternate in different keys, played by various voices, sometimes in original and sometimes in inverted version.

4. Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in F Major, III Part, Allegro, BWV 1046/3 by Johann Sebastian Bach, arranged for organ duet by V. Pinkevicius

This is the 3rd movement of the beloved Brandenburg Concerto No. 1 in which you will hear Bach's orchestral writing in new colors. It fits the organ texture so well that the listeners might wonder if this is a long forgotten organ composition by the great master.

Listen to the audio recording here

Let us know your thoughts...

We'd like to welcome James Trundle who has just joined Total Organist! We're looking forward to helping you grow. Let us know your dreams and challenges in organ playing...

Would you like to master Gott, durch deine Güte, BWV 600 by J.S. Bach from the Orgelbuchlein?

I have created this score with the hope that it will help my students who love early music to recreate articulate legato style automatically, almost without thinking.

Thanks to Jeremy Owens for his meticulous transcription of fingering and pedaling from the slow motion video.

Basic level. PDF score. 1 page. 50% discount is valid until October 1.

Check it out here

This score is free for Total Organist students.

Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 293 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jeremy, and he writes that he struggles with finding practice time.
 
V: Ausra, do you struggle finding practice time this week when you started teaching?
 
A: Of course! But sometimes, I feel sort of strange, because people might think that we are magicians. And they write to us asking about having more time to practice and we will make more time for them to practice. What do you think? Don’t you feel the same way?
 
V: Well, sometimes just a few words of encouragement can go a long way. But, obviously, deep inside people know that real steps have to be taken by themselves if playing is important to them—important enough. Right? A person, not necessarily Jeremy, but anybody could say that organ playing is important on the surface, and they might have a lot of CDs in their collection, even listen to a lot of YouTube videos of their favorite organ music, they could read a lot of organ related books, they could go to organ related concerts, they could buy even an instrument—used instrument or some kind of electronic organ at home to practice. They would invest everything. But, that doesn’t necessarily mean that that person will sit down on the bench.
 
A: But maybe they need all that other activity just to get inspiration! Don’t you think so? Because sometimes listening to a good recording or going to a concert is worth very much.
 
V: Yes, for example, last week we went to a few concerts of an early music festival, which we also played in last week, too, which is called Banchetto Musicale. We know the organizers, and we absolutely love the kind of music they promote, but it would be, I think, counterproductive to just go that week to all the concerts but never touch the organ ourselves. Don’t you think?

A: I know, but it’s funny you are talking about last week when we both played that recital in that festival of the early music, and then you went to Liepāja and performed a solo recital—improvised recital—and basically killed that Liepājas organ!
 
V: Yes, shall I talk a little bit about that?
 
A: Yes, you need to tell everybody about it.
 
V: Ok. Liepāja—the city about 70,000 people living there on the Baltic coast, in the southwestern corner of Latvia, about 100 kilometers from the city I grew up in Klaipėda. So basically, it’s a very nice city on the coast, and it has a wonderful Lutheran Cathedral—Holy Trinity Cathedral—which houses sort of the largest mechanical organ in the world, with 131 stops. Even larger than Sydney town hall organ, because Sydney town hall organ has 127 stops and tubular pneumatic action, not mechanical. So, it’s completely in original condition, and it has all those mechanical devices which you would have in mechanical action organs at the time, from 1885. And, this is such a mammoth, magnificent and gigantic organ, that sometimes you are at a loss, where are your stops! It’s a sea of stops—a sea of handles. Various colors notate various divisions, and you have to get used to that. In my case, I’ve been playing there already the third time there last weekend, so it wasn’t a new experience for me, and in order to prepare for that recital, I simply watched my own videos. On that organ, I made a few demonstrations a few years ago, and I refreshed my memory where the divisions are located. But since I improvised everything, and my theme was David and Goliath, the biblical story, I didn’t need to be very strict with my music, because I was improvising on the spot, and choosing the stops on the spot as well. So, what I did is I practiced on the organ one hour, only one hour before the concert in the morning of Saturday, and in the evening, I played this recital.
 
A: But you’d better tell us about your grand finale!
 
V: Grand finale… yes! I thought that my grand finale should be very joyful and solemn, that David must have killed that giant, Goliath, and I planned to finish on Fortissimo sounds, but, to my surprise, the electricity of the motor or the blower went off, and at that time, luckily, I was playing rather softly, with soft registration, and after a few seconds, the organ sounds stopped. So, it might might mean that I killed the Goliath! David killed Goliath!
 
A: So the organ was like Goliath, yes? And you were like David yourself.
 
V: Yes, one of the interpretations could be that way. And, at first, I was so shocked, I didn’t know what to do! I kept pushing and pulling that organ blower stop with hopes that it will come to life again, and I did this while sitting on the bench for several minutes, and this recital was broadcast down to the pews on the big large screen! Two cameras were filming me from both sides, and people obviously were seeing me work with my hands but didn’t know what I’m doing, because there was no sound at the time. So, when I finally gave up, I stood up, and took a bow, and then they finally started clapping. And then I went downstairs to take a bow again, and that was the end. So, then I asked the local organist what happened, and he said that this happens from time to time with this organ, and he needs to call an organ builder. I was relieved to know that I wasn’t the first one to break this organ! It’s basically, maybe, some contacts. Some wiring was not in the right place, in the right order.
 
A: That’s a fascinating story! I hope it will encourage people to practice, and maybe Jeremy might listen to your talk, will squeeze some practice time in his schedule.
 
V: Do you know why I think people could squeeze some practice into their day, at least 15 minutes? In my case, it’s because for the last two weeks, every day of the week before this  Liepāja recital, I went to the church to practice my improvisations, and I even broadcast my improvisations on Facebook Live, that I don’t usually do, and this gave me motivation. Like, I knew my concert is coming up, and if I don’t sit down today, I missed one day, and tomorrow my fingers will be weaker, my creative muscle will atrophy a little bit, and in the long run it will affect my playing. So, I kept motivating myself through this public accountability, through deadline approaching to my recital, and also through broadcasting my live organ videos. I’m not saying, Ausra, that Jeremy should necessarily broadcast himself. He can if he wants to, but having a deadline, that really helps.
 
A: Yes. Pushing yourself forward.
 
V: Do you like deadlines, Ausra?
 
A: No, I don’t like them. But sometimes, they are necessary, as taking your medicine.
 
V: Would you practice less or more if you didn’t have public recitals lined up 5 years from now?
 
A: Probably less.
 
V: Me, too. I remember, there was a time after we returned from the United States studies, and in one half year, six months, I didn’t have planned recitals, and I didn’t practice everyday. I even didn’t touch organ keys for weeks or even months, I think. But now it’s obviously different, because I make those public performances to happen, and I make the time to prepare for them.
 
A: Good for you.
 
V: So you will practice a little today Ausra?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Even though you’re starting to prepare for your Notre Dame recital, right?
 
A: Which will come in 2 years!
 
V: Will you be inviting myself to come along to help you out with packing and carrying your stuff?
 
A: That’s usually actually I help you with YOUR packing! So...
 
V: So, I’ll stay at home, and you go to Paris!
 
A: No! You can carry my bag!
 
V: Bag, yes! Excellent. But that will happen only in the summer of 2020.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: And you will have to play what kind of pieces?
 
A: Well, Bach, Alain, and Franck…
 
V: Bach E♭ major, right?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Prelude and Fugue. Alain Second Fantasie?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: And what about Franck?
 
A: The second Chorale B minor.
 
V: Wonderful piece. Not too easy. Thank you guys, this was Vidas,
 
A: And Ausra.
 
V: And please remember to practice today. We also will go to the organ bench and play something. Maybe not too much, after those exhausting days last week, but still, we need to sit down at least for a few moments to play something. This is really helpful, because when you practice,
 
A: Miracles happen.

This blog/podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's.  ​You will NOT find more value anywhere else online...

Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more... Sign up and begin your training today. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime.

Join 80+ other Total Organist students here

Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 292, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Ruth. She’s our Total Organist student. And she writes:
 
Ruth: My organ has completely broken down and cannot be repaired. So, I have spent quite a bit of time in looking for another. Through my teacher, I found another which is several hundred miles from here. The owner of it is willing to give it to me, but I need to pay for its transportation here. She had several persons come to examine hers. They have confirmed that it is in excellent condition. So, I feel fortunate. Meanwhile, I have been practicing on the piano. Has this happened to any of you?

V: And Jay, who is helping to do transcriptions of those podcast conversations, wrote:

Jay: Yes, similar problems. I have (had) an older Rodgers analog organ, that had a problem with contact wires under the keys breaking continually, mostly because of it's age, I think. It was becoming rather expensive to maintain it so I disposed of it, just this week. I was seriously considering putting together a Hauptwerk organ, but I was notified of a little-used digital organ, which is likely much less expensive, and, it has built-in MIDI connectors for Hauptwerk possibilities as well. It is scheduled to be delivered this coming week. One gets used to having a practice organ at home, and I miss it.

V: And then Jeremy wrote also, who is on our team too.
 
Jeremy: I don’t have room (or the money) for an organ at home, so I am in contact with three churches and a friend who has an organ in his home. They are all more than welcoming when I ask to come and practice. It would be nice to have an organ at home and not have to plan in my practicing plus travel time.

V: So, and then, you see wonderful discussion we have among those three organists in our Total Organist group.

A: Yes.

V: Sometimes we ask people, at the end of the day, what are they working on, or what are they struggling with, or what their goals are for this week, or some of the inspiring things they have read or noticed that could also inspiring for other students in our group. And they all shared, and we all shared these things and little discussions happen within that group. Don’t you think, Ausra, it also is very motivating for people to see that other people having similar problems or challenges, or dreams, and they’re working together as a group then?
​
A: I think so, yes. I think it’s very important.
 
V: Like a little community.
 
A: Because sometimes when you have a problem, you think that you are the only one who has this problem, but then when you share it, it appears that other people have the same problem as well, or we already find out how to solve it, and they might have the experience, might help solve it for you too.
 
V: Right. Not everybody is involved in this kind of discussion, right? Everybody gets a question like that, ‘What are you working on?’, once in a while, ‘What are you struggling with?’. But some people are maybe more private people, right? They don’t think it’s interesting for them to work together as a group, so, because organists most of the time, they are alone, and some people enjoy being alone, and solving problem on their own. But on the contrary, for others, like maybe Jay, or Ruth, or Jeremy, this case too, they like having those discussions and support themselves too. So that’s how our Total Organist works. We support each other and we grow together. And going back to Ruth’s situation, I guess it’s wonderful that she has found a situation, an organ, even though it’s a few hundred miles from her, but hopefully, she will get that organ shipped to her.
 
A: Yes. Yes, I think it’s possible.
 
V: Do you think it’s worth investing some money into shipping?
 
A: Sure, because if the expert said, it’s a good deal, I think she should do it.
 
V: Uh-huh. And Ruth was curious what kind of digital organ Jay uses. And Jay said it’s a Rodgers 557, so discussion continues about those instruments. So it’s really interesting to see how people solve those problems around the world. And they have similar situations all over. Sometimes people go to church, like Jeremy, and if they’re lucky to get a decent church with decent organ, and organist, local organist would let them in and practice, that’s fantastic too.
 
A: True. And generally its not so common to have organ at home so you don’t have so much trouble and so many problems with receiving organ or moving them around, but I can see sometimes advertisements in the paper or internet that somebody will give, will donate piano. But you have to come and to pick it up for yourself.
 
V: If it’s in the same city, it’s not very far, but it if it’s in another city then it might get a little bit expensive.
 
A: And it’s often the case that people who live in apartment buildings, and lets say if you live, lets say on the tenth floor, and you cannot fit the piano into an elevator, then you have to take it downstairs manually, and it’s heavy job.
 
V: Four, maybe four muscle up and fit men.
 
A: I know. And it’s often the case if you sell your apartment and you have a piano in it, so one of the things is that you discuss with the new owners is that you will sell the apartment but we have to stick with that piano because you are not able to move it.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. Some people treasure their pianos so they travel with pianos everywhere. They go next too.
 
A: I know. And my when my parents sold the summer cottage, they sold the piano together.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. But we have in our current home, piano in addition to organ. Can you tell our friends where this piano comes from?
 
A: Well, it’s called Riga. And Riga is Latvian capital, and actually in the Soviet time we had quite a famous piano factory in Riga. And this, our pride piano, it was all over the Soviet Union, I think.
 
V: Exactly. So basically, we have two instruments at home and we’re quite privileged to use them. And the piano is tuned about one half step lower.
 
A: Yes. Because it was a while since it was properly tuned.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: I think that was all the instruments, all the pianos, that if you don’t tune them for a while.
 
V: Right. So hopefully by now, Ruth has found some solutions to ship that instrument to her. But at any rate, I think it’s well worth putting in the money, or investing into shipping that instrument, if somebody is kind enough to donating, especially if its in a good condition, right? It’s a privilege to have an organ at home.
 
A: True.
 
V: Even though sometimes people like to go outside to the studio or the church to practice. Ausra, would you prefer playing in, let’s say, your separate studio if you had one, or here at home?
 
A: Well I enjoy playing at home because it saves me time. Because if I would have to walk somewhere to church or studio, of course I walk to church for recitals, and I really have to practice on a real instrument which I will be performing on. But I wouldn’t do that every day. And since I have organ at home I can practice every day, and it’s very nice.
 
V: And I like to go to church often. It helps me keep my fingers in a condition to be ready to play heavy mechanical organs, which is what we have at church. And it’s nice to be in an old town of Vilnius too, to be in that part of the city while you work at school.
 
A: Yes, but if you would be teaching like 35 hours or 26 hours per week as I do, I don’t think you would have enough energy to walk to church to play every day.
 
V: We can switch you know. I could teach for you, and you could play for me.
 
A: Oh yes; I would love to switch.
 
V: (Laughs) but your students wouldn’t love me.
 
A: Probably not.
 
V: We would talk about internet and blogging and preparing them for the future of their profession.
 
A: We might like that instead of discussing problems related to the parallel fifths and octaves.
 
V: (Laughs). I know. Thank you guys for sending those wonderful questions, for having discussions in our Total Organist Basecamp group. And keep sending your challenges and dreams. We love helping you grow. This was Vidas.
 
A: And Ausra.
 
V: And remember, when you practice,,,
 
A: Miracles happen!

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Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 291 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.  This question was sent by John and he writes:
 
“Lately I've been having trouble with osteoarthritis in my right hand (and to a lesser extent in my left) so my practice has been restricted to work on the pedals. Simple finger-work is basically fine for me, but holding a note(s) while the other fingers move can be quite painful. Being a pianist my pedal playing has always needed attention but it's distressing to have the hands so sore after playing.”

V: How long can you play without the pain?

“It varies, Vidas, but if the pain gets bad I just give up for the day and let my hands recover. If I start a session with no particular pain I can play for maybe fifteen minutes or so without too much trouble. If the texture is complicated and I'm trying (for example) to hold an inner part while another melody weaves around it that can be troublesome. I think I need to choose repertoire with more care and try to avoid anything that gives me grief. My home practice instrument has a modern keyboard action, so I don't have to deal with tracker action.”

V: I think Ausra that John partly answered this question himself.

A: Yes and I thought that the best solution for him would be to play trio sonatas.

V: Where one hand takes one voice, another hand takes another voice…

A: and the pedal has another voice.  So that you wouldn’t have to deal with those center voices and to hold them up and to be in pain.  If I would be John and I would have problems like this I would first consult a physician because it’s dangerous to practice like this without consulting serious specialist because you might hurt yourself even more.

V: Right, sometimes even permanently.

A: I know and it’s a serious matter.  So if you haven’t done it yet you need to consult your physician.

V: Umm-hmm.  He might have written about that if he had visited a physician before so maybe it’s pretty important for him to go to the doctor.

A: Because I think that some kind of these problems it might be good to exercise but in some cases it might be harmful so you never know what type his problem is unless you consult a serious specialist. 

V: Umm-hmm.

A: But anyway if the piece hurts yourself don’t play it or if it makes your condition worse play another one. 

V: And play for a shorter amount of time.

A: Sure and organ repertoire is so vast that you can choose from so many things that you really don’t have to give yourself such trouble and get that pain.

V: Umm-hmm.  Maybe work more on the pedal playing because he needs that because since he is a pianist.

A: Yes and I myself always struggled with the thick texture because my hands are like cat’s paws and I don’t have strength in them and it’s very hard for me to play big chords.  I still cannot avoid playing big chords but I avoid things with big texture where I need to stretch a lot and things like Max Reger.  I played it when I had to do it when I was a student but now I’m certainly not making myself to go through that again.

V: How is Cesar Franck working for you?

A: Well it’s working quite well actually except maybe a couple of pieces.  Maybe not so much the beginning of E Major chorale and maybe not Prierre.  But with other things I can do pretty fine.

V: Because anybody who has seen Franck’s picture and his hands might have noticed that he had enormous span with the palm and his texture very thick and chromatic.  Sometimes you make tricks with playing the bass line with the pedals even though it’s written for the hand but in general it’s quite complicated texture.

A: Yes it is.  And for me for example it’s much easier for me to play playful music, something like Durufle, like Durufle Scherzo or Prelude from Veni Creator Spiritus, the Prelude, Adagio and Variations than let’s say Reger.

V: Right.  Reger has its own problems most of the time although he wrote trios too.

A: Yes, and I played them and I did fine and they didn’t cause trouble for my hands so trio texture is wonderful for me.

V: Umm-hmm.  And if we go back to John then obviously trio texture would teach him a lot about coordination, right?  Remember Johann Sebastian Bach created those trio sonatas for his own son, Wilhem Friedemann.

A: Yes, his older son.

V: And he was quite a virtuoso.

A: True.  And let’s see if one hand hurts more then you can practice another hand with the pedal.

V: Exactly.  And if you wanted to get started easier you can use our score with fingering and pedaling for E Flat Major Trio Sonata which is number one.  So guys this is basically our advice for John or for anybody who might suffer wrist pain, hand pain, finger pain sometimes, right?

A: Yes and also another suggestion would be keep your hands warm.

V: You mean not only warm up before practice but keep gloves.

A: Yes I know things like what you put on your wrists.

V: It is dense.

A: It is dense, yes.  Like made from natural wool.  It might help to reduce pain.

V: That works of course.  Heated environment.  Keep yourself warm for people who can tolerate.

A: Of course, consult your physician before doing any of these things that we have suggested.

V: The first thing you have to do is set an appointment with the doctor.

A: Sure.

V: And then if he or she lets you play then play wisely.  Stop before you are feeling the pain, not after it’s too late.  But rest while you still feel comfortable even though you might have practiced for as little as 5 minutes.

A: And maybe your doctor will suggest you to take some medication too to reduce the pain.

V: Yes, well avoiding pain is sometimes tricky especially in later part of life.  You don’t always know what to do.  For some people exercising more is a good solution but for others not so good.  Or exercising certain muscle groups might be problematic.  Maybe John can find some kind of exercise routine which is helpful for his own condition but that could only real doctors tell.

A: Sure.

V: Thanks guys for sending these questions.  You see we’re not always qualified to answer them but we could give you some pointers what to do next, where to find some real medical help.  And please continue sending your challenges and dreams, what you want to accomplish in organ playing in the next 3 months or 6 months and what is stopping you, right?  The challenges, right?  And we will try to sort it out and get you unstuck.  This was Vidas.

A: And Ausra.

V: And remember when you practice…

​A: Miracles happen.

This blog/podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's.  ​You will NOT find more value anywhere else online...

Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more... Sign up and begin your training today. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime.

Join 80+ other Total Organist students here