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Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 296 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Victoria and she writes: “Hi Vidas. I try my best on the church electric Organ as much as I can, but 30 hrs a week no way... Most I work on are hymns since we are a small church. It seems a long way to go for me, even the two part. But your advice is helpful! But I enjoy playing hymns on the Organ at church for practice, can’t do service yet. Hope one day I will be ready...Thanks again for your great work! You and Ausra are blessings! Victoria” V: Remember Victoria, Ausra? A: Yes, I remember. V: She loves to play hymns but she is not ready for service playing yet, right? So it’s probably just early stages of becoming an organist and she just pointing probably to one of our conversations when I was calculating how many repetitions does a beginner need to learn a hymn and few hymns, to be ready for a church service. And I think we came up with thirty hours number. A: I think you came up, because I don’t calculate my practice and I never suggest for other people a certain number of hours they should practice. V: So I did and Victoria said she can’t do thirty hours per week which is a lot. A: I think the thing is and I strongly believe in it that it doesn’t matter how many times you will play throughout the piece. The most important thing is how well you will be concentrated when you will play throughout the piece. If you will have goal for each repetition or not. If it’s just repetition for the sake of repetition then it’s nothing. Stop practicing like this. Your mind must lead you when you are practicing and it you are really tired and you cannot focus and something is bothering you then it will not be a good practice. Sometimes it’s better to practice for fifteen minutes or half an hour but knowing what you are doing, having a goal and reaching this goal, achieving this goal than just practice one hundred times and not knowing what you are doing. V: Well Ausra you are so strict, like a professor. A: Well, even when you are practicing Hanon exercises you still need to have some concentration and some idea of what you are doing. Maybe not so much comparing to practicing repertoire, but still. V: I’m trying to imagine what you would say to me if I was your beginning student. A: Luckily you are not my beginning student. V: (laughs) Lucky for you or for me? For whom? A: I don’t know. You think really that I am strict. V: You are strict, yeah. If you are saying that one hundred times you have to play with one hundred focused mind. A: Well, no, you misunderstood me because what I’m suggesting is that maybe you don’t have to practice one hundred times in a row. V: But I want to practice one hundred times in a row. A: Well, that’s your problem. I’m suggesting that at that moment when you catch up yourself not thinking about what you are doing you need to stop your practicing and maybe take a brake and clear your mind V: I like brake. A: Because the mind needs to lead you on the organ bench, not the fingers, not the feet. V: I like to take frequent brakes. A: Well don’t exaggerate. V: And to take a rest before I’m tired. A: I’m glad you’re not my student. V: (laughs) What if you were my student? Would you like that? A: (laughs) No. No thank you. V: Imagine that. So guys, it’s a funny situation, right? We both would probably run away from the idea of being a student of each other. (laughs) But if we teaching you guys. A: Well you have many great ideas. But maybe not all of them would work on me. V: Would they work on other people? A: Yes, they’d work on other people. As I clearly heard when John played the recital at St. Johns Church but your ideas worked. V: And your ideas also would work on some other people. A: Sure. V: Good. You get to choose which method you prefer. A: Let’s say for example I think it depends on which sort of stage of life you are in terms of your organ playing because I think at the beginning of organ playing you really need to have good instruction of technique, basic technique. Technique modern and early and this what is the most important at the beginning but later on maybe you need to have a teacher that wouldn’t push you so much in the technical stuff and would let your fantasy develop and you will get more freedom. V: Umm-hmm. And you know what, I think every person needs different things too. A: That’s right. V: We had some of the same professors, right? A: That’s right, yes. V: And we both didn’t feel the same about each other, not each other, about each professor, right? A: True. V: For me it was better to study with one professor and for you with another professor although they both taught us together from time to time. A: But you know the interesting thing is after looking back to your past studies you realize that maybe not that you didn’t like but maybe you just didn’t understand at the time. Now you realize that his or her suggestions were the most helpful. V: Who are you talking about. A: Well I better don’t tell names. I think it’s too personal. V: OK. But you’ll tell me later after we stop recording. A: (laughs) I’ll think about it. I’ll think about if I can trust you and you will not be talking about that to all the world. V: OK. This will be our little secret. Everybody is different and everybody needs to find their own way probably and Victoria needs to find what works best for her, how can she advance in hymn playing. A: Yes and so if somebody like Vidas tells you that you need to practice thirty hours a week on that hymn don’t trust it, don’t take his words directly. When anybody tells you anything you still have to put it through your own mind. V: In a way you have to ignore everybody. A: That’s right. You have to take what really works for you, what is helpful for you. V: Only when you ignore everybody you can become yourself. You are yourself always but you can let that out. If you trust too much, some kind of master, we’re not saying that about our self, but if we take great admiration of masters from the past, let’s say Johann Sebastian Bach, and we admire his works, and we almost pray to Bach, right? Then what happens is that we never become our true version of our self because we always try to copy Bach. And remember there was already one Bach. But there needs to be Vidas and Ausra and Victoria and any other person who is listening to this. I think this is important to understand too. A: True. So be always thoughtful about what you are doing. V: Right. And choose maybe a lesser number of hymns to practice per week. You don’t have to go over your head with hymn playing if you are just beginning your organist journey. I think what’s important is sit down on the organ bench every day, as Ausra says practice mindfully and tomorrow be a little bit better, one percent better than today. A: Yes, don’t put yourself into an organ prison. Because if you play too many hours you will probably start hating this instrument after a while and that’s not good. V: Umm-hmm. A: So your practice needs to give you some joy. V: Yes and I think don’t limit yourself with hymn playing at this age. You have to look broadly. Music theory probably too. That will help you learn faster too. Thank you guys, this was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Please send us more of your questions, we love helping you grow. And remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen.  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 Would you enjoy listening to our organ duet recital Florilegium Portense: Intabulations of Motets from the 30 Years War? We played it at Vilnius University St John's church as part of Banchetto Musicale Early Music Festival on September 11, 2018. Intabulations of vocal music for keyboard instruments or lute was a widespread practice in the 16th-17th century Europe. It was a process of arranging during which musicians spontaneously improvised various passages and diminutions on their instruments while retaining the harmonies of the original piece. This way vocal music would gain real instrumental character. In this concert, Ausra and I performed intabulations of motets from Florilegium Portense collection for organ duet as well as other contemporary music from the time. Florilegium Portense - a two-part collection of motets, printed in Leipzig (1618 and 1621). It was published during the 30 Years War (1618-1648) which with some exceptions practically divided Europe into the protestant North and catholic South. On the program - music by Hans Leo Hassler, Johann Adam Reincken, Heinrich Scheidemann and Hieronymus Praetorius. Here's what you'll hear in the video below: Hans Leo Hassler (1564-1612) Laudate Dominum (organ duet) Johann Adam Reincken (1623?-1722) Choral Fantasia An Wasserflüssen Babylon (Ausra) H.L. Hassler Nona ir Decima Intrada (organ duet) Heinrich Scheidemann (1595-1663) Verbo caro factum est (Vidas) H. Scheidemann Dic nobis Maria (Vidas) Hieronymus Praetorius (1560-1629) Ecce Dominus veniet (organ duet) H.L. Hassler Tibi laus, tibi gloria (organ duet) 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!
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 |
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Authors
Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. 
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