After I uploaded 10 tracks from my YouTube channel archives to Distrokid today, I thought of creating another piece for the organ. This time it was Part 5 from my cycle Organ ABC. It starts from letter E and I named it Echo. Echo on the organ might mean two things - a separate manual on an organ with more than 2 manuals or it could be a compositional technique devised to create an echo effect. I chose the latter. I wanted to create an effect of a dialogue between two layers of sound - loud and softer. It is in the mode of F and I improvised it on my MIDI keyboard which was connected to the Sibelius software on my computer. After I played it, I went back and renotated the performance so that it would look legible on the score. I also changed the meter often and disposition of voices from time to time. For music in a new meter to look comprehensible I had to renotate the rhythms too - usually remove tied notes. As in the previous piece, here too I had a fun time with parallel fifths in both hands. When this was done I printed out the score and sat down on my organ bench and played it through while pointing the camera at my fingers so that later @drugelis can transcribe the fingering from the video. I dedicated the Echo to Pastor de Lasala, OAM (@tormus1958 on Steem) in order to show my appreciation of his relentless participation in our Secrets of Organ Playing Contest week after week. Let me know what you think.
Comments
Have you ever wanted to start to practice on the organ but found yourself sidetracked after a few days? Apparently your inner motivation wasn't enough.
I know how you feel. I also was stuck many times. What helped me was to find some external motivation as well. In order for you to advance your organ playing skills and help you motivate to practice, my wife Ausra - @laputis and I invite you to join in a contest to submit your organ music and win some Steem. Are you an experienced organist? You can participate easily. Are you a beginner? No problem. This contest is open to every organ music loving Steemian. Here are the rules SOPP531: Michael Calabris on the Importance of Finding Your Own Voice as an Organist Composer12/15/2019
Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast 531!
Today's guest is Michael Calabris who is a Northeast Ohio-based composer, organist, harpsichordist, and clavichordist. He received his Bachelor of Arts in Music degree from the University of Akron and his Master of Music (Composition) from Cleveland State University. In January 2017, Michael’s composition Kyrie Eleison (for SATB Choir) was premiered by the Cleveland Chamber Choir, directed by Dr. Scott MacPherson. His string trio, Aria, was premiered by members of Cleveland’s NO EXIT New Music Ensemble in March 2018. Michael is currently completing Master of Music Performance degrees in both Organ and Harpsichord at Cleveland State University, where his instructors include Todd Wilson (organ) and Joela Jones (Harpsichord). During his time as a graduate student at Cleveland State University, Michael has been the recipient of several academic awards, including the Bain Murray Award for Excellence in Music Composition and the Leonard and Joan Terr Ronis Memorial Scholarship. On the podcast we talk about the importance of finding your own voice as an organist composer. Listen to the conversation Related links: Michael Calabris on SoundCloud and Steem Yesterday I was invited to play the organ at my church before the annual Lucia Fest concert that is organized by the Swedish Embassy in Lithuania. They decorate the Christmas tree and after the event leave it for the congregation to enjoy. I played improvisations based on several well-known tunes, such as Santa Lucia, Adeste Fideles and Silent Night. I wanted to create a fantasy where each tune would appear several times in different keys. Let me know what you think: SOPP536: How can a self-taught organist become proficient and get to the master level of the organ?12/13/2019
Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra V: Let’s start episode 536, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This questions was sent by Kirk. And he writes: Vidas It has been a long time since I have written you. How are you doing? I am working out of Marcel Dupre 79 Chorales for Organ. Talk about working on coordination, for me to do them I am practice between 50-60 MM. And if I mess up I go to the measure and practice at least 10 times just to start. Question besides having a teacher, how can a self-taught organist become proficient and get to the master level of the organ? V: Well, Ausra, I guess our website is all about being self-taught and getting help, not from a physical teacher but from online sources, right? A: Yes, true. If I would be in Kirk’s shoes and I would like to learn organ, to play organ, to be proficient, I would gather information that I need, let’s say from our web site or in general, books, and get the scores that I need. Then I would keep working and following those guidelines. And then of course I would record my work and listen back to it. Because I would have to be teacher for myself so I would have to listen to my recordings and be critical about them and then try to improve them. But of course, it’s always nice when somebody else will listen to your recordings and excites you. V: Then you need to have a teacher—online teacher, right? A: Yes, online teacher. V: Mmm-hmm. Get online coaching. I guess with technology today it’s possible to live in one side of the world and be taught on another side of the world, or get access to a teacher if you are living in an area without teachers. Right? It’s all about just being open to new possibilities. But as he says, practicing each measure ten times at least to improve and avoid mistakes, is a good start. A: Yes, it is. Although I myself never count how many times I have practiced certain measure or certain spot. I’m not a number person so if I would have to count each time how many times I played certain measure, I would just give up practicing at all. V: You know, there are all kinds of people who prefer methodical learning, counting the repetitions. Some don’t because it’s boring for them. Some prefer scales and arpeggios and exercises. Some want to go straight to music. I think a person has to choose whatever works for them and stick with it. Any method will work. Maybe some methods work better than others but as long as you keep practicing regularly and diligently, you will keep doing progress. A: But you know about this playing, let’s say certain measures, certain numbers of times, yes? V: Mmm-mmm. A: I think it doesn’t work. You know why? Because I don’t know any of piece of music that would be equally hard from first measure to the last measure. There are always easy measures in the piece and there are always harder and very hard measures in the piece. And if you will play exactly the same number, each measure, then certain spots will be harder for you to play. You will never master it. You will never be comfortable with entire piece. V: But I can write to you equally well designed measures and you can practice them ten times. A: No thank you! V: (Laughs). It would be very boring. For example, I’m practicing right now the two Bach’s chorales from Eighteen Great Preludes, or Leipzig Collection—Nun komm der Heiden Heiland, BWV 660, and BWV 661. And at first I started really counting repetitions and being very methodical about that. But after about third day, I understood that it won’t last with me—this kind of method, because I’m not a beginner anymore and I can master things naturally, really. And now I’m just enjoying myself and still making progress. Would you say, Ausra, that this is more beneficial to my situation? A: What, counting or not counting? V: Not counting. A: I think it’s more beneficial. V: Mmm-mmm. But for some people, they do like to count. They do want to feel the need to see a progress. Maybe they don’t understand if they’re playing better or not but if they count the number of repetitions, they feel that they’re progressing. It’s maybe a different thing. A: But still you need to work on some starts more than on the others. Because, believe me, for example, now I know that sort of repeating the Wachet auf, from Bach’s Schubler Collection… V: Yes. A: The famous C flat major, which is the work that Bach himself really done from his Cantata 140. V: This is BWV 645 in Schublers Collection. A: Yes. And it has this common form for most of the Lutheran’s chorales. He has a bar form which has an A section repeated and then the B section which is a new one. V: Bar, meaning like B-A-R, right, the word? A: Yes, B-A-R, and it has, if I would have to draw a form of it, it would be like A-A and B. So you have the A section repeated. V: And B is usually longer than A. A: Yes, that’s right. And because I don’t have much time to practice so usually I play it, well once a day… V: Mmm-hmm. A: And now after practicing it for what, three weeks, I notice that, that A section goes just so well. V: Because? A: Because I play it twice. Because that’s how the music is written. But the B section is much harder now. V: And longer. A: And longer. V: Mmm-mmm. So naturally if you repeat some things more times, you learn it better than other spots. Yeah. So I hope Kirk would take advantage of that, will take advantage of our courses that we have to offer because you can only learn so much from those free conversations that we provide. And if he needs more specific guidance, we have many training programs and scores with fingering and pedaling which will save him tons of time 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! Source Today my long-time subscriber and student John Higgins from Australia wrote to me these words: I really hope I can come and visit you again one day! I have been listening to your Christmas concert at St John's from 2016, nearly 3 years ago! In fact I have probably listened to it like 20 or 30 times while I am doing the dishes or chores, and I think it is so brilliant, and one of the most enjoyable Christmas concerts I've ever heard! When I hear you play the St John's organ it resonates inside me, like meeting a long lost friend! I will always be be grateful for that life changing opportunity to play my recital. I think he refers to this Christmas recital: And I wrote to him:
It's funny you say you listened to my Christmas recital like 20 times. I can say the same about a certain improvisation by Olivier Latry Improvisations on the Liturgical Windows of the Cathedral of Saint Cecilia in Omaha, Nebraska, Partin Pasi dual temperament organ - Magnificat; Gloria; Stabat Mater; Victimae Paschali; Veni Sancte Spiritus; Pange Lingua; Dies Irae; Te Deum, available on Pipedreams: https://pipedreams.publicradio.org/listings/2008/0822/ In fact, @laputis and I witnessed this recital first hand when we were studying in Nebraska back in 2004. John was a guest on our Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast twice: https://soundcloud.com/vidas-pinkevicius/sop128-john-higgins-on-discovering-his-true-potential-after-365-days https://www.organduo.lt/podcast/sop-podcast-28-john-higgins-if-i-can-do-it-then-anyone-can-part-1 https://www.organduo.lt/podcast/sop-podcast-29-john-higgins-if-i-can-do-it-then-anyone-can-part-2 I hope John will come back to be a guest soon! Did you have such an experience yourself? When somebody said thanks to you and they were inspired by what you do but in fact, you can tell them exactly that you were inspired by somebody else? After I returned home from my long walk in the afternoon, yesterday I decided to compose my 4th movement from Organ ABC cycle. This piece starts from letter D and is called Dulcian. This is a low sounding organ stop, which reminds a little bit of a bassoon. Their pitch level is at 16' which means it sounds one octave lower than written in the score. I already had improvised this piece before in my church. The piece is in E minor with one sharp next to the clef. The pedals play on the Dulcian stop while the hand part is played by Flutes 8' and 4'. In this video my hands and feet are clearly visible and I thought I could transcribe it to the score notation using Sibelius software. Wrong! It was easier for me to create it from scratch which I did by improvising the hand part separately first into Sibelius and then the pedal part. The hand part is created almost entirely out of parallel 5ths (which are forbidden in tonal music). But since I'm the one making up rules here it works for me. Then I did some cleaning up and the score looked nice. I dedicated it to Ann Elizabeth for participating week after week in our Secrets of Organ Playing contest and sent it to her. I hope she will find some use for it. Then I printed out the score and sat on my home organ bench and played it part by part (left hand alone, right hand alone and pedals alone) I wanted to finish the recording with all parts together but Ausra came back from school and I wrapped up the improvised ending and smiled at the end (not sure if you noticed that). I held the camera above the keyboards so that Diana could transcribe me fingering and pedaling into the score. Now the 5th movement from Organ ABC will start from letter E. Any ideas about a specific organ stop or mechanical part which starts from E? I could only think of Echo. It's a specific division on some organs which is designed to create an echo effect in performance.
What will you get? PDF score. 1 page. Beginner level. This score is free for Total Organist students. Good luck in your practice and let me know how it goes. Check it out here My friend James Flores asked me today what I'm going to do today and I was just finished with recording my 3 improvisations for today and said that I'm ready to transcribe a Bach cantata for organ duet. However, I got side-tracked into composing this 3rd part of my cycle "Organ ABC". It's called Contrabourdon. By the way, Contrabourdon is a very low sounding organ pedal stop... So James said he will play it for the contest and I recorded a video where my hands and feet are visible so that Diana can add fingering and pedaling to it. Enjoy! What will you get? PDF score. 1 page. Beginner level. This score is free for Total Organist students. Good luck in your practice and let me know how it goes. Check it out here Before I go to continue painting Pinky and Spiky cabin walls, I wanted to created the 2nd piece from my cycle "Organ ABC". It's called "Bellows". I thought it's a good title for the 2nd part because every organ needs bellows and this word starts from the letter B. Bellows serve as lungs of the pipe organ so to illustrate this I first created long chords in my hand parts, then added the pedal part. Without good lungs, one cannot sing long notes, right? Then I cleaned up the score so it would be ready for performance. You can see the process in this video. What will you get? PDF score. 1 page. Beginner level. This score is free for Total Organist students. Good luck in your practice and let me know how it goes. Check it out here Thank you everyone for participating! You all made us very happy with your entries. We all have selected the following winners.
|
DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.Thank you!You have successfully joined our subscriber list. Authors
Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
Categories
All
Archives
May 2024
|