SOPP343: Top 10 of Ausra's videos on YouTube

Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 343 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.  And in this episode we’re going to discuss top 10 of Ausra’s organ videos.  Would you like that Ausra?
 
A: Not very much and you know it.
 
V: That’s why I asked it.  So how do you feel about your YouTube experiences so far?
 
A: Well since I put those videos in I never watch them back.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  And you don’t know how many people watched it right?
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: But you sometimes have received comments.
 
A: But I very rarely reply to the people.
 
V: Mostly in your channel there are keyboard harmony exercises and a few of your organ videos like Tunder, Krebs, what else?  I think mostly harmony, right?
 
A: Well E flat major I think is also somewhere. 
 
V: E flat major Prelude and Fugue, BWV 552 by Bach, Oh, nice.
 
A: That recording you made without informing me.
 
V: In secret?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: But then it turned out OK.
 
A: But I am still mad about it.
 
V: You don’t seem mad right now.
 
A: You shouldn’t do that to people, especially to your wife.
​
V: I’m very sorry but let’s stick to the top 10 of your videos.  E flat major is not on the list.
 
A: It amazes me that someone can what cadence more than you know to listen to Bach.
 
V: Exactly.
 
A: But as Raymond Haggh said “The human mind is an endless abyss.”
 
V: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10.  On the top 10 place is modulation from G minor to C minor.  It is only 56 seconds long and it has 594 views and 6 likes, right?  And one comment, you know.  So interesting when you played it in your class I was holding probably a camera, right?  From G to C minor what do you have to think about when you modulate like that?  Tonic becomes dominant, right?  Because G is the dominant key of the C minor key.
 
A: Not exactly.  G is not a dominant, it is a minor dominant.
 
V: Minor dominant, right.
 
A: So you still have to add one other chord in order to modulate.
 
V: OK.
 
A: And you could do it in various ways, I think.  I know how minor dominant when major dominant is in the chord and so forth.
 
V: That’s interesting.  What do people say?  The only reply was “Thanks.  Excellent.”
 
A: I see that people like modulation.
 
V: On the place number 9 is descending upper tetrachord in B minor which has 605 views.  What does it mean descending upper tetrachord?
 
A: You don’t know what a tetrachord is?
 
V: Maybe I do, maybe I don’t so remind me or remind us.
 
A: Let’s see if we are in C major so descending upper tetrachord would by C, B, A, and G.
 
V: When descending, C, B, A and G.
 
A: If it would be ascending it would be G, A, B, C.
V: This is in B minor so that would be what B, A, G…
 
A: In B minor?  Yes, it would be B, A, G, and F#.
 
V: And F#.  So you play those four top notes in the soprano and then you harmonize them, right?  So 605 times people watched that.  Nice. 
 
A: Amazing.
 
V: Then on the place number 8 is modulation from G minor to D minor.   What’s interesting is that now the tonic becomes the sub-dominant, right?
 
A: That’s easier way than another one.
 
V: That has 693 views.  Excellent.  And then in the place number 7 is modulation from B flat major to F major.  I like major keys better.
 
A: Yes, actually it’s almost the same as the previous one only in the major keys.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  Also tonic becomes …
 
A: Sub-dominant.
 
V: Exactly.  And it has 792 views.
 
A: I would never be able to compete with you.
 
V: Or Lady Gaga.  But…
 
A: Shame on me.
 
V: But if somebody who was listening to this conversation would loop and play indefinitely any of these videos you might become a star.
 
A: (laughs.)  Oh yeah.
 
V: Would you love that?
 
A: Why not?
 
V: And you would get an angry call from Lady Gaga “What’s happening?  Why not my video is on the top…”
 
A: Stop joking about her.  Actually I really liked her in that movie.
 
V: “A Star is Born.”

A: Yes.
 
V: Place number 6 I believe is called Progression in F major.  1, 6, 4, 2 first inversion of the second scale degree chord, 1, 6, 4, 5 dominant seventh and tonic.  It has 899 views.
 
A: Wow, seems like people like modulations.
 
V: It has 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.  F Major right?  Let’s add 1 more view and it will have 900 views.
 
A: You are silly, you know that?
 
V: And then in place number 5 is modulation from D Major to G Major with 915 views and what’s interesting about this?  Do you remember?  Tonic becomes the dominant.
 
A: True.  But this time a real dominant because a major chord is the common chord. 
 
V: Why do you like major keys more?
 
A: I don’t like major keys more.
 
V: Why do I like major keys more?
 
A: I don’t know.  You tell us.
 
V: Because you don’t have to think about seventh scale degree.
 
A: But I think minor keys are more interesting.  They have more colors.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  And now we have the first video which has 1000 views.  Harmony Exercise in D Minor:  Deceptive Cadence.
 
A: That’s probably because of the title.
 
V: Deceptive.  What is deceptive.
 
A: That it deceives you.
 
V: Meaning that after the dominant seventh chord you don’t go to the tonic.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: And where do you go?
A: To the sixth scale degree chord.
 
V: Mmm.  How does it sound in your mind?
 
A: Actually very nice.
 
V: Do you like it?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: This progression, tonic, dominant, seventh chord, and the sixth scale degree.  Is it common in music?
 
A: Yes it’s very common but not necessarily tonic and then dominant seventh chord and sixth scale degree chord but dominant and sixth scale degree chord, yes, it’s very common.
 
V: What organ piece comes to mind when you think about tonic, dominant, and sixth scale degree?
 
A: Probably Schmücke Dich.
 
V: By Bach?
 
A: True.
 
V: This is very nice piece, do you like it?
 
A: Yes, I like it.
 
V: We have home study course prepared with fingering and pedaling and analysis of this piece and audio I think.  People who study from this course somehow save time because it’s like having teacher next to you.
 
A: Yes, that’s right.  Do you think many people who perform it think about chords?
 
V: I do.  I’m not in the majority though.
 
A: True.
 
V: Do you think about?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: So we have something in common then.

A: Good.
 
V: Good.  Would you like to hear top 3 of your videos?  Interesting.
 
A: Oh yes, I’m very excited.
 
V: Bronze medal.  Number 3 Preludium No. 2 in G (Dorian) by Franz Tunder.  It has 1180 views.
 
A: Wow.
 
V: Imagine that.
 
A: I’m a star.
 
V: What do you like about Tunder?
 
A: I like the Dorian mode in this particular prelude.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  And look we have two comments on that video.  Leon who’s actually our subscriber says “What power, so sad most of his music was lost.”
 
A: Well still we have I think we a little bit more of pieces by Tunder than let’s say of Reincken.
 
V: Right.  And Arion wrote “Wonderful! Thank you for sharing this.”  Wonderful.
 
A: This particular prelude has a very strong opening line that sort of grabs your attention.
 
V: That was probably common technique with Italian Passaggio, right?
 
A: That’s where German’s took it I think from Italians.
 
V: OK. Silver Medal second place.  Keyboard Harmony Exercise in G Major.  Tonic, Dominant sixth, Tonic Sub-dominant sixth, Tonic 6-4 Chord, Dominant and Tonic.  It has 1355 views.
 
A: It just amazes me that this video can be higher that Tunder.
 
V: Uh-huh.
 
A: Because these are so simple chords.
 
V: And look what is Gold Medalist.  Gold Winner.  Chord Progression in F# Minor.  Tonic, Tonic Seventh chord, Sub-dominant, Second scale degree 6-5 chord, Tonic 6-4 chord, Dominant seventh chord and tonic.  It has 2083 views.
 
A: Wow.
 
V: You know you mention that you kind of envy me because my videos have tens of thousands of views, right?  Sixty thousand of views has this pedal scale in C Major, but from what I read online the majority of YouTube videos don’t get more than guess how many views?
 
A: One hundred?
 
V: Yes, you are right, 100 views.  So if you pass 100 you are in the minority.
 
A: Excellent.  But to tell the truth I actually don’t care how many people watch my videos.
 
V: That’s true and can you tell us why.
 
A: As your father once said remember about how the dogs bark but the caravan goes on.  So I think what he meant by this saying that no matter what, you just have to do what you are doing.
 
V: Maybe he meant about critics more.
 
A: That’s true too.
 
V: You don’t pay attention to the critics then.  Excellent.  So I hope people can watch these videos again from our Podcast conversation we will link the videos directly from our blog and maybe you will have more views now.
 
A: Yes, and my cadence in F Minor become a number one on YouTube.
 
V: You know what is more important is that people are using this you see, and getting value out of this and I believe they do because they see your hands and they can replicate that and understand and you’re talking about that on top of your playing, you’re actually teaching them.  This is helpful.
 
A: Yes, and I hope that those who watch them they try to play them too.
 
V: That’s what I mean.  It’s helpful to improve their harmony skills, practical skills on the keyboard and that’s especially nice for organists.
 
A: True
 
V: And Ausra, was it hard for you to record these videos?
 
A: Well it wasn’t hard to play of course, but it was hard to talk at the same time not in my native language.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  Did it cost you a lot of energy?
 
A: Yes, it cost some energy definitely.
 
V: More than we are talking right now?
 
A: Yes, more.
 
V: Because you are alone there and somebody is filming you.
 
A: That’s right.  It’s easier to do just an audio recording.
 
V: Out of 100 percent how many chances do you give that you could record one more video in the next year?
 
A: I don’t know, I never thought about it.
 
V: I mean if people asked about that, would you continue that?
 
A: Well the trouble is that then I would have to go back to all my videos and see what I have recorded already because I never documented it.
 
V: But I think the variety of courses is so great…
 
A: I know, it is.
 
V: Even if you repeat something still it’s not the same.
 
A: I know it probably will be in a different key, something will be different, different position…
 
V: Or disposition of voices, right?
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: I don’t think you have to worry about that, repeating yourself.  So thank you guys for listening, for watching these videos.  Ausra what’s your final advice from this conversation?
 
A: Try practicing some keyboard harmony.
 
V: Exactly.  Let us know how it goes.  And let Ausra know if you want more of her harmony videos. This was Vidas.
 
A: And Ausra.
 
V: And remember when you practice…
 
A: Miracles happen.