 Ausra and I are updating our BMC page with various membership levels and extras. The benefits include priority video requests, private organ coaching and harmony lessons on Zoom.
You can check it out here: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys! This is Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 625 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Luis Garcia, and he writes, Dear friends: I live in Spain and here there are few organ teachers. Pedal Technique is a mystery here. I need to learn how to play pedals without looking at the pedalboard and with a mind strategy. Some teachers recommend to slide the foot counting the intervals. I think that it may well be in some times but not all the time. Others recommend memorizing the gaps in the pedalboard. And the worst teachers don't recommend anything. Even it is very difficult to see organists with organ shoes. Spain is a bad country to learn how to play the pipe organ. Remember that I am interested in a romantic technique. I know that you like Baroque music. Please, try to help me. Thank you. Luis García A: Well I think Spain is a wonderful country for organ, because it has these beautiful chamades that you will not encounter very often in another country; it has a rich and old history of organ music. I think even about Francisco Correa de Arauxo, a famous Cabezón. Well, but what, if we are talking about pedaling technique then I would have to probably agree, but it’s natural because the Spanish organ history developed in that way. Because it’s known as a Catholic, mostly Catholic country. So Catholics didn’t use so much of solo organ music in their liturgy, and in general didn’t use so much organ music. It just served as a servant to the liturgy, and the same case was actually in Italy. Very few organs, historical organs, had pedal, and because what you needed during liturgy was probably to sustain the tonic or dominant chord. V: Here I want to a little bit explain something. When a person writes such generalization without giving any details, how many and what kind of teachers has he or she encountered, at what level, how long have they studied, it doesn’t say anything about the country or its pedal technique or anything. It just says about his or her experience, personal experience, right? Let’s say if he tried all the teachers in Spain, and everyone was bad at this, then he could say, “Yes, Spain is bad for organ playing - to learn organ playing.” But I highly doubt it, because he would have written some more details about that. So if you go to the conservatory level, university level, professional level, I’m sure you will learn many details about organ playing, including pedal technique, even in Spain, just like anywhere else in a highly culturally sophisticated country like Spain is. So it doesn’t mean that Spain is bad for organ playing - to teaching organ playing. It just means Luis Garcia hasn’t found a suitable teacher for him. A: You know, when I started to study organ in Lithuanian Academy of Music, nobody taught me specifically how to play the pedal, although I was at the conservatory level already in my general musicianship. But I don’t know, if they didn’t know any specific techniques or whatever. But, and why I’m telling this, because I want to give a little bit support to that worse teacher in this letter. Luis Garcia said that the worst are who says “whatever,” play however you want, and do whatever you want. But there is some truth in it. Because usually, if you know you cannot play the pedals without looking at them or hit the wrong notes, the problem might be that you don't spend enough time, and you don’t spend enough time practicing organ. Because if you will spend enough time on that, you will see that playing the pedals becomes so natural and it doesn’t give you any trouble at all. Because I was told about all these different pedaling techniques for Baroque music and for modern music much later on in life. By that time I had already built my own pedal technique which was quite fine. So what do you think, Vidas, about that? V: And several well-known organists have complimented your pedal technique in the States. A: Yes, true. V: So. Yes, it reminds me of a problem I had early on in improvisation. When I wanted to learn improvisation, but didn’t have either clear path in front of me or good materials, so I was always on the hunt of the best textbook out there about improvisation. I was buying up all the method books and searching online and things like that. But that didn’t give me a clear path, clearer path, or vision where to go from there in my experience. What changed me was just to start improvising and keep improvising. Whenever you feel stuck, you would just keep doing it until you get unstuck on your own. Without any help of method books or teachers or whatever. So if Luis Garcia still looks at the pedalboard, as you say, probably it means that he needs to practice more pedals. A: Yes, though like lately I read and listened to some podcasts and some books about creativity and inspiration, and one of the general rules that people who create (8:21 not sure) and this is true to musicians, to writers, to painters, you know, if you will wait for inspiration let’s say, to come, it might never come. Because inspiration usually comes to people who work, and work daily, diligently, and are not waiting for inspiration to come. And I think this could be easily applied to developing good organ technique, both manual and pedal. You just need to really to find time, and to practice regularly, daily, and without a lot of philosophy and will not wait for right teacher to come, because you are the best teacher for yourself. V: Yes. Be the best, all help is self-help, except for surgery. A: (laughs) Sure. V: That’s not my word, not my words, but I picked it up from the famous author and blogger and marketer Seth Godin. And he, it’s a joke, basically, for people who always have tried to find some external help. Instead, they should take actionable steps every day to improve themselves, at least one percent every day. A: True. And you know, in general, I think that everybody is a little bit different. Like the length of legs are different, the length of feet are different. And some things that work for one person might not work as well for another person. But in general if you want to become better in pedal playing, you could try and check Vidas’ course of pedaling. V: Yeah, it’s called Organ Pedal Virtuoso Master Course. And we have extensive material, training material about pedaling scales, arpeggios, over one octave, over two octaves. Even in double octaves too, with both feet at the same time. So, and this is romantic technique with legato touch. Yes, we do like early music, right? But we do play and of course have a lot of knowledge about any kind of music including romantic and modern music. So it’s just part of our extensive training. A: Yes. If we would play all of Baroque music, that way we wouldn’t get our doctoral degrees. V: Yes. We would be masters of early music, not masters of music. Or doctors of musical arts - doctors of early musical arts would be appropriate. But we have everything they teach. A: And also, if you want to learn more about pedaling technique, then I would also suggest you to buy a book of George Ritchie and George Stauffer which is called Organ Technique Modern and Early, and a good half of that book is devoted to the modern techniques including pedal exercises also, and it gives detailed descriptions of how it should be done. V: Yes. When we were doing our doctoral degree programs at the University of Nebraska in Lincoln, George Ritchie taught us the basics, even though we were already doctoral students after completing second master’s degree a year before that, he still felt that we needed to refresh our basic training and to learn a little bit, not even a little bit, a lot from his own book, which really helped. A: So it’s really handy, you should really try it. V: Yes. It’s, you will not use it just once, it’s like extensive review material there about all kinds of organ playing aspects - about even hymn playing and organ building, about all kinds of performance practice issues. It’s really really extensive, like a small encyclopedia of organ playing. V: 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. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: 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... V: 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… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 495 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Andrés, and I asked him how his organ playing is going these days, and he writes: “Well... unfortunately the organ music is almost dead here in Costa Rica, learning organ playing here is almost impossible. Fortunately I have access to a pipe organ and I give the maintenance but I don't have a teacher who can guide me in organ playing." V: So, Ausra, I think this feedback applies to a lot of people around the world who live in countries where there is not much interest in organ music. A: True! And in general, some how, when I read the name Costa Rica, other things came into my mind. Maybe I’ll tell this funny story, V: Sure A: Because my school of art is desperate for all kinds of foreign relations, and one of the piano teachers has an old Russian friend in Costa Rica who teaches piano there. So she made all this big international relationship with Costa Rica, established it, and she’s so pompous and so proud about it, but it makes me sort of smile all the time, because I don’t think Costa Rica has an old classical music tradition. So, maybe if you would establish relationships with such a country such as an Austria, or Germany, or France, maybe that way you could be so proud and pompous about it. V: Yeah A: Of course, for money, you can get good teachers there as well, but still, I don’t think it’s a country that dictates a fashion of classical music, and of organ music, too. V: Plus it’s a personal relationship. A: Yes, it is. V: Person to person. Exactly. I was thinking about this when Andrés writes that he has a pipe organ. This is a privilege, right? A: Yes, it is, and I think that he is lucky to be living nowadays when there is this great Internet connection with the global world. So, I don’t think it’s a problem getting information nowadays, and studying online. V: He has access to a pipe organ. It’s not the same as owning a pipe organ, of course, but still, if he can use it, it’s very convenient. A: Yes, it is actually! V: And, he mentions pipe organ, not electronic organ, so, it’s a double privilege in my mind. A: True. V: And, as you say, Internet can be a great help. Information is abundant today, and with our Website, with our courses and training programs that we offer through the Total Organist, for example, it’s really possible to advance in your organ playing using nothing else; only online material. A: Yes, and of course, you have other advantages in Costa Rica. I think the country in itself must be very beautiful. V: And it’s relatively well developed! A: Yes, because our principal and some other ….. of the staff from administration went to Costa Rica, pretending also on these deep scientific relations. V: Part of the project. A: Yes, part of the project. So… V: And probably, they had a good time. A: I guess so, yes! Enjoying the nice nature of Costa Rica, the friendly people… V: Yeah, all of us should go there if it’s so nice. A: Yes, maybe you could give some master classes on that pipe organ. V: Yes. A: that Andrés is mentioning. V: Well guys, I think you get the point, that today, of the Internet age, sometimes we even have 5G Internet in some countries already, but in other countries, 5G will come quite soon. So, if you have a lesser quality Internet, not as fast, it’s still fast—much faster than it was in the 19th century, for example. A: True. V: You guys can laugh, but if we think about it, we all have, even the poorest people today, have more resources than the king of France had back in the 18th century. A: I think you are right, actually! V: King of France! Yes. So, if you are reading this or listening to this podcast, you have more resources than the King of France back in the day. A: Yes! I think the trouble is that sometimes people don’t know what to do with these technologies, and they just use them for nonsensical things. V: Yes, cat videos! A: Well… Sometimes maybe you… V: We need them, too… we need to smile sometimes, and laugh. Alright guys, please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 214, of #AskVidasAndAusra Podcast. This question was sent by Tim. He writes: My dream for organ playing is to have the confidence to play publicly in church and concert settings. How can I get comfortable play for others and play as well then as I can when playing just for myself. Barriers include no local teachers in our small community. I’m learning on my own so get no critical feedback on my playing. Lack of opportunity to play publicly is number two. Presumably that could be resolved by joining a local church, but that would really be the wrong reason to join a church. Access to an instrument is not a problem as I have a fine Allen digital organ in my house, but access to a variety of instruments is a problem and limits opportunities to develop more sophisticated registration ideas. Tim V: So, Ausra, he basically wants to have a confidence to play publicly, in church and concert settings. As with many organists, this is a very fine dream, right? A: Yes. V: Because there is nothing wrong with it, right? A: Of course. V: If you can get comfortable when playing for others and even at the level how you’re playing for yourself, right, without playing worse, that would be very nice skill to have. A: That’s right. I got an impression from Tim’s letter that actually he plays more to himself because he has an organ at home and doesn’t go, you know, to play somewhere else often. But, you know, it’s some sort of interesting thing because if he wants to be able to play for other people, he needs to go out and to play for them. And for that he definitely will have to go to church. V: Mmm, hmm. A: And even maybe, you know, to apply for an organist position or part-time organist position, assistant organist. V: Or volunteer once a month let’s say, to play for them if they don’t have the resources to pay him. A: Sure. And as for not having regular teacher and, you know, not having a feedback on his playing, he should record himself more often and listen to what he has played. V: Mmm, hmm. And compare his playing in the recording to, I don’t know, recordings of other people that he can listen online. A: Yes, because now YouTube is full of, you know, of excellent organ work. V: It probably doesn’t mean that copying of recordings note by note is a good idea, because then you lose your unique input and touch. But at the basic level, yes, it helps. A: Yes, I think for a beginner it’s a great tool, to learn how to play. V: Mmm, hmm. If he doesn’t have local teachers of course, he could also, you know, use our material that we provide. A: Sure. V: At first, when we started doing this, we were sort of hopeful that people can teach themselves play, to play the organ, right? But we didn’t know if that was practically possible until John Higgins came from Australia to play for us earlier this month. So, we saw and heard with our own ears what a person can do on his own if, if he as a strong will and immense motivation. A: That’s true. V: Right? So, it’s possible to learn on your own. A: Yes. And you know since also Tim wrote that, you know, that he has a Allen digital organ at home; I think he needs to go to other places to find for other instruments. Because playing digital organ not always, you know, forms the right muscle technique. V: Mmm, hmm. What do you mean, Ausra? A: Well, you will not develop strong enough muscles in your hands and your fingers. So you would probably spend some time practicing on mechanical instruments, or at least on the piano, on the wooden piano. V: Can you compare playing on the digital instrument without weighted keyboard as, let’s say, living or working out in a zero gravity environment? A: Probably, yes. V: Like he’s in space, right? A: Yes. V: Yes. Astronauts of course, they do all kinds of exercise there but they do this, you know, even more than on earth because otherwise their bodies just, would just collapse. A: Yes. V: So, if you lived on the moon, you would have to exercise six times more because the gravity is less. A: I know. And you know, then you have your formation built up on the mechanical instrument. Then you can practice on the digital instrument and still sort of hold that feeling of the mechanical instrument. V: Mmm, hmm. A: But if it’s other way around, I don’t think, you know, then going to the mechanical after practicing all the time on the digital instrument that you will be able to perform as well as you did at home. V: Mmm, hmm. It doesn’t work both ways, basically. A: Yes. V: You have to find a weighted keyboard or at least a piano, mechanical piano. A: Yes. V: Right. What else can we advise to Tim? I think he can expand his knowledge of harmony, right? He doesn’t mention that has an experience with this or any goal in, in expanding his music theory and harmony skills. A: Not so many musicians actually do. V: They want just to play and perform. A: Sure. V: And in our school, when we teach, there are kids who love to play flute, violin, piano. But classes that we teach, ear training, music theory, harmony; what about them, Ausra? A: Well, not, not so many of them like those kinds, we don’t understand, that you know, being real musician, actually is like the synthesizing all those subjects together. That, that you cannot be well enough, you know, without having good ear. V: Mmm, hmm. Complete musician. A: Yes. Understanding musical language. V: That’s why we call our program Total Organist, right? Where we include everything you need to know in the current musical environment, including but not limiting yourself to harmony, theory, performance, practice, improvisation, even composition. A: Yes. I think in today’s global world it’s very important that musicians would be, sort of, you know, would know everything in their field. Would be complete, yes. V: Mmm, hmm. Because you have to, you have to, be unique in the world in order to be successful, right? Success of course means many things to many people, but still, in the eyes of others, you have to be unique. And your uniqueness might come from being the best in the world in their eyes at something. Maybe at one thing, but then it is very, very fierce competition, right? You’re competing with thousands of other organists who are doing the same thing. Or you could do a combination of things and be a reasonably good organist in, in combining a few subjects, right Ausra? A: That’s right. V: Then it’s much less competition this way. And even better if you combine subjects that are not easily combinable, not, not often combined, right? You have to find your other, perhaps passions and combine them with organ. Then you’ll be the best in the world in the combination. A: Yes, because you know, let’s, let’s take any, any type of, you know, organ composition in order to you know, to play it well, you need to have a good enough organ technique. You know, you, you have to know at least some of music theory, and, you know, in order to understand how the piece is put together, you need to have a good hearing in order to be able to judge if you are playing well enough. You know, record yourself and listen back to what you are playing to correct yourself, and even you know, when are listening to other people performing. You also need, you know, all that understanding, if you know, you like or not it and why. So you need to have some knowledge of musical history in order to understand the right style of particular composer. So it, it’s actually the whole world. V: Exactly. When you’re studying the organ art, you’re basically studying the, the entire input of humanity. A: Yes. V: 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! Vidas: Let’s start Episode 120 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. Listen to the audio version here. And this question was sent by Robert. He writes, “I never had a teacher or lessons. I have been doing this on my own.” Self-taught organist, right Ausra?
Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Is that a bad thing? Ausra: Well no, I don’t think so. We have cases like this in Lithuania--I think quite a lot. Not so much nowadays; but we had it before, I’m sure, especially in the Soviet times. When we had such a period, then it wouldn’t be possible to learn professionally to play organ, because organ was related to the church, and church was forbidden during the Soviet times. So many people just had to teach themselves to play. Vidas: I remember you recently taught a harmony seminar for church musicians. Ausra: Yes, yes. Vidas: How many of them do you think were amateurs and self-taught musicians? Quite a few, probably? Ausra: Quite a few, I guess, yes. That’s right. Vidas: So today, when information is so abundant on the internet, it’s just a matter of perseverance and really, inner motivation to succeed, rather than lack of information on how to do this, right? Ausra: Yes. And you know, the important thing is to know what you want from your playing. If you want to become, let’s say, a professional, skillful organ performer, for example, and make your living by performing organ, then probably you would have to have a teacher and to get some sort of formal education. But if you are doing this just to enjoy it, you know, for yourself, then I think it’s perfectly fine to just teach yourself. It might be just your hobby, you know? Vidas: And today, online, when you can find so much great advice and information how to play the organ, it’s better, I think, to learn from online sources which are “information” than from secondary teachers or crappy pedagogues who don’t necessarily have the right experience and qualification and broad, global vision of how to do this, maybe. They have learned this decades ago, right? Ausra: Yes... Vidas: Stuck in a rut. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: And have been teaching this for decades without any progress at all. Ausra: That’s true. Vidas: So I think it’s better to immerse yourself in the ever-changing global landscape, and to seek out the best of information yourself-- Ausra: Yes. Vidas: --Than to be stuck with one teacher whom you don’t really want to trust. Ausra: Yes. And especially if you live in the States, for example, and you want to eventually play in church, you don’t even have to get a formal education--to get, like, a university degree; because AGO has this wonderful certificate program, where you can take tests/exams and get a certificate. Vidas: A church service-playing certificate, it’s called, right? Ausra: Yes, yes, yes. Vidas: So it’s even open to AGO members from other countries, too. Ausra: Yes, that’s right. Vidas: If, let’s say, Robert lived in some upper area than North America, chances are there are organizations which offer certain certifications, too. Like in Europe, in the UK, there is also a similar system. Germany has the same thing. I don’t think Australia has one, but it might. Maybe Australia uses the British system; it might, I’m not sure; we have to ask our students about this particular thing. So, it’s not a bad thing to be self-taught nowadays. Ausra: Yes, yes I think so. Vidas: Great. So, never stop learning if you are alone, right? Because in our case, this organ-playing community around the globe, 89 countries and growing--they support each other. You know, from these questions we get every day, it seems like these things matter to people. Ausra: Yes, that’s right. And it’s very nice, actually, that organ still interests so many people. That’s fascinating, because I strongly believe that it’s one of the best musical instruments. Vidas: Because it can imitate an orchestra; it can imitate a choir; it can imitate human voice; basically, it has the broadest range of colors than any other instrument. Ausra: Yes, and think about all that repertoire that you can play on the organ, starting from the Middle Ages, and playing also modern music. So, no other instrument--no one else--has such a broad variety of repertoire as organ does. That fascinates me all the time. Vidas: Is that why you chose this instrument yourself, Ausra? Ausra: Well, at the time when I chose it, I didn’t think so much about it as I do now. And it’s also, for me, the organ is also a very beautiful instrument, if you think about all those historical instruments that are preserved--basically they are just, as Kerala Snyder wrote in his famous book, “The Organ as a Mirror of Its Time,” that it sort of preserves the history: art history, and history in general. That fascinates me every time. Vidas: Organ is generally thought to be a counterpart of the altar, right? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: In a similar style--opposing the altar, or supplementing the altar (if this organ was fit and designed for that particular space, not brought from other churches). Ausra: Yes, yes. Vidas: Wonderful. So, me too; I think I, too, share those sentiments for this grand instrument, because of its aesthetics, of its complexion and construction and--seven centuries of organ repertoire! It’s unbelievable. If you wanted to sight-read every piece of extant or surviving repertoire, I think you couldn’t do this in one lifetime. Ausra: Yes, yes. Vidas: Even while using free online material, which is, you know, freely available on the Internet. Ausra: Yes, it would take you too much time. It’s impossible to do. That you can choose from such a variety--that’s an amazing thing. Vidas: Right. Ausra: And also, you know, each country which has organs, it’s like a different story each time; because from one country to another, organs are so different. Vidas: And it’s never boring, because in one month or one year, you can focus on one country or one period, and the next one you can do the complete opposite, right? Take the opposite direction--French, German, English, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese--you name it. Ausra: Yes, and even if you don’t want to focus on repertoire, even just playing hymns, it’s such fun. Because they are also such nice musical pieces. Vidas: It’s like a prayer for the organist, too. Ausra: Yes, yes. Vidas: I think people who are deeply religious could basically sing the hymns together with playing the harmony. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Right? That would count as a prayer--or a double prayer, because as St. Augustine says, “Whoever sings, prays twice.” Ausra: Twice. Vidas: Yep. That makes sense, because it’s twice as powerful. Ausra: Yes, it is. Vidas: Wonderful, guys. So I hope even people who live in remote areas--in the countryside, in rural areas, in countries who are just developing, which have limited Internet access, maybe have expensive Internet connection--they still can Google some things, play from PDFs instead of watching videos, which is expensive yet in those countries-- Ausra: Yes. Vidas: And never, ever give up on this idea of learning and practicing for a lifetime, because you will get closer and closer to perfection, right? Ausra: Yes, that’s right. Step by step. Vidas: Do you think that your teacher, George Ritchie, thought he ever attained perfection? Ausra: I don’t think so. He’s so, so, so particular about details, and wants clean, nice playing--to polish it, to do it perfectly. So I think he, as any excellent musician, is very self-critical. And that’s how we develop ourselves, and perfect ourselves. Vidas: Mhmm. I think you inherited this sense of striving for perfection also from George Ritchie, too. Ausra: I hope so. I tried to take it from him! Vidas: Good. So, I hope you guys will go and practice today, right? I’ve been playing in the morning and Ausra was teaching, so it’s Ausra’s time now to practice a little bit. Ausra: Yes, that’s right. Vidas: Which piece will you be playing? Ausra: Well, I have to select repertoire for my next recital, so I probably will work on that. Maybe sightread some pieces by Bach. Vidas: Wonderful. The upcoming recital for the Bach birthday-- Ausra: Yes. Vidas: In March. Ausra: Yes. March 21st. Vidas: Yeah. So, we’ll go now and select repertoire and practice. I will enjoy listening to you practice; this is my favorite time of the day. And you guys, go ahead and practice, also, at least for 15 minutes--it still counts! If you’re tired or exhausted, never give up; just do a little bit of practice today before you hit the sack. You will thank yourself later, and tomorrow. Ausra: Go ahead and practice! Vidas: This was Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. Vidas: And remember, when you practice… Ausra: Miracles happen. Not every aspiring organist has a courage or a desire to study organ on their own from books, manuals, videos, practice scores, courses, articles, and other self-study training materials which are available on-line or off-line. A lot of people prefer to learn from a teacher, an instructor, or a mentor they can meet in person.
So how do you find an organ teacher in your area which would suit your needs? Please note that I'm not talking about a formal organ education from a college, conservatory, university or some other school. This article is about a private organ studies. Some of the solutions might not be as obvious as they seem. If you live in an area were there is an association of organists, such as AGO, GDO, RCCO, RCO etc. the first thing you can do is to look up at their website and see if the chapter near you has a listing of available organ teachers. From there you can contact a person directly, tell your story and ask if he or she would be willing to teach you. If you have no organization of organists near you, you can go to various churches which have organs (preferably pipe organs) and sit in their liturgical services. If you find an organist who performs quality organ music and you like his or her playing, do a little background and musical education check on this person - perhaps online, perhaps at the church itself. If you like what you find out, go after another church service to the organ, congratulate the organist, tell how much you appreciate his or her work, tell your story, and ask for some lessons. With some organists it will be as simple as discussing the fee. Some people will refuse but then you could ask for recommendations of other organists in your area. Another similar thing you can do is to go to an organ recital of a local organist. If you like what you hear, read about his or her background and education in the program notes and go to talk to this person after the recital. Don't forget to congratulate him or her first. The key in these options is to find the first organist you can trust who can introduce you to his or her circle of friends if this person is not willing or able to teach you. Note that these recommendations might not be valid for every aspiring organist because of this simple reason - a person is living in an area far from churches with decent organists or organ recitals. Earlier in this situation it would have been very difficult for a person to find a suitable organ teacher. But now when we live in post-industrual, post-geography global connection society, all you need is the connection to the Internet. So if you can read this article, you are all set. Internet changes everything. It also begins to change the way we learn, study, and train as organists. By the way, do you want to learn my special powerful techniques which help me to master any piece of organ music up to 10 times faster? If so, download my video Organ Practice Guide. |
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. 
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