Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 391 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jay and Jay is on the team who transcribes our Podcast conversations. He wrote: “Yesterday, I played organ for my church services (don't get to do that real often). I had practiced the hymns during the week so I felt comfortable with them. During one of them, I made some mistakes on a couple of verses and it didn't go as I would have liked. By the time I got to the third verse I had recovered and it went well. So there are a couple of issues I continue to work on. 1) Volume pedals/swell and great on this organ. When I try to adjust the levels during playing, I have problems and make mistakes in playing. Working the pedals needs to be practiced, like everything else, I guess. 2) Control. I think everyone makes mistakes while playing, to one degree or another (maybe even Vidas—probably not Ausra though ?). The key seems to be, at least to me, how fast we can recover and move on through the piece. Gotta work on technique.” V: And another person from our Total Organist group jumped in and wrote: “Just so you know, you're not alone. I could have written your exact post from the last service I played. In practice, I did everything perfectly. I kept messing up one measure of a very simple hymn on that Sunday, though (Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty). Then, I had to close the swell box a bit because it was a smaller crowd due to the weather and I was playing a little too loudly for the crowd, and when I did that, I messed up the bass, because I didn't get my right foot freed up in time to hit the next notes. In practice all week, I played it perfectly, and even used my hymnal supplement's alternative harmonization with vocal descant flawlessly. On Sunday, I just stuck to the main hymnal because I felt less confident after messing up. I, too, will have to practice operating the expression shoes while playing. I have a really difficult time, for example, when I play Berceuse (Vierne) trying to keep the pedal playing going and operating the expression shoes at the same time.” V: Jay answered to David. He wrote: “Thanks, David. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one struggling with things like this, however, I'm sorry as well. Just gotta keep plugging along—one foot in front of the other, or in this case, one pedal in front of the other. Thanks for your response, and encouragement.” V: And I wrote: “Yes, Jay, practice swell pedal changes ahead of time. And in any place you make a mistake, mark it in the score, go back and play without mistakes in a slow tempo 3 times in a row.” V: Ruth added: “Hi, Jay. You touched upon a major point in your writing. "The key seems to be...how fast we can recover and move on through the piece." I have more background in playing the flute, but I find what you said to relate to the flute also. When I make a mistake, I try to recover almost immediately. Thanks very much for this.” V: Jay wrote to Ruth: “Thanks, Ruth. I play flute, and sax also. Recovery time on those instruments seems much quicker, than on the organ.” V: So Ausra this is a very extended discussion in our Total Organist communication channel on Basecamp. What would you add? A: I would just want to make one quick comment about the beginning of this question about making mistakes that everybody makes them and even I do make them (laughs). So it’s very funny that Jay thinks that I am not making mistakes. Be sure I am making them too, and too many actually. But as you wrote later, it doesn’t matter if you make mistakes or not, it matters how fast can you recover after them and how can you hide them actually. V: What do you mean by hiding? A: It means that you don’t stop, you don’t change tempo, you don’t react to them during actual performance. V: Do you have to distract your audience like “Look, here, the full moon” and then you make mistakes and they don’t listen. A: No, I haven’t done that, maybe you have done that. V: “Look the pastor ate all communion.” A: Well stop making silly jokes but people talked about swell pedal, it’s a problem sometimes for me because at home we don’t have swell pedal and at church we have one, but for example during our study years at the Academy of Music all of the mechanical organs didn’t have any swell pedal so we just had to practice them mentally. V: Umm-hmm. To imitate the foot movements in the middle of the pedalboard to place the right foot. A: Yes and if you would think about the Schuke organ at the philharmonic building where our final exam of organ took place it has a swell pedal but it’s on the side of the instrument and it’s very uncomfortable. V: Like sometimes they have this shoe-pedal in 19th century organs in the very extreme edge of the pedalboard on the right. A: What I’m thinking is that when you practice music that requires to use the swell pedal and you don’t have it for example, you have to prepare mentally to do it. You always need to know in which position your body will be at a certain moment within the piece. V: Umm-hmm. A: So you need to think very carefully about how you are pedaling your piece. V: Yes, if it’s a surprise to you when you are playing an instrument with a swell box, if your feet movements are not comfortable that means that you didn’t prepare in advance and I’m talking about myself too. Sometimes I have to improvise my feet movements and swell pedal movements like that and actually improvisation does help here when you are used so much to playing music on the spot and adding swell pedal crescendo and diminuendo spontaneously then when the time comes to play the real organ composition which you practiced then it’s not that difficult because you practiced those movements millions of times in different situation, right? A: Yes, yes, true and in general I think when actually performing a hymn or any given piece of music the most important thing is don’t stop because rhythm is the most important during actual performance. V: Don’t repeat the notes. A: Sure, especially when you are accompanying congregational singing. V: Because people will think that they mess up when you don’t lead them. A: Sure and I bet if you would record your performance you would find out after listening to it that your mistakes were not as bad as it seemed to you at that particular moment. V: Hmm. Another good thought. Thank you guys for listening and for sending your wonderful questions, we love helping you grow. And remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
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Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 361 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Lisa and she writes: “Why is it bad to double the bass line in the pedals? I don’t notice much difference in the sound. I’m a new organist, having played the piano for church for 30 years.” V: That’s a nice question, right Ausra? A: It is. V: And we have talked about it a few times but for people who come to the organ from piano background it’s not so apparent. A: True and it’s like a regular kitchen and dishes is comparing to gourmet kitchen and dishes. That’s what it is when you double pedal with your left hand and then you don’t. You need to develop a keen sense of what you are playing and you really need to develop your ability to listen and to hear things. It comes with experience. V: Umm-hmm. I wrote to Lisa that if you double the pedals you won’t be able to develop left-hand and pedal independence. That’s the main thing and independence is needed when playing real organ music. But if organists work at church don’t have any interest in real organ music and they only stick to hymns then what we’re talking about is not really understandable to them. It sounds well, it really does and there are organ pieces like that where pedal bass is doubling the left-hand bass, for example right now I am playing Priere by Juozas Naujalis and throughout this piece somehow he wrote this doubling in the pedals and in the left-hand maybe because he didn’t have in mind a big enough organ, I don’t know, but he had many instruments at hand … A: Look if you have let’s say big organ you are adding big registration, what happens when you double bass and left-hand. That’s already each organ stop, if you pull out 8’ stop and 6’ stop and then you put let’s say 4’ and 2’ and blah, blah, blah, and mixtures, how many already sounds do you have for each single note, it’s above all imaginable. V: In the pedals, right? A: Yes. V: Umm-hmm. A: And in any also in the manuals because no, you rarely play with one stop pulled out . V: Umm-hmm. A: It already doubles in itself in that single voice. It already doubles itself and triples and quadruples. V: Huh, I see. A: So why do you need to do that unless it was composers’ wish. V: But I don’t understand why this wish was Naujalis position. A: Well I don’t care so much about it, maybe he really didn’t have a big pedal. V: Or maybe he wrote this piece for organists who couldn’t really play pedals and left-hand independently in Lithuania. A: That’s more possible because he worked for many years as organ teacher too so maybe he noticed this problem as well. V: And that’s why he wrote those wonderful organ trios. A: But anyway, when a composer does that he probably wants to give more gravity to the pedals and to the lower parts of a piece. But I don’t’ think it’s so much stood for him, that’s my opinion, and do whatever you want, you know you are free person. V: So for Lisa and others who are wondering why we do not double the bass line in left-hand… I was just reading this question one more time and she is asking backwards. “Why is it bad to double the bass line in the pedals.” In the pedals it’s good, but in the left-hand it’s not good. A: Yes, that’s what happens to you because when you have a hymn it’s four voices most often and what people do is they play all four voices on the manuals and then put the lowest voice on the pedal part and what we are meaning is that you need to play three voices on the manuals, so soprano, alto, tenor and then to play the bottom line with your pedals. V: I think Lisa needs to try this technique, right? It’s rather new to her and rather uncomfortable probably at the beginning and she will struggle with those hymns and that’s OK. It will just mean that if she’s up to the challenge, it is a challenge for beginners. A: It’s just that I did not understand her question right from the beginning. V: I understood the question but she is writing it backwards. In her mind probably it’s normal to play the bass line in the left-hand and then why do we need to double the bass line in the pedals. A: We need to play the bass line with the pedals and not with your left-hand. V: Exactly. If you play without any pedals then obviously play the bass line with the left hand. But that is the point, if you always play without pedals you will never learn to play the pedals and then it will be hard to call yourself a real organist. A: True, then better stick with the piano if you don’t want to play the pedals. V: Charles Tournemire once wrote that organists who cannot improvise are just half organists. So what would he call people who play the organ without pedals? One-third organist or what? A: One-fourth? V: One-fourth probably. We are not making fun of Lisa or anyone else of course. We’re just suggesting to try out this technique and not to play as it’s written right away but just play it and treat it as a real organ piece. It’s very small maybe one page long, one minute long, right? And you first master it probably voice by voice, and then two voice combinations, and then three part combinations and only then tackle four-part texture. For Lisa if she has played piano for church for 30 years maybe she doesn’t need to play separate voices at first, maybe she can do two voices but definitely she needs pedal line separately. A: Sure and why pedal, the bass line on the pedalboard sounds better than on the manuals, that’s because you have more 16’ stops on the pedal and you give it gravity which is very nice for hymn accompanying and congregational singing. V: Yeah, it’s like having double basses in the orchestra. A: You will not have that effect if you will only use manuals even if you put the 16’ on the manuals but will not use the pedal the effect will not be as nice. V: I haven’t thought about that for many times but now it’s very obvious, if you omit double basses from the orchestra it’s not just the 16’ is missing it’s the entire foundation is missing. A: That’s right. V: The same is for organ too. A: I don’t think you would be able to listen to the violin for such a long time without double basses. V: Exactly. Well, people need to try those challenging things, right? That’s why we are learning. That’s why we are trying to get better at things we couldn’t do yesterday, right? There wouldn’t be a point of practicing and spending hours on the organ bench if all we ever wanted to do was to play the hymns in way that we always play. A: That’s right. V: Even playing the hymns are maybe ten or twenty or thirty different ways and that’s another challenge in itself, but that’s the theme for another Podcast. Thank you guys for listening, this was fun, and please keep sending your wonderful questions and we hope to help you grow and remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 351 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent sent by Lev, and he writes: Hi Vidas, Thank you for the hints. Maybe it is a good idea to make a particular podcast or a course about "optimal hymn pedaling for beginners" if one doesn't already exist. Best regards, Lev V: Ausra, Lev has sent me a few of his pedaling choices for a few hymns that he is working on to correct for him. And at first, he made, in my view, some choices that need to be changed, but then little by little, I think in the third hymn, he already started to do this very efficiently, and almost like I would do it. So, people are progressing, and I’m very glad. A: Yes, it’s very nice to know. V: If you were a beginner, imagine yourself like 25 or 30 years ago, and if somebody asked you to play a hymn from a hymnal in church, remember, you worked at Holy Cross church, but not necessarily as a beginner, but still close, I think. A: But sometimes I just think that you don’t know how old I am, and how old I was when I started to play organ. V: Oh, please, reveal! A: Because if you said, “30 years ago,” I definitely hadn’t played organ yet. V: So, when? How long was that? A: Well, never mind, but yes, I remember when I worked at the Holy Cross Church, and it was my second year of playing organ. I was almost 19 years old at that time. V: 90 or 19? A: 19! Okay, stop teasing me, because I lost my thought. So, when I was just a beginner organist at Holy Cross Church, not the pedal part was that hard for me, but understanding all the liturgy and knowing the Mass so well that I could follow it, and come right on time, with all those answers that are not as easy in the Catholic Mass, at least for a beginner. V: The order of the Mass was more difficult for you than pedal playing. A: True! And it’s really funny, because in general, I knew the order of Mass very well by that time. But since I knew it from, let’s say, downstairs… V: From the listener perspective. A: Yes. It was a very different thing to be upstairs and to play for it. V: To lead. A: Well, yes. But of course, I played with the pedal, and I don’t know how well I pedalized… was it right or wrong? I had no idea, at that time, what I’m doing. V: I thought once that left foot should play the notes on the left side of the pedal board, and the right foot should play the right notes on the pedal board. A: Well, at least you played some with the pedal, because as it’s often in Lithuania, organists don’t use the pedal at all! V: Church organists, you mean. A: Yes. V: Ok, so I think we talked about it, and have written quite a few posts about hymn pedaling, but not only hymn pedaling, in general pedaling, because we have to treat hymns as real organ compositions, I think. A: Of course! They are real compositions! V: But they’re very short, like maybe one minute long, one verse, and relatively easy to learn. And I think we could remind our listeners of some of the more important points about choosing the best pedaling. For me, it’s first of all looking at the date of the hymn. When was it created? Why is it important, Ausra? A: Because, I think, the date determines what type of pedaling you need to use! Either you just need to use toes, or heels as well! V: Yes, and starting from 19th century, we could start to use heels, but not always, right? Still, I think whenever possible, alternate toe works well all the time. But in Romantic hymns, 19th century hymns and 20th century hymns, we have more options. Okay, so if the hymn is created in the early days, before the 19th century, what’s the most common technique, Ausra? A: The same as playing Bach, or any Baroque composition. V: So, you mean alternate toe pedaling? A: That’s right! V: Left-right-left-right or right-left-right-left. But then there are exceptions, obviously. You can’t apply this technique all the time. A: Sure, of course there are, as in any composition. V: And exceptions are that you need to play with the same foot when the melody changes direction, when there are very long note values—in hymns there are not very many instances like that—but the third instance is, I think, when notes are very far in the edges of the pedal board, either in the base or in the treble. A: Of course, because they are very hard. In the bass, you definitely want to play it with your left foot only. V: For your physique, what’s convenient to you? What’s the lowest note that you could play with the right foot? A: Well, probably… maybe I could do G. V: Me, too. G is still okay. And after G, I play with the left foot, most of the time. I could do somethings with the right, but also as an exception. And in the top range, what do you do then? A: Well, probably A is the highest note for my left foot. V: So it depends what’s the highest note on the pedal board. A: Sure! V: We almost always have the lowest note of the pedal board as C, but the top note varies. So from G to C in the bottom octave—it’s a perfect fifth. I suspect that also we need to look at the interval of the perfect fifth in the top range, and play the fifth below that top note with the left foot. And above that, only with the right foot. Conveniently, I mean. A: Well, yes. I’m talking about these extremes. V: Yeah. A seems like a doable thing for a lot of people. And then, of course, there is an instance when you could repeat the same foot before the strong beat, in order to articulate. A: True. V: Agree? A: Yes, that helps. V: Okay, so that was for early type of hymns. If you have modern hymns, I think you have more choices, but also more freedom. Where would you start, your method? A: Well, it’s as you know, you just pedaling it as you would pedal any Romantic composition. V: And, what would that look like? A: You could use legato technique in the pedal. It means you use not only toes, but also heels. So, it gives you more choices. V: Obviously, when you have sharps, you play with the toes. A: Obviously, of course, because that’s how our physiology works. And I don’t think anyone could do vice versa. V: In legato technique, normally we could play with heels and toes, and vice versa, two adjacent notes, which are one step apart. A: Yes, and in these types of hymns the organists shoes are very important, too. As you know, in earlier music we can play whatever, but here we need real organ shoes. V: With about 2 inches of heels. 2 inches or 3 centimeters, something like that. In our organ studio, Unda Maris, there is one older student who has now acquired special shoes, but they are not organ shoes, but he uses them for playing organ only. And they’re a little bit too long for him. So, he’s struggling with hitting the wrong sharps. A: That’s, I think, a very bad idea to play with those shoes that are too big for you. They need to on the edge, actually. V: And when he’s placing his toes on the edge of the sharp keys, then the end of the shoe is actually in the middle of the key. A: That’s horrible. V: Maybe he will find something else, too. So that’s the general observations, and I think the more you play, the more variety you practice, I think the more experience you’ll get, too, and the process will become easier to you. A: That’s right, I think everything comes with experience and with practice. V: And it’s natural to be bad before you get to be good. It’s at anything. A: Well, I still think that it’s not pedaling that’s the hardest thing in hymn playing, but the left hand. The tenor voice. That’s my opinion. V: That’s why I think too many people play bass and tenor in the left hand, and they double the bass line in the pedals as well, which is not good. A: Yes, I noticed that quite a few times. V: Okay guys, we hope this was useful to you. 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 episode 322, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Rob. He writes: Hello Ausra and Vidas, Today, I have a few things to share with you that relate to subjects that both of you discussed in recent SOPPs. Please feel free to use it as “ammo” to elaborate on as you see fit. 1) Accompanying the congregation in singing This is something that I’ve been doing for almost 45 years now. When I accompany a choir, I’ll have to “obey” the SATB setting of the songs. When I accompany the people, I can basically make up my own harmonies. What I do is this: one of my ears listens to the organ, the other ear listens to the singing of the congregation. Now, in the middle of my head, I bring the two together: I always make sure, that I am just a fraction of a beat “ahead” so I can give them the next note, the next tone that they need to sing. This way, you can also control the pace of the song, because congregations are inclined to slow down in singing and it is best not to allow this. So, “split-listening” and being just ahead of the people is key in accompanying. And, of course, make sure that the melody of the song can be heard clearly. 2) On improvisation I discovered, that there is a part in my brain that always creates music. All I need to do, is tune into it and listen to what’s “playing” in my head at that moment. Can be a melody, can be a harmonized piece of music. When I listen to it, I can get my right hand to immediately produce the melody that I hear. I am not yet good enough to immediately produce the harmonics that I hear with both hands. So, I must take it “slow”. That is, play the melody (and often harmonizing it as well) bringing it out in the right hand and find supporting harmony (chords etc.) in the left hand and pedal. I change between playing on 2 manuals and playing on 1 manual where I get to bring the two hands together while developing on the keyboard what I hear in my head. This works wonderfully well. And I do make it a habit of improvising 10-15 minutes every time I play the organ. Also before service, I make time to improvise for about 5 minutes. Makes sense to you guys? Enjoy the weekend. Kind regards, Rob V: So, Ausra, these two questions, one is about accompanying congregation and about improvisation. I think it’s really on track what he’s suggesting about accompanying the congregation. A: I think it’s very much on track. Actually that’s what I would do if I was accompanying congregation. But of course, one part of this part of question, reminded me, or actually, we were kicked off the church. Because you didn’t want to play slower for congregational accompaniment. V: I was split second ahead, or more than split second ahead. A: True, and we received so many complaints, especially Vidas. And people would ask me to play service more often because I played slower and listened to them more. But Vidas just didn’t want to give up and wanted to keep his own tempo. And well, at that time we were very young, and probably not as wise as we are now, yes? V: Yes. Today we would play in lento tempo. A: So, this was, I guess, probably twenty or even more years ago. V: Yes. Today we would play everything like Albert Schweitzer did. A: Well, now I guess, if this would be in nowadays, I probably even wouldn’t take such a job. V: Wow. That’s even better. A: True. But actually, yes, the congregation tries to slow things down. V: But, Ausra, if it’s not a job, if somebody just asks you to fill in, you know, like a friend, substitute, just once, and would you slow down, or would you lead ahead? A; Well, that’s a good question. I would probably lead ahead. What would you do? V: I would lead ahead, yes. You see, at that time, we didn’t have our doctorate degrees. Now we have doctorate degrees. And to anybody who is complaining, we can,,, A: Show our diploma, yes. V: Yes. Yes. Complain to the director of University of Nebraska, Lincoln. A: Yes. V: (Laughs) A: That’s funny. That’s really funny. But actually, you just need to be reasonable. If you’re tempo and congregation tempo is very different, you need to think about it—why this happens. Because maybe you choose too fast tempo for that particular hymn. And you need to think if this happens all the time, and maybe you need to listen yourself from a side, make a recording of it, because that tempo might defer slightly bu it cannot be very different. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And when you’re accompanying congregation, always try to sing too. That way you will get the right feeling of the tempo. V: And sing energetically, because some congregations, like the one we were talking about, were singing like at the funeral, always. A: I know. We were dragging each note. If you, let’s say the hymn is written in quarter note values, yes? And we would make a whole note from a quarter note, and it was just impossible to survive. V: They would breathe with every word. A: True. With every note. V: Or every note. Maybe that’s original historically correct way of singing. A: I don’t know but it was just a nightmare. V: Because remember what Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra told us, a little bit about her research with, I think, singing psalms, in the, back in the day, that they were singing them really, really, extremely slow. A: Well, but that was what, a few hundred years ago. V: Right. A: But we are in the 21st Century now. V: We drive fast cars. A: Well, we cannot take service that is longer than one hour. V: We eat fast food. A: True. V: Everything is fast. A: Well, and fast death awaits us, yes? V: And the mass is no longer three hours long, like it was before Tridentine time. A: True. So I don’t know, for me, seems that everything needs to be balanced. So, and everybody needs to be reasonable. So, and I’m talking about tempo too. It cannot be too fast and it cannot be too slow. And I think you need to take a breath after each phrase, but not after each note (laughs). V: Mmm-hmm. If you can sing a phrase in one breath, then,,, A: Then I think your tempo is fine. V: Mmm-hmm. Excellent. Let’s go to the second part of the question about improvisation. Rob seems to have constant creative flow in his head, right, and whenever he wants to tune in to it and catch those melodies. This reminds me of a saying, or a quote by David Lynch. Remember the director of the movie, or the T.V. series, called... A: Twin Peaks. V: Twin Peaks, yes. He says that ‘we don’t create ideas, we catch ideas’. They are out there someplace floating in the ether, or someplace, I don’t know where. But when we are in the right state of mind, we can tune in and those ideas will come to us. A: But do you think those ideas will help you to make a good harmonic accompaniment to the melody that just came to your mind? Or you need specific knowledge and skills? V: Oh, that’s your harmony part, theory part, saying, right? A: Yes. V: I know what you’re leaning to, but I believe some people can play intuitively, with both hands, and even pedals, but it takes completely different state of mind constantly observing in everyday life, I think. If you, for example, would observe people who meditate, that could be like playing or sounding meditation. If people could to that, then they could play with both hands also, without real understanding what they play, but intuitively. But that’s a different mentality, Ausra. We are talking about the logical procedures, right? A: True. And I’m just wondering, because you are improvising so much. Do you think that all that history, your history, personal history, of learning, learning harmony, learning theory, is it helping you or harming you, when you improvising? V: You see, I also taught at the Čiurlionis National School of Art for twelve years, until this year, and all those years I taught, either solfege, which is ear training, or music theory. So basically those terms and procedures, modes, chords, were part of my daily routine with kids. And therefore they were ingrained in my memory too. When I first started teaching, I had to think consciously—what is this mode, how it’s constructed, what is this inversion of the chord—I was not that fluent. But now, I don’t have to think any more of course, and it’s part of my, part of my nature, probably. And when I’m playing intuitively on the organ, like improvising spontaneously, this former background or training comes in, into the forefront too, without even me noticing. So for other people probably, they do need to study theory and harmony for many years, until this is spontaneous for them enough. A: What would you tell for people who don’t want to learn theory? V: Maybe they’re not committed enough. Maybe organ playing or improvising on the organ is not important, that important to them. Maybe they don’t want to improve that much. A: Because, in my daily life, as teaching these harmony, theory and solfege for various instrumentalists and choir conductors, and piano performers and now teaching in that organ school, I always get this big, big confrontation. So basically I’m in a war, in a constant war, and it’s getting tiresome. V: I know how you feel. It’s difficult when you’re the only soldier on the battlefield, right? A: I know. V: And nobody’s really supporting you. Even your colleagues, they support you, on certain conditions, because, yes they need to teach theory and think that theory is important, harmony is important, but they’re not performers, they’re not creators, and they don’t apply them, these concepts in practice. And they really can’t really make a good argument to the kids—why do they need this? A: Well, yes, but I’m a performer too, but... V: You can because you use it every day. A: But still nobody listens so it seems like a hopeless business. V: I think people always listen to the authority, right? Whoever is authority to you, Olivier Latry or George Ritchie, if they tell you something important, you listen, right? But if your colleague says to you something which you disagree with, then you kind of are critical and this is understandable—everybody does this. So your kids would probably need to find authority from their circle, maybe their friends. A: But, actually it didn’t happen last year or a year before, but right from this school year when they come to school earlier, like a half an hour before first class, 7:30 am, I hear that kids are listen from their smart phones to music, and dancing and making fun, and it’s usually pop music. So I guess I’m not the right authority because I think their authorities [are] maybe Lady Gaga or whatever else. V: Then, we should invite Lady Gaga to visit our schools, right? A: (Laughs). Yes. Do you think she would tell that we need to study harmony and solfege? V: No, but she would tell them that they need to create songs. Remember we just watched a movie, ‘A Star is Born’, and we were really moved. A: True. But actually these songs that she composed for this movie, were not in the style that she created on her daily basis for her pop performances. V: Uh-huh. But this was still the same person, you see. A: True. V: So, I dunno. But sure, it’s, maybe we will not be able to invite Lady Gaga to the school tonight, just yet, but how about this; are you keeping in touch with your former students, on Facebook, let’s say? A: Yes, for some, I am. V: Some. Some students who were good at school, good in theory and harmony. A: Do you think they believe that the harmony helped them in somebody else? I’m even afraid of asking that, because I might get depressed. V: But that would be the truth, and the truth liberates you, right? Always. A: And then I would have to quit school as well, as you did, yes? V: I quit... A: And I would find out that nobody actually needs harmony. V: No, no, no. What I really think, those few students who graduated, and now are continuing their education or are already professional musicians, I think some of them really understands now, what you did for them, in early years. And if you invited them to come back to talk to their former peers, and like give a speech, like motivational speech, they would probably inspire current students even better than you could. Because our young people of today, would suddenly understand that these graduates were in sitting in their pews. A: True. I’ll think about it. V: Think about it and just ask on Facebook a few people and see what they come up with. Alright, guys, lots of ideas for the future. Not only for us but hopefully for you too, because we love helping you grow. So please keep sending us your lovely questions and feedback. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen!
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 307, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Tamara. And she writes: Hello Vidas– I have been following your Secrets of Organ Playing emails—very helpful, thank you! Do you recommend total legato for hymn playing in any situation? I did learn and follow the 4 ways to render a hymn in the Ritchie book (Chapter 7). It seems that the best, most efficient hymn playing is balance of legato and articulation, distributed among the SATB parts. Thank you. Tamara V: Mmm. That’s a very specific question, Ausra. A: Yes, it is. V: And the way I remember Dr. Ritchie teaches is, and Quentin Faulkner too—is if the hymn is created after 1800’s, then you play it legato. And if it’s an earlier hymn then your articulate. Very simple, or not? A: Yes. Sounds about true, but you always need to look at the specific keys and the specific hymn too. Because there are sometimes later, composed hymns that you also need to articulate. V: Right. It could be like Neo–classical style. A: That’s right. And there are also specific hymns that might be created, at least the melody might be created earlier, for example, based on Gregorian chant, that you want to play legato for example because it sounds better that way. V: Really? A: Really. V: Mmmm. So Gregorian chant sounds better with less articulation, you think. A: Yes. V: Oh. Interesting. A: I think so. At least for my ear. V: If I create, for example, a hymn tune today, but it’s in baroque style, or ancient style, this too should be played probably with articulation, or not? Because it’s 21st Century. A: It depends on the style. V: If the style is earlier than,,, How would you play my music, Ausra? Would you play my music at all? A: Which one? V: (Laughs). A: I don’t think so, but,,, V: Nobody wants to play my music. Not even Ausra. Okay, guys. Let’s stop for a second to cry, and then after we done crying, we’ll continue. Okay! I’m done crying. Now, Tamara says that the “most efficient hymn playing is balance of legato and articulation, distributed among [the] SATB parts”. What do you think she means by that, Ausra? A: I think that what she says? V: Balance of legato and articulation? A: Maybe by that she means that you play, I don’t know, soprano legato and you articulate other voices, or maybe that you take breaks, articulate between phrases. I’m not sure. V: Or maybe, it’s articulate legato. You know,,, A: Oh. Could be. V: Mix between legato and non-legato. A: But in general, I always look actually, when I take a hymn, I look not at when it was written. I look at the musical structure. I look on the particular organ that they had to play that hymn. I look in the space if it’s reverberant, or if it’s dry. I’m thinking if I will be singing it solo or congregation will sing it too. Because in general, the more reverberant room is, the more articulate you have. Even if a hymn is written legato, you will have to do some articulation between phrases. Because if people are singing, the need to take a breath. Music needs to breathe. V: The monster never breathes. Who said that? Stravinsky, I think, about organ. A: Well so maybe... V: Stravinsky didn’t know that articulate legato playing style at that time. A: Could be. I think it was part forgotten during his lifetime. So... V: Mmm-hmm. So let’s make organ breathe, right, guys? Let’s make it actually sing. Without breathing there is no singing, right? You have to sing yourself. Imagine you are singing with the congregation. That’s the easiest thing. You don’t have to sing soprano part, you can sing middle voices, or the bass. That’s up to you. But if you sing, you naturally have to breathe. A: That’s right. And of course, it also depends on the tempo that you are playing the hymn to. The slower you play, the more breaks you have to take. V: Does it, come easily, this type of articulation or not, Ausra, for people, or for you? Let’s say for you personally. Do you remember your first attempts at hymn playing? How did you feel? A: Well, when I just started to play hymns at church, I actually didn’t think so much about either to play them legato or non–legato. V: Mmm-hmm. A: I had other concerns at that time. V: Such as? A: How do not miss the place in the mass where the hymn should sound; how don’t miss pedal keys, and don’t mess them up. And all that liturgical struggle. V: Will the people complain to the priest after your playing? A: No. Well... V: (Laughs). A: There was one lady who thought that especially you play too fast. V: Mmm-mmm. A: Because... V: You mean myself? Vidas? A: Yes. And I’m playing a little bit better because I’m playing a little bit slower. But still not slow enough for them, because he wanted to drag the hymns, and to slow them down as much as possible. That way mass would never end. V: This was one of my last church service playings in that church. A: Yes. That’s right. V: (Laughs). Yes. I guess in every congregation you have people like that—complaining and going to the priest or pastor, and telling them how things should be around there. Because they know better. A: True. V: So you say you didn’t think about articulation at the beginning? A: Yes. At that time, yes, I didn’t think about it because I had much more things to think about. V: For me, I don’t remember, maybe in America I started to think about articulating hymns, more, than in Europe. Is the same for you? A: Yes. True. V: Everything changed when we went to America, somehow. We started thinking differently. Maybe teaching style was different, right, and more clear, and more specific, and things were explained to us in a way that, at that age and stage of our development, we could understand. Of course we already had masters degree from Lithuania, so we weren’t beginners there, but it was good to do a second masters degree, and doctoral degree after that too. Don’t you think? A: Yes. V: Okay, guys. Try to experiment with many playing styles when you encounter hymn playing. Because every century requires its own rendering of legato or articulation. Don’t you think, Ausra? A: Yes. That’s right. V: Mmm-hmm. So, thank you guys for listening, for sending these thoughtful questions. We think that when you apply our, sometimes advice, sometimes feedback, sometimes just experiences to your playing, for some people it’s really helpful. Not for everyone, right? Because some people have their own opinions and that’s okay. Because we also have our own opinions about things. And Ausra’s opinions sometimes are different from my opinion, right, Ausra? A: Yes. V: Would you, Ausra, like that my opinion would be the same, like yours? A: I can’t imagine that! V: (Laughs). What about me? Do you think I would love that? A: I don’t think so. V: We like to argue. Then we wouldn’t have anything to argue about. A: Yes. We love to fight. V: Yes. At least in drawings. A: That’s right. V: Okay. 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 302 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Henry, and he writes: I would like to start accompanying the congregation using an electronic keyboard. My question is, when and how do i start learning congregational opening hymns? Please i need your piece of advise on this issue. V: So, Ausra, opening hymns for congregational singing—I guess Henry should start learning them right from the start! A: That’s right. How else could you start to learn them? V: It depends on his level of ability, of course. A: True. V: If he can play four part harmonizations or not, yet. What to do if he can’t play four parts right away? Maybe sight read a bunch of hymns one voice at a time, two voices? A: Yes, that’s right. And that electronic keyboard, I assume, doesn’t have the pedal board, yes? V: Probably not. So then to me, accompanying hymns on the keyboard without pedals is more difficult that with pedals. What about you? A: True. V: Why? A: There is not much you can do on an electronic keyboard without a pedalboard. V: And your left hand, then, is very busy. A: True. V: Okay, so Henry might benefit from our “Hymn Playing Workshop”, probably, or “10 Day Hym Playing Challenge,” right? What do you think about that, Ausra? A: True! I’m just not sure why he is asking only about opening hymns. Will somebody else play the rest of the hymns? V: Right, it’s unclear. I can’t imagine the situation without him playing everything else. A: Or is he talking, maybe, about introduction of the hymns? V: Oh, you mean playing hymns like normally people would play, but adding introductions! A: Maybe that’s what he means. V: Okay, so then it’s another problem. He needs to creatively introduce hymns. A: True. V: What’s the easiest way? A: Well, just to play the last phrase or four measures of the end of the hymn. V: The last phrase. A: Yes, the last phrase. V: Or maybe eight measures—two phrases! A: Well, that wouldn’t be a phrase. I phrase is two measures. V: Yes, I meant two phrases, like a sentence. A: Yes. V: Is it okay to end the introduction with the dominant chord? A: Yes, in some cases that might work. V: You change the last cadence to the half cadence, and finish with the dominant chord, and what happens then is very interesting. The congregation is propelled into singing the first verse right away. A: Yes, that might work. V: Because what happens with the half cadence, Ausra? What’s the feeling? A: That something is unfinished and you have to continue and finish it. V: Like a question mark. A: Yes, it is like a question mark. Very good comparison. V: This year, when you started the harmony with kids, are you already talking about cadences or not? A: Yes, I’m talking about cadences all the time. V: So, how are they doing in playing or writing down cadences? A: Some better, some worse, as always. V: Do they have to write down cadences or play them in your school? A: Both. V: Both, right? I see. What do they like more, to write or to play? A: Some of them like writing more, some like playing. It depends upon the person. V: But playing is rather more difficult, probably. A: Yes, often it’s more difficult. V: Because you don’t have much time to think, just play rhythmically. A: But not for piano majors or choir conductors. V: Usually people who play melodic instruments such wind instruments or strings, they can’t play piano very well. A: Yes, it’s hard for them. Yes, it’s harder. V: Can they still advance with sufficient practice? A: Of course! Everybody can advance with enough practice. V: So Henry could also advance, probably. A: Yes. V: Do you think, Ausra, transposing hymns would benefit him? A: I think every musician needs to know how to transpose and to do that occasionally. V: Why? A: That’s a very useful tool. Well, it broadens your perspective. You get better acquainted with various keys, and it’s sort of like exercise for your brain! V: Like Sudoku? A: Yes! V: Musical Sudoku. A: I think even better. V: So it could postpone Alzheimer’s and similar illnesses. A: True. V: I see. Wonderful. So guys, you see, you can sometimes create your own exercises out of real hymns or even musical compositions that you are playing right now. Imagine you’re playing a piece of organ music: a chorale prelude. Is it possible, Ausra, to take an excerpt of a chorale prelude and to transpose it into other keys? A: Yes, of course, why not? V: What are the principles, when you do this? How do you think? I know you are a teacher, and you can’t imagine yourself, probably, as a beginner, but what do you think about when you transpose? A: Well, I think about a given interval, by which I have to transpose it. Well, sometimes, I add a different clef, too. That’s a possibility, too. V: What do you mean? A: Well, let’s imagine that this piece is written, let’s say, not in the treble clef, but in alto clef. That’s it. V: And alto clef means that on the middle line, there is treble C. A: That’s right. V: Okay. A: Or some other key. Soprano key, Tenor key. V: There are five C clefs, A: Yes. V: Three F clefs, and two G clefs. A: Yes, but I think the most common way to transpose, I think, is on a given interval. Think about it. V: How beneficial is it to think about scale degrees instead of intervals when you transpose? In which kind of music would that work? A: Well, it depends on how you think when you’re playing a piece in the home key—if you’re thinking in scale degrees or not. If you’re thinking then yes, it would be easier probably to transpose, thinking about scale degrees. I don’t think that myself. V: I don’t know many people who think in scale degrees. A: Me, too. V: Because, it’s harder for your brain, and we always strive to do easier things. A: Well, I think it’s not that it’s harder, but I think it’s more of a math approach, a less musical approach, thinking in scale degrees. There are some people who are very good at it. V: Some are better than others. A: That’s true. V: So, you can think about scale degrees, think about intervals, and even think about different clefs when you transpose. Those are the main three principles. A: That’s right. V: And, it can work for hymns, too, when you have to transpose either an entire hymn, or just a part of it like soprano, or bass. Right. So, Henry and others who struggle with learning congregational hymns could really benefit from transposing and sight reading in a home key, too, many many hymns. At first, it’s a slow process, right Ausra? A: Yes. V: And what happens later in three months, let’s say? A: It gets easier and easier. V: Would it always be as easy as sight reading? I mean can you sight read a hymn in a foreign key right away with fluency? A: Yes. V: Yes, I believe so, too, because if you, for example, want to get certified by the American Guild of Organists, in certain levels of examinations, they have transposition exercises of hymns, too. So transpose up a half step or whole step, or downwards. Up a major or minor third, or downwards, too. We have this course “Transposition for Organists, Level 1” which would be helpful for people, 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.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 300, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And this question was sent by John. And it doesn't start like a question, but rather like feedback or response to another question that we discussed earlier about improvising alternate hymn harmonizations. So John writes: There are a number of books of varied accompaniment [published by companies such as Kevin Mayhew and Novello], but these are for hymns sung by English-speaking congregations. Eric Thiman composed two books of excellent accompaniments [published by Novello and OUP, still available]. A very effective way of beginning a final verse is by playing a flattened seventh on the pedals. Other devices include: introduce a dominant pedal towards the end of the hymn, changing major chords into minor [if possible], playing the alto line above the treble, placing the treble line in the tenor [fauxbourdon - this is quite difficult and needs to be written out in full]. My advice would be (i) get hold of Thiman's books to see the techniques he uses and (ii) if you require a varied accompaniment for a choral, write in out if you are a beginner. Do not try improvising harmonisations until you are proficient. There is no fast-track route I'm afraid. I have just seen a single copy of C H Lloyd's "Free Accompaniment of Unison Hymn Singing" available on Amazon—this is a very rare book—brilliant accompaniments written by a master. Good luck! John V: That’s a lot of advice, right Ausra? A: Yes. V: And quite solid advice, I would say. John knows what he is talking about. A: But I think he took them all from that book that he advertises. V: Could be. We could discuss a little bit, what he is suggesting. For example, at the beginning of the final verse, you should play a flattened seventh on the pedals. Let’s imagine, C Major, flattened Major would be B flat, right? But in C Major there are no accidentals, so how would this sound? A: I don’t think it would work for every hymn, what he is talking about. V: Uh-huh. A: That dominant pedal point toward the end of the hymn, that nothing special. That’s very obvious too, in general,,, V: Okay. A: to have a pedal point. V: What about changing major chords into minor? A: That’s a possibility, yes. That’s if you would look at the collections such as, Cesar Franck’s ‘The Organist’. You would find it in each of the piece that he switches very often from major to minor. Because it’s a very easy thing to do, and you don’t have to do a modulation in order to do that. So that’s a very common tool. V: It is just a juxtaposition of two modes. And you mention Franck; yes he takes the same theme, right? A: That’s right. Yes V: Only rewrites it in minor. A: Yes. V: With no accidentals. So if the theme of the hymn is in C Major, you could just add three flats. A: That’s right. V: In many cases it would work. A: But not always, as John mentioned too. V: I imagine it would not work very well if we use harmonic minor; if this augmented second between the sixth and the seventh scale degrees would be, somewhat uncomfortable to listen and to sing. A: And again, because it’s hymn singing, you need to look at the text, because of that particular stanza where you would like to switch from major to minor or otherwise, because it might not suit the text very well. V: Uh-huh. So if the language talks about,,, A: Joy, and you will switch suddenly to a minor, I don’t think it would be appropriate. V: Mmm-hmm. And vice-versa. And you can add major in the minor hymn. A: I know. For example during the Lent, probably wouldn’t be good. V: Right. I find it easier to add major keys in the contemplative hymn, let’s say for communion, and play it softly, just like a meditation. Mmm-hmm. What about playing alto line above the treble? A: Well we talked many times about this but actually he suggested to play tenor voice above the other voices. V: Uh-huh. A: Because for alto voice, I don’t know, about this particular case that John talks, but in general while teaching harmony for many, many years, what I noticed that alto voice is the most,,, V: Stationary? A: Stationary. And it’s the most stationary voice and I don’t think it would sound so well in the soprano, in the treble range. V: Unless, we could add eighth notes. A: Yes. That’s true. V: Or interesting rhythms. A: Yes. Because in general when I look at the four voice harmonization, I can tell if it’s good or not just from looking at the alto voice. If it’s stationary, I know that it’s no good. V: No good, or good? A: It’s good. V: Ahh. A: If it jumps a lot then I’m looking for treble, and for mistakes. V: I see. If it jumps a lot your student is looking for treble. A: That’s right. Because, sort of like tenor voice, it’s like an inversion of soprano voice. So you can easily switch these two voices. But alto stays stationary... V: I see. A: ...most of the time. V: Right. What about the advice of writing down varied accompaniment? A: I think that’s a good idea, but I wouldn’t do that for myself, because I wouldn’t have time to do it. V: That’s probably for beginners more. A: Yes, but imagine if you are playing a church service, well you have to play what, at least four or five hymns for each service, and sometimes even more. So if you would start writing down the accompaniment for each of those hymns, I think it wouldn’t be enough for you, hours in the day. V: What if this is a full-time job and you are immersed in this position and have forty hours to do your preparation? A: Well, maybe do it once or twice, but in the future I would rather spend that time practicing, actual thing than writing it down. V: And then you will gain the skill of doing it on the spot. A: That’s right. V: Faster. A: Like with my ninth-graders, in music theory course, we start playing sequences on the piano. And some of them actually write them down. And I’m actually really not supporting these things, because I’m telling them in order spending all that time while writing, and memorizing it, rather just sit and play it. V: So, although John writes, there is no fast-track route, but I would think that the idea of ‘not trying improvising harmonizations until you are proficient’ needs to be somewhat understood not literally, right? How can you get proficient if you are not improvising hymn harmonizations? You have to improvise them, and make mistakes, and then get frustrated and get more mistakes. But it’s a process which needs to be done, I think. A: Yes. And I think sometimes you have to take a risk. That’s no different approach, how people learn for example, how to swim. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Somebody just tells that, drop somebody into the middle of the lake, and you either swim, or you will... V: Sink. A: Sink. I’m not telling that you have to sink and do these extreme things, but I think sometimes it’s worth risking. You cannot write everything down. V: Mmm-hmm. Right. And those mistakes will teach you many things, too. A: True. V: You learn more from mistakes than from good playing, I guess. Thank you guys. I hope this was useful to you. Ausra is also joining me, right? A: Yes. V: In hoping that you can apply those tips in your practice. And 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 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.
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 290 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Danielle. She writes: Dear Vidas and Ausra, I was an organ major as an undergraduate but had no background in harmony or scales. So even though I could learn organ literature, play for church services, and accompany choirs on organ, I could never improvise. Because I had no mental shortcuts (ie knowing what key the piece had modulated to, etc) the learning process was extremely arduous, and I stopped playing as soon as I could and switched to choral conducting. The stress of preparing for weekly church services was just too great. Fast forward 25 years, and now I am subbing on organ for Catholic masses, and sometimes cantoring simultaneously! Thanks to some Dalcroze training, I can now entertain the possibility of improvising. But I’m finding it to be more challenging to improvise on organ vs improvising on piano for children’s music classes. So my dreams are to be able to improvise postludes and to be able to re-harmonize the final verse of congregational hymns to add a few juicy twists. I see these goals as interrelated. The three things most holding me back are a lack of understanding of harmony, a lack of handy chord progressions to lean upon, and a lack of an organized approach to tackle these tasks. Thank you so much for your daily emails! They are very encouraging. Danielle in New York V: That’s a lofty goal, right Ausra? A: Yes, it is. V: But well worth pursuing, I would say. A: Yes, especially if you want to learn to improvise, you have to know something about music theory and harmony, of course. V: And I can imagine that if you are limited to just a few chords that you know, and basically playing from sheet music, you get quite frustrated if you can’t really prepare in advance those hymns and preludes on time for church services. And if you’re not good for sight reading, then it’s so challenging that people might quit, and she did, I think, many years ago. A: But it’s that Danielle came back to the organ after so many years. V: Mhm! Maybe she had this inner desire regardless of her limitations, which is nice. So, this desire, this inner motivation will keep her moving forward, even though the practice might not be as pleasant as it seems. A: Yes, and sometimes I think how much my students at school are ungrateful for what they are getting there. Because, they don’t have that understanding of what other people around the world are missing. That is so important for a musician to receive early training in music theory—harmony. V: The reason your kids are not grateful, I think, some of them shouldn’t even be there, right? They’re not planning to be musicians, I think, some of them. Or, they just want to play their instrument and they don’t even realize what kind of life is ahead of them. A: True, but some who later become professional musicians, they feel, I think, grateful for what they learned. V: Mhm A: It’s just too bad that sometimes in our school that theory is so much unrelated to the practice. V: Yeah, those 8 measure exercises are very good, and they’re limited in scope. Each exercise has their own chords and limitations, and the students will know what to put inside of those 8 measures or 2 sentences where the cadence is, right, at the end of four measures and at the end of the 8 measures, too. Sometimes you have an extension, right, maybe 10 or 12 measures, but that’s about it. A: Yes. And now when thinking about Danielle, I think she should learn or take a look at our course of harmony for beginners. V: Mhm, basically to look at the variety of courses we offer under the category of harmony and music theory, as well, because before attempting to learn harmony, you should know chords—basic chords… A: Yes, and of course keys, as Danielle wrote “scales,” I think she probably meant keys… V: Circle of Fifths A: Circle of Fifths V: With all accidentals. A: It’s sort of a cornerstone for music theory. V: So that’s why we created this Basic Chord Workshop, which tackles the main three note or four note chords, and even five note 9th chord as well, at the end, but in closed position. So, if it’s a tonic chord in C major, it would be C-E-G, in three notes, not in soprano, alto, tenor and bass layout, as harmony would be. But that’s another step. After this first course, then, Danielle would be ready to go to “Harmony for Organists Level 1”, I think. A: Yes, and then after that, I think it will be time for her to play some sequences and some cadences and some modulations from my YouTube videos. V: But before that, she would play the same sequences, but in closed position with one hand. Not with two hands, but basically internalize the chords “Basic Chord Workshop,” and that would help her to really get to know those chords, and get to know all the keys through those chords. A: Yes, and of course, in addition to this, then she would master those courses, she would have to analyze some pieces of music that she is playing, or that she has played in the past. And then, she would get a notion how a piece is put together. V: Right! So, basically, pick a favorite piece that you are playing, either right now, or in the past, or maybe in the future you are planning to do, and then look for those chords that you know. At first, maybe, simple chords—Tonic, Subdominant, Dominant—and their inversions—first inversion, second inversion—and once in a while, you will notice them. Not always, but sometimes the keys will be simple enough that you will start noticing those things. A: Yes, and analyze the hymns that you are playing for church. V: Oh, that would be even better. A: And then you could start by doing simple improvisation on a hymn tune, on those chords that are given to you. V: Right. A: Add some figurations. V: So, you don’t need to master an entire course about harmony before starting to improvise, right? A: True! I think it should come together, side by side. V: Yes. If we just think about it for a second, playing sequences is already sort of limited improvisation, right? Because you only have one chord with maybe a resolution, and then you have some rules, how to go about in ascending motion or descending motion, and then you improvise the rest of the sequence, too. This is basically the easiest way, and sort of applying those chords in practice. A: That’s right. V: And then, you can expand a little bit, right? Try to harmonize your hymns, but that’s a little bit later, probably. A: Yes, I think so. V: Or, if you want to do it earlier, you could play with two voices, not with four voices, adding the bass to the soprano line. Would that work? A: Yes, I think so. It should work. V: Okay, so I think we have laid out a plan for you for the next about three months or so, could be longer, but if you practice everyday diligently, after a few weeks, you will start noticing real decent progress, and that will keep you moving! A: Yes. V: Thank you guys for listening, for sending those thoughtful questions. Please continue to do so, we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen.
Here's what other people are saying:
As a retired physician (starting organ) I enjoy your daily missives immensely. Your joy, humor and wisdom shine through. You should be an online psychiatrist – and multiply your profits (and headaches)! I am thinking of renaming my 6 month old labradoodle pinky in honor of your work. Your artwork today is a Picasso in the making ?. Terry
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start Episode 281 of Secrets of Organ Playing podcast. Today’s question was sent by Spencer. And he asks for tutorials on playing varied hymn harmonies. What do you imagine, Ausra, this could be? A: Well, it always surprises me when people might think that there is one easy solution for such a complex issue as playing various hymn harmonizations. What do you think about that, Vidas? Is it easy or not, to do? V: For me it’s easy--but I’ve been doing it for 20 years. So guys, it’s difficult for the first 20 years, but after that it’s easy! But we shouldn’t discourage people like that. Are there any shortcuts on learning how to harmonize hymns? I don’t think so. A: Well...some of them might be, but you still need to learn what the keyboard harmony in general is. V: Mhm. So your first step should probably be to get familiar with the basic chords: tonic, subdominant, and dominant. And their inversions: the 6 chord and the 64 chord. What else? Dominant 7th chord, maybe? A: Sure. And then all the other chords, too! V: When you say all the other chords, it’s too much, right? But you could actually harmonize--with tonic, subdominant, and dominant--any type of hymn; because they usually are written in one key. What about if the hymn modulates in the middle? Can you use tonic, subdominant, and dominant then? A: Well...not exactly. Because you know, when you modulate, you need to show more dissonant chords. V: But if you treat this modulation as the new key, right--constant key excerpt or episode--and then you find out what are the tonic, subdominant, and dominant chords of that key, of the new key, and only use those 3 chords in that passage, and then come back-- A: Well, in very simple modulation, you can do that. V: Mhm. A: But really, it doesn’t always work. Usually after a common chord, you need to show some specific dissonant chord of the new key. V: Mhm. A: And you usually don’t use simple subdominant in that case. V: Mhm. A: You need to add something more sophisticated. V: So perhaps Spencer could benefit from our courses on harmonization. A: Sure. V: Like Harmony for Organists Level 1; Hymn Harmonization Workshop; your lessons with Victoria… A: Yes, and my sequences and cadences and modulations on YouTube. If you would play them all, you can definitely play various hymn harmonies. V: Mhm, mhm. A: It will give you some basic ideas about keyboard harmony. V: So if you were a beginner--it’s obviously very difficult for us to imagine that we are a beginner, but--if we are pretending, for a second, that we don’t know anything, like with a beginner’s mind--if you would want to start learning music theory and chords today, what would be your first step? Obviously those chords, right? A: Sure. V: What would you do today with them, on the keyboard--on the organ? You wouldn’t jump in and harmonize the hymn with those 3 chords, right away? A: Probably not, but you know what I would do? V: Mhm? A: If I would have to start from scratch, I would try to analyze what’s written. Let’s say, take a hymnal, and analyze a few hymns. I would see how the composer uses the chords; how they are related in between. V: What’s the voice leading… A: That’s right. V: Mhm. A: And maybe understanding and analyzing those written hymns would help me to comprehend… V: What are the forbidden intervals, what are some of the obvious rules of voice leading--right? A: Well, it’s actually pretty simple, you know, if you would only follow those rules; but when you start to do it practically, then you will find out that the easier the rule is, the harder it is to apply in practice, actually. V: Really? A: Really. V: I didn’t think about that before. Why? A: Well, even young Bach used some parallel fifths in his famous works. He never did it later on in life. But actually, those simple rules, like I mentioned a few-- V: Mhm. A: You need to avoid all parallel fifths and octaves. YOu need to avoid augmented intervals in any voice; well then, you need avoid 2 big leaps in a row facing the same direction, because if you do a leap, then your voice needs to change direction. V: Mhm. A: That’s how music works. Let’s say you cannot do 2 fifths in a row. V: Mhm. A: Going up or going down. V: One voice has to jump a perfect 5th, and then go down--let’s say a major 3rd. A: That’s right. V: Or perfect 4th. A: That’s right. And then of course, you need, in hymn harmonization, to avoid voice crossing. V: Mhm. A: It means, you know, that soprano always stays above all other 3 voices; and you know, alto then is below soprano, and tenor below alto; and you know, bass is the lowest voice. V: Mhm. A: And you avoid crossing them. V: So, alto should be between soprano and tenor, and tenor should be between bass and alto. A: Yes. V: Always. A: Yes, and then of course you need to look at the accidentals. Let’s say if you have a dominant chord in a minor key, you need to raise the 7th scale degree. And sometimes people do that, let’s say, in the soprano, which is a given, and then use the seventh scale degree in the bass, for example, and forget to add that seventh scale degree, raised. V: Mhm. A: And it sounds really bad. V: That’s harmonic minor. A: That’s right, the same in major if you use harmonic--harmonic major with the 6th scale degree lowered. You need then to do it consistently. V: But that’s rare in hymns. A: But yes, in hymns that’s rare; but not a dominant in a minor with the seventh scale degree raised. It’s pretty common. V: Mhm. And that means that the dominant chord is always major. A: That’s right. And another major mistake that you can make in conventional harmony: 2 subdominant key chords after a dominant key. I think this is the worst mistake that you can do. V: Why is that? A: Because after a dominant chord, it has that seventh scale degree, so it sounds very unstable. And after a dominant chord, you need to use either another dominant chord, or you need to resolve it to a tonic chord. But not to use subdominant, which has not such a big tension as a dominant. V: Mhm. Leading tone, or raised 7th scale degree, is always the least stable degree in a scale. A: That’s right. So after, you know...In harmony, usually if you build up tension, then we have to release it. That’s how it works, normally. V: Mhm. So after subdominant, after less tension, you could get more tension with playing a dominant chord. A: That’s right. V: But if you do it the other way around, then the tension gets less...But the chord is not resolved, so it’s strange. A: Yes, it is. V: Tonic after the dominant sounds good. But subdominant after the dominant sounds more...jazzlike. A: That’s right. And you don’t want that in hymn playing, probably. V: Probably, mhm. So that’s our general ideas for Spencer, and everybody who is interested in varied hymn harmonies, to start their own harmonization journey. And check out our courses on that; that’s a really big help. If that’s what our students tell us are true. And they’re of course telling the truth! Haha. Thank you guys for sending us those questions. Please keep writing more--your challenges and dreams about organ playing, what you want to achieve in 6 months, in 3 months, and what’s stopping you from achieving your dream. Even in the short term--maybe in a month, if you have a challenge coming up. Maybe like a public performance. We could try to help you get unstuck. Right, Ausra? A: Yes, that’s right. V: And remember, when you practice… A: Miracles happen.
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
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