Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 412, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Terry, and he writes: Very helpful! I did the 12 week course earlier and that was very helpful, as well, but did not have the scales. There are a couple of scales, however, that may require orthopedic surgery on my ankles to achieve a legato perfection! But, I will stay with it. Thanks for all you do. Terry V: Terry is talking about probably, our Pedal Virtuoso Master Course. And not everyone is able to do those scales and arpeggios, I think. But, as he says, orthopedic surgery is certainly not needed. A: Definitely. No wonder you hurt yourself. V: Right. As we always emphasize, technique exists for a person, and not the other way around. If something doesn’t feel right, adjust it, or skip it. Agree? A: That’s right. Don’t hurt yourself. I’ts the most important thing. V: Umm… A: But of course, I know what Terry means. I remember myself playing Dupré’s first preludes, first preludes out of those famous three ones: B Major, G minor… V: And F minor. A: And F minor. V: F minor is the second... A: Yes, F minor is the slowest, the second one. And G minor is probably the most famous, the third one. So I played the first one—B Major. And fugue actually had that fast and very elaborated subject, and it was quite a pain for me to play legato in the pedal. V: Mmm-hmm. Right! You need the higher heels. A: That’s right. And you might need to cheat sometimes, a little bit—just a little bit, to reach very wide intervals. V: Talking about the heels, last night, or not last night, maybe a couple of nights before, we had Unda Maris Studio rehearsal, and I found that one person needed organ shoes. But in Lithuania, what you have to do is either order shoes from abroad, over the internet, or go to some local shops and see what fits. But there is a third option too. I also found dancers shoe shop. And we saw online catalog, and it seems that some of the dance shoes really fit to play the organ too. A: Yes. Dance shoes are good. Not of course all, not the ballroom dances, but like folk type dances. V: Mmm-hmm. A: The shoes for them are suited well to play organ too. V: Right! So, do you think, Ausra, that men's shoes also could have high heels sometimes? A: Well, it’s hard for me to say because I’m not a man. V: But it doesn’t hurt, right? A: Yes, probably, because if now if I compare to organ shoes, men and women, definitely women's heel is higher than men’s. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So… V: Maybe it’s because, it’s a generalization of course, but men are sometimes or often higher than women. A: But still, if you are playing the pedalboard, then [it] doesn’t matter how long your feet, how long your legs are. Because I’m just talking about the high heels… V: Uh-huh. A: How high the heel is. V: Probably what matters most is how long your lower legs are. A: Probably how long is your foot itself. V: And foot, right? So, yeah. Maybe extending your heels would be sometimes wise—artificial extending. A: (Laughs). Yes. Make a surgery to extend your foot. V: No! (Laughs). I just say, what you could go to the shoemaker and ask him or her to adjust the heel—make it longer, higher. A: That’s right. V: Okay, so, maybe I’m not sure with what kind of shoes Terry is playing pedal scales too. Some people play with socks, without shoes. A: Well, don’t do it. I don’t think it’s a wise thing. V: Mmm-hmm. A: Then you can really hurt yourself. V: That’s right. But any rate, when you learn those scales, then they stay with you. It’s a good warm-up exercise before your regular practice. You could spend fifteen minutes every day just polishing up your skills and arpeggios before you really start playing the repertoire, hymns or improvisation or anything else. Right Ausra? A: That’s right. V: Thank you guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: And remember; when you practice... V: Miracles happen!
Pedal legato
Is easy after you hear Lonely crane trumpets.
Today's question was send by Levi. He wants to know how he can play consecutive black keys on the pedals in a legato articulation especially if going down the keys.
Listen to our full answer at #AskVidasAndAusra Please send us your questions. We love helping you grow. TRANSCRIPT Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. Vidas: And let's start Episode number 20 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. Today's question was sent by Levi. And he asks, "How can I play consecutive black keys on the pedals in a legato articulation, especially if going down the keys?" Legato, right? Ausra: Yeah. Vidas: Ausra, have you played two consecutive black keys recently on the pedals? Ausra: Maybe not recently, but I have definitely played it many times because if you are playing romantic or modern music, French symphonic music you definitely have to use this technique quite often. Vidas: Which one of your current pieces would be more suitable for this technique? Probably Franck, right? Ausra: Well, I don't think you know, you'd have to use it in Franck as much because if you know talking about sound, sounds better, Franck is quite easy actually. Compared to other French composers, so I'll see that you know, you will get to use this technique than playing Widor, Durufle, Vierne. Vidas: Unless your right foot is busy with swell pedal right? Ausra: Sure, but you know, somehow you can manage that, too. Vidas: Right, so you're playing Franck's B-minor chorale right now and the pedal line is not too complex, right? Ausra: Yes, it's certainly easy. Actually, I haven't found it, you know, hard or tricky. But I remember in playing Vierne’s 3rd symphony that would have really hard pedal part. Vidas: Yes, third symphony. Ausra: And especially that middle movement, because I had to play chords in the pedal. To play three or sometimes even four notes at the same time. And that was very difficult because I don't have very long foot. So, it was really hard for me to do it. When you have for example, to play an interval of the third in this one foot at the same time. Vidas: Oh, you need to have heels right? Ausra: Yes, definitely, yes. And you have to play two, four notes together in the pedal, at the same time. Vidas: Like a chord? Ausra: Yes, it's exactly a chord, that's what's very hard. But here the challenge is to know to play legato two consecutive black keys. And basically do you know the foot position very well. Because if you would go upwards, you would have to put the weight of your body on the big toe, and then to switch smoothly, sliding, in the sliding motion to the outer part of the foot. And to do exactly the opposite if you're going down. And if you're going from down you have to also to switch position off your foot at the same time. Vidas: Right. So, in order for me to understand and visualize it correctly, let me repeat what you are saying and paraphrase. Ausra: Okay. Vidas: If you're going upward with the left foot, right? And let's say you need to play F-sharp into G-sharp, right after the other. So, F-sharp would be played with the outside portion of the left foot, and the next note G-sharp would be played with the big toe, with the inside portion of the foot, left foot. Then, if you do this with the opposite direction, right? The G-sharp to F-sharp you switch inside to outside, and exactly the same is with the right foot too. F-sharp to G-sharp, big toe, and then outside of the foot, G-sharp. Or, G-sharp to F-sharp outside and inside. And so, Ausra it's a good advice I think, and Levi and others could practice isolating. Just this passage maybe one measure at a time and to play repeatedly, very, very slowly. And maybe 10 times, and get it right. Get it smoothly with legato, legato articulation. Ausra: Sure. Vidas: Probably one of the biggest mistakes people make here is to start playing the next passage right away and not correcting the current measure, right? If you feel mistake, you have to go back and make it really solid, reinforce it right away. That will help in the long run to build your solid and efficient pedal technique. So, Ausra, I hope with this answer will give our listeners more opportunities to practice the efficient way. What will be the easiest way for them to ask more questions? Ausra: We'll ask you to visit our webpage, www.organduo.lt and to send us the email with their questions. Vidas: But first they have to subscribe, right? Ausra: Sure. Vidas: Enter their first name and email address, become subscribers, then they will get our tips and blog posts daily and can reply. And that would be the best way to connect. Wonderful, guys I hope you will benefit from this answer and practice today with your feet, with your pedals. And remember when you practice … Ausra: Miracles happen! Yesterday I shared my advice for organists with small hands. Not always it is necessary to play legato but when it is, besides carefully selected finger substitutions and glissandos you can do one more trick which makes life easier for people with small hands.
I'm talking about leaving out some notes in a musical composition. The question is which notes can be ommited? Keep in mind that out of all the voices in a piece, the top note and the bottom note are the crucial ones, because the top note (soprano voice) often is the bearer of the most developed melody and the bass - foundation of harmony. Therefore occasionally we can leave out some of the middle notes. Of course, in organ music, there are many places where the melody is in the middle voice or where there is more than one melody present at the same time. In such case, you can ommit only the voice which doesn't have melodic interest. Therefore, this trick only works for thick chordal texture. If you see polyphony on the page, every single voice is very important. Each voice is like a character, a person. If you forcefully silence one person in a discussion between the 4 people, he or she will be quite disappointed. But if you take a large-scale piece by Max Reger, for example, a lot of times in fortissimo places you will find chords of 4-5 notes in each hand (and even the double pedal). This is a very difficult music to play for anybody, not only for a person with small hands. So you can easily reduce the texture somewhat by leaving out one note which is least important in each hand. This trick sometimes works for hymn playing as well. But you have to be careful by using it. Avoid the temptation to apply it in any situation where you seemingly have trouble reaching for wider intervals. Instead think hard about the possibilities of the most efficient fingering has to offer. 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. For many church organists, service playing involves not only performing hymns but also accompanying choir in anthems. One of the main difficulties in playing choral accompaniments on the organ is the legato touch. Although many different kinds of articulation are used in accompanying the choir on the organ, the legato is the most common. Without the proper legato the music might sound too choppy. In this article, I would like to give you some advice on how to achieve legato in playing anthems and choral accompaniments on the organ.
Write in Fingering Very often people do not play with a good legato because they do not know the best fingering. Because it is harder to use the proper fingering if it is not written in the score, I suggest that you write in your fingering. It is especially important that places which are the most difficult in achieving legato would be fully fingered. Do not hesitate to change the fingering if you find a better solution. However, erase the old markings and write in the new ones as you practice for best results. The same applies for the pedal part, of course. Finger Substitution Finger substitution is generally accepted as the most common means to achieve a perfect legato on the organ. However, it should be used wisely. For example, most often there is no need to apply finger substitution in a one voice passage because the legato can be achieved by using position, scale and arpeggio fingering in such a case. However, for episodes which require playing more than one voice in one hand, you can use finger substitution technique. Basically how it works is like this. While holding the same key with one finger, you substitute it with another finger. In chromatic music, this technique can work on chords where you substitute more than one finger at a time (double or even triple substitution). Finger Glissando If finger substitution cannot be achieved and all your fingers are busy, another option would be to use finger glissando. With this technique, you slide from one key to another using only one finger. In some cases, double glissando is also a possibility (sliding from two sharp keys to two natural keys). However, make sure that there is no other way to achieve the legato besides glissando. Quite often you can take the burden of one hand by playing a few notes with another hand. Whatever you choose, always write in your solution in the score. Finger Crossing Like finger glissando, finger crossing is not a very popular technique but sometimes it is necessary to use it. In finger crossing, you place the longer finger over the shorter one and vice versa. This technique is useful in playing wider intervals, like sixths, sevenths, and octaves legato. Usually finger crossing works best with fingers 3, 4, and 5. If you take my advice, write in fingering and use finger substitution, glissando, or crossing in your choral accompaniments, you can achieve a perfect legato even with small hands. More often than not the legato playing depends not on the size of the hands but on the choice of the fingering. The practical techniques of accompanying the choir with or without a conductor are discussed in Organ Technique: Modern and Early by George Ritchie and George Stauffer which I highly recommend. By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music. One of the most common problems people face in hymn playing is the legato touch. Achieving the perfect legato is especially challenging for people with small hands. They often struggle to play the inner voices with the same evenness and articulation as the outer voices. Today I would like to give you my personal recommendations and advice on how to play hymns legato with small hands.
Write in Fingering If you have difficulties with your hymn playing, I highly recommend that you pencil the best fingering in your hymn score. I think this is important because if you know the exact fingering in any given place, you are more likely to avoid using accidental fingerings. Accidental fingerings might just be the reason why achieving legato is difficult for you. So work out your fingerings in each and every measure, at least until you have more experience. Once you know the best fingerings, stick to them in your practice. Use Finger Substitution Finger substitution is a technique which helps achieving legato on the organ. By using this technique, you play one key with one of your fingers and then change to another finger while holding the same key. This technique works for holding two or more notes in the same hand as well. This is called double or triple substitution which is used in more advanced chromatic organ music. Use Finger Glissando Finger glissando is a technique in which you slide from one key to another with the same finger. You can employ finger glissando from the sharp to the natural key (the most common and easiest), from natural to natural, or from natural to the sharp key (the most difficult). The thumb glissando is the most often used. However, take care not to use this technique too often. As finger glissando is rather awkward for the beginner organist, in most of the instances you can solve the legato problem with finger substitution. Use Finger Crossing The least common legato technique in hymn playing, finger crossing might be achieved by putting a longer finger over the shorter one. In contrast, the shorter finger might be placed under the longer finger. Most often this technique is used in large chords and octaves which are absent in hymn playing. Treat Your Hymns Like Organ Compositions Although hymns are deceptively simple and short, the best way of practicing them is the same as in real organ music (at least for the beginner). Practice your hymns in shorter fragments, maybe one phrase at a time. If you have trouble achieving legato, play each of the voices separately. Try to play the phrase at least three times in a row correctly. Then practice playing various two voice and three voice combinations. Make sure your fingering is precise. Only after you are fluent in three voice combinations play all parts together. For most people, the right hand technique is more developed than the left hand. Therefore I recommend that you take the soprano and alto voices in the right hand and the tenor in the left hand. Take advantage of the pedals in the bass part. Although there may be many options in distribution of parts between the hands and feet, this is the most common disposition in hymn playing. If you can play an interval of an octave with one hand, follow my suggestions and you should have no problems achieving legato in hymn playing. If you would like to know more about hymn playing, I highly recommend studying Organ Technique: Modern and Early by George Ritchie and George Stauffer. This method book has separate chapter on hymn playing with many important exercises. Another great resource is Art of Hymn Playing by Charles E. Callahan. It has 250 Introductions, Preludes, Free Accompaniments, and Alternate Harmonizations. The pieces range from 2 part voicing to more complex. It is meant as a graded guide to hymn playing. By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide: "How to Master Any Organ Composition" in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music. |
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Authors
Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. 
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