 In today's weekly tutorial I would like to teach you about Whole Tone Mode or Augmented Mode. It has an interesting structure and it only consists of whole steps and no half steps. Hope you will enjoy this tutorial! Join this channel to get access to perks such as custom weekly members-only tutorials and others: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/join We support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/en If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo PayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkevicius My Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.html Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organist Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.lt Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg
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 In today's weekly tutorial I would like to teach you about Octatonic Mode. It has an interesting symmetrical structure (half step/whole step) and can only be transposed 2 times before it repeats itself. Therefore Olivier Messiaen included it in his modes of limited transposition. It's no coincidence that Octatonic Mode has distinct French flavor. Wide range of French composers of the 20th century used it and still are using it today. So if you want to create or improvise French style music, Octatonic Mode shouldn't be overlooked. Hope you will enjoy this tutorial! Join this channel to get access to perks such as custom weekly members-only tutorials and others: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/join We support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/en If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo PayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkevicius My Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.html Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organist Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.lt Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg  Today I'm going to teach you how to read 10 different clefs - 2 clefs, 3 F clefs and 5 C clefs. This tutorial was requested by Rien Schalkwijk who is my channel member and supporter. Having ability to read different clefs is very useful if you want to transpose melodies when improvising. It's not complicated to do, once you understand what these clefs are and what notes they point to. Let me know if you find it helpful! If you want to learn to transpose, I recommend my Transposition for Organists (Level 1) course: https://secrets-of-organ-playing.myshopify.com/products/transposition-for-organists-level-1?_pos=1&_sid=9703ad259&_ss=r Join this channel to get access to perks such as custom weekly members-only tutorials and others: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/join We support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/en If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo PayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkevicius My Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.html Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organist Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.lt Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 649 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Bob, and he’s taking our Melodic Dictation Course Level 1. He writes, "Vidas, I have a question about 4 kl. 280 in Melodic Dictation Week 9. I thought that if there is a pickup measure in a song that the last measure of the song and the first measure should add up to one measure. But in this case there is a rest contained in the last measure, so the two measures do not add up to one measure. How do I decide whether I should add the rest or not? Or is it one of those times that it does not matter? Thanks. Bob" 
V: Well, first of all, this is not a song, because song has to have either words or to be a vocal piece.
A: Sure. V: So it’s an exercise then. A: That’s right. V: More correct word. But you see what he means, there is a pickup and a full measure in the… A: Well, I get these kind of questions from my students all the time. And because that’s how we teach them how the pickup is. And we say that if there is a pickup, then with the last measure it should be one whole measure. But it’s not always the case, and as it is in this case, it’s not. And it’s okay. It’s perfectly normal. It would be perfectly normal even if in this last measure there would be a half step - half note - yes? And there would still be a pickup of eighth note at the beginning. It’s fine. You could find it both ways in music. It’s perfectly normal. V: Yes. A: Actually no - and that last note, if it’s like quarter, dotted quarter note, or it would be a half note, it wouldn’t matter so much, because in general if we are talking about piano, and I believe you probably played this dictation on the piano, the sound dies while holding it, so. But often you cannot tell precisely how long the last note actually was because of that specification of the piano sound dying. It’s not like the organ. V: You are correct, and also we have to keep in mind that this basically foundational understanding - that if you have a pickup, then the last measure should not be complete - is only taught basically in the first grade so that kindergarten or very early schoolchildren should understand this concept: pickup is part of the last measure. But then when you get to real pieces, real musical compositions or longer exercises, you get all kinds of things. For example, just before we started recording this conversation, I was downloading my own video, “Nine Steps in Mastering Schumann’s Canon in B Major, Opus 56, No. 6.” And I have this long, an hour-long video, and I wanted to cut the last part, the last step basically, and make it a complete short video demonstration of this wonderful canon. And guess what? This canon does have a pickup of a beat, one quarter note in the beginning. And while we were talking right here, I looked up the score, and the last measure, look - this is a complete measure, not two - one half note and a final barline, but dotted half note like ¾ meter complete measure. A: Yes, that’s often the case. So it’s not an exception actually, it’s quite normal. V: Yes. But as Ausra said, when you play it on the piano, it’s difficult to understand when exactly the sound ends, especially at the end, when the last note is sounding. If you had like 3-note or 4-note chord playing with both hands, it’s easier, because more sounds are depressed all sounding at the same time, right? And you then can pick up the ending of the sound more easily. A: Well if I would be a teacher that would have to grade this dictation, I would find it correctly if it would be written half note at the end, or as is given in this case where it’s a quarter note with a dot and then the rest of eighth, and even if it would be only dotted quarter note, it would be fine with me. V: Mmhm. I see. You could say that this measure could be complete, incomplete - either way is fine, right? A: Yes. V: I agree. I guess Bob can find many more exercises like this in this Melodic Dictation Course, and he seems to enjoy writing those dictations. Do your students enjoy writing dictations, Ausra? A: Some of them do, but most of them don’t. V: Why not? A: Well, they can’t do it very well. V: Can’t or can? A: Can’t. V: So they don’t want to improve? A: Sure. Especially now when we have online teaching. You know, just like two days ago I asked them if they could tell me which way they like my dictations more, because I was using two different programs. One, at the beginning I was actually using the Rode Mic, and was recording them with my phone. Later I switched to recording through OBS Studio and was using our new mic, very powerful one; and later I switched to Piano Tech program. And then I asked them if they could tell the difference between Piano Tech and the earlier recordings with the mic. Only one of my students could tell me why she liked Piano Tech more, that the recording is better quality and she might do it as loud as she wishes. Everybody else couldn’t tell the difference. So I realized they would just keep rewriting these dictations from somebody else. V: They’re not listening to your dictations. A: Sure. V: That’s terrible. A: And all this effort that I put in and all those hours that I spent recording those dictations they are just going nowhere. V: Except when you’re telling it. Now maybe if somebody from our subscribers can go to your channel on YouTube and start writing these dictations, yes? A: Sure. Yes, there are multiple choices, because I have big list starting from last spring. There are dictations that I listed like A, B, C, D, E Levels dictations, A being the easiest, one voice dictations, B and C two voice dictations, and then D and E being the three-part dictations, so, and there was also a section of ear training on my YouTube channel, where you can also find various types of dictations. V: So you just have to find a playlist called “Ear Training,” right? A: Yes. V: And obviously, for obvious reasons, there is no music, score on the screen for people to look at while they are writing dictations so that they only use their ear, but if you would like to write dictations and then have answer key, then check out my Melodic Dictation Master Course, Level 1. The one that Bob is taking. And then you will have not only all your files, but also answer keys with scores. A: Yes. V: All right guys, this was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and BMC and get early access to our videos. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying and buymeacoffee.com/organduo Vidas wanted to study at my school so he had to pass my ear training entrance exam. Would you like to see what happened?
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys! This is Vidas. A: And Ausra. Vidas: Let’s start episode 632 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Diana, and she wants to know: “Is there a reason for avoiding parallel 5ths?” Vidas: Probably, she means parallel 5ths in tonal music, right Ausra? Ausra: Yes, I guess that’s what she means. Vidas: What do you say to your students, Ausra, when they ask this question? Ausra: Well, I have no words, actually. I have heard this question so many times before, you know, I am simply too tired to argue and to convince people. But you know, if you will not hear the difference when let’s say the hymn is harmonized with parallel 5ths and when it’s not, then I don’t think that I could say anything more. Maybe you could try! Vidas: Yes, good idea for Diana and others who are wondering. Maybe play any type of music, maybe a hymn—your well known hymn, for example, that you’re singing in a church today. Maybe harmonize it in major triads, root position chords like C-E-G if it’s C Major, or D-F#-A if it’s D Major, or G-B-D if it’s G Major. Just major chords, and you will get all parallel 5ths this way, with parallel bass and soprano—between bass and soprano, and then see if you enjoy this kind of sound. Ausra: And if you will, it means that you still need to have a lot of musical training! Vidas: And I don’t think people won’t hear the difference. I think the difference will be noticeable if you play the same hymn from the hymnal harmonization and with this kind of parallel 5ths harmonization. This will be very obvious! As a special exercise, I think this type of writing could be done even in your improvisation, right? But it’s a special style. It’s not for everyday use. Ausra: If you would analyze pieces by early Bach, young Bach, teenager Bach, then you could encounter parallel 5ths occasionally, not very often, but occasionally, yes. But in mature Bach, you would never find parallel 5ths, so I guess that might be true with other composers as well. Vidas: In Bach’s writing, you would even find spots where in order to avoid parallel 5ths, he makes a very intricate voice leading which is not comfortable for the hand. Ausra: That’s right! It astonishes me every time when I’m working on a new piece by Bach and I’m just shouting to Vidas, “Oh you know Bach was a voice leading freak!” Of course, I’m just kidding, but he really took the voice leading very seriously. This is obvious in his major works for organ, like “Prelude and Fugues.” Vidas: And going back to the question about major chords, at one point I was writing pieces for organ just from major and minor root position chords exclusively. They would sound pretty colorful, but I wouldn’t use parallel 5ths very often; I would use strange interval relationships. I would still use probably contrary motion between soprano and bass in order to avoid those parallel intervals but keep the same chord. So for example, if the soprano goes from C to D and the bass goes from C to D we would get two C Major and D Major parallel chords, so instead of this, I would move the bass somewhat downward in a different direction than the soprano and have from C to Bb, and the C Major and D Major I would get C Major and Bb Major chord. Makes sense? Ausra: Yes, sure! Vidas: So this is better. Ausra: And you know, we are talking about avoiding parallel 5ths in the music of the common period, and of course if we would talk about music from the Middle Ages, early organum course the parallel 5ths were perfectly normal. Vidas: Early polyphony originated from Gregorian Chant in a way that it was like commentary on the chant, and at first it was like a parallel motion in parallel 5ths, and octaves, 4ths, with the chant, and therefore it was not independent, but very gradually the motion because more independent between voices, and composers understood the value of contrary motion and independence of voices. Ausra: I think as soon as the major and minor triads and sixths appeared in the music, composers stopped making parallel 5ths. Vidas: What’s interesting… what came first, instrument tuning with major thirds, or musical compositions with major thirds? Ausra: I think they came together. I think they supplemented each other. Vidas: Mhmm! Because at first keyboard instruments were tuned in perfect 5ths, like the Pythagorean tuning system, and in that time parallel 5ths were predominant, and sounds of 5ths were also predominant. We also have the earliest surviving keyboard manuscripts from the 14th century. It’s called the Robertsbridge Codex,” (Estapie Retrove is one of more famous pieces from this collection) or a little bit later in the century, “Codex Faenza.” There, you will find lots of intervals with parallel 5ths. Ausra: Yes, and it was normal to finish a piece with the interval of perfect 5th. Vidas: Open 5th. Ausra: Open 5th or an octave. Vidas: Yeah, but later tuning changed, and the style changed at the same time. We would hear more and more sounds of major 3rds. At first not in a root position, but maybe in the first inversion. Fauxbourdon, it was called. Ausra: That technique of parallel 6th chords was very common, actually, at one point. Vidas: Mhm! It was transferred to the continent from England, actually. John Dunstaple was using that at the end of the Gothic period—beginning of the Renaissance, basically, and then it moved to France and Burgundy. Ausra: Yes, because the major and minor systems were sort of completed during the Renaissance period, and during that period parallel 5ths started to disappear very fast. Vidas: Except in final cadences. Right? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Because it was still a perfect interval to finish the piece or a section. So, I hope this answers Diana’s question somewhat. But as Ausra says, people need to get more basic training first in order to understand these concepts. Ausra: Sure because the scientist musicologists from ancient times wrote treatises about all these things that we are talking about, and even just about simple intervals you might find many many volumes of treatises written, and so in order to understand that, you need to dig deeper. Vidas: Alright guys, this was Vidas, Ausra: And Ausra! Vidas: Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, Ausra: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying SOPP612: “I don’t really understand the difference between open and closed position chords”9/5/2020
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys! This is Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 612 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Diana, and she writes: “I don’t really understand the difference between open and closed position chords.” V: The context for this question was that I think I talked about harmonization in one of my recent videos on YouTube when I was trying to harmonize some chorale tune in either 22 ways or 28 ways, either in two, three, four, five, or even six parts. Do you remember those videos, Ausra? A: Yes, I remember you doing them. I haven’t watched them very closely, so I don’t know what you have been talking about. V: So one of the versions is to play soprano in the right hand and the bass in the left hand. That’s a two part version. A: Oh, okay. V: And then the voices can switch, and then gradually we come to the three part version, soprano in the right hand, alto in the left hand, the bass in the pedals, or soprano in the pedals, alto in the left hand, and the base in the left hand again. It could be this way, various dispositions, but again, it’s possible to do this in four parts, and the first exercise is to harmonize in closed position; one voice would be in the left hand part in the bass, and three upper voices would be in the right hand. Does it make sense? A: Sure, of course! I’ve been teaching harmony for many many years, so it makes sense. V: What is easier for you? Open or closed position? A: Well, it doesn’t matter, actually. V: Anymore. A: Well, if I want, of course, to make things easier, then I think closed position is more comfortable. V: That’s because you only worry about one voice in the bass. A: Especially if you are playing organ. You could play that bass with the pedal, and play the other three voices with your right hand, and you can just rest your left hand, which is so nice. V: Turning the pages. A: Sure. But anyway, if, you know, such question rises that you don’t know what the open or closed position is, then what can I say. It looks like she doesn’t have any formal musical training, because even in the music theory courses, people find out what closed and open position is. And for my students in the harmony course, I teach this thing during the first lesson, because basically the closed position is when the intervals between alto and tenor and alto and soprano voices don’t exceed the 4th. V: Interval of the 4th. A: Yes, the interval of the 4th, of course. V: For example, from C to F. Right? A: Well, yes. V: Or from D to G. A: Yes. Well, if they exceed the 4th, it means it’s an open position, that the space between the bass and tenor might be really wide or might be really narrow. It doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make any difference for the closed or open position. So basically, I’ll give you and example of a closed position C Major Tonic chord. It’s C-E-G-C. So you have, let’s say, a third between bass and tenor (C-E), then you have a third between tenor and alto (E-G), yes, and you have a fourth between alto and soprano (G-C). Now I will make the same chord and make it an open position. So you would have, let’s say C-G (bass tenor), and then you would have E in the alto, so between G and E, you would have an interval of a sixth. Then E would go to C. E-C would go from alto and soprano, it’s the interval of the sixth. So it’s open position. V: So in other words, an open position is C-G-E- and C. A: Yes, but this is only one example of closed and open position, because if you would take any root position chord, you could have like six basic general positions. Three would be closed and three would be open. But if you would have the first inversion of a root position chord, then you would have even more options, because you could also have positioned this which is neither closed nor open. It would be like a mixture of both. V: Mixed position! A: Yes, mixed position! And basically, every six chord has 10 positions, how you can place it. So it’s an entire science. V: I mean… you mean that the distance between three upper parts in the six chord can be either a third and a fourth? A: Well, it can be unison, too! V: Unison, yeah. Or it could be a fifth and a unison, which is also a mixed position. So many many versions. But I think for now, Diana doesn’t have to worry about first inversion chords. The six chord root positions are quite enough trouble already. A: Well, it depends on what your goal is. I cannot comment on that. V: I know she has ordered a harmonization book by Sietze de Vries, which starts with those simple root position chords and teaches people to harmonize easily various melodies. And, this is the first step for people who want to improvise. So, of course, we need to talk about other things, which this book doesn’t cover, and we have harmonization of the bass in the “Harmony for Organists” course level 1, and obviously other courses connected with Hymn Playing, or Harmonization, or Improvisation as well, so you can check it out. But yes, harmony starts with the first thing, and you have to understand open and closed positions. A: That’s right. V: Thank you guys! This was Vidas, A: And Ausra! V: Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Let’s start episode 603 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Pieter, and he writes, Dear Vidas, Thank you for your email with week 11 of the sight reading course attached. I am persevering with the daily routine and I notice first of all a much greater stability and confidence with rhythm. Some of the figures in the exercises are complex from a sight reading perspective but this has definitely improved over the weeks. I think notation accuracy was not a major problem for me but I still have to be careful to observe accidentals etc. It is very easy to miss repeated ones. I am greatly enjoying the routine of the course and am always a little curious as to what the new challenges will be week on week. I will of course contact you if there are any queries but for now it is all very clear and the approach you take is very logical. My very best wishes, Pieter V: So Pieter is taking our Organ Sight Reading Master Course, Ausra, right? A: Wonderful. V: And he seems to get a great deal of enjoyment and also results from it. A: Well, I think it's very beneficial to spend some time every day on doing sight reading. V: You know, just recently these last few days, I was also beginning to pick up my sight reading routine again. It’s quite difficult to do it properly and regularly when you are doing many recitals every month and mastering many kinds of organ pieces regularly every week and uploading them to YouTube and perfecting them. But, I’ve still convinced that doing regular sight reading exercises will help me and anyone else in the long run, right Ausra? A: Yes. I remember a few summers ago, I spent in the village with my parents and I didn’t have an access to an organ, so I brought with me a few volumes of classical sonatas. So I sight read whole sonatas by Mozart and whole sonatas by Beethoven. And actually, it was fun and it was really beneficial. V: Absolutely. Sometimes people don’t realise the power of sight reading they have under their fingertips. Like for me, my eventual goal is to sight read an organ recital. A: Wow! What would you play on that kind of recital? V: Let’s say Widor symphony. Or Vierne. A: Maybe some Fantasy by Max Reger? V: Anything, yeah, anything that people would request. You know, some organists online, when they play live recitals, they take requests from their audience. And sometimes they take requests and their fans leave comments with their favorite pieces. And for the next recital, this organist would learn this piece, or a few pieces, you know? A: Well, it would be more fun if right before recital, audience could choose their program for particular recital. V: Yeah, post like a poll with some choices in some categories like baroque, romantic, contemporary, or 20th century and then contemporary, and plus improvisation obviously, and then people could choose, and I could play anything they choose. That would be really fun! A: Well, good luck with that! V: I’m not at the level just yet, obviously, where I could sight read a recital. But I am at the level where I could sight read a soprano part for the recital. A: Good! I think I could do that, too! V: Yes. A lot of organists that I know have decent sight reading skills. Sometimes better than we do, right, Ausra? A: Well, I’m pretty good at sight reading, but it’s still not enough to be really good. V: So, I just tried to sight read live and stream it on YouTube for a few days in a row, just soprano part. I took, I think Sweelinck’s pieces - Variations on Allein Gott - and this is a very long piece, with I think 14 or 17 variations. And I enjoyed playing and counting and playing at the concert tempo actually, the right tempo, with good quality registration, with nice sample set from I would think Rotterdam, St. Laurenskerk, by Sonus Paradisi. But only the soprano part, you know? It’s like one single instrument was playing. One melodic instrument. A: Yes. You love to do that kind of stuff, as I noticed. V: Yeah, and after awhile, when I go through all those collections of my favorite music, I can go back and sight read alto part. A: And then maybe to put things together, or not? V: Not yet, then the third step would be the tenor line, and then the fourth part would be the pedals. And then the fifth step would be soprano and alto part together. But that is many weeks away. A: Okay, we will see how it will go. V: Because my goal is not to master each individual piece, but my goal is to be able to be able to reach this level where I could sit down and play whatever I want at the first sight reading test. A: Well don’t you think you are a little bit too old to get such a kind of skill? V: As long as I’m living, I think I can improve. This is encouragement for senior organists, too. A: Yes, but it will take you many years, I think. V: Longer than… A: Sure, sure. V: ...in my childhood days. A: Yes. V: But now I have another advantage over my early days, because I’m focused. I know what my goals are. Remember when we were little kids, 6 years old, 7 years old, even 10 years old, do you think we could do some focused practice back then? A: Well, actually I don’t know about you because I didn’t know you at that age, but I was pretty good with focus since very early in my age. I didn’t have that problem. V: What was your goal in music playing, let’s say when you were 7 years old? A: Well, whatever my teacher gave me to learn, that’s what I learned. V: So that was not your goal then. A: Well, but you know, I always knew what I will want to play next. And if my teacher would ask, I would say that I want to play this, this, and that. V: Mm hm. So you had a good teacher. A: Yes. V: Me too. So anyway, we are now at the age of whatever, we are however old we are, and we also need challenges. Every age level needs challenges. Larger or smaller, it doesn’t matter, but it has to keep you on the edge and this goal has to be interesting enough for you to encourage you to get up out of bed in the morning. A: Well, yes, but people can have various goals. V: Such as? A: Just to live through a day and enjoy it. V: Yes, that’s one goal. To reach the end of the day. A: That’s right. V: Mm, for me, I need more adrenaline, you know? A: Well, I enjoy a slow life. V: I mean adrenaline, not like riding g a motorbike through the cliff and jumping from roof to roof, but challenges like this keep me also, keep me motivated to continue to practice. A: Well I enjoy looking at my flowers, watering them, observe my environment. It makes me happy. V: Very good. You feel relaxed like this? A: Yes, sure. I don’t need to count my YouTube channel subscribers like you do. V: Yes, she’s making fun of me of course. And I’m guilty of this, too. A: But I love practicing the organ and playing the organ. But it seems that Vidas sometimes enjoys more counting how many pieces he played, how many hours he had posted, and as I mentioned before, how many new subscribers he got, and so on and so forth. For me, there is all this not as important. I enjoy actually process. Because I am not practicing for anybody else, I practice for myself. V: So guys, you see, we are different. Right, Ausra? A: Yes. V: And I believe our subscribers are different. A: True. V: So if some people like what I’m teaching, staying focused and keeping yourself motivated with external goals, and accountability like public performances, then you can pay attention to what I’m saying. But if on the other hand, a person is more like Ausra, then of course, she can teach you some things, too. A: Well, let me make one remark about your teaching. Sometimes, it reminds me of preaching, not teaching. V: Define preaching. A: Like telling how many minutes per day you have to put on the YouTube channel, in order to get a larger audience. V: Oh, I know what you mean. Can I share this with our subscribers now? A: Please do. V: Okay. Before we recorded this conversation, we were talking about a strategy for Ausra’s channel, to grow it to reach 4,000 watch-hours in the past 12 months. Basically, within the year, she needs to reach 4,000 hours. This is 240,000 minutes. (laughs) 240,000 minutes per year, of watch-hours. I mean, total number of minutes that anybody watched your videos. Does this make sense? A: Well, not really, because when you start naming all those minutes and seconds and hours and all those numbers, my brain just shuts down. V: You know why? It’s important this number. Maybe not those 240,000, but 4,000 hours, watch-hours. Because this is one of the requirements that YouTube has since 2018, if you want to monetize your videos, your channel. If you want to show ads on your videos and get rewarded for people watching them. So one of the requirements is to reach 1,000 subscribers, and another part of this requirement is to reach 4,000 watch-hours within the past year. A: That’s why I don’t watch your videos, because we have all those ads before the real performance, and it usually advertises things like diets. And I’m thinking, do they really know that I am fat and I need to go on a diet? V: Now, you see ads because you don’t have a YouTube premium account. I have YouTube premium. I pay extra for this privilege, but I don’t watch ads. A: Well, I rather be just a regular user but don’t have to pay for it. V: I could pay for you. A: No thank you. V: I see. So anyway, this strategy to reach 4,000 watch-hours in the last 12 months is something we have to figure out. How often should we post, and how long the video should be? And it turns out that the longer, the better. Because if you post short videos, then even if you have, like, 100 views, you will have like maybe 100 minutes. A: But still, I’d rather prefer to sit down at the organ bench and practice instead of just keep counting as you do nowadays. V: Absolutely. So after we’re done recording this conversation, we will go to practice. And my hope is that Ausra will let me to record her practice, longer practice I mean, and she would get 15 or even 30 minutes of watch-hours from one organ practice lesson today. A: I guess I have no choice, just to obey you. V: No, it’s an experiment. And see if people will criticize you. And if not, you can continue, if you like. A: Am I your guinea pig? V: In a sense, we all are our own guinea pigs, so I do experiments with myself easily, and when it works, I can advise other people. A: And now it’s not enough just to do experiments with yourself, so you are involving me. V: Okay, guys. This was Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: (laughs) We will go to practice now, and we will of course report the results afterwards, in the next podcast conversation. Thank you guys. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys, this is Vidas! A: And Ausra! V: Let’s start episode 586 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Amir, and he writes: “I think you surely heard this question before. What is the rule regarding accidentals if a note with an accidental is to be held for more two bars and after that it is repeated in the second bar, should the note change as an accidental be repeated in the second bar (in case that there is no sign of an accidental) or it is to be omitted? Thanks Amir” V: Amir is taking our Organ Sight-Reading Master Course, and in some lessons, from “The Art of the Fugue,” by Bach, sometimes you get a notation which is not entirely clear sometimes for him, so he asks if there is no sign in the new bar of a new accidental, should you repeat the new accidental or not? A: Well, that’s a good question, but actually it’s very simple, because if the note is repeated, so it means you have to hit the key again, yes? V: Mhm A: So it means that you don’t have to use that old accidental unless it’s written in, but if the note is slurred with the… V: Previous? A: Yes, from the previous measure, it means you don’t have to repeat it, and it means that that accidental from the last bar is still valid. V: Yes, I think that’s the case. A: And in general the rule with accidentals, as I teach in my Music Theory lessons is that accidental is valued for one measure, one voice, and one octave. That’s the basic rule. V: So if you have two voices in the same staff, and only one has an accidental, the other voice has to have an accidental in order to have that accidental. Right? It’s only valid for that particular voice. A: Yes, it’s valid for one voice, one measure, one octave. V: In the next measure, it has to be repeated accidental, right? A: That’s right. V: Or in the other octave, if you jump an octave up, and you want to hit that accidental, the composer has to write that accidental, too. A: That’s right. V: That’s the basic rule of Music Theory and Music Notation. If you’re not sure always, you can double check with music notation software. You notate some notes, and see how the computer generates the notation for you. It’s always clean and understandable. This way, sometimes we do check. Right Ausra? A: Well, I don’t know. I think I know Music Theory pretty well enough that I wouldn’t have to use that Sibelius or Finale to check it, but… V: You don’t think that you know more than the computer! The computer is smarter than you! A: Well, no, it’s not, and really, in these musical problems, you might find mistakes as well, so I’d better choose to believe my head. V: But what I mean is that maybe Sibelius has a current rule written, and your rule is maybe out of date! A: well, as you say, but actually what I also trust is that I trust my ear when playing music. It also tells me if that accidental is right or wrong, unless we are talking about very modern music—atonal music. V: Sometimes, you know, it’s difficult to see even with Bach, in chromatic music, if he meant a sharp or a natural somewhere. A: Yes, that’s true. And sometimes, if you would compare different editions, you might find different solutions for the same spot. Especially if we are talking about old music. V: Right. So guys, please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, A: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Patreon and get free CD’s. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying
Vidas: Let’s start Episode 80 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast. Today’s question was sent by Ugochukwu, and he wants to know about enharmonic transposition. He writes, “Why do I need to know the rules for enharmonic transposition if the notes sound the same?
So Ausra… Ausra: Oh my God... Vidas: This is a question about harmony; and first, let’s explain for people, what is enharmonic transposition. Ausra: Well, in general, enharmonic means it sounds the same, but it’s written in a different manner. For example, F♯ and G♭. That’s the same note on the keyboard, but has a different meaning in a score. But you know, when a question like this rises, I just would like to ask Ugochukwu if he knows, for example, the Circle of Fifths. Vidas: It’s hard to tell; I think he doesn’t. Maybe he has heard about the concept, but if you tell him, “Please tell us the exact order of keys,” I wouldn’t count on it. Ausra: Well, if you don’t know what enharmonic means, and you don’t know how to do enharmonic modulation, it means that theoretically you cannot realize the music you are playing, especially if you are playing, Romantic music and modern music. Because look what happens in the Circle of Fifths: if you will not change keys enharmonically, you go, let’s say from C Major, which has zero accidentals. Then you go to a fifth above, you have G Major with one sharp and then D Major with 2 sharps, A Major with three sharps, E major with four sharps; then you go to B major with five sharps, and then you come to the F♯ Major with six sharps. In this place you should have to change enharmonically to G♭, and then you would start moving into the direction of the flats by omitting one of the flats. But if you wouldn’t do that, so instead of D♭ Major, you would receive C♯ Major and then G♯ Major… Vidas: How many sharps do you have with C♯ Major? Ausra: You have 7, and that’s the most you can have in music. Because other sharp keys moving up from C♯ Major, would have double sharps; and we don’t use that. We don’t create keys like this in real music. You could do that theoretically, but you could have the key of G♯ Major, but it would have six sharps and one double sharp. Vidas: Mhm. Ausra: And then D♯ Major would have like 5 sharps and 2 double sharps. That’s you know, artificial keys; we don’t use those in music. So for example, yes, F♯ and G♭ sound the same, but they have completely different musical meaning. Vidas: You have to specify a little bit that F♯ and G♭ sound the same on a keyboard that is tuned in equal temperament. Ausra: Yes, but let’s not go now into historical temperaments. Just focus on this, on equal temperament. For example, let’s say if you are in the key of g minor, for example, and you have a dominant 7th chord--D, F♯, A, and C--could you write in the music, like, G♭? No, because it would not make any sense. Vidas: Why? Ausra: Well, because in the key of g minor, it would be the first scale degree lowered, and we do not do that. Vidas: Why? Ausra: That’s inappropriate! That’s simply...you know, you could not say in math, like that 2 + 2 = 3, because it equals 4. So this is the same. They’re just, like, general rules. Vidas: Ah, it’s like the sun revolving around the moon. Or the earth. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Hahaha. Or vice versa. I always forget. Ausra: And, for example, if you have an interval, like C to F--that’s a fourth, yes--and you invert them, you have F and C--that’s a fifth. That’s how it works. That’s just math. And the same with enharmonic things. Vidas: Is it a rule or a law? Ausra: I would say that’s a law. Vidas: In tonal music. Ausra: Yes, in tonal music. Vidas: You have to specify which kind of music. Ausra: Yes, in tonal music. But look, that tonal music, it goes all the way from Middle Ages to 20th century. And even in the 20th century, most composers still base their music on these laws. Vidas: There was--or we could say, still is--a number of composers who don’t adhere to the rules of tonal harmony, right? And they treat any pitch of the chromatic scale as a tonic in serial Dodecaphonic style. Ausra: Well, yes there are exceptions; but for example, look, if you have a composition, let’s say, whose home key is D♭ Major, and if composers will start to confuse this key, D♭ Major, with for example, C♯ Major which are enharmonically the same, yes? Vidas: Mhm. Ausra: You just will not be able to learn it. Vidas: It’s like sometimes when I play a composition or improvisation on my keyboard, which is connected to the computer through Sibelius program--and notes appear on the screen right away (with weird syncopations, perhaps, I have to clean it up later), but what I improvise, could be written down, right--instantly. And if I play in some kind of tonal mode (major, minor, very simple and understandable), sometimes a certain flat or certain sharp gets mixed up in Sibelius. And instead of D♯, they write E♭. Suddenly, in let’s say, in a e minor piece: instead of D♯, I would get E♭. It’s weird. E♭ is not present in e minor. Ausra: Yes, yes. Vidas: So that’s why we need to know what fits together--what works together in each key, so that you could respell it enharmonically, if you want. Ausra: Sure. And because we are organists, usually the texture that we play is so thick. It’s based on functional harmony--where you cannot avoid knowledge of chords and knowing what fits together and what does not fit. So then, it makes a big difference if you are having F♯ or G♭. And by learning new pieces, the more you know theoretically about composition, about how the piece is put together, about all those chords, the easier it will be for you to learn it. And when I receive a question like this, I would suggest for a person to really take music theory seriously. Vidas: Mhm. Ausra: You really need it. Because otherwise, if you are theoretically well-educated, I don’t think that such a question would rise at all. Usually kids in my school in like 6th or 7th grade may ask question like this. Vidas: Teenagers who want to challenge you? Ausra: Yes, yes, yes. Vidas: Who think they’re smarter than you? Ausra: That’s right. Vidas: Right. So guys, we can recommend, of course, starting with our basic chord workshop and learning the circle of keys, and any other courses in music theory and/or harmony collection. But this really helps you to grow as an organist in the long run. You will know how the piece is put together, you will know what the notes on the sheet music mean, what the composer was thinking when he or she created that masterpiece that you are playing right now. Ausra: That’s true. Because in life, you can teach different things to different creatures--for example, a bear can ride a bike. I have seen it in the circus. Vidas: Really? Ausra: But--it’s not the same with human beings. We have more evolved brains, and we can make decisions, right decisions. And we can teach other people to ride a bike--I don’t think a bear could teach other bears to ride a bike! Vidas: Exactly. Ausra: So, I think knowing what you’re doing and understanding things is what separates us from other mammals. So just use your potential. Vidas: Yeah. And teach other people how to ride a bike. Excellent! Please, guys, send us more of your questions. And remember, when you practice… Ausra: 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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