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 677 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Miguel, and he is in our Total Organist community plus he takes private lessons with me, and one time he wrote this message: “My back was quite painful, but now I'm fully recovered and practicing again. Part of the problem was sitting for too long, apart from the 8 hours a day I sit for my computer work at the bank. I sit an hour or two on a bench with no back support. The physio also told me that the movements of the legs on the pedals have a toll on the spine. So, I've been reintroducing walking that I haven't done for quite a while and also using my height adjustable desk for standing as well as sitting, at least during working hours. Did you have problems with your back due to organ playing, or do you know other people that had the same problem?” Vidas: Ausra, do you know some people? Ausra: Yes, it’s myself, actually. Vidas: I see. Tell us about it? Ausra: Well, in general, I think, the organ is a very unfortunate instrument for our backs, because sitting without support in our feet since we have to play pedals, it’s not healthy for your back. But in general, I think that sitting work, as for example Miguel works at the bank and sits at the computer all day long is bad for your back. So what we can do, actually, is to exercise and strengthen our back. Vidas: Walking is, of course, one useful exercise. Ausra: Yes, but also you need to do some other extra… Vidas: Specific Exercises. Ausra: Specific exercises, yes. Well, actually, the easiest is to lie down on your stomach and you need to stretch both your arms and both your legs, and then simultaneously you need to lift up the right arm and left foot at the same time, and then to do just the opposite, and just repeat it slowly a few times. Vidas: Lift right arm, left foot, and then left arm, right foot. Ausra: Yes, this is sort of one of the classical Pilates exercises that really strengthens the back. Vidas: Is it difficult? Ausra: Well, at the beginning it might be a little bit difficult but later on, no, it’s not. Vidas: Can you hurt your back while doing so? Ausra: I don’t think so. Vidas: Unless you do it very quickly. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: It has to be done slowly. Ausra: Yes. The slower, the better, actually, because it’s not so easy to do it slowly. You have to work with the muscles more. Well, what else could help? Actually swimming is quite good, too, and other exercises with a big Pilates ball is also good. Vidas: Nice. We have that ball. Ausra: Yes, but we don’t exercise. Yes? Vidas: We need to do it. Ausra: Yes. Of course, if you have enough funds, the massages are very helpful for back to strengthen the back muscles. What else could help, too, for example, I have sort of like a rag, Vidas: A rug? Ausra: Yes, like a rug with needles. I know it sounds painful, and it is painful, but actually now I spend half an hour every day lying down on those needles. Vidas: And it helps blood circulation, probably? Ausra: Yes, and it helps my spine in general. It’s very painful for the first five to ten minutes, but then it gets easier and actually quite comfortable. And it really improves the condition of my back and my arms. Vidas: You get this warm feeling in your spine. Ausra: Yes, because it releases all the muscle tension, so it’s really good. Vidas: It’s like a natural massage. Ausra: True. Vidas: Without any extra help. Ausra: Yes, but you know, you have to endure some pain at the beginning. Maybe not everybody could do that, but you know, if your back really hurts, then it’s a good thing for you. Vidas: Yeah, I’m sure Miguel and others can find the product that you are using online, probably. Ausra: Probably, yes. Vidas: There are probably various versions of it. Ausra: Yes. Mine came from Ukraine, so… Vidas: Ukraine? Ausra: Yes. But it was maybe ten years back, so now I think they have more modern things to sell. Vidas: Excellent. So yeah, in today’s lifestyle when a lot of people sit at the desk, especially in front of the computer for eight hours a day, it’s getting very, very important to move extra and do some extra exercises to take care of our bodies. Right? Ausra: Yes. Some people do Yoga, for example. Yoga doesn’t work for me, but it might work for Miguel. I don’t know. Vidas: You say Pilates would work. Right? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: It’s different. Ausra: Yes, it’s different, because what Pilates does, it strengthens the inner muscles, and what Yoga does is actually more makes your body flexible. Vidas: But in those two exercise systems, breathing is also important. Right? Ausra: Sure! It’s important in any physical activities. And so the breathing is important in playing, as well. Vidas: Oh, what do you mean? You need to remind yourself to breath? Ausra: Sure! Vidas: While playing the organ? Ausra: Yes. Many people don’t breath enough while playing. Vidas: Meaning that they breath less often than they should, or their breathing is too shallow? Ausra: Both, actually. Vidas: Interesting. I find sometimes that having regular places to breath in a pieces is nice if you find, like, at the beginning of every four bar phrase, if that pulse and meter allows, it could be quite regular then. Ausra: Sure, but if the tempo is Grave, then you might get in trouble breathing only after each four measures. Vidas: No, no! You calculate for yourself, of course, what’s comfortable for you, and it has to be piece-specific. Right? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Alright guys, various things to think about. We hope this was useful to you. 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 Buy Me a Coffee platform and get early access: A: Find out more at https://buymeacoffee.com/organduo
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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 675 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Stephen, and he writes: “I love the Zipoli Pastorale...!!! Thank you... Zipoli is one of my favorite early Baroque composers!” Vidas: I wrote to him, “Thanks Stephen! What other composers do you like?” And Stephen writes: “In a more contemporary "vein" I am fond of Dale Wood's music. There are passages in his work that require a legato technique especially with chords...Sometimes I am at a loss as to how best to play them...finger substitution..but which is best..that sort of challenge. In answer to your question, what composers do I like ....Of course BACH, esp some of the Chorale Preludes. and I intensely care for the Eight Short Preludes and Fugues attributed to Bach but maybe not ?? I think his pupil Krebs may have had a hand in composing these??? I cannot prove that of course. but I love these pieces and I have always played them from the Wayne Leupold Edition...Sandra Soderland, editor. I prefer to follow her revelations as to style and registrations etc...all toes pedal!!!! I love them and find they never bore me....I studied them formally with Dr. Laura Ellis. Always from the Soderland Ed.! I never learned them any other way. so I was lucky :) Thank you and your wife/life partner for all you do to extend education to all who seek ....” Vidas: And I wrote to him again, “Thanks Stephen! Yes, Wayne Leupold publishes great educational material. Current scholarship thinks these short preludes and fugues might have indeed been written by Krebs but there is no proof. So it's safe to say they were written by the Bach Circle. You mentioned finger substitution being a challenge. It's just a matter of time spent and experience. Just continue to play easier pieces and little by little you can master more difficult ones as well. Fingers have muscle memory. And something more. They start to sense the best patterns after a while. The first 20 years are difficult and then it's easy.” Vidas: Stephen wrote back to me: “I just found a piece I had enjoyed and practiced several years ago...would like to share it with you ...I enjoy and care a lot for Marcel Dupre's work....This is one of the Seventy Nine Chorales Op. 28, he wrote for teaching purposes...I am guessing that you know them: XXVIII The Son of God is Come....very short and beautiful... And I wanted to share my a guiding principle in my organ study which I think is in agreement with yours: "It is only through playing a lot of easier pieces and being able to consolidate our progress at a manageable standard that we can go on to greater things" I want to play easier pieces well ..rather than difficult pieces badly! I find the ZIpoli can present some challenges… having the fingering at hand thanks to you...makes the task of learning it so much easier. Dupre marked all the fingering and pedaling in the Chorales. Happy Holidays: All of them!!!” Vidas: So Ausra, this was a long message from Stephen, and primarily he loves Zipoli, “Pastorale.” Ausra: Yes! And so what else can I add to this? Vidas: What is your take about learning difficult things badly or easier things to the best of your ability? Ausra: I think I would take a middle ground. I wouldn’t practice just easy and short things. Maybe you could work on a few of those and also at the same time learn something harder and longer. Vidas: And why is that you feel this way? Ausra: That way I think you would be well balanced, because if you will only learn small things, you might never go to that longer pieces. Vidas: The next level. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: I might agree with you here, because you have to constantly challenge yourself, not too much, but also not too little. And this middle ground playing a variety of repertoire adds a little bit more possibility for your muscles and brain to work together. Ausra: Yes, because you know, I don’t think that the length of the piece always determines its difficulty level. You might have quite a long piece but not as hard as maybe a short and really difficult miniature. But you always need to have short pieces and long pieces, because they develop different skills that you need, because when you are playing the long piece, it develops your concentration, which is very important for organ and any musician. Vidas: I find that, just yesterday for example, I had this thought in my head that I can sight-read easier things than I can improvise. I can improvise more difficult things like Partitas and even Fugues. But I could not sight-read during a recital Partitas and Fugues. Why is that? Ausra: Because they are more difficult, probably. More challenging! Vidas: Yes, but why can I play spontaneously, not written on the page, but spontaneously in my mind—difficult things—while reading the score, I am slower. Not really slow, I can still play sight-reading pretty well mostly, probably better than most people, but comparing to what I can do without sheet, it’s less advanced. Ausra: Well, because when you are improvising, you are composing your own music. You are the master of your mind! But if you’re sight-reading somebody else’s Partitas or Fugues, let’s say, then you are reading another person’s mind, which is always a harder thing. Vidas: Yeah. It’s a little bit… seems unconnected to Stephen’s idea, it’s what Dupré wrote. Right? That only thought playing a lot of easier pieces and being able to consolidate our progress at a manageable standard that we can go on to greater things. So I guess in my case, sight-reading easier pieces and then gradually including more difficult stuff, probably, I will be able to improve my sight-reading as well! Ausra: I think so, too! Vidas: Over time. Ausra: Yes, and what also think is really important is that you wouldn’t stay at each stage for too long, for example. That you wouldn’t become just an organist who plays short easy pieces forever. You really need to find that spot or that time when you need to jump to another level. Vidas: And that might be how soon? Ausra: Well, you know, when you feel comfortable at doing something, it means you need to jump up to the next level. Vidas: I would agree here with you. I see some other organists on YouTube, for example, playing only easy pieces—really well, or relatively well, right, but never advancing to the next level. For months, or even years! Ausra: Well, and that’s understandable, because when you love to push me, yes, to record something every day, then what do you think, I can like record a substantial piece every day, then I would sleep eat and do other things. Vidas: Oh, I know! I’m not talking about you. Why are you talking about yourself? Ausra: But maybe somebody who records only short pieces has also such a supportive… Vidas: You just created this…. Ausra: ...wife or husband that pushes all the time, and in order to survive somebody, you know, picks up the standard collection and records it every day! Vidas: Do you know many organists who have partners who are organists and who pushes them to record? Ausra: I don’t know, but there are some. I know at least one! Vidas: I highly doubt it. Yeah.. I think, you just recorded your demonstration of Groningen Martinikerk, and that was a rather advanced piece, Chaconne and Prelude. Right? Quite virtuosic piece. Ausra: Well, Chaconne is pretty easy actually. Of course, you have to understand the style of it. But Prelude, yes. You have to have good finger technique to play it. Vidas: Are you saying that you are challenging yourself enough these days? Ausra: Yes, because I have just simply too many things to do, to play, too many ideas and sometimes it’s hard to know what to do now and what to leave for the next week, and how to organize the work, because there are simply too many things that I need to play and to do. Vidas: Me too! I also started live streaming, “On the Bench with Vidas” series, and I have really so many ideas to play constantly. New music and old music and hymns and improvisations and even theater organ repertoire. So yeah, I’m constantly challenging myself. Probably more than most people. So, I guess for Stephen also, it could be good to have this middle ground. I’m still trying to find my rhythm of what’s working for me, not to over extend myself, and not to be too relaxed. When I’m too relaxed, I’m bored with organ playing. Ausra: And then you start to push me! Yes? To get more excitement. Vidas: No, and then I plan the next thing, and next thing, and next thing, and then it’s too much and I quit! Ausra: Yes, that’s what you often do. I realized when I told you to play some more difficult repertoire, like for example that beautiful A-Major trio by J. S. Bach, “Allein Gott,” suddenly you jumped to Wurlitzer and started to play Jazz! Vidas: Or when James Flores and I decided to master, “Carillon de Westminster” by Louis Vierne together by Valentine’s Day, at first I was so energetic and enthusiastic about it, but now I’m not so sure that… Ausra: Yes, you will never be able to do it, because you don’t practice, because you did so many other pieces in that time instead of practicing Vierne, so I knew right away that you would not finish it. Vidas: Really. But I will finish by this Summer for sure. Ausra: Yes, that you might do. Vidas: Can you believe it? Ausra: Yes! Vidas: Okay. So guys, lets practice intelligently. Maybe smarter, not harder. That would be a good solution. Right? Ausra: Yes. Don’t repeat our mistakes. Vidas: Or repeat them and then laugh at yourself also, like we are laughing at ourselves. Alright, thank you guys for sending these 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 Buy Me a Coffee platform and get early access: A: Find out more at https://buymeacoffee.com/organduo Ave Maria, Op. 104 No. 2 | Marco Enrico Bossi | Bernardas Vasiliauskas | VU St John's Church2/22/2022  Last night we received sad news that Lithuanian legendary organist, pianist and organ restorer Maestro Bernardas Vasiliauskas (April 28, 1938 - February 21, 2022) has passed away. His influence in Lithuanian organ culture has been immense over many decades and his work as the Titular Organist at Vilnius Cathedral since the restoration of Lithuanian Independence in 1990 will always be remembered. Whether he played large concert instruments or accompanied choirs and soloists in village churches it was a pure joy to listen to him and work with him. On top of that he was one of the kindest and well-meaning persons I know which is a rare quality in organ community. So today I wanted to share with you an excerpt from his last concert which he played on January 15, 2022, just a little over a month ago at Vilnius University St John's church with 3 of his colleagues - Gediminas Kviklys, Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkevicene and myself. This event was dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Vilnius Organ Workshop which rebuilt the organ at this church. In this concert Maestro Vasiliauskas played Ave Maria by Bossi and 5 of the Vesper Voluntaries by Elgar, one of his most favourite composers. Hope you will enjoy Bernardas' rendition of Ave Maria, Op. 104 No. 2 by Marco Enrico Bossi while we remember the life and work of one of the finest organists Lithuania has ever had! More information about Bernardas Vasiliauskas: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bernardas_Vasiliauskas In the photo bellow you can see all 4 organists after this concert. From the left - Gediminas, Ausra, Vidas and Bernardas. 
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 669 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Chad, and he writes, Hi Vidas, A few years ago, I bought a roll-up piano hoping that it would provide a means for me to practice on my airline trips. I desperately wanted to like it. But I HATED it! There was no tactile feel… No way to tell one key from the other. And the contacts didn’t work very well, so it was difficult to play the notes without tapping them pretty hard. But maybe there has been progress in their construction? Which one did you buy? You must be somewhat pleased with it if you can get it to work well enough to make videos! V: What do you think, Ausra? A: Yes, I remember our summer adventure. Actually, they work better now because we didn’t have the contact problems, yes? When we press key it really sounded quite on time and everything worked quite well. V: Except when you want to play two voices in one hand. A: Yes, that makes things of course harder. But you could practice inventions, two-part inventions, for example, it would work pretty well. V: Yeah. A: And you know of course it cannot replace the real instrument. It cannot replace the real thing, but it was nice, because we played with it during our summer break when we were resting on the beach in Palanga and it was sort of fun to take it to the various locations and to play something. V: On the beach, on the castle, on the bench, anywhere actually. And then on the bridge, right? On the fountain... A: Yes, but it was sort of more like a fun time for us, yes? V: Right, musical adventure. But for practice purposes you have to actually hear everything you play. It could be a silent keyboard. If you have a table, you roll up this piano and you play, without even actually connecting it to some computer to produce a sound. A: Yes, and I think this kind of roll-up keyboard could be really great for the kids to sort of, to start the interest in music in general. V: Yeah, because it’s a fun gadget. A: Yes, it’s like a toy. V: Mm hm. It’s a toy. Except now when we travel, after this trip, I was also frustrated that I had to bang those keys pretty hard, and actually some of my fingers started to hurt. So I decided to look around online and see what other options for portable MIDI keyboards are there. And I found this folding MIDI keyboard, folding piano basically. It comes in two sizes, 88 keys (like a real piano, 88 keys), or 49 keys - 4 octaves, suitable for most organ music. So I decided to go out and buy. And you can take a look at the website I have available, organduo.lt/tools. Our Hauptwerk setup is listed there with all the links, pictures, videos. You can find the stationary home organ setup that we use for normal use, and you’ll find all other repercussions that we decided to try out: folding keyboard, roll-up piano, everything. So you will see a little bit more information about that. A: But I think this folding keyboard works much better than the roll-up keyboard… V: Yes. A: ...because actually we did early some videos for fun with roll-up keyboard during our summer break, summer vacation, but I wouldn’t use, for example, roll-up keyboard in real performance environment. V: No. A: Yes, because it’s too risky and you know.... V: It’s risky in the sense that some notes could actually get lost, right? A: Yes. But with the folding keyboard, Vidas already has performed live, and it worked pretty well. V: Let’s see, I performed on… A: You performed.. V: ...in a funeral. A: Yes, and you performed a memorial recital. V: Yes. A: For my mom’s aunt. And you also played Gaudeamus igitur on the solemn occasion for the School of Law. V: Yes. A: At Vilnius University. And it worked well (I played it recently at the President's Palace too). V: Yes, they didn’t have any instruments so I decided to bring my folding keyboard as well as special speaker, bluetooth speaker. And it worked well for that hall. I had a soloist with me, I gave a special microphone connected to that speaker, and it was actually very, very simple setup which really worked for this occasion. It’s maybe not as sophisticated and for bigger halls it wouldn’t be enough, but for that purpose it was almost perfect. What else can I say about this folding keyboard? Yes, it fits in a backpack. You can really take it anywhere. We once climbed the, what’s that word, TV tower in Vilnius. A: Actually, we did not climb it. We took an elevator. V: Elevator. A: I don’t think we would be able to climb up (laughs). V: You should keep a secret and tell us that we climbed. A: Oh, okay. V: With rope. A: Sorry, sorry! V: Yes. And that was really fun. Another occasion, I actually climbed, yes with all those stairs to Vilnius University St. John’s Church bell tower. With hundreds of stairs. This is the tallest building in Vilnius old town. It was quite windy and I played quite a few Inventions by Bach. A: Yes actually I was quite worried because it was a really windy day. I thought you might not survive. (laughs) V: My camera was actually shaking. A: Yes. V: But it was really okay. I was surprised. I was surprised that it worked. So… A: And actually on this kind of keyboard you can take it on vacation if you won’t lose your good shape, because you can already do some work on it, some manual work on it. V: Yes, so imagine if the total length when unfolded is four octaves, so when you fold it in half, it’s two octaves. So that’s how big is this - only two octaves size. Whereas actually 88-keyboard, folding keyboard is actually also two octaves long, but it folds twice, you see? A: Yes. V: When you have a long version, you have to have a very long table to fit all those octaves. So I don’t think it would work for organ music. A: Sure not. More just like a toy. V: Yeah, so 49 keys is quite enough, especially for keyboard-oriented music without pedals, I mean. One thing that I wish is that people would come up with some kind of roll-up pedalboard, silicone pedalboard, like we had roll-up piano, right, 61 notes. Which wasn’t very comfortable to play because you had to press very hard sometimes. But I could imagine if we had a roll-up pedalboard, your feet actually could handle that strength needed, right? Easily. A: Of course, because feet are stronger than hands. V: Yes, and it would fit actually in your backpack, entire organ setup, both manuals, if you use folding keyboard, and pedals - that would be amazing. A: And since so many people complain that they cannot afford to play the real pedalboard at home and they still want to have some pedalboard at home, I think that would be a great solution, too. V: Yes, because I’ve seen there is this folding pedalboard which folds in half. Two octaves, right? They fold in half. It’s like, it fits in a large suitcase. But still… A: But still it’s a lot. V: Clunky and a big chunk if you want to travel. But if it could roll out like a silicone thing on the floor, that would be amazing. So thank you so much guys, for these questions. We love helping you grow. Please send us more of them. It’s fun to answer them during our podcast. 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 buy us some coffee. Find out more at: A: Find out more at https://buymeacoffee.com/organduo
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys, this is Vidas. A: And Ausra. Ausra: We hope you’ll enjoy it! Vidas: A lot of times, the instrument will teach you everything you need to know. Ausra: Sure, you just really need to learn to listen to yourself, what you are doing. Vidas: Now we have to take this saying with a grain of salt, because a lot of people today play at home with some kind of electronic instruments or virtual instruments, and in virtual instruments, the sound might be quite realistic, but the touch might be plastic. You see? And it’s quite different from tracker touch in a real pipe organ situation. People might not necessarily discover on their own when they play their home organs. Don’t you think? Ausra: As well, they can record themselves and listen to how it sounds, and of course you need to get opportunities to try different instruments. Vidas: Yes, go to locations, various locations, that’s more difficult than playing and practicing at home and enjoying the beautiful sounds from your living room. And this is a very comfortable setting. No one is bothering you, there are no external sounds or disturbances, but at the same time, you also lose something, right? With the extended effort that you need to put in when you go to church to practice and play the organ you gain something from that experience as well, after live concerts in the church as well, Ausra. Do you agree? Ausra: Sure! But you know, I think this fear of new environments and new instruments might come because you know so much, and you have tried so many different instruments. But for example, you know, for kids, they don’t have such a fear. If you remember, I once had the lecture demonstration / concert / public lessons for kids from the musical school at the museum of… church museum on that tiny Italian style instrument. Vidas: Yes, yes I rememer that. Ausra: And you know, before that I was so worried how all these little kids that have never tried to play the organ (they were all studying piano) and you know, how will they do on that instrument, and they will have to play something for me at the end of it. And actually, they did just fine, because they didn’t bother to be afraid of trying and of playing another unfamiliar instrument, and they did just great. Vidas: They didn’t overthink it. Ausra: Sure. Sure! Vidas: It reminds me of the experience that I had when playing this roll-up piano we recently got. Right Ausra? Ausra: Yes, we got it yesterday. Vidas: It looks scary, right? You can fold it up, fold it in a roll and take it with you when you’re traveling, but it looks scary when you play. There are no white and black key differences too much—a little bit of difference, the sharp keys are a little bit higher than the white keys, just a little bit, and the touch is different, of course, than either plastic keyboard or tracker touch, but as I discovered myself yesterday, if you just do it, sooner or later you get used to that touch also. Of course it’s not that comfortable, and maybe not even pleasant to play like that, but in emergency situations when you don’t want to miss practicing when you travel, I think it’s a good tool to have. So this comment I made like that reminds me of new instruments which we discover when we travel. And they’re not necessarily really scary, either. Right? Ausra: Yes. As I said, the most important thing is to practice. Vidas: What about audiation? You didn’t mention too much your position on the value of sight-singing. Does it help people develop this mental thinking and mental hearing that Daniel is talking about? Ausra: Well, you know, what I strongly believe why I think that all the audiation things must be done, must be developed, until you are a teenager. Because when you are a child these are the things you can develop very easily and you are still very flexible. You know, if you only start to do audiation when you are a complete adult, I think it will be really hard. It will, of course, give you some benefit, but I would not think it would do magic. Vidas: So, for people who are, let’s say, competitive in nature, they want to participate in competitions, then this type of learning, it’s probably too late for them. Right? Because they start too late in their life. But if they’re only doing it like Daniel, for themselves just to improve, why not? Ausra: Yes! In general singing is very very good for any musicians. Vidas: I usually emphasize singing music that you play. Your own organ pieces, excerpts of melodies, chorale melodies, even the hymn tunes. Right? What about opening any hymnal and just singing the hymns. Ausra: Yes, but it will not do you much good if you only sing the melody or soprano line. I think if you really need to do the audiation and you want to benefit from it, you need to sing inner voices. Let’s say if you have four voices, then sing alto or tenor. It will benefit you much more than singing the soprano line all the time. Vidas: Or start with just two voices at a time. One voice you play, one voice you sing, and you switch. Ausra: Yes, that’s very beneficial! But I really don’t know how much time you have to do it for such things, because it takes time. It really takes time. Vidas: Yes. Ausra: Especially if you don’t have well developed skills to do it, it might be really difficult. Vidas: And might not be worth it, you see. Ausra: Well, yes. In some cases, yes. Vidas: Yeah. Usually people don’t have full time devoted just for organ playing and improving organ practice, improving their audiation and improving their organ technique. So they need to do something very concise in that area—to learn something in 30 minutes or 1 hour, or at the most, 2 hours with some breaks in between. Right? Ausra: Sure. Vidas: Every day, ideally. But some people don’t even practice every day. That’s the key. Ausra: Yes, and you know, if you will have all day long to do things every day of what Daniel talked about, all of them are actually excellent things, you know. But it takes really many many hours to achieve it. Vidas: Yes. So maybe, this is a long conversation. Right? Maybe we will split it in two halves to discuss it in two different podcast episodes. Almost 20 minutes. Time flies quickly! Ausra: Sure, when the question is good. Vidas: And very thoroughly detailed. Okay guys, 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 Buy Me a Coffee platform and get early access: A: Find out more at https://buymeacoffee.com/organduo  Ausra and I are updating our BMC page with various membership levels and extras. The benefits include priority video requests, private organ coaching and harmony lessons on Zoom.
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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 661 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was written by Diana, and she writes, "This week I was struggling to record videos. When I play, sometimes I hit the wrong key or pedal... also I had some difficulties recording the introduction of my performance in Unda Maris concert." So Unda Maris is our Vilnius University Organ Studio, which is now just recently played joint recital, and Diana was preparing for that earlier when she submitted this question. Do you remember the recital, Ausra? A: Yes, of course I remember it. V: Maybe I’ll share the link with our listeners in this conversation as well, to remind them what happened during this recital. I think this was a rather nice concert, considering we are only practicing and studying online, not physically at the church. A: Yes, I think the result was actually better than in the previous years when you played the live recitals with your studio. Because people were taking recordings, and of course they could take several takes and to put their best, the best out of the best. So no mistakes, no sloppy job. And I think it went very well. V: Yes. A: Plus everybody had to talk a little bit about the program, which I found very nice too. V: And Diana was also writing about the difficulty in recording introduction. But probably her English about her pronunciation. What do you remember? A: I think in general it’s hard for people to talk in public or to film themselves, and to talk, I have heard and read that some researchers show that actually for some people, the public speaking is scarier than disease or even death. V: Right. You remember Jerry Seinfeld the comedian? A: Yes, I remember. V: And his joke was that because people are more scared to public speaking than death, so speaking at a funeral, eulogy, is more scary than being in a coffin (laughs). A: (laughs) Not so funny, but actually it is funny. V: Right, right? A: Yes. V: So remember when we first arrived in the United States to do our Master’s Degree? We had to take English as a Second Language courses, and you took some course where they required you to film yourself. A: Yes, that was called the course of Academic Communication. V: Did you enjoy filming yourself? A: No it was really scary. V: But was it helpful? A: But it was very helpful because I had to analyze what I had recorded and I would have to look at myself, at my face, and to all my intonations, and how I look at the public. And it was really helpful for all my future presentations. V: Yes. Then you could see how people are perceiving you, not how you think you are perceiving yourself, right? When you see yourself in the mirror it’s a different thing than if you only hear yourself talk. A: Definitely. And I have seen funny things how people don’t know where to put their camera. And for example, if they are talking to a public, recording something to the public, but they are looking down all the time or up all the time. But basically you need to put your camera at your eye level, that you could keep eye contact with your audience. It’s very important. V: Right. And of course background is important. What is behind you. A blank wall looks different than, let's say, a wall with some pictures or paintings or some furniture. Just nicer colors I think. Don’t you think? A: Well I think it’s a matter of personal taste. I would say that the surroundings should not sort of... V: Distract you? A: Distract you, yes. V: But, if you put let’s say many many books, thick books behind you or on the table, you will look smarter, don’t you think? A: Do you think so? V: Yes. A: Do you think that you are wearing glasses you look smarter than I am? V: I don’t think I look smarter than you are. A: But you wear glasses, and I am not. V: Because I am smarter than you! A: If you would put many books behind you and you would talk with your thick glasses, people would think that he hadn’t to read so many books, that way he wouldn’t need to wear glasses. V: So it helps, or not? A: What, books? V: Glasses. A: (laughs). I don’t know, I don’t wear them, see? V: Okay, so yeah - suggestion to everyone who is struggling in recording themselves while talking is actually to do it more often and to analyse your recordings. A: Yes, it will be scary at the beginning but it really helps. It’s like recording your performance too. You know, if you want to live peacefully and sleep peacefully you wouldn’t have to do that, but that way you will never be really good. V: Right. You could actually get away without recording if you always are performing in live settings, like always in situations where people are watching and listening to you like concerts, recitals. Church services count to some degree, but not so much, because music there is more or less background, not, people’s attention is not entirely on you. It’s sometimes yes, when you play hymn introduction or solo piece when people are actually listening, which is rare during church service, then yes, you need to focus and it’s as important as playing solo music during recitals. But nowadays we know that there is not so much opportunity to play live recitals because of the pandemic. So what people do instead is record and upload their playing to YouTube. It’s proof that they have mastered the piece. Not only for any other reasons, but just to have an archive of their accomplishments. A: Yes, but you know, some people just like to criticise what, for example, I am playing. But when I ask them to present me recordings of the work, they say to me proudly, “we only play in a live environment,” and they don’t have recordings. So maybe they can play. V: But they listen and watch your recordings. What double standard that is, right? A: Sure. V: If you don’t like recordings, so don’t even watch them! Just go to live concerts then. But no, they watch and listen to recordings and never record themselves, which is actually hiding. That’s their excuse. A: And you know, the other nasty thing I thought, that usually when I play something French that let’s say Marie-Claire Alain or Demessieux has recorded themselves, people are sort of impolite enough to send me recordings by these two great French ladies. Of course I know how they play - I have watched and listened to recordings. I’m not as dumb. But to sort of compare me with legendary organ figures, I think it’s so unfair, because I’m just middle-age, Eastern European lady who didn’t had really good environment let’s say to study organ music from early childhood. V: I don’t think you need to underestimate your skill and experience, Ausra. Because those people who send you only masters, world-renowned organists recordings, behave the same like people who say their favorite organ piece is Widor’s Toccata or Bach’s Toccata in D Minor. You know why they say that? Because they don’t know any other pieces. A: Mm. V: That’s the same thing. They might know only a few, five people, legendary people who are playing the organ. Marie-Claire Alain or Olivier Latry being two of them for sure. A: Well, don’t be so sure. Latry gets so much critique from all these “experts,” as he gets compared to Marie-Claire Alain. V: Of course, when you play Alain’s music, you naturally get compared to Marie-Claire Alain, because she was a sister. But I think there are hundreds, if not thousands, great performers all over the world. And not only organists, great musicians in general who play other instruments, and who should not get this very short-sighted vision to only listen to three or five people and exclude everything else which is going on. Which is actually a way for them to undermine their own abilities. If they say, “only these masters are great,” and what everybody else is doing is not worth their attention, they are diminishing their own skills as well. A: True. V: Thank you guys for listening, for sending these questions. Please do that more often. 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 Buy Me a Coffee platform and get early access: A: Find out more at https://buymeacoffee.com/organduo
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys! This is Vidas. A: And Ausra. Vidas: Let’s start episode 642 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Rosemary, and she writes,: “Happy New Year greetings to you all. This day dawned breathtakingly beautiful and we will all be glad of the shade in the garden as the heat rises. A new year ahead in which our prayers and hopes are with those frontline workers caring for victims of Covid 19, and discoveries for containment. May you all and your families stay safe. Your comments, goals and plans are incredibly inspirational for me, with renewed energy I have heaped my attention on BWV 529, and various choral preludes, BWV 604 a favourite. Studying your improvisation and trying out some variations. Thanks to you all and the very best of good wishes for a happy and productive year ahead sharing your wonderful talents. Rosemary” Vidas: Obviously, this question was written just at the start of the new year, probably. Right, Ausra? Ausra: Yes, and it’s more not like a question but as a New Years wish, which is very nice and kind. Thank you Rosemary! Vidas: Maybe we could discuss a little bit what she’s talking about right now—Bach’s works 529 and 604. BWV 529 is one of the trio sonatas. I believe this is C Major Sonata. Ausra: Yes, this one was the first trio Sonata that I learned by J. S. Bach. Vidas: And 604 is a chorale from the “Orgel Buchlein,” “Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ.” Okay, so let’s start with the easier one, maybe—with the chorale prelude, “Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ, BWV 604. We have, of course, the score with fingering and pedaling available. Do you think it’s helpful? Ausra: I think it’s very helpful. Vidas: It’s written for two manuals and pedals, obviously. The right hand has the solo melody in soprano ornamented, and the lower three voices move in dialogs and duets with each other creating very nice harmonic and melodic, and polyphonic, and also rhythmic fabric. Ausra: Yes, and although the “Orgel Buchlein” collection is not a really hard one, I think in this chorale, you have some things to do and to learn, because when I’m looking at the pedal part, it’s really quite a vivid part. Don’t you think so? Vidas: It reminds me of some chorale preludes by Buxtehude. Right? Ausra: Yes, yes! It resembles that. Vidas: Except with Buxtehude, we usually have… What’s it called… Vorimitation technique. So before the cantus firmus in the soprano enters the chorale tune, we have three lower voices also presenting the same phrase in fugal imitation, but on a different registration and accompaniment. But with Bach here, he starts right away with the chorale phrase in the soprano. Ausra: Yes. It’s like, “Schmücke dich,” for example, firmus, or “O Mensch, bewein…” Vidas: No, not exactly. Right? Because in, “O Mensch, bewein…” yes, the melody starts right away, but in “Schmücke dich,” we have, I think, an introduction, first, and then a chorale tune… Ausra: But anyway, it’s an ornamented chorale tune in the soprano voice. That’s what I meant ... Vidas: Yeah… Ausra: ...comparing these two. Vidas: Good point. Obviously, if you add the introduction or those interludes, polyphonic interludes, then the chorale becomes quite long. Ausra: Well, that’s true, because “Schmücke dich” is from a different collection which is more sophisticated, and all those chorales are much longer. Vidas: Right, and probably their purpose is different, too. And with each of the chorale preludes from the “Orgel Buchlein” collection, they could easily be played as a hymn introduction, at least in those days. Ausra: Yes, sure. I’m not sure how well the congregation would respond nowadays to such an introduction. I think it depends on probably the congregation and priest. Vidas: They would, probably today, sound more like a prelude before the service. Right? Or a communion piece instead of the hymn singing. Ausra: Why get in trouble as Bach did in Arnstadt when he started to, upon returning from Lübeck hearing Buxtehude’s playing, he started to make all these elaborate interludes between hymn stanzas, and people were not very happy about it. Vidas: Even before, between hymn phrases. Right? Imagine there are four phrases in a short hymn, so he would add interludes before the second, third, and fourth phrase. That would be very confusing, even though it would sound beautiful if done properly, but it would be confusing for people, when to start the next phrase. Right? Because they would sing with these big chords in the accompaniment, and then suddenly have to stop and wait for young Bach to play his flourish and then sing again. Ausra: I wish I would have a time machine and could travel to that time and to listen at least once about what he did. Vidas: We could obviously imagine, some of his chorale preludes have these flourishes. The one I’m thinking of is probably “In Dulci Jubilo,”, BWV 729. I will have to double-check. BWV 729 or even 751 there is one, too. But 729 is with big flourishes, I think. Great. So getting back to “Gelobet seist du Jesu Christ,” I think it’s important for people to start learning it right away, step by step, maybe phrase by phrase and also voice by voice. What do you think about that, Ausra? Ausra: Yes, if you have time I would definitely do that. Vidas: And if you don’t have time? Ausra: Then don’t play Bach. Vidas: Yeah, because you have to make time to play Bach properly. And obviously, in the original edition handwriting, the left hand part plays from the alto clef. This is fun to read. Ausra: Yes, and some editions still preserve it. Some of the oldest ones. Vidas: Yes, 19th century Bach Gesellschaft edition. I think we have the fingering and pedaling written on that edition, so people who like alto clefs can take advantage of that, too. I don’t know which edition Rosemary is practicing from, but nevertheless, it’s really fun. And then, once you do solo parts, you can practice two parts together—soprano-alto, soprano-tenor, soprano-bass. Right? What else? Alto-tenor, alto-bass, tenor-bass, and then three part texture. Soprano-alto-tenor, soprano-alto-bass, soprano-tenor-base, and alto-soprano-bass before playing all four parts together. Ausra: I feel dizzy already only by listening to you. Vidas: So how would you recommend learning it? Ausra: Well, the same way you do. Vidas: So… Ausra: But I couldn’t name all these variations right away. I get confused. Vidas: I know. Alright. And then, obviously she would want to play a very difficult piece! BWV 529, C Major… Ausra: ...Trio Sonata… Vidas: ...exactly. I wonder why she chose those pieces from different, actually, technical levels? Ausra: Well, we don’t know if she is working on the entire trio sonata, or only on one movement, and which one out of those three. Because they are different in their difficulty level. For example, I don’t think the first movement is very hard. It’s quite comfortable when you manage the text, but it’s quite long. Then the second movement is easier because, of course, it’s a slow movement. But still, there are a lot of things to do, and it’s not easy to play it beautifully. But I guess the trickiest one is the third movement, although it’s really short comparing to the first one. But it has some tricky spots. Vidas: Correct. But the technique to learn it would be the same as the Orgelbuchlein Chorales, except here are three voices, and only 7 voice combinations. Right-hand, left-hand and Pedals. Right-hand and left-hand together, right-hand and pedals, left-hand and pedals, and all voices together. You could argue that it’s best to practice in shorter segments, or the entire piece voice by voice. I don’t know. What do you think? Shorter segments or longer? Ausra: I would always learn in longer segments, but that’s my way of learning. And I would always skip these three beginning things that you said, just to play a single line. I never play a single line. Vidas: Because you already can play them well. Right? Ausra: But even when I started to learn my first trio sonata, I would work on right-hand and pedals, and then left-hand and pedals… especially left-hand and pedals. That gave me much trouble. Vidas: Would you learn pedals alone? Ausra: Well, actually I didn’t, but it’s worth doing, probably. Vidas: So yeah, for each their own, probably. By the time you were starting playing the organ, remember you were playing piano for 12 years. Right? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: So obviously on a professional level, so… each line didn’t make much trouble for you—didn’t present any difficulty, or too much, therefore you could concentrate on two lines right away. Ausra: But I guess if you are learning “Trio Sonata,” you should be at least in the intermediate level, because it’s not a piece for beginners. Vidas: Obviously. Not even a basic level piece. It’s obviously an intermediate level piece, or even an advanced level piece if you play the fast movements. And first of all, start with the Largo—with the slow movement—middle movement. Ausra: Yes. I remember those repeated notes in the middle movement were not as easy for me to play well. Vidas: Yes, this movement consists of two episodes alternating with each other, and the first one is okay, but then the second one is very difficult. The second half features the same thing in different keys. Ausra: And in general, sometimes I think that it’s easier to play the fast movements comparing to the slow ones, because the fast movements, if you have a good technique, everything is pretty straight forward and simple. But the slow tempo, you have to take more time and you have to know what to do with that kind of music, because it’s difficult to pick up the right tempo, because if you play it too slow it will be boring, if you take a tempo that is too fast, it might sound unmusical. So, you really have a lot to think about while playing slow movements. Vidas: My final advice would be keep counting. Keep subdividing the beats, but keep counting out loud. This will help you feel the pulse, the correct pulse, and stay in the pulse throughout the piece. When without pulse, there is no liveliness in the music. Ausra: Yes, good advice! Vidas: 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, 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 BMC and get early access to our videos. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying and buymeacoffee.com/organduo
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys! This is Vidas. A: And Ausra. Vidas: Let’s start episode 636 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Steven, and he writes: “Hi Vidas. Organ playing is going okay, thank you for asking. These days I am making more time for practice, which is key. I still feel like I am a slow learner, but I know how to pull apart a new piece and start making it work. Pedal work continues to improve, with the biggest aspect I'm noticing is my accuracy. The right foot position (like keeping toes touching the "black" pedals) seems to be super helpful. I have a teacher, and we have lessons every other week for one hour. I typically work up a couple hymns out of the ELW, sometimes an introduction or related piece with those hymns. Then I have several other pieces in various states of progress.” Vidas: So Steven is talking his practice during the pandemic, and I’m very glad that it’s improving. Ausra: Yes, and in general, I thought one day that many musicians will become really virtuoso during this time. Vidas: Why is that? Ausra: Because they stay home and practice all day long! Vidas: Like we do! Ausra: Yes. But of course, I don’t practice every day and all day long. Vidas: Well, right. Ausra: Because I have to teach online. Vidas: When the pandemic hit, obviously a lot of people stayed at home. It doesn’t mean they have more time to practice. Right Ausra? It doesn’t necessarily mean… Ausra: And it does not necessarily mean that they have access to an instrument at home. Vidas: Right. People who relied on church organs now have to figure out a way to play at home. Or people who worked in a physical location before and now have to online during that time, usually that online work takes at least twice as much of time than if you compare it to the physical location work. Is this the case with you, Ausra? Ausra: Well, I save time from the trip to my school and back, and this time I can practice, actually, at home. Vidas: Oh yeah, depending on where you live from your work, commuting could be very time consuming, up to several hours per day. So during that time, if you stay at home and could squeeze in some practice time, that’s even better. Ausra: Yes, and for me, for example, it takes about an hour and a half to go both ways back and forth to school, so, I think it’s a nice practice session. Vidas: But even though you have to work more at school, you kind of are practicing more than before at home. Don’t you think? Ausra: Yes, true. Vidas: How can you manage that when you have so much work to do for online teaching? Ausra: Well, because I have two instruments at home, actually three instruments at home, and I don’t have to go anywhere. I still can find much more time. Vidas: Mmhmm, except, of course, looking at the screen is very exhausting when you have to work online. Ausra: Yes, and you know, the worst thing about this pandemic is that actually when it started, I stopped reading books. I just simply gave up, because looking at the screens takes too much time and too much energy from my eyes, so I stopped reading other books non-related to my work. Vidas: Me too. But we watch Netflix instead. Ausra: Well yes, that’s not a very good habit, perhaps, but you have to do something just not to go crazy. Vidas: Right. So Steven is practicing from Evangelical Lutheran Worship hymnals, and we used to have those in America. Right? The green ones—ELW. Remember those? We have one at home. Ausra: Yes, we have one at home. The old one. Vidas: They have, I think, upgraded, updated since we left The States. Remember, we were going back to Lithuania, and they were getting new hymnals. Ausra: Yes, I remember that. That’s why we could bring the old one with us. Vidas: Right. But I guess the core anthems and chorales and hymns are still the same. The core. Ausra: At least most of them, I guess. Vidas: Right. So, what I would suggest to Steven besides working on hymns, is probably focus more on pieces, also. He spends a lot of time practicing on hymns, but only the last sentence in his answer is about pieces, and we don’t even know what kind of music he plays besides hymns. So basically it’s probably not a big focus for him. Ausra: Well, if he is a church musician it’s natural that you focus more on the hymn playing, although being an active in the Lutheran church, you will surely have to play some solo music as well, for each service. Vidas: At least two pieces per Sunday—a prelude and postlude. Ausra: Yes, and probably maybe even more, especially if you don’t have a choir. Vidas: Right. Now during the quarantine it could be even more, because the organist has to fill in a lot of music himself. Ausra: True. Vidas: So yeah, that’s a good way of looking at things—through organ repertoire. Choose something doable, not necessarily Toccatas and Fugues and standard organ concert repertoire, but maybe shorter pieces—two or three pages. Ausra: Yes, that’s, I think, a good suggestion. Vidas: Alright, so hopefully this will help Steven. 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 BMC and get early access to our videos. A: Find out more at patreon.com/secretsoforganplaying and buymeacoffee.com/organduo
Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! V: Hi guys! This is Vidas. A: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 637 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Sally, and she writes, "Do you have a secret to playing melody in the left hand and harmonies in RH? I have a hard time with that. My brain doesn’t want to allow LH to take the melody, at least not for long." V: Do you know what she’s talking about, Ausra? A: Yes. I can guess probably she’s right-handed as I am and you are, and she has the same trouble as many beginner organists have. And not only beginner. V; Sally is our Patreon supporter and she recently watched my Advent hymn improvisation recital. And in a lot of hymns, I place a tune in the left hand part instead of the right hand part. And if I want to play in the tenor range, then I play the melody in the tenor range with the left hand. But if I want to place it in the soprano, I could effectively cross my hands with the left hand playing high. I’ve seen Dutch organists do that and it fascinated me, this technique. Instead of switching hands, soprano in the right hand and accompanying voices in the left hand, they do soprano in the left hand but the higher range, you see? A: Well, I just feel sorry that you have been born in Lithuania and not in Netherlands. Lately you are so much impressed by what Dutch organists do, that I wish you could stay there and learn from them. V: I started to understand Dutch a little bit. It’s a little bit similar to German, and a little bit to English, too. So, when they’re talking about organs it’s not that hard to understand. A: Well, okay. So what could we suggest to Sally? One of my suggestions would be, maybe when she accompanies hymns, she could play the melody in the left hand, and accompany with the right hand and pedals. V: Yes, exactly. So play the tune in the tenor range, right, on the solo registration - trumpet, let’s say. A: Yes, so you need to basically to have at least two manuals in order to do that. V: Yes. Do you recommend crossing voices at the beginning? A: No, I wouldn’t suggest that. It might be really too difficult. V: Not even voice crossing, but hand crossing, when left hand goes beyond right hand. A: I wouldn’t do that at the beginning. V: Yeah, it’s probably too difficult. And I wrote to her that it was difficult for me at first, and even today sometimes I struggle and it’s not that easy. But you just have to keep playing, Keep practicing, and sooner or later something will switch in your brain, right? A: Yes, and if you want to have a real challenge and if you like music of J.S. Bach, I would suggest for you to work on An Wasserflüssen Babylon from the Leipzig Collection, or also called Great 18 Collection. It has this beautiful chorale with ornamented tenor in the left hand. Just as pretty as, for example, Nun komm der Heiden Heiland (video), or Schmücke dich, O Liebe Seele, but instead of having ornamented chorale in the right hand as in these two pieces mentioned, here in An Wasserflüssen Babylon, Bach writes down for the left hand, it’s ornamented cantus firmus, really beautiful. V: And you can make it more complex by playing double pedal lines. Five voices, right? For hymns, I think. A: Yes, because I wouldn’t do this in this chorale. V: But hasn’t Bach written double pedal version? A: Yes, but it doesn’t have the melody in the left hand so it doesn’t count. At least not in this case. V: Mm hm. Right. Right. So you have to just keep doing, keep expanding your tonal vocabulary, and when you place the melody in the left hand, right, so what becomes in your right hand, you’re playing alto and tenor. But alto in your own place, but tenor is one octave higher, right? A: Yes, usually that’s what you do when you switch voices. Soprano substitutes tenor and vice versa. V: So maybe if you’re a beginner at this and you struggle with placing melody in the left hand, maybe you don’t need to play all four parts right away, right? What about just playing tenor line, single tenor line, one octave higher with the right hand? And then soprano line one octave lower, both voices together - those two voices only in your hand. Do one voice, solo voice practice, then two voice combinations, three voice combinations, four part combinations finally. Just like a small organ piece. What do you say, Ausra? A: Yes, I think that might work. V: So try 15 combinations in four part texture. And if you do that, you can master any type of hymn, either with the melody in the right hand, or in the left hand, or even in the pedals. How would you do in the pedals, Ausra? If the melody is in the pedals? A: Yes, you could do that, but you have of course to register accordingly. V: But would you use the same harmonies, or you have to reharmonize? A: Well, you - of course it will still be same harmonies, same chords, but maybe different inversions. V: Different inversions because if you have let’s say in the melody, 2nd scale degree, you can play the dominant chord, right? But if the 2nd scale degree is in the pedals, you no longer have the dominant root position chord, but you have 6/4 chord, 2nd inversion, right? A: Or dominant 4/3 chord. V: Or 4/3. And then 4/3 is allowed, but 6/4 is allowed very in specific cases only. A: Yes. V: And therefore it’s better to leave it for more advanced users. So, instead of playing dominant 6/4 chord, you can effectively play 7th scale degree first inversion chord. In C Major, not DGB, but DFB. Make sense? A: Yes, makes sense - I’m teaching harmony (laughs). V: Good - good for you. Harmony never hurts. So, good luck Sally! Good luck whoever is harmonizing melodies in the left hand part. This is really fun. And it is complex at first if you haven’t done this before. And pay attention to what Ausra suggests. Play some pieces with the melody in the left hand part, right? This texture has to become less foreign to you. And this way, you will sort of remember those new positions in your hand. A: Yes, and if you’re playing piano, if you love piano repertoire, I just remembered one piece I played many years ago. It was called Melody by Sergei Rachmaninoff. It’s sort of not too difficult piece, but not at beginner level. I would say somewhere in the middle. It has the melody in the left hand, and accompaniment in the right hand, and left hand always crosses the right hand. It jumps back and forth from the bass to the soprano range, and it also helps to sort of make your left hand more independent. V: Good advice. So 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 |
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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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