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 620 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by James, and he writes about my piece called “Nassat, from the Organ ABC”:

“The speed of this piece and transparency of registration made me appreciate how generous the acoustic is at your church. I’m still stuck on Krummhorn and Larigot​”

Vidas: James apparently watched the video of me improvising this piece which later was transcribed by Diana, and now it is available as a complete score with fingering and registration. So if you guys are interested, you can take a look. But I was thinking we could talk, Ausra, about the acoustics in our church. What do you think? Is it generous?

Ausra: Well, yes. Especially as comparing to many churches in America, I think in Lithuania, we have quite generous acoustics in general.

Vidas: Yeah, because we have many old churches, and in general, old churches have very good acoustics—sometime too big acoustics for the organ! Don’t you think?

Ausra: Well, I think the acoustics at St. Johns’s is very good.

Vidas: Adequate.

Ausra: Yes, adequate.

Vidas. But you still need to know how to play the organ in these acoustics. Right?

Ausra: Of course, because you know it often struck me while playing in the United States in some of the churches that had no acoustic at all, and even worse that when I played organ where I felt like I am being naked.

Vidas: What do you mean?

Ausra: Because, sort of when you have acoustics, it sort of covers you up, and you may hide some things in your playing.

Vidas: Yeah, I know what you mean. When you said “no acoustics at all or worse” what do you mean by “worse?”

Ausra: Because sometimes it’s not like you hold the last chord then omit it, but it seems like the sound disappears even before you lift your hands from the keyboard!

Vidas: Oh, you’re like in a closet!

Ausra: Yes. And because, I think, all these soft carpets and soft big cushions to make people feel comfortable… but it’s not good for acoustics.

Vidas: Well yes. Unfortunately, a lot has been done for the comfort of the people, right? But that interferes with the quality of the sound, and sometimes acoustics are disregarded in favor of how well people of a congregation is feeling in the pews.

Ausra: I don’t think that all the architects even consider this issue while they are making new churches.

Vidas: That’s true. Luckily, we have sometimes artificial acoustics. Right? You can enhance the acoustics of the building by adding some acoustic enhanced materials, but it’s not my expertise, so I don’t want to talk about it too long.

Ausra: And I don’t think it’s the same results. It’s still maybe not quite as good as if the acoustics is natural.

Vidas: Talking about acoustics and environment, what’s your most memorable church that you played in the past?

Ausra: Well, probably Saint Paul’s Cathedral in London!

Vidas: Yes, I wish we could go back there and record a proper recital, because they didn’t allow us to record and make a video. I secretly recorded for myself just the audio, and a short improvisation when I tested some of the sounds, but somehow this Cathedral doesn’t allow one to make recital recordings… official recordings… maybe they are afraid of people admiring the organ and the church and the cathedral too much.

Ausra: But I guess this is not only the case with Saint Paul’s. I think that’s true when talking about many other famous cathedrals.

Vidas: Yeah, I remember you were invited to perform at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, and one of the sentences in the contract stated that you cannot also make a recording of your recital.

Ausra: Yes. Too bad, but such is life.

Vidas: Right. Imagine if this weren’t the case, and people could come from all over the world and record their videos, YouTube would have been full of recitals from Notre Dame Cathedral, and now this organ is no longer functional because of the fire, so we don’t know how long it will take to restore it, and people all over the world are still… missing this instrument, and if they would have allowed to make recordings, people and fans from all over the world could enjoy this instrument even more.

Ausra: Well, I think there’s nothing that we could do to change church policies, so…

Vidas: Right. So hopefully, people can listen to the video, to the Nassat video that I performed, and check out the score that Diana has transcribed. If you’re interested in easy basic-level organ music, modern sounding improvisations, on every letter of the alphabet, but based on some of the terms from the organ world, so this could be helpful as well. I intend to finish all the collection maybe by the end of this year, if the situations are favorable and we’ll have the entire “ABC” ready for you to listen to and to play.

Ausra: Wonderful! Looking forward to hearing the entire collection.

Vidas: James promised to make a recording of it when it’s ready. So, I’m looking to it as well. James Flores, you could check out his YouTube channel and Website: https://jamesfloresorganist.com

Vidas: 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 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 617 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by David, and he writes,

"I didn't see this video when it was posted because I was buried with work at the time. Thank you for posting it and this podcast. This week, I am experiencing the same thing, but with a simple hymn that I should have no trouble with, but one measure is just not coming, and I, too, felt like hitting the (imitation) organ as I was practicing... (but I didn't do it... it already doesn't fully function properly on Sunday mornings). This made me realize that sometimes this is a normal thing to experience."

V:  Ausra, can you feel what David is talking about?

A:  Yes.  I get, have that feeling, that it’s about my practice of the Litanies by Jean Alain.

V:  Yes.  So David is on the team who transcribes these podcast conversations.  And he transcribed the previous video, or the previous conversation, 614, when Ian asks about organists frustrated video.  So David also apparently experienced the same thing, but with a simple hymn playing.  So I thought of talking about it a little bit more, because people seem to resonate with your frustration these days.

A:  Yes.  I think all of us get frustrated at times - not always, but sometimes.

V:  I don’t.

A:  Really?

V:  I’m very calm and pleased when I’m practicing.

A:  Maybe you are dead then.

V:  Maybe.  I don’t know.  So obviously…

A:  Or maybe you are a genius and you don’t make bad mistakes and you don’t struggle so much, and everything comes easy to you.

V:  Maybe that’s because I’m applying my secret 10 step method of practice.

A:  It is so boring.  I couldn’t do them all.

V:  Just once in your life you could try it.

A:  I think my life is too short.

V:  (laughs)  Better to hit the keyboard several times.

A:  Yes.

V:  Bang the keys.

A:  It’s like when I was a girl and studied at the art school, I used to put a book or my notes under my pillow for the night before an exam.

V:  Hoping…

A:  Or before a test.  Hoping that during the night time, all that information will go up to my head, to my brain, and I will learn everything overnight.

V:  Did it help?

A:  Well, I haven’t failed any of my exams, so maybe it did help.

V:  Did you prepare for those tests in some other way besides putting the textbook under your pillow?

A:  Well yes, actually.  I read them and I took them before reading them, so.

V:  Maybe it’s a combination of both.

A:  Could be.

V:  Positive thinking, wishful thinking.

A:  And actually maybe I need to put that Litanies under my pillow tonight and record them, for example, tomorrow.

V:  Mm, good idea.

A:  Because I would never put the music under my pillow, but maybe I need to start doing that.

V:  Well then, I would put Vierne’s Fugue from the First Symphony under my pillow.

A:  Wonderful!  Let’s try that.

V:  I already recorded the first part, the Prelude from this symphony, but just can’t get the Fugue up to speed.  So I am frustrated, Ausra.

A:  So you need to apply your 10 Step program.

V:  I did, but it’s not that fast, not that easy, you know.  You have to sit for weeks.

A:  Maybe you need to add another 10 steps to your program and have not a 10 step program, but 20 step program.

V:  Well obviously, I emphasize going from step 1 to step 2, and from step 2 to step 3 in a very methodical manner, because don’t rush.  If you rush, let’s say, you just play a difficult piece once through and stop it at the beginning of each beat, and then after that you do the step 2, which is stopping at every half note.  If you do that, I don’t think you’re ready to proceed to step 2 yet.

A:  Oh yes.

V:  I think it’s better to spend some time on step 1 - on each step.  Like maybe a day or two or three, play at least 3 times in a row without mistakes each step.

A:  Well yes, but for that you need patience.

V:   Yeah, that’s right.  And we are very impatient these days.  We want quick results.

A:  Well yes.

V:  So Ausra, do you have advice for people who have no patience?

A:  (laughs)  Hit the keyboard.  It won’t hit you back.  I’m just kidding, of course.

V:  Hit the keyboard and you will feel better.

A:  Actually yes, you will feel better.  But now that so many people have commented about this particular video, I’m sort of feeling happy because it attracted new subscribers of course to my channel.  Of course I received all kinds of comments.  Thoughtful like this one, but also some crazy.  Some people even did not understand that actually I’m playing on the organ.  They thought it’s on the piano, and some didn’t like music at all.  Well anyway.  But you know, it makes me sort of upset because my serious videos, who I think deserves much more of attention actually are unnoticed, or almost unnoticed, and this one received so many feedback.

V:  So much feedback, you mean.

A:  Yes, so much feedback.

V:  It’s because people are vampires.  They long for blood.  Blood thirsty.  If you bleed, they watch.  If you fall down, they watch.  If you are hurt, they watch.

A:  Do I need to cut my wrists while practicing?

V:  No, but you see why this video got more popular than others is because you showed them your emotion, your frustration, which should be embarrassing for professional concert organist, right?  To show it in public.  People, general audience thinks that difficult advanced pieces can be basically sight-read and fluently played during recital.  But obviously not the case.

A:  True.  Like my cousin just recently asked me if I still need to practice.  So people simply don’t understand, those who don’t practice themselves and don’t play musical instruments, how much real time it takes.

V:  Yeah.  So one way to get attention is to emphasize your mistakes.  Which is crazy, right?  Your polished videos should attract more attention than these practice videos, but that’s the way people are wired, I guess.  If organists are watching this, they are happy to see another organist fail and they’re happy that they’re not in this video themselves, hitting the keyboard.  You see the point?  Kind of happy for themselves.  You make them feel better, you know?

A:  Yes.  But I make myself sort of like a goat out of myself.  Like in the Jewish tradition, do you know that story, they took a goat to desert.

V:  And, what happened to the goat?

A:  Well, I think it died.

V:  Oh, right, right, right!  I don’t remember the source of this story, but…

A:  I think it’s in the Bible.

V:  Sure.  But it’s an interesting comparison, yeah.  So I guess I also need to play more Vierne Fugue in public failing, hitting the keys and pedals probably, and eventually more people watch.  But probably, the point is not to get their attention, though.  The point is to master the piece.

A:  True, true.  But I don’t think you would be able to hit the keyboard like I did, because you don’t have so much passion as I do.

V:  Passion for what?

A:  Passion for life!

V:  (laughs)

A:  Passion in general.

V:  I see.  We’re differently wired, right?

A:  Yes.

V:  Yeah, so I guess our listeners are also different.  Some of them are calmer, some more passionate like you.

A:  Yes, and you are simply happy all the time.  I don’t know what about.

V:  I try to think that life is too short to worry about it, about failures.

A:  And I think that life consists of all these various emotions, and you have to live it through.

V:  Good.  Are you frustrated right now?

A:  No, I’m not.

V:  You’re calm.

A:  Yes.

V:  Maybe because you had lunch?

A:  (laughs) That’s one of the reasons.

V:  Digesting.

A:  Yes.

V:  I’m calm too.  Maybe I’m digesting.  Hm.  I know: I eat more than you, that’s why I’m calmer.

A:  Maybe I need to start to eat more.

V:  Hm.  Not sure where this discussion leads, but okay. So guys, please send us more of your questions if you like to see Ausra fail more. (laughs)  And me!  We would be happy to show you our frustrations. 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

My friend James Flores and I decided it would be fun to shred one another's videos. He shredded my Menuet Gothique. You can watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JX-s9... So now I'm returning a favour with my improvisation on Waltz No. 2 by Dmitri Shostakovitch (shredding James Flores' performance).

You can watch the original here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ynBl...

Score:
https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/...

​I will be playing on Cavaille-Coll organ sample set from St Etienne Abbey in Caen by Sonus Paradisi of Hauptwerk VPO. Hope you will enjoy it!

​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 594 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Ruth, who is our Total Organist student, and she writes:

“I am learning a lot about new ways of playing organ, etc. from taking this course.  This must be one of the finest courses of its kind on the Internet.  Please recall though that some of us are still learning like "wee kids" about the new ways you and others have of using electronic methodology and media.   Please hold on to your patience and call forth your skills for teaching us.  Thanks.  Blessings.
Ruth”

V: That’s a very nice message. Right?

A: Yes, it is a very nice message. Thank you, Ruth!

V: I’m very grateful to Ruth, that she is learning a lot from this program, the Total Organist program, and she is involved, now, in the Total Organist community, answering questions, giving advice to other members and supporting each other. This is extremely helpful to everyone in the group.

A: Yes, to the entire community.

V: What do you think would be the next step for Ruth to learn and progress maybe faster than she was on her own or maybe go to the next level of organ playing?

A: Well, usually, you could either increase your practice time…

V: ...or you could increase the efficiency of your practice.

A: True.

V: To me, sometimes it’s not so much about time but about a goal. Right? The question of why we are practicing the organ. Why are we practicing the organ, Ausra?

A: Well…

V: Nowadays. 

A: That’s a hard question during the quarantine. Usually you have due dates. Your recital is coming up, and you have to push forward to be able to get ready for it.

V: Do you have a new recital, too, during the quarantine?

A: Well yes, I had it… there is the one that we have done on-line.

V: Are you preparing for the next?

A: Well yes, I am.

V: So, where I am going with this… this goal, this external motivation, does it give you some push when it come to sitting down on the organ bench?

A: Yes, of course. Otherwise I would just spend the entire day in my bed doing nothing.

V: Me, too. So yeah, the best advice I could give to Ruth and anyone who is already doing great work on the organ but wants to do even better, I think, to play it in public—at least for your family. If you’re not comfortable playing for strangers, just play it for your family, and don’t make the mistake that you’re not good enough to play for your family.

A: Do you think your family will appreciate it?

V: You are my family! Yes, you would appreciate it. You could play a short recital for your own spouse, or your parents or your friends, if they...

A: Or for your pets. I think that’s the best way.

V: Pets? 

A: Yes. At least they won’t complain.

V: Hmm… I haven’t thought about that, but yes! They would be grateful. They would jump on the keyboards, probably, to help you out!

A: Well, if you have a cat that might be the case, but with a dog, I don’t think you should worry about it.

V: Yeah.

A: But I think the nicest listeners would be pet fish!

V: Oh, they never complain.

A: True.

V: Yeah, just imagine that it’s a real concert, and record yourself. That’s also very important, because you never know. Maybe you will play well, and you can use this recording later on! I actually played a lot of… we both played probably hundreds of recitals during the years. Right? Have you ever counted?

A: No, I have never counted.

V: Sometimes I wish I had counted, and I don’t remember my programs now. I wish I could remember, have written down someplace, and now I would take this notebook and check all that I’ve played 10 or 20 years ago. Maybe I could repeat some things. What I played at the academy of music, I don’t remember most of them, that’s very helpful. But what I’m talking about is that when you record yourself, even if you don’t publish it, maybe the time will come in the future, 5 or 10 years from not, when you think, “Oh, it’s good enough,” your self worth will be good enough to publish those recitals, let’s say on YouTube, on your own YouTube channel. And I wish I had recorded my average recital, at least in audio, now. I didn’t always have the camera. Now we have several cameras, right? We can do high quality recordings. And good microphones, I didn’t have those early on. But it was still an evidence, but I didn’t record those. Do you regret those things, Ausra?

A: Not so much, because, anyway, I wouldn’t have time to listen to them all and to analyse them.

V: But what if you had all those archives and you could upload them to YouTube today?

A: Well, yes, that would be nice, actually, yes.

V: You see? That’s what I’m talking about. At the time, it wasn’t important.

A: At that time, we had no access to any kind of recording devices. We were poor… very poor.

V: And we didn’t even have the mindset to look for those devices. Maybe there was some kind of portable device that was affordable, but I was not thinking about that, let’s say, 20 years ago, when I was a student. Imagine that. When we were a student, we would have thousands of recordings now on YouTube, but mentality changes not that fast, I think. So my advice for Ruth and others is to do it now! To record yourself and have this archive, even if you’re not publishing today for others, to listen and to watch, but maybe there will come a time in the future where you will upload those recordings for others to see. What do you think, Ausra?

A: Yes, I think this would be a great idea.

V: Thank you guys for listening and for sending us your questions; we love helping you grow. This was Vidas.

A: And Ausra,

V: 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 590 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Hervey, and he writes:

“1.  My dream for organ playing:
     To be able to play with above average results for an audience.
 2.  The three most important things holding me back:
      a. Not good enough at reading notes.
      b. Have to memorize music before it can be played.
      c.  I consciously play every note instead of letting it flow freely from the mind.”

V: “Above average results…” What does that does it mean in your understand, Ausra?

A: Well, it depends on the person, because I, for example, think that I’m a little above average organist.

V: Not genius level?

A: No.

V: But for him, if let’s say he’s not good enough at reading notes, or can’t really play freely from his mind, his goals must be probably more basic, not too advanced. Right?

A: I guess so, and in this last section where he talks about that he consciously plays every note instead of letting it flow freely from the mind, I think it’s because he doesn’t feel comfortable at…

V: Reading notes…

A: ...reading notes.

V: So the challenge, number 1 for him, is to get better at reading music.

A: That’s right, and that’s, I think that the sight-reading course might be helpful for him if it’s not too difficult.

V: I think it’s too difficult for starters. Yeah, you have to be a little bit… like reach a basic level of reading notes, first, and then be comfortable with slowly playing through the first exercise—very slowly, like half speed, like 30 beats per minute. If you can do that, you can progress through the course, probably not week after week with every lesson like we deliver it to your email inbox, but at your own speed. If we have 7 exercises that week, it doesn’t have to take 7 days for you. For each person it’s different. Maybe two weeks you will take. Maybe a month you will take for this first week of material, and that’s okay! Right?

A: Yes, I think that’s okay. And what do you think would be a good collection for Hervey to sight-read. Do you have any suggestions?

V: I think we have a course a little bit more basic about sight-reading. Let me check—not the “Sight-Reading Master Course,” but something a little more foundational. Let’s see… “10 Day Hymn Playing Challenge,” for example. Hymns are little gems of four part organ music! They last between 1 and 2 minutes, and they all have four parts in this little workshop. And we have ten hymns in this course, and it’s very very basic. I’ll teach you the same, basically, techniques that you need to master any piece of music, working through single lines, then combinations of two parts, three parts, and finally four-part texture, but we don’t start with “The Art of Fugue” like in “Organ Sight-Reading Master Course.” Instead, we start with simple note-against-note texture with one voice. So soprano plays quarter notes. A lot of people can do that. Even beginners—almost beginners, I would say. What do you think, Ausra?

A: Yes, I think that’s a good suggestion. I think hymns are very handy for organists. Plus, because most of the hymns are familiar to us, so it makes things even easier.

V: And after that, of course, you can check, Hervey can check if he has advanced substantially in order to be able to practice through the first week of the “Sight-Reading Master Course.” Maybe the next step for him would be to play and master my other training--”Left-hand Training” and then later “Two-part Training.” These are pieces taken from Bach’s “Trio Sonatas.” Exercises first in single voice in “Left-hand Training” and then two-part texture in “Two-part Training,” but instead of playing in the original keys that Bach writes, I have transposed everything starting from, I believe, C Major, and then going through all the keys through the circle of fifths. That’s how you advance little-by-little. What about this idea, Ausra?

A: Sure, I think it’s a good idea to add extra accidentals with each try.

V: And maybe “Left-hand Training” would be enough before jumping to the “Organ Sight-Reading Master Course.” I think, yes, because “Sight-Reading Master Course” starts with a single voice. So with “Left-hand Training,” you master this a-little-bit-intricate rhythms in “Trio Sonatas,” not only with the left-hand, of course, you practice with your right hand, as well, and maybe with your pedals, as well, those pedal parts, slowly, of course. And then you can be kind of ready to start a 40 week journey with “Organ Sight-Reading Master Course.”

A: Sure, and another thing that I would like to add to what you just said is that in order to become a fluent reader of music, you need to do it on a regular basis. 

V: The minimum time, I think, is three times per week. Minimum.

A: That’s a bare minimum.

V: Bare minimum. Every other day, basically.

A: I think if you really want to see progress and won’t get frustrated, I think you would need to do it every day.

V: Every day, just a little bit.

A: At least a little bit of it.

V: 15 or 20 minutes, preferably more. If you can’t handle sitting on the organ bench for a longer time, take frequent breaks. Before you get tired, you stop playing, you take your walk, drink your glass of water, stretch, breathe, whatever is more comfortable for you. Then, after 5, 10, 15 minutes, you come back, and you feel refreshed. Right?

A: Yes, that’s right. But I think this regularity is very important.

V: Right. And don’t be frustrated if you don’t see results overnight. Right? It’s a life long journey. And be content with the privilege of sitting down on the organ bench. That’s all that matters. You are making progress, it’s just not apparent to the naked eye. You have to have a microscope, basically. But, if you check the piece that had been difficult to you at the beginning after one month of your studies, or three months, or half of a year, I can guarantee, if you follow our suggestions and tips and practice procedures, you will find that the first piece that was difficult to you, then after that period of studies will become much, much easier. So you will have advanced in organ playing, I think, quite far through that time.

A: Excellent observation.

V: Thank you! Thank you, Ausra, for helping me guide Hervey, and hopefully it was helpful to other people, too. Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, 

A: Miracles happen.

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Yesterday in the morning I finished recording Sonatina Quinta (Allegretto) by Johann Ludwig Krebs:

It’s like a minuet but in 6/4 meter. Usually we see minuets in simple 3/4 or 3/2 meter where there is only one strong beat per measure (1). Oh yes, Kirnberger teaches that 3/4 meter can have 2 strong beats per measure - 1 and 3. So anyway, but with 6/4 meter it’s different. It’s a compound meter and there are 2 strong beats - 1 and 3. So it was interesting to see how this piece is constructed and think if anything would change if the meter was 3/4 instead 6/4. I guess, it’s just for composer’s preference.

It wasn’t very easy to record - took me 7 takes to get it up to the level I was satisfied with without editing the recording. The most difficult part wasn’t actually jumps from one manual to the other for echos but it was concentrating long enough and not letting my fingers slip on any sharp (there are 4 next to the clef - it’s written in E major). I didn’t stop the recording going after each unsuccessful attempt and kept playing. With each new take I felt more relaxed and with the final take which I kept for this video, I was able to add a number of improvised diminutions which was nice.

In the afternoon I practiced a few times Praeludium and Fugue in C Major, BWV 566a by J.S. Bach on 8’ principals of Velesovo sample set by Sonus Paradisi. I tried to get the page turns right with my Bluetooth iRig device which I use to turn the pages with my foot when I’m playing from an iPad. Those Principals on Hauptwerk and Oberwerk sound so beautiful that I could actually play on them alone for hours and not be bored.

Today I will start recording the last sonatina - Sonatina Sesta and hopefully by Monday or Sunday (if you support me on Patreon) you will hear me playing some chorale preludes by Kauffmann from his beautiful collection “Harmonische Seelenlust” (1733). Kauffmann was contemporary of J.S. Bach. In fact, as I’m writing these lines early in the morning, I’m listening through the headphones how my friend Auke Jongbloed plays them on YouTube. If you like early organ music, you can find many unknown gems in his YouTube channel “Partitura Organum” along with the links to the scores:

​https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx2iiqZuzri08lwGU4zbaBA

Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra
 
V: Let’s start episode 567, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by John. And he writes:
 
Dear Vidas and Ausra,
How are you today?
I'm sorry to hear about your troubles with the music distributors and the very unfair treatment you are receiving. I can't believe they are doing this to you. And it seems James Flores is also being harassed over copyright issues when his music is in the public domain.
Thanks for your advice on the role of music director, and I look forward to your next podcast!
I am working hard on Prelude in the Classic Style by Gordon Young, and I am finding I am learning it much faster than I expected! I remember one of your students from the Unda Maris studio played this piece and it sounded magnificent on the St John's organ! So now when I'm practicing I try to imagine I am there playing it at St John's!
Take care,
God bless
John...

V: Oh, that’s a nice message.
 
A: Yes, it is.
 
V: So, his first question was, ‘how are you today’!
 
A: I’m fine.
 
V: What are you doing today? How are you feeling today?
 
A: Well, I will have one private lesson today, to teach, and then no class next week and I’m so excited about that.
 
V: Mmm-mmm. Spring break? No.
 
A: No, that’s a winter break.
 
V: Winter break.
 
A: Yes, we are still in February you know.
 
V: Yeah. My plans today is to start composing a piece based on the choral tune for Lent, passion chorale; ‘O Sacred Head Now Wounded’, and I’m having a little bit hard time figuring out what can I do with a Lutheran choral like this, how it would fit my style, and I know that Gregorian Chant works well with my modal writing. And Ausra suggested that I do something with it. What did you suggest?
 
A: I said that you need to embellish the choral melody and do it some more like Gregorian chant. Add some non-harmonical tunes.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. We’ll see about that.
 
A: And then your style will work for you, just fine.
 
V: John writes about being sorry that DistroKid banned me from uploading my organ music to Spotify and other audio platforms. And since then I found another platform and it’s called Mixnauten and their business model is different from DistroKid, and actually they’re, actually interested in seeing their customers succeed because they take not subscription fee like DistroKid has. Once a year you pay a yearly subscription and irregardless if you’re successful or not, if you’re making a lot of money or very little money, you always only pay certain amount. For me it was thirty-six dollars because I have this double artist account for Ausra’s music too. But with Mixnauten they take percentage—thirty percent of your revenue goes to Mixnauten, so when you grow, the company grows. So it’s win-win for all of us involved, you know.
 
A: I think that’s a very wise solution.
 
V: Yeah. And it doesn’t cost me anything from my own pocket.
 
A: That’s good. So we earn more and it’s better for you as well.
 
V: Yes.
 
A: Because I think DistroKid just treated you so unfairly. So I guess they will bankrupt in the future.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. Yeah. I know. Spotify has some shares in DistroKid too, minor shares, but they are too big to care about their customers. And the copyright issues that James Flores is facing, sometimes it’s not exclusive to him. Sometimes my videos get copyright notices…
 
A: This is just idiotic. For example, when somebody shows the complain about you playing Bach’s Invention #1…
 
V: Yes.
 
A: That’s total (expletive not included). Who could copyright that?
 
V: Well, exactly. Somebody suggest that I would upload all my videos but not strait away like I would play them, but with a little bit increased or reduced speed-change and tuning, a little bit higher or lower, just a little bit. Then the copyright bots and software wouldn’t pick it up. What do you think about that?
 
A: Well, maybe it’s okay, somebody who listens [to] you doesn’t have a perfect pitch, otherwise I don’t think it would be so well.
 
V: I mean, it’s not like half a step, but maybe just a few cents.
 
A: Mmm, well, I don’t know about that.
 
V: Yeah, it’s just too much work.
 
A: It is.
 
V: If you produce, like one video per week, or one video per month, then okay, you can polish it and edit it and do all kinds of fancy things with it, but when I do several per day…
 
A: True.
 
V: It’s not worth it. I just file a dispute about copyrights and usually they release it. And James Flores is doing the same thing. So now, John is playing ‘Prelude in the Classical Style’, by Gordon Young. Do you remember this piece?
 
A: Yes, I remember it very well.
 
V: Our student Arnoldas played it.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: And it’s still available on Youtube to listen to.
 
A: It’s a nice piece.
 
V: Yeah, very popular. Even though organist and composer, Gordon Young, was living in the early 20th Century, the style here is really classical and sounds like from early 19th Century, I would say, like Lemmens.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Remember ‘Fanfare’ by Lemmens?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Same thing. It’s a very fun piece to play in public. Maybe to end a recital or begin recital. I think Arnoldas began our Unda Maris recital with it.
 
A: Yes. I think it’s one of the pieces that sounds better and more complicated than it really is, more complex than it really is. It’s not a hard one, piece to learn, even for a beginner. So it really worth attention.
 
V: Yeah. And since John was playing a recital and St. John’s before, he now can imagine that he’s back and playing on our organ, the piece by Gordon Young.
 
A: That’s very nice.
 
V: Wonderful. Thank you guys. This was Vidas.
 
A: And Ausra.
 
V: Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice…
 
A: Miracles happen!

Vidas: Hi guys!  This is Vidas.
 
Ausra:  And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 561 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Andrei.  And he writes,
 
Thank you very much!  My organ playing is improving and has improved drastically. I'm especially thankful for your sight reading course. It's great!
 
V:  I guess this is Andrei’s answer to my question of how is his organ playing going on these days.
 
A:  Yes, I think so too.
 
V:  Very glad that sight reading course is working for him.  Do you think people can learn, Ausra, from sight reading various voices and voice combinations of a collection of music, like The Art of Fugue of Johann Sebastian Bach, from which my organ sight reading master course is based on?
 
A:  Yeah, I think that’s a great course.  And I think that in general, sight reading is a very useful skill that any musician must have.
 
V:  Mm hm.
 
A:  Because it’s very beneficial, especially if you are working a church, you have to produce a new music for every Sunday, then I think it’s necessary that you would be a good sight reader.
 
V:  Let me ask you this, Ausra:  If you could choose, would you choose superb sight reading skills, or superb improvisational skills? 
 
A:  Hm.  That’s a tricky question.
 
V:  I know. 
 
A:  But let me say this.  I think that these two qualities that you named, they don’t contradict each other.
 
V:  They support each other
 
A:  I think they support each other.  Although, I guess that people who in general improvise more probably don’t like to play from the musical score so much.  I know that because of you, too, because at one point you almost gave up playing from the musical score.
 
V:  That was a few years ago.
 
A:  And I had to put quite an effort to lead you back to playing repertoire as well.
 
V:  Mm, there is some side effects in not playing from the score and only improvising, is that you will not gain knowledge of the music created before you, right?  And you will not apply that knowledge in your improvisation.  Basically, you will start, I don’t know,  producing music which is increasingly influenced by your own imagination - or limited by your own imagination.
 
A:  I would say that it’s limited - it’s more accurate term to name it.
 
V:  But there is another side to this.  Some people prefer to improvise without copying anyone, without being influenced by anyone.  And that’s what I mean.
 
A:  Well, you know, simply, what is my opinion, that’s, well, how original can you be?  Yes, you can be original to some degree.  Because still, you know, you are using ideas that you have heard somewhere.  But maybe you heard them in another organ.
 
V:  Maybe you heard them in your own key.
 
A:  That’s a possibility, but anyway, all music is made out of, what, 12 tones.
 
V:  Twelve pitches, you mean.
 
A:  Twelve pitches, yes. 
 
V:  Yeah, sometimes when I improvise, I catch myself playing the same intonations, the same melodic ideas, in a different order maybe, different texture, different form, or registration, the mode.  But they’re all mine, you know, part of my language.  And I guess that’s normal and natural.  But…
 
A:  But for example, if you are improvising, let’s say in the Dorian mode, yes?  It’s still not a mode created by you.  You still borrow some ideas from all around of the musical world, don’t you think so?  It’s just  how well you arrange them, you know.
 
V:  Yeah, yes.  There is a saying that it’s best to borrow from the dead.  From the people who lived long before you.  Then it’s not stealing, and actually being influenced by those masters.  That’s why we play early music as well.  Not only to just enjoy it, but to see how it could be recreated in a new context, right?
 
A:  Yeah.  And if you would look at your musical history, you could see that each new style is sort of wants to deny the previous style, but wants to take over the ideas from another style.  Let’s say, let’s make this clearer.  For example, if we are talking about baroque, you know, after that the classical period came who denied baroque, sort of.  But we took ideas more from the Renaissance.  But when the romantic period came, we sort of denied the classic.  But we took ideas from the baroque time. 
 
V:  What do you mean, from the baroque time?  What kind of ideas?
 
A:  Well, I don’t mean that we copied the baroque ideas. 
 
V:  Uh huh.
 
A:  But let’s say J.S. Bach was almost forgotten during the classical period.  Nobody cares about his music so much, except maybe for Well Tempered Clavier.  But then when Mendelssohn found all his great choral music, all his cantatas and passions by J.S. Bach, and it gave him new license - I believe that Mendelssohn in his choral compositions also used some of Bach’s ideas. 
 
V:  Absolutely.
 
A:  So that’s what I mean.  But of course, nowadays, composers take ideas from all those previous periods. 
 
V:  Mm hm.  Even from Middle Ages.
 
A:  And it’s all very very eclectic.
 
V:  From Middle Ages, from exotic places, from cultures that are not western-oriented.  From various historical periods, of those places, you know,  study of music, let’s say, of Japan, but not of 20th century, but let’s say 17th century Japan, whatever they can find out about that, of course.  But if they can, they could, they would study the music of ancient Hindu rhythms and modes and apply it today.  Mix them with different other influences, like bird songs, or Gregorian chant, and you get, what?
 
A:  Messiaen.
 
V:  Olivier Messiaen.  It’s all very personal now.  Whatever you meet in your life, it could be your influence, correct?
 
A:  Yes.
 
V:  For better or worse.
 
A:  Yes, you know my students, one of my students just last week, he asked me about academic music - composing academic music, and I asked him what kind of music that is.  Do you mean professional music?  He said, “Well, maybe…” Then he explained that he wants to become a composer, but he doesn’t want to compose ugly music.  And I asked him what he means, ugly music.  And he just said “be be be be - that’s it” -- that’s how he described ugly music.  And I realized that it’s probably something very atonal and not pretty for him.  So I asked, “What do you want to compose music for?”  And he said, “Well, I like some music composed for the movies.”  And I told him that he needs to find, to get online and to find out about places that sort of prepares you for writing such kind of music.
 
V:  Oh, you can get a master class now online, from Hans Zimmer, probably the most famous living composer of cinematic music.  Besides John Williams, of course.  And he teachers his own techniques online.
 
A:  Is it free?
 
V:  No, it’s not free.  It’s on a platform called MasterClass.com.
 
A:  Well, I don’t think he would be able to pay now.  He’s just a minor yet, so.
 
V:  Yeah.
 
A:  But I told him that there are places, let’s say in the United States where you could go and study composition that specializes in making music for the movies.  And they help you to understand how different effects are created. 
 
V:  Mm hm.
 
A:  Fear, love, drama.  All that kind of stuff.
 
V:  Horror. 
 
A:  Yes.
 
V:  Yes.  So, we started this conversation in a completely different mindset, talking about a sight reading course, and finished about movie music.  I guess the recurring heme is to get better and better every day, start practicing.  Like your student, if he wants to do something with cinematic music, he doesn’t want to wait.  Doesn’t need to wait to graduate and go to college.  Maybe he can start creating himself - not necessarily for movies, but for videos that he creates, composes, right.  For videos that he produces.  Or something else that is available to him, not necessarily getting permission from others, but taking initiative, and doing, taking the first step.  And Andrei, the same thing for you.  For sight reading and playing, and improving your organ playing, I believe this: whatever you do today, you will thank for this a month later.  Thank you, guys.  This was Vidas.
 
A:  And Ausra.
 
V:  Please send us more of your questions.  We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice,
 
A:  Miracles happen. 

Vidas: Hi, guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra
 
V: Let’s start episode 560, of Secrets Of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Maureen. And she writes:
 
Hello Vidas and Ausra,
I think now that I have received a few items of fingered music from you, I would love to be back on the organ bench playing confidently and also with feeling for the music; to be accurate and musical. I had dreamed of playing the Widor Toccata. It is not easy to access a church organ in my area.
Maureen
 
V: So I think Maureen is writing about her dreams and the obstacles in achieving those dreams. So the first one would concern about the thing of getting back, getting back on the organ bench, basically, and playing confidently. What would be some advice about this, Ausra?
 
A: Just go back and play, practice.
 
V: I think before playing confidently, she has to play without confidence first, for a while.
 
A: I think confidence will come with time. You need to practice on a regular basis.
 
V: And perform in public.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Without that, your practice is kind of limited, without real life applications basically, only for yourself. When you practice only for yourself you don’t know how well you’re really playing.
 
A: Yes, and she also talks about feeling for the music. I think that some can feel music better, some don’t. And I think to get the feeling for the music you need to listen to other performance, and not necessarily organist. In general, you need to listen to music performed.
 
V: To get an intuition, right?

A: Yes.
 
V: To get musical taste.
 
A: Yes. Because for some people that comes more natural. For some it’s harder. I think it’s probably depends on the qualities that you receive during the birth probably. It’s all genetic.
 
V: The good thing about listening to music is that you can do all kinds of activities and simply listen in your ear with earphones while streaming music for example today. Or from CD recordings in your house, and really do something else with your time, which still would count as listening...
 
A: Yes.
 
V: and studying.
 
A: Because I guess there are sort of two ways; either you know you are very good at the music theory and you understand how the music is composed, how it’s put together, the other cadences and all that form thing, and then you do all this with your mind. You sort of build up the piece and you register it and perform it accordingly, your mind, or you are very good, you have very good musical intuition, and you can do the same things even without thinking about them.
 
V: Then of course you would have a very hard time explaining this to other people.
 
A: Yes. I think, if you want to be a good teacher, yes, then you would have not only have a good intuition but to know exactly how the things work and what you can by you think that the things must be played in such a way and not another way.
 
V: Yes, and no. Depending on what kind of student you have.
 
A: Yes. If you will have a student of good musical intuition then you wouldn’t have to work hard on those things.
 
V: For such a student you would only need to be an example, right, like a role model. And they would take it from there themselves. They’re learning by doing and basically by looking up to you. But not necessarily looking from you for the directions, what to do, what steps to take. But other students want you to take them by the hand, hold them all the way up and to take them through the various obstacles and uh, challenges. Then you really need to be a good motivator as well as explain things very clearly.
 
A: I guess that it depends on what age group we are talking and what kind of personalities we are talking. Because I think that for kids, for example, at an early age, it’s easier to imitate what you are doing. You just play how it should be played and they try to repeat what you have just done. Because I think for them, might be too hard to understand all this language thing, explaining about how piece must be played. I think it works better with adults.
 
V: Mmmmm, yeah. And not all of adults also progress to the levels where they are willing or able to practice independently.
 
A: Yeah, that’s true.
 
V: Some people really need a coach, like athletes.
 
A: Yeah, I guess so.
 
V: Without a coach, athletes wouldn’t reach high results. So now Maureen wants to be accurate and musical. So musical, we talked about that.
 
A: Yes. Yes, we talked about it.
 
V: Accuracy comes with experience and really from failing a lot, I think. You have to first make many mistakes before you can play with accuracy.
 
A: Well, I think that accuracy comes with slow practice. That’s what I think—the slow practice, diligent, slow practice, comes the accuracy. Because if you will play fast and sloppy I don’t think you will gain accuracy. Even if you will play that for hundred times.
 
V: I didn’t mean that, of course. You’re right. And she wants to play Widor Toccata, and we have a score with fingering and pedaling provided for her. And I hope this is useful for her, fingering and pedaling.
 
A: Yes, and she cannot easy access a church organ, as she writes. But if she can access piano, for example, then I think that she can practice quite a lot on the piano, when talking Widor’s Toccata.
 
V: Definitely.
 
A: And when talking about any piece of French music.
 
V: Definitely. I think most of the work can be done on the piano with such a music, and even if you play the pedals on the floor, imitating the spots where you have to press them for specific notes, this will greatly improve your progress when you will have access to real organ.
 
A: True. And I believe if you can play this piece on the piano with imitating pedal part and if you can also sing a pedal part, that would be very useful too. Then I think you will have no trouble preforming it on a real organ.
 
V: Yeah. For men it means that they can sing mostly in their range. For women mostly, it means they have to sing octave higher.
 
A: Yeah, I explained that to my students all the time. Because we always have these questions, for example, a girl asked me, ‘how do I sing in this low register?’ I’m telling you don’t have to sing in it.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: What do you expect of all the boys after mutation? To sing what, in the second octave, when the music is written like that?
 
V: Right. They have to figure it out.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Thank you guys. We hope this useful to you. Please send us more of your questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice…
 
A: Miracles happen!