secrets of organ playing - when you practice, miracles happen
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • STORE
  • TOTAL ORGANIST
  • TOOLS
  • YOUTUBE
  • COMPOSITIONS
  • COACHING
  • ABOUT
  • RECITALS
  • PHOTOS
  • CONTACT
  • LOGIN
  • LT
  • AUSRA'S YOUTUBE

SOPP740: What is the significance, in organ registrations, of grand choeur, grand jeu and plein jeu?

8/13/2025

Comments

 
Picture
Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 740! This question was sent by Jeovane and he writes:

Hello Vidas, could you help me with a question? What is the significance, in registrations, of Grand choeur, grand jeu and plein jeu? I learned that plein jeu is the combination of all the founds and mixtures; grand jeu the combination of all principals, mixtures and reeds; and grand choeur a organ tutti. Is this correct?

Hope you will enjoy the conversation between Ausra and me!
Comments

SOPP 713: I'm trying to think when, if ever, someone would want to use a 16' stop when playing on the manuals

1/13/2025

Comments

 
Picture
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 713 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jim, and he writes:

I'm trying to think when, if ever, someone would want to use a 16' stop when playing on the manuals. It seems that practice would give a very thick and muddy sound to the part written for the manuals. Can you give an instance or example of when it would be appropriate to use a 16' stop for the manuals, or one of the manuals, please? I am just having trouble imagining what type of sound that would be. Thank you very much.  ~Jim

A: Yes, that’s a very good question.  And actually quite an easy one to answer, because the 16’ stop if used appropriately in the manuals does not make sound muddy, because you just have to know the instances when it’s best to use it, and when it’s better not to use it.  For example, at St. John’s, if I’m playing the plenum registration on the Hauptwerk, on the first manual, on the Great, I always add the 16’ Principal. Because the plenum with the Mixture and without 16’ Principal will sound not as good.  It sort of completes, rounds up that plenum sound.

V: It depends on the Mixture composition. Because on other manuals, we don’t need 16’ stop - we don’t necessarily need it, right?  We could use it, but not always. As Ausra mentions, on the first, on the Great manual, there is this Mixture which is ranked lower.  It’s a low Mixture based on 16’ harmonic series, not on 8’ harmonic series. So if you don’t use 16’ stop together with this Mixture, what happens then?

A: Well, then the sound is sort of screamy-like. And in order to round it up, you need to add the 16’ Principal. Then it sounds nice and complete.

V: I think the lowest rank of the Mixture starts at 2⅔. So that’s pretty low.  You need the 16’ stop Principal or the Bourdon to make it blend with the chorus.  For example, on the third manual, Oberwerk, it’s not as low.  It could be 1⅓, we have the Cymbel, which is even higher, so it’s a brighter sound, and we don’t need 16’ stop then all the time.

A: Then another instance when I have to use the 16’ stop on the manual is when I’m playing a texture which has like a solo voice in the right hand and some sort of accompaniment in the left hand. And then if you would have two different manuals and the 16’ in your left hand, and solo voice in another manual, the 16’ stop would add some sort of pedal sound in the left hand.  It would trick sort of your ear and your mind, and you could imagine that you are playing the pedals instead of the left hand. That a nice way, and sometimes I like to teach too, when I don’t want to use pedals too much and I don’t have time, I just play the pedal part with my left hand on the 16’ stop. Of course, you never use the 16’ stop alone in the manual, unless it’s a reed stop.  Then it’s another question and another manner of registering.

V: It’s an interesting observation, Ausra.  A lot of trios written in the Baroque period with cantus firmus in the middle voice, in the tenor, can be played both ways: with the pedals taking the bass line, or with the pedals taking the tenor line. And if that’s the case, in the pedals we wouldn’t use 16’ registration, only 8’ bass stop, like a reed, but in the left hand part, like Ausra says, we could use 16’ and 8’. There is even actually a theory you could play the famous “Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme” from the six Schubler chorales by Bach this way - right hand could be played on the Principal 8’, left hand could take 16’ and 8’ flute stops as the bass line, and in the pedals you could have 8’ reed playing the tenor line, the cantus firmus.

A: Yes, it’s very handy to have this option. What would you do if you have 16’ reeds on the manuals - how would you register?

V: That’s a nice idea, too. On the big organs, there are a few 16’ reeds. Like we have, for example, 16’ Bombarde on the first manual, on the Great, and do we have on the Swell, we have Fagott, not Fagott, it’s called…what’s it called?

A:  ??

V: I think it’s called Basson. Yeah, like the German version.

A: So it’s Fagott.

V: German, English or French version of the Fagott, of the Basson. So basically it’s a softer reed than the Trumpet, but it works very well for playing fast bass lines, fast-running bass passages on the pedals - on the left hand part. So, there is like this famous “Christ Unser Herr…

A: ..zum Jordan kam”

V: Yes, from the Clavierȕbung Part 3 by Bach. And it has a running left hand part which could be effectively played with this 16’.

A: Yes, that’s a very nice option actually.

V: Then you would have tenor cantus firmus in the pedals, 8’ reed, and some other stops in the right hand playing the canon.

A: Yes, and in general, I like having 16’ stop on the manuals, because for me somehow it helps to make organ sound too screamy because it has so many mutations, and 2’ and 1’ stop, and 16’ to balance.

V: If the reed is loud, 16’ reed is loud like Bombarde 16’, then probably it’s best to reserve it for chordal texture, like chorus, fanfare-like sounds if you want to use on a bigger registration, in addition to other stops you would add 16’ Bombarde.

A: To make powerful sounds even more powerful. And you know, people often ask us how to reharmonize for example, the last stanza of a hymn, then in some cases it would be just enough to add the Bombarde for the last verse of the hymn.

V: I also notice that this Bombarde might make sound muddy if we’re not using even more high pitched stops.  So we already probably would have used mixture on the first manual before drawing the Bombarde 16’, and I like to add the Tierce, a third sound, 1⅗ together with the Bombarde, which then brightens up this powerful sound on the first manual.  Or if we have strong fingers, we could add a coupler to the Oberwerk, to the third manual, and then we will have an even brighter mixture together with the first manual.

A: So in any case, you need to experiment with your organ. Try various combinations and see what works, what does not work, and decide for yourself.

V: Then there is also this regional tradition. For example, in the Netherlands, there is interesting tradition to sing psalms - in the right hand part you would have solo melody which would be registered on the 8’ manual, registration but also on the 16’ registration in the right hand part, in the soprano. And we were told that it is due to the fact that the sound was sung by men one octave lower. So every country has its own tradition. For example, in the middle of Lithuania, this village church which has one manual organ without any pedal, just one single manual, and it has 16’ trumpet.

A: Yes, it’s very bizarre, yes.

V: Historical organ, amateur organ builder, by the way. Monastic - it is like an organbuilder/monk.  But he built an organ with a 16’ Trumpet.

A: And it doesn’t have divided keyboard.

V: No.

A: So that’s very bizarre.

V: I remember visiting that church long time ago with Professor (12:28) as part of the trip, organ study trip throughout Lithuania, with Ausra and some other colleagues from the Academy of Music in Lithuania, and we all tried this instrument, and I didn’t know what to play on that 16’ Trumpet, and I think I played Hindemith’s music a little bit.

A: Yeah.

V: Paul Hindemith. Okay, so I think we have discussed the 16’ registration on the manuals pretty extensively today. If you have any other observations and questions, please let us know. 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:

​A: Find out more at https://buymeacoffee.com/organduo
Comments

SOPP700: My dream is to improve my improvisation techniques

2/2/2023

Comments

 
Picture
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 700 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.  This question was sent by Pedro, and he writes

Hello Vidas,

I have just started watching your channel. I am 50 years old, but still a baby organist.  Thank you for your score on the meditation "Nun komm der Heiden Heiland.". I bought it as soon as I watched you play it. I will probably play it several times this Advent.

1. My dream is to improve my improvisation techniques. I think this goes through more music analysis, and trying to write down small pieces.  I would also like to be more confident when choosing the appropriate registration.  And finally I would like to change my finger touch, that is still one of a trained pianist.

2. Things that hold me to reach that goal is : Time to play more often and access to an organ.

Thank you, Pedro

So Ausra, this is our 700th episode.  Congratulations to everyone!

A:  Oh yes, congratulations to everybody, and to us, that we have so much patience to do so many podcasts.  But actually, it was a fun, fun ride.

V:  Yeah.  And now Pedro wants to know how to improve his improvisation techniques.  Let’s talk about that for starters.

A:  Yes, you know, if I would be Pedro, I wouldn’t waste my time by writing down any type of compositions, because it takes very much of your time, a lot of the time, actually, and that doesn’t give you much confidence in improvisation.  Actually what you could really do to spend more time at the keyboard and to do some harmony exercises, to play some cadences, to do some transpositions, or to play sequences.

V:  You’re right, Ausra.  I think harmony is the foundation of improvisation and Pedro would do really well to practice it first.  Not to spend entire time on harmony of course.  He needs to create those pieces and improvise them.  But harmony will give him a good start, obviously.  The starting point, step one for me, would be to figure out what he wants to do with improvisation because there are many other, many goals in improvisation, many styles, many genres, and practical applications, right?  So you first have to figure out what would you like to learn, right, practically, how to apply it.  And then once you know that, you take the baby steps towards your goal.

A:  Yes, very well said, Vidas.

V:  For example, some people don’t like chorale-based improvisation and they start with free types of melodies.  But a lot of organists enjoy church melodies and hymns and chorales, and that’s where they should start, obviously.

A:  I think it’s much easier to start to improvise on a given melody, as you take a hymn tune and work on it, and around
it.  At least that you don’t have to worry about creating your own melody.  So I think it’s easier to start with improvising on the hymn tunes.

V:  Agreed.  And to keep things simple, I would just probably stick to two voices at first.  Soprano would be the melody from the hymn tune, and the bass in the left hand could be the foundation notes of the harmony.  Note against note, right? We have a course like this. It's called Hymn Improvisation Level 1.

A:  Yes that’s a possibility.

V:  I-IV-V - tonic, subdominant, dominant - things like that.  And then once you get used to I-IV- V, you can add other scale degrees, always creating sweet sounding intervals of major and minor thirds and major and minor sixths.  Sometimes fifths and octaves, but only in opposite direction with the soprano.  Okay, Pedro would like to know about choosing appropriate registration.  This is a broad topic, obviously.  But again, it would depend on what kind of music he is practicing right now.  Is it a chorale based work or a free composition, yes, Ausra?

A:  Yes, true.  But usually if you could help yourself for making just a few combination of organ stops, I think it would be enough for a beginner organist.  So one type of registration would be like full organ, organo pleno, for loud preludes and postludes playing on one manual.  And then, like softer registration either on one manual or on two manuals if you want to solo out a melody.  So for that type of registration, if it’s a soft registration on one manual you could just add two flutes or maybe two flutes and some strings, or maybe just strings to play something really soft.  And then if you want to solo out the melody, you would play on the other manual like a solo voice, you would add let’s say oboe for solo voice, or cornet for solo voice, and accompany on another manual.  If cornet is loud, maybe you could use 8’ principal for accompany, or if it’s soft reed, maybe you would accompany with one flute or a couple flutes.  And you would play pedals accordingly.  Probably with Sub Bass 16’ and 8’ flute.  If it’s not enough, maybe you could add light principal 16’ or Octave 8’ and see how it works in the balance with your hands.

V:  And for pieces which have to be played on one manual, you don’t only have to play only with principal chorus with mixtures.  You could play with one principal or two principals or three principals, expanding the sound, or even mixing flutes with principals if it’s more of a romantic work.  But even in some cases in later Baroque music, you could double principals with flutes, right Ausra?

A:  Oh yes.

V:  Mm hm.  This is a very broad topic but we hope you get the starting idea for yourself.  Okay.  And changing his finger touch from pianist to an organist - what would you like to suggest, Ausra?

A:  Well, when I’m thinking about touch, about articulation, I am always thinking about how the instrument on which I’m playing is constructed in itself, and that helps me to grasp the idea.  And basically piano, it’s really a percussion instrument.  Because the hammer hits the string, so you use more strength in your fingers when you are playing the piano, and to hit from the top.  And when playing organ, you always need to keep in mind that it’s basically a wind instrument.  And so pipes are operating through the wind system.  And you don’t need to hit the key from above, you need to keep in touch with keyboard at all the time.

V:  And also release your notes while holding the key also.  Don’t lift the hand into the air like we see sometimes people do, but just release the note but keep the contact with the keys.  That will help with control.

A:  Yes, and also keep in mind that when we are playing on the piano, the pressing key is more important than releasing of the key.  But on the organ, both are equally important, the pressing down the key and releasing it.

V:  Correct.  And things that hold him back: of course time, he doesn’t have enough time, and access to an organ.  Well time, you have to make time obviously.  You don’t have to practice for hours and hours, but if organ playing is your goal, you want to achieve something, you have to make time.  Some time, right Ausra?

A:  Sure.

V:  Regular practice.

A:  Sure.  Well, you have to squeeze it into your daily routine and find time - make time - for it.  Maybe you could sleep less for like half an hour, or to spend less time surfing on the internet or whatever you do, you know.

V:  Where that time goes, right?  You have to do some analysis, where does your time go, the most time.  And maybe it’s not all productive.  Maybe it’s sometimes draining your energy.  Because organ playing is still creative activity, and we suggest you do it before some management activity.  If you have to answer emails, you do creative activity first.  And then you’re tired, you answer emails then.  Things like that.  Not necessarily about answering emails, but there are two types of activities, two types of brain modes - creative and management.  And it’s best to do creative part first.  Some people want to do it early in the morning.  Some people later, at night even.  It depends on your personality.  And access to an organ, Ausra.  Can we solve that problem?

A:  Well, I don’t know what is his situation and how many churches his neighborhood has, but obviously if I couldn’t access an instrument at home, I would reach for the local churches and try my luck there.  Maybe in return for access to the instrument, for playing their instrument, I could offer to do something nice for the church.  Maybe to do some volunteer work, like ushering or playing the organ during the service.  Doing something nice for the community.  And in return, I might access the instrument.

V:  That’s right.  And nowadays, you can actually build your own organ set-up at home.  It’s quite affordable in many cases.  You can have just one keyboard for starters.

A:  But well, you will have to add the computer to it, and your computer will have to be good.

V:  Maybe Pedro has that.

A:  Well yes.  But I remember the frustration when we started to play Hauptwerk with just a regular computer, and we would get like sound delay, and it made me so angry and frustrated.

V:  In this case, what we should have done, but we didn’t know at the time, we should have had an external audio card.  That’s it.

A:  So yes, and then look what starts when you need an audio card.  And later you need that and this and that, and a new wire and new equipment, and it just never ends basically.

V:  But it’s fun to build your own organ.

A:  Well, if you can access the local church organ for your practice, then do it.

V:  That’s true.  But you know, sometimes we also access our church organ, but we go there and we cannot practice there because there has to be silence because of some funeral or something.  Always it’s good to have a back-up instrument.  I’m not against pipe organs, not at all.  I’m all for it, and obviously it’s much better than electronic or virtual organs.  But to have an instrument at home just in case - worth the time and trouble, I think.  Okay guys.  If you enjoyed this conversation, please leave us a comment and maybe 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 Buy Me a Coffee platform and get early access:

​A: Find out more at https://buymeacoffee.com/organduo
Comments

SOPP678: I also bought that organ this year but I don't know what registrations you played the music with

3/23/2022

Comments

 
Picture
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 678 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.  This question was sent by Hubertus, and he writes,

Hello Ausra,
Heard your demo of the Alessandria organ with interest. Thank you for hearing you play on that. However, I am 75 and do not yet have enough experience to distinguish what those sounds for registrations entail, because I only started playing about 13 years ago, the total overview is missing.
I also bought that organ this year, but I don't know what registrations you played the music with.
Is it possible to use the "Simple" screen for a next demonstration instead of the Console, so that it is possible to follow your choice of registrations, in order to be able to try them out by myself, because it sounded very nice, but my knowledge falls short.
Hope you can/will comply with my request.
Thanks for listening to me.
Best regards. Hubertus
V:  So, very nice that Hubertus enjoyed your presentation of Alessandria sample set, and as I understand, he wants to see the stops on the screen.

A:  Yes, that’s what I understood too.

V:  After that I think we changed the layout of the stops, and now…

A:  Yes, and now all the demonstrations that I do have the simple view of organ stops, and definitely you can see them much better.

V:  Visually it’s not that pleasing to the eye, right?  Because the console view was colorful and similar to the original organ.  But now, simple view is just stop names, right?  Very very simple layout so that your eyes would understand and see what happens on the screen.  But maybe it’s for the better.

A:  Yes, sure.  And now I have a question.  Is it possible to go back to my old recording and to do a switch between the consoles, or not?

V:  Oh, let’s see.  Let’s see.  In your old recording, you used, what do they see?  They see your hands, right?

A:  Yes, my hands.

V:  They see your hands from above.

A:  What else?

V:  Keyboard view from above.  They hear the sound, right?  But they don’t necessarily see on the screen what’s in front of them, so…. Right?

A:  We can check that recording and see how it works.

V:  But Hubertus means that he cannot see the stop names, yes? No?

A:  Well I understood that he would like to see the simple view of the stops.

V:  So that has to be a new recording, not the finished one.  Because it’s done already and you cannot manipulate the old one.

A:  Okay.

V:  How can you go to YouTube video…?

A:  I don’t know.

V:  It’s…no, no.

A:  But definitely I cannot redo that old recording, and I don’t remember already what I have played.

V:  That’s exactly right.  Maybe next time, for example, next round when you do a demonstration of Alessandria, will be different material, different music, right?  You might remember to do Alessandria sample set or any other sample set.

A:  But actually I have recorded already more music on Alessandria.  Maybe he can check those registrations.

V:  Yes, and sometimes we write in the description, too.

A:  Yes, what we use.

V:  Mm hm.  And he could look at my recordings as well, although I don’t do demonstrations of these sample sets, but sometimes I show on the screen, switch camera angles basically, what stops I am using.  And even if I’m not using the stop layout on the big screen, right, entire screen, having this sample set at home, you can actually look at the stops that I’m using from the distance and kind of guess what they are in terms of where they are positioned.

A:  Yes, that’s what I do sometimes, too.

V:  Yeah.  If you see that camera layout where the organist is from the side, and our computer screen is visible, and we see the stops.  They are bigger to us because we are closer to the screen, but camera also captures the screen as well.  For regular people who don’t have this, so it’s probably difficult, right, to guess what stops we’re using.  But if he has a sample set to compare…

A:  Sure.  It shouldn’t be so hard.

V:  Visually it’s possible, definitely.  And as Ausra said, of course in the future, we are using simple layout all the time for future demonstrations.

A:  That’s right.

V:  Can you tell us a little bit about, what did you enjoy the most in Alessandria?

A:  Tuba, of course!

V:  Tuba.

A:  Yes.

V:  Did you use tuba in demonstration?

A:  Well, you are asking now - I recorded this demonstration last year.  But I’m sure I did.  Or if I didn’t in the demonstration, I definitely recorded with the tuba.

V:  Someplace else.

A:  Some pieces.  And I even have done of my improvisations, you know…

V:  Yes.

A:  …on tuba of Alessandria.  So you can definitely find that in my playlist on my channel.

V:  Fun fact:  people who join our little community on YouTube, become fans or friends of SOP, like channel members, can have a special emoji in their comments or live chat, whenever I do a live stream or a premiere.  And for example, one of them is tuba.  A special designed sticker called “tuba.”  Whenever I use tuba, I see my members write or place that emoji, tuba.  It’s very beautifully designed and makes a great impact - their comments stand out.

A:  Sure. And in general, it’s nice to have a sample set with a tuba.  It’s a very rare case.

V:  Yeah, it’s an English stop, but the organ is not English, it’s Italian Mascioni Company, but the style is more French of course.  So it’s nice to have English feature in it, too, but with beautiful French sounds.

A:  Yes.  And beautiful tremulants that Vidas loves so much.

V:  Yes, and do you know why?

A:  I don’t know the older you get, the more you get the more tremulants you love.

V:  Maybe because my voice trembles, too.

A:  Could be.

V:  When I sing.

A:  It doesn’t tremble as much as my voice when I talk before my demonstrations.

V:  Maybe you are being too serious.

A:  Maybe.

V:  Okay guys.  What else can we say about Alessandria organ?  Definitely worth having if you’re into Hauptwerk stuff.  Piotr Grabowski releases this, his sample sets with great care, and they are amazing sample sets.  Most of them are very, very realistic, and especially the newest ones.  Maybe he has improved his equipment over the years, or maybe recording strategy of every pipe, but they’re definitely sample sets that we enjoy.  Besides Alessandria, what else?  Nitra?

A:  Yes, and many many others.  But when talking about making registrations on Alessandria, just don’t be afraid to experiment and listen to what works for you and what you like.  Because of the wonderful acoustics of this sample set and beautiful stops, you can hardly make something really really wrong.  So just trust yourself, trust your intuition.

V:  Right.  Registration is actually one of the weaker points for organists, right?  When we discover or get questions from people, they often ask what kind of stops we are using, or what are the principles of using registration, and this is such a broad topic.

A:  It is.  It’s very broad.  Well, my advice would be never use mixtures alone.

V:  Unless…you’re playing a specific piece designed for mixtures.

A:  Yes, but in general you are not using mixtures alone.

V:  Maybe, I think people could check out Piotr Grabowski’s site and get familiar with many many sample sets that they have, that he has on the website.  The newest one, for example, is Nitra, but before that was Święta Lipka, and we recently received a present from Piotr Grabowski, and Ausra is going to do a demonstration on it very soon.

A:  Yes, I’m going to.

V:  I already tried it out during one of the “On the Bench with Vidas” live streams, and it sounds very very nice for German Romantic music, late 19th century music.

A:  Yes, it works well for that.

V:  Okay.  This was Vidas.

A:  And Ausra.

V:  Please send us more of your questions.  We love helping you grow.  And remember, when you practice,

A:  Miracles happen.

V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online.

A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online...

V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more…

A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime.

V: If you like our organ music, you can also support us on Buy Me a Coffee platform and get early access:

​A: Find out more at https://buymeacoffee.com/organduo
Comments

How to Use Mutations in Baroque and Romantic Organ Music?

1/19/2022

Comments

 
Picture
Rien Schalkwijk, Friend of SOP and very prolific youtuber organist friend asked me a question about how to use mutations (stops, like 2 2/3 or 1 3/5 etc.) in music from the Baroque times. And how is it different from Romantic period? This video tutorial is for Rien (and others who might be wondering about the same things).

Visit Rien's channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/RienSchalkwijk

Hope you will enjoy it! Thank you for your support! If you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo

PayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkevicius

My Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.html

Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organist

Secrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.lt

Listen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg
Comments

SOPP535: Over the years, I have basically settled for just a handful of different basic registrations for hymns

12/31/2019

Comments

 
 Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
 
Ausra: And Ausra!
 
V: Let’s start episode 535 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by James, and he writes:
 
“Thank you for your podcast, it has been a great help. I have played the piano for 25 years and the organ at my church for 17, but was only able to take organ lessons for the first 2 years, the rest has been essentially self-taught. Your podcasts have been very informative.
 
1. my dream for organ playing: I know I will never be a concert organist, but I would like to be able to really make my church organ sound great, and select unique registrations throughout the Mass.
2. The 3 most important things holding me back:
a. over the years, I have basically settled for just a handful of different basic registrations for hymns, etc. without much variety
b. my church has a relatively small, 22-rank, 2-manual Zimmer pipe organ, installed in 1999, which is almost completely enclosed inside an alcove, and doesn't "sing" very well. The church is the size of a cathedral, but I'm afraid the organ is too small for the space.
c. I have never had formal instruction in the theory of organ registration, other than what I have learned on my own. I know the basics of building a principal chorus, understanding overtones and harmonics, etc., but my registrations are still very "boring" in my opinion.
 
Again, thank you for your podcast and teaching, and I look forward to any advice you can give me.
 
-James”

 
V: So, Ausra, James has a problem with registration. He wants to make his organ sound great, and his registrations to be unique, so to say.
 
A: Well, don’t we all want to do something beautiful, and to register nicely. But the problem is that I think that when you are asking about registrations and about how to register a certain piece, or in general how to select the best registration, actually, you need to give us the specification list of your organ. Because otherwise, you know, we might be talking about different things, because it’s sort of hard to suggest something without seeing the actual stops. And even when having the list of stops, you still might need to adjust something, because you really need to listen to the organ in the real situation. But, I guess if his church is the size of a cathedral and he has only 22 stops, it might be too small for such a room. Another thing, you know, when you register, you also need to think about reverberation—if the room is reverberate or not. It also means a lot. But I thought about his asking how to increase sound of the organ, so basically what you could do, either to add the manual couplers, or in some cases, you would probably need to play things an octave lower. That also might help sometimes, because, for example, we have so many organs built in Orgelbewegung style, that have these screamy, ugly, sound mixtures… not all of them, of course, but most of them actually have them. So it sounds nice when you play things an octave lower when it has more of a sort of a round and nice sound.
 
V: Yeah, I’m not sure if this applies to him, because we don’t know the specification. We don’t even know the composition of the mixture—if it’s a low mixture or if it’s a high mixture. But in general, what he can do is to thicken the texture a little bit. Play with… I don’t know how his organ technique is—well advanced or not—but he could play in more than four-part texture. More parts per chord. Right? Is that necessary?
 
A: That’s a possibility, but it doesn’t always work. But, you know, he thinks that he sort of registers pieces the same all the time, like hymns. But I think it’s not a bad idea. You know? Because, I think when you are working as a church organist, you develop some sort of routine, and this is good. Maybe you don’t want to experiment every time, and you need to be ready in advance. But of course, what you could do, and we have talked about it, actually in our previous podcasts, that you could project, let’s say, the Cantus firmus, on one manual, and play other voices on another manual. And your Cantus firmus could be either in the Soprano, as most hymns are written, but you could also play it in the tenor voice, and even in the bass sometimes works, too. That would be also a possibility to do something different.
 
V: Yes, not only his registration should change, but maybe the manner of playing!
 
A: True.
 
V: Spice things up. Make it more colorful and interesting. Maybe add some non-chordal notes, like passing tones and neighbor tones, suspensions, re-harmonize.
 
A: Yes!
 
V: I don’t know if he has some skill in that or not, but that could certainly be a possibility, and a 22 rank 2 manual organ might sound like eight stops per manual plus additional stops in the pedals. So, if you have something like 8 stops in the manual, this could be something like 8’ Principal, 8’ Flute, maybe a Gamba, maybe 4’ Principal like Octave, maybe a 4’ Flute, then maybe a 2’ Principal, probably (a Super Octave), Mixture, and a Trumpet, probably. What else… maybe instead of a string stop, he might have a fifth stop (2 2/3’) instead of that on the first manual. I’m just guessing, of course.
 
A: Yes, this is just a hypothetical thought, because we don’t see the specification lists. What else could he do, because he wants to find new registrations? Sometimes you might use only 4’ Flute alone in some soft interludes, for example. It works nicely if you have some sort of canzona-like piece, which is a little bit polyphonic, and it has a joyful character—a joyful, sweet character. You might try the 4’ flute alone.
 
V: Or 4’ Principal.
 
A: Yes. Or sometimes 4’ and 2’ stops, if they are soft enough—if the 2’ is not too screamy.
 
V: If it has a Trumpet, you could play the harmony with the Trumpet, as well, in a festive situation.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Or, if you have a Cantus firmus in the soprano, you could solo it out, take it on another manual with a reed stop, or a Cornet stop would work on the second manual, for example, in general, taking it on two manuals, not on one, gives more colorful options. Then, of course, your solo stop could be played in the tenor range, with the left hand.
 
A: That’s right. And we don’t know if he has a 16’ stop on the manual, but if he does, he might play some music also on two manuals, and he could accompany with his left hand, with the 16’ and 8’, and then add some higher pitched stops on the other manual for solo voice.
 
V: Or even re-harmonize the four voices or three voices, soprano alto and bass, and play the pedal with the reed, if he has an 8’ Trumpet, and in the tenor range, not in the base range.
 
A: And in general, if he has some assistance, it would be really nice if he could go to listen to his organ from the side.
 
V: Record himself.
 
A: Or yes, if he doesn’t have help, he might record himself, and to listen to those various combinations, and then he might decide what works, and what does not, and in general, if he has a big hall during Mass, for example, then of course, he needs to consider that he needs to use more stops than if playing in church alone, because people will just eat up the sound.
 
V: Right. He doesn’t say that he wants to be a concert organist, but it doesn’t hurt to play pieces that could be supplemental to the liturgy in addition. That could be part of the concert repertoire, but that could be liturgical chorales, or chorale preludes. And with these, you could experiment with even more colorful registrations.
 
A: That’s right. So, I think that a 22 rank instrument is fairly enough for experiments.
 
V: Yes. Hopefully, he can take advantage of this, and share his music with the congregation, and hopefully get feedback—nice feedback.
 
A: I know, but also, you don’t have to do experiments like play with mixture stops alone. That definitely wouldn’t work.
 
V: No. People hearing it will scream.
 
A: So, I guess the organ in general is quite a conservative instrument, so you need to apply certain rules, and not experiment too much.
 
V: Alright 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.
Comments

A great trick to make your pipe organ sound larger than it is

8/20/2019

Comments

 
Picture
On Monday I went to Vilnius Cathedral to assist my friend @pauliakaz where he was preparing for a lunchtime recital on Thursday. On the program - music of 3 composers - Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 545 by Johann Sebastian Bach (German Baroque), Fantasie on Lithuanian hymn "Jezau, pas mane ateiki" by Juozas Naujalis (Lithuanian Romanticism) and Suite Gothique by Leon Boellmann (French Romanticism). This was the first time I heard him play all of these pieces together. @pauliakaz had some rehearsals here before to set up his registrations but I wanted to double check them, of course.

This organ is from 1960's, a Neo-Baroque instrument by East German firm Alexander Schuke. It has some characteristic sounds of this period which are high-pitched mixture sounds and lack of low-pitched foundation stops. For some music, such as French Romantic having many foundation stops is a must but when he started to play the opening of the Chorale by Boellmann from his Suite Gothique, it really sounded too light and actually harsh.

So I suggested to @pauliakaz to play entire piece one octave lower in the hand part. This should give it more gravity and create an impression that there are lots of 16' stops in this organ. Usually if you do this, you have to check the left hand part if it doesn't descend lower than tenor c which an octave lower would become bass C - the lowest key on the keyboard. In this particular piece it was OK.

Then you have to omit 16' stops in the manuals because one octave lower they would sound like 32' stops. We tried this and compared it to the regular height and it already sounded better.
In the end we chose to use 16' stops in the manuals as well. In this particular acoustical environment it sounded just like at Saint Sulpice in Paris.
​
PS The photo above is from yesterday's organ recital by Dr. Cristiano Rizzotto at St Casimirus church. @laputis and I came in 30 minutes earlier and the church was already full.
Comments

SOPP340: I recall having seen (or heard) that when you use a very low fifth stop (10 2/3' for instance) along with a 16' you get the effect of a 32'

11/30/2018

Comments

 
Picture
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 340 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.  Today we have two comments which we would like to discuss.  The first was sent by Irineo and he writes:
 
“Nice post as usual, maestro.
But I recall having seen (or heard) that when you use a very low fifth stop (10 2/3' for instance) along with a 16' you get the effect of a 32'.  Trouble is that there isn't any 16' stop left over there.  So I guess the only solution lays in calling the technician. Could that be caused by the bellows having ruptured or collapsed and not being able any more to deliver the necessary pressure for the heavier stops? What do you think maestro?
Irineo.”
 
V: And the second question was sent by John.  He writes:
 
“I frequently quint bass notes on the Subbass - no other stops drawn, as it sounds unpleasant.  It only works (as far as I can tell) from bottom C to F - after that it doesn't sound good.  This idea of playing the tonic + its fifth on the pedals goes really well with string combinations and 8' - 4' flutes.  This gives a quasi 32' effect.  Of course when you are playing full organ you can use this method as well (but probably only once at a climax or the last chord).”
 
V: So Ausra these two questions are related because they talk about the 32’ effect.
 
A: True.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  And in one post Irineo sometimes uses a low fifth stop plus 16’ to get the effect of 32’ and John uses just the Subbass but playing fifth interval on the lowest notes from bottom C to F.  Do you think that in liturgical organ playing it’s nice to have this effect?
 
A: I think yes, because I think if you want to play pedal in fifths definitely but not play repertoire music.  It would be more suited for hymn playing.
 
V: And not always entire verse but just the last few chords probably.
 
A: Yes, I think it adds a nice effect.
 
V: A cadence.
 
A: Yes, in a cadence.
 
V: Would you use it?
 
A: Well yes if I wouldn’t have enough stops in the pedal or it would sound nice I would probably use it.  And I like how people are creative in a way to get a nice effect on the organ.  It’s very nice.
 
V: I just remember when I played organ works by Teisutis Makacinas in Armenian Notebook he had one episode with C chords in the hands and intervals of the fifths in the pedals in the bass range E flat to B flat, D flat to A flat, and C to G, the last few notes of the cadence and I didn’t use 32’ stops.  It adds gravity.
 
A: Yes, it’s really nice, nice to gravity in the pedals.
 
V: In symphonic orchestra the basses divide and cellos also play divisi and play in fifths too.
 
A: What about that low fifth in the pedal?  Do many organs have it do you think?  10 2/3' as Irineo says...
 
V: Let’s see.  Normally we have the lowest fifth 2 2/3’.  So that is based on the principal of 8’ level.  If it’s based on 16’ level then it is a fifth from the 5 2/3’ I think, right?  Sometimes its written 6’ in baroque organs in the pedal.  If it’s based on 32’ then yes, 10 2/3’.
 
A:  But if you have 32’ stop in the pedal then you don’t have to get the effect of 32’ because you already have it.  But if your organ doesn’t have 32’ stop then you shouldn’t have that low quint.
 
V: It should only have 5 2/3’.
 
A: And I mean not quint of fifth.
 
V: I think this is too low for normal organs.
 
A: That’s what I was thinking too unless it’s some sort of experimental organ.  You can find things like this too around the world.
 
V: Let’s see.  10 2/3’ organ stop.  Where is it organ stop in Wikipedia?  Major Quint it’s called in Encyclopedia of Organ Stops.  It’s a pedal mutation stop.  It has been made in a variety of forms.  Wood or metal.  Open or stopped.  Irwin  reports that it is usually of diapason tone.  Audsley says that open pipes “are to be desired in all cases.”  This stop reinforces the 32’ harmonic series, but it often appears in a pedal division that has no 32’ stops: when drawn with a 16’ stop, it produces a resultant 32’ tone.
 
A: Just as Irineo said in his letter.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  So yes, there are examples in German its Grossquitenbass, right?
 
A: Yes, I have seen it.
 
V: And it has it in Atlantic City the great organ in the convention hall, John Wanamaker’s store in Philadelphia, Liverpool Cathedral, Royal Albert Hall in London.  Monster organs, right?
 
A: Yes so it’s not a stop that you could find every day on each organ.  But I think when talking about organ in general you always need to listen to what sounds well on a particular instrument.  Because I think these suggestions cannot be taken for granted because what works well on one organ may not work at all on another one so you always need to check.
 
V: I can read between the lines what your saying and correct me if I am wrong.  For example if you are playing a relatively small instrument and you are playing fifths in the bass and trying to do this resultant in the bass which would sound an octave lower.  It might sound muddy because there is a reason why this organ is small in such a place, right?
 
A: True.
 
V: There is no enough reverberant acoustic. No place for the echo to spread.
 
A: Because in an ideal world and it’s not always the case in our world when a church is built and an organ is built in it, it needs to be sort of in a nice resonance with the room.  So the organ builder has to know to calculate how the organ will sound and according to that to put a specific stop list for a particular instrument.
 
V: And intonation of the stops also that happens in the room itself.
 
A: Yes but of course I would see that sometimes the money is the main cost of the things and you just calculate how much you can afford to put into the instrument and it might also be designed not maybe as it should be.
 
V: But it’s good that people are thinking about that.
 
A: Yes, it’s very good.
 
V: Thank you guys for sending us these questions and remember when you practice…
 
A: Miracles happen.
Picture
Comments

SOPP336: I am unsure of how to register the organ to play Vierne's Final from Symphony No. 1

11/24/2018

Comments

 
Picture
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.

Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 336, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Denham. And he writes:

My dear Vidas,
I hope you and Ausra are doing well.
My name is Denham and I live in Sri Lanka and I am about to start learning the First Final from Louis Vierne’s No.1 for Christmas this year.


I’m hoping to learn one page a week in order to master it well. The question that is in my mind is I am unsure of how to register the organ to play it. Please are you able to provide some insight into this? As in can you please help me with the registration?

​I’d be more than grateful to you. And I am willing to pay you for your trouble!
Thank you so much
Denham

 
V: So, Ausra, what do you think? Would Vierne’s Symphony No. 1, especially the Final, sound well in Sri Lanka?
 
A: Yes, I think everybody would just love it.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: It’s one of my most favorite organ pieces.
 
V: What kind of organ would you need for that?
 
A: Well, when ideal, French symphonic.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: Not French classical.
 
V: Dom Bedos?
 
A: No, no, no, no.
 
V: Clicquot, no?
 
A: No. Cavaillé-Coll
 
V: Cavaillé-Coll
 
A: But anyway, I think any instrument which is large enough would do for this kind of piece.
 
V: It’s written for three manual instrument, but…
 
A: You could do it, I think, on two manuals too.
 
V: Could you do it on two, with couplers? What kind of stops you would need for minimum to have? Principles, probably…
 
A: Principle chorus of course, reeds.
 
V: Reeds.
 
A: I think reeds are very important in French music, in general.
 
V: Mixtures. Mixtures in both manuals and pedals, reeds in every manual.
 
A: True.
 
V: Trumpets. Even if you have a Posaune in the pedals, that would be great.
 
A: So when we perform this kind of piece the larger organ you have, the better it is.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. And we’re looking now at the score, and by the way, I have created the fingering and pedaling for that if you want to master this piece faster, you know, without spending too much time and too many hours while working out correct and efficient fingering and pedaling. So now looking at the score, the first registration is given in French, GPR. What does it mean, GPR, Ausra?
 
A: Well, this is the three manuals.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. G is like Grand Orgue.
 
A: Yes. Positif and Récit.
 
V: Récit is like Swell…
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Positif is like choir in English or..
 
A: True.
 
V: American system. And Grand Orgue is like Great.
 
A: True. And for the beginning, for the opening of this piece you need to couple all those manuals together.
 
V: Because it’s written GPR—it’s together.
 
A: Yes. So if you have three manuals, then couple them all together. If you have only two then couple those two together.
 
V: And in all those manuals, you need Fonds, which is foundations, which is stops of 16, 8 and 4 pitch level, right? So that’s Principle, Flutes of that pitch level. And Anches in French means…
 
A: Reeds.
 
V: Of 16, 8 and 4 too. 16, 8 and 4 foot level. 16 probably Bombarde, 8’ Trumpet, 4’ Clarion, if you have one.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: I think 4’ is not necessarily used, right? We don’t use it too often in our church.
 
A: Yes, because it doesn’t sound very nice in our church, but it might.
 
V: On the French instrument.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Yes.
 
A: Sure.
 
V: And in the pedals—before we talk about the pedals, we probably need to have mutations too, right? Anches.
 
A: Obviously, yes.
 
V: Anches in French, is system involves both reeds and mutations, which means Mixtures also, and a 5th, 2 2/3 at least for that.
 
A: Would you add also a Tierce if you would have at, or not?
 
V: A Tierce would sound more like a Cornet. You have to check. Those, some Tierce’s are powerful, some more like a Flute—you have to check for balance. What about the pedals, Ausra?
 
A: Well, also lots of stops. You need again, all those foundations, and the score even requires 32’.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: Not every organ has it, but if you have it so it add. So 32’ Foundation stops, 16’, 8’ and 4’ foot.
 
V: And Mutations and Reeds—16, 8 and 4 too.
 
A: True.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. And GPR is in the manuals which means three manuals coupled, which means the first, second to the Great, then Récit to the Great, and Récit to the Choir as well.
 
A: That’s right. Not every organ also has that kind of coupler but if yours does, so you need to use it.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: And you also need to couple I guess, the manuals to pedals.
 
V: Yes, all three of them if you have. So it starts very powerfully with three Forte, dynamic level, and then it diminishes. You change manuals from time to time, R is Récit, or Swell in this case. And then when it’s softer, then you only need the foundation stops on the Great, and on the Positif, which is without the Reeds and Mutations.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. So like this. And most of the time you could do French music like this, with like setting combinations in advance and just pushing the buttons.
 
A: So, if you have combinations, you know, pistons, in your organ, please use them. It will make things easier.
 
V: What does it mean Piano here, sometimes when Vierne uses?
 
A: Well it means Piano—soft.
 
V: No, but I mean, Piano, does it mean you need to have less stops, or you have to close the Swell box?
 
A: Well, usually you have to close the Swell box because now we are looking at one line where you play on the Récit, and it says diminuendo and then there is that Piano sign. It means that when you have diminuendo, you start to close the Swell box.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: Until you have Piano. So you have actually to use quite a lot of swells, swell pedals.
 
V: Because you those bubbles—crescendo and decrescendo a lot.
 
A: So I guess in music like this, your left foot really needs to work on the pedal board…
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: And your right foot really needs to work with the swell box—swell pedal.
 
V: Yes. And then, in the further up episode, the left hand starts to play on the Great, with manuals coupled, GPR, right, and then again Piano Subito. Subito means sudden.
 
A: Sudden, yes. Sudden change.
 
V: Closing of the box. Right. And then gradually poco a poco crescendo, opening the swell box.
 
A: And I think gradually all the former registration comes.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. Remember that in the beginning you need the reeds of the Grand, of the Great, and of the Choir. But in the middle you don’t need those reeds, only foundations. And then, and then recapitulation and Tierce...
 
A: When you add, that…
 
V: When you first add…
 
A: Reeds, in the Positif
 
V: And then…
 
A: And then, in the Great.
 
V: And, also, the reeds…
 
A: In the pedal.
 
V: In the pedals.
 
A: Because that opening theme comes back.
 
V: Mmm-hmm.
 
A: With all its power in the pedal board.
 
V: Yes, and I think this continues until the very end, like this, without any extra adding of stops. Well sometimes if people play Neo-baroque organs, very sharp sounding, Mixtures, it’s very high, very high textures sometimes, makes squeaky sounds. Not French at all.
 
A: And sometimes you have to omit something if you are not playing on the French organ, so always you have to listen to the result, what comes out from your organ.
 
V: Check if any of those episodes have a note lower than tenor C, like B and below. If it doesn’t, I think it could be played one octave lower this way. But without 16’ in the manuals, because then your music sound like with 16’. That’s very suitable for organs which don’t have a lot of foundation stops.
 
A: True.
 
V: But too many mutations and sharp mixtures. Then your mixtures would sound lower and much more powerfully.
 
A: And that’s also the case with Neo-baroque organs.
 
V: Mmm-hmm. I think you could do this, this way. I’ve played this Final like that before. So that’s our registration and some of the stop changes solutions for this piece. We hope you will find it useful. And of course, check out our score with fingering and pedaling. It will save you many, many hours, at least, and will help you start practicing the most efficient way, right away.

​Thank you guys so for sending these questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice...
 
A: Miracles happen!
Comments

SOPP324: I have heard it is possible to create the illusion of a 32' by playing two notes on a 16' in the pedals

11/6/2018

Comments

 
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 324 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.  This question was sent by Dieter and he writes:
 
Good evening Ausra and Vidas.

Just recently something electrical malfunctioned on our Churches organ. As a result we lost the 32' and 16' ranks in the pedals. Only 8' and 4' left.

I have heard it is possible to create the illusion of say a 32' by playing two notes on a 16' in the pedals. I am not averse to playing a two note chord in the pedals, as long as it is not too complicated for hymn accompaniment, a bit like a drone.

Question is which two notes?

Dieter 

 
V: Which two notes, right Ausra? 
 
A: Yes, that’s right.
 
V: Have you heard about that anywhere?
 
A: I have heard with my one ear.
 
V: And what did that ear tell you?
 
A: I think from what I know I think it might be a similar effect as we have in our church at St. Johns’.  That we have that historical timpani stop.  There are two wooden pipes, one is slightly higher than the other and then you pull out that timpani and they both sound at the same time and reverberate with each other and this gives that effect of a drone.
 
V: But not very low drone.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: What about trying to play an interval of the fifth?
 
A: With these kind of things you need to experiment and see what really happens because I think it might differ from one church to another depending on the organ, depending on the acoustics.  But you know he wrote that actually he doesn’t have 16’ anymore in the pedal too so how would he achieve?
 
V: You’re right, only 8’ and 4’ are left. 
 
A: So I think the best solution would be to call a technician.  That’s why I don’t like these electrical things because you never know what might happen and you cannot be able to fix them for yourself.  Because when you have mechanical instrument somehow you will find out what is wrong with your organ.
 
V: Even pneumatical organ you can figure out.
 
A: Yes, but not an electrical.
 
V: Unless you are good with electricity.
 
A: Which we are obviously not.
 
V: You should be really experienced with electricity just to try to fix it because if you’re not good and inexperienced you might die, right?
 
A: So don’t do it yourself.
 
V: Unless you really know what you are doing.  Unless you take all the precautions.
 
A: Actually I know even some professionals who actually died doing their job.
 
V: Right.  And if you don’t know what you are doing with mechanical organ the worst that could happen is that you might break things, right?
 
A: True.
 
V: Of course this is also nasty and maybe you could break things and nobody could repair them, right, especially if it’s a historical instrument.  So you need also to know what you are doing with mechanical organs.  And to tell you the truth real organ builders don’t like organists looking and figuring out in the organ themselves.  They would rather you call professionals to do this and I understand them.  But, sometimes technicians and organ repairmen and organ builders are so far away, and maybe you just have one tiny cipher you just need to screw one small thing and it will be fixed if you know what you are doing, right Ausra?
 
A: Yes, that’s right.
 
V: Maybe you don’t need the entire cavalry of organ builders working on your little cipher.
 
A: Now, let’s go back to the question.  Do you think it’s possible to make that illusion of 32’ sound with only 16’ stop?
 
V: On Monday when I go to our church in the morning I will definitely try to play an interval of the fifth with the stop of 16’, not with 8’ obviously because if you play with 8’ that would probably be illusion of 16’ (one octave lower) or not?
 
A: Well, I’m not quite sure if this would work.
 
V: You know what would happen probably a very rich foundation.
 
A: I think you would rather create illusion of 32’ with 16’ but not illusion of 16’ with 8’.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  Maybe this will only sound muddy.
 
A: Could be.
 
V: Uhh-huh.  When you don’t have 16’ in the pedals what about 16’ in the manuals?  Maybe he should have 16’ in the manuals because originally this organ had 32’ in the pedals.
 
A: Well then the possibility would be to put the 16’ in the manual and couple it to the pedal.  That way you would have 16’ in the pedal until your organ would get fixed.
 
V: Oh, that’s right.  That’s possible.
 
A: That’s what I would do if I was in his shoes.
 
V: But if he is only playing hymns, right, so why don’t he even to play with hands only.
 
A: Yes, that’s a possibility too but then everything would be with 16’, soprano and alto and tenor and bass.  And if you want to diversify more then actually it would be probably better to put 16’ in the pedals and to play your hands on another manual if you have at least two keyboards.
 
V: And definitely he should have more that one keyboard with that kind of disposition.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: Nice.  Nice solution Ausra, I haven’t thought about that. 
 
A: Thank you.
 
V: I hope Dieter will get help from this and other people who are struggling with this question today or in the future.
 
A: So, and which two notes he also asks.  Which two notes would you try to play in the pedal to get that illusion?  You said you would do a fifth.
 
V: Open fifth, yeah.  Like C and G, D and A, E and B, F and C, G and D.
 
A: Don’t you think another interval would fit better?
 
V: If you’re playing C and you’re suggesting a third for example, right?
 
A: Yes.
 
V: Or which one, a fourth?
 
A: C and D. (laughs.) Or C and C#.
 
V: That would be like a drum, like a timpani.
 
A: I know, that would be like a timpani.  Well I guess you just need to experiment.
 
V: Umm-hmm.  I might be able to tell you more on Monday when I go to church.
 
A: We will see.
 
V: Thank you guys for sending those thoughtful questions.  Sometimes we don’t always know the answers, right?  But maybe your questions raise even more questions to us.
 
A: That’s very good.  We like that.
 
V: It’s an exercise for our brain too.
 
A: That’s right.
 
V: To improve our memory.  I keep forgetting things, Ausra.  Are you forgetting things too?
 
A: Not as much as you do.
 
V: Are you forgetting my name, Ausra?
A: No.
 
V: Are you forgetting your name?
 
A: No.
 
V: Not yet.
 
A: Not yet.
 
V: Wait and see.  If you are eating that much cheese you might forget your name too.
 
A: I’m not eating much cheese.
 
V: So who has eaten all that cheese from our table?
 
A: What cheese?
 
V: OK, that was me.  Sorry guys, family investigation about the nonexistent cheese is developing but remember when you practice…
 
A: Miracles happen.
Comments
<<Previous

    DON'T MISS A THING! FREE UPDATES BY EMAIL.

    Thank you!

    You have successfully joined our subscriber list.

    .
    Picture
    PicturePhoto by Edgaras Kurauskas
    Authors
    Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene
    Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing.

    DONATE BY PAYPAL
    Picture
    Our Hauptwerk Setup:
    Don't have an organ at home? No problem - print out our paper organ manuals and pedals and start practicing today!

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    100 Things
    18th Century Organ Music
    19th Century French Organ Music
    19th Century German Organ Music
    2016 Secrets Of Organ Playing Calendar
    20th Century English Organ Music
    20th Century French Organ Music
    20th Century Music
    Ach-gott
    Ach-gott-vom-himmel-sieh-darein
    Achieving-success
    Acoustics
    A Cuckoo
    Ad-wammes
    A Fear
    Affiliate-program
    Airi And Tuomas Saloniemi
    Aiusra Playing
    Alain Trouche
    Alexandre Guilmant Op. 1
    Alla Breve
    Alternate Toe Technique
    Alto Part
    Amateur Vs Pro
    A-mighty-fortress-is-our-god
    Andante From Sonata No. 1
    Andreas-spahn
    Angela-kraft-cross
    Anniversaries-of-organ-composers-2016
    Anthem Playing
    An Wasserflussen Babylon
    App
    Arjan-breukhoven
    Arnoldas-leleika
    Arpeggio
    Arrangement
    Articulate Legato
    Articulation
    Ask-vidas-and-ausra
    Ask-vidas-and-ausra
    As-thou-wilt
    Atonal-music
    Attracting-new-audience
    Auguste-descarres
    Auke-jongbloed
    Aus-meines-herzens-gunde
    Ausra-motuzaite-pinkeviciene
    Ausra-motuzaitepinkeviciene
    Ausras-playing
    Ave-verum
    Bach-a-young-rascal
    Bach-organ-music
    Bachs-birthday
    Bachs-chorale-harmonisation
    Bachs-circle
    Bachs-improvisation
    Bachs-manuscripts
    Bachs-music
    Bachs-organ-world
    Bachs-organ-world
    Bad-habits
    Bamboo-organ
    Baroque Organ Music
    Basecamp
    Basso-continuo
    Becoming-an-organist
    Becoming-cathedral-organist
    Beethoven
    Being-original
    Beth-zucchino
    Bitcoin
    Blind-organist
    Blockchain
    Blogging
    Boellmann
    Bonus-material
    Book-reviews
    Buxheimer-orgelbuch
    Buxtehude
    Bwv-1080
    Bwv-147
    Bwv-531
    Bwv-532
    Bwv-533
    Bwv-534
    Bwv-536
    Bwv-537
    Bwv-538
    Bwv-539
    Bwv-540
    Bwv-541
    Bwv-542
    Bwv-543
    Bwv-544
    Bwv-545
    Bwv-546
    Bwv-547
    Bwv-549
    Bwv-552
    Bwv-553-training
    Bwv-5621
    Bwv-564
    Bwv-5641
    Bwv-5652
    Bwv-566
    Bwv-570
    Bwv-572
    Bwv-577
    Bwv-578
    Bwv-582
    Bwv-590
    Bwv-630
    Bwv-639
    Bwv 659 Home Study Course
    Bwv-731
    Bwv 731 Home Study Course
    Bwv 731 Mini Course
    Bwv-767
    Bwv-957
    Cadences
    Canon-for-organ
    Cantata
    Carillon
    Carl-dodrill
    Carlotta-ferrari
    Carrilon
    Carson-cooman
    Cello-and-piano
    Cesar-franck
    Challenges
    Charles-spanner
    Charles-tournemire
    Children
    Choir Conducting
    Choir-organ
    Choral Accompaniments
    Choral-analysis
    Chorale-fantasias
    Chorale-prelude
    Choral-harmonisation
    Chord-analysis
    Chord-progressions
    Chords
    Christe
    Christmas-carols
    Christmas-for-organist
    Christmas-music
    Christophe-mantoux
    Christopher-henley
    Christus
    Chromaticisms
    Church Organist
    Church-organ-music
    Church-organ-playing
    Ciurlionis
    Classical Organ Music
    C-major-scale
    Coaching
    Colin-andrews
    Competition
    Complicated Rhythms
    Composing Organ Music
    Composition
    Compositions Of Ausra Motuzaite Pinkeviciene
    Compositions Of Ausra Motuzaitepinkeviciene
    Composition Tutorials
    Concentration
    Concert-organist
    Concert-trip
    Congregation
    Contemporary Organ Music
    Continuo Playing
    Coounterpoint
    Coronavirus
    Correcting-mistakes
    Cosmology
    Counterpoint
    Counterpoint Exercises
    Counting
    Creating-a-storm
    Creating-melody
    Creativity
    Crescendo Pedal
    Crista-miller
    Curiosity
    Custom-tutorials
    Daniel-moult
    Daniel-segner
    Daniel-vanden-broecke
    Danzig-organ-culture
    David-danielson-eaton
    David-knight
    Dedicace
    Der-ist-mein-leben
    Diego-innocenzi
    Different-editions
    Dina-ichina-denis-machankov
    Distrokid
    D-major-scale-in-the-pedals
    Domenico-severin
    Don-cook
    Dorian-toccata
    Double-harmonic-scale
    Downloading-scores
    Dylan-mccaig
    Early-fingering
    Early Hymn Playing
    Early-keyboard-technique
    Early-organ-music
    Early Pedal Technique
    Ear Training
    Ear Training Exercises
    E-book
    Ebook
    Edward-landin
    Electronic Organs
    Electropneumatic-organ
    Elevazione
    Eliminating Mistakes
    Email-delivery
    Emanate
    Emotion In Performance
    Emotions
    English-organ-music
    Enrico-presti
    Entrepreneurship
    Epiphany
    Erik-satie
    Es-ist-das-heil-uns-kommen-her
    Estampie
    Exams
    Exceptions Of Legato Articulation
    Exercises
    Fantasia-and-fugue-in-a-minor
    Fast Tempo
    Feelings
    Felipe-dominguez
    Fighting-woodworm
    Finding A Mentor
    Finding-help
    Finding Organ Teacher
    Finding-repertoire
    Finding-time
    Finger Crossing
    Finger Glissando
    Fingering
    Finger Substitution
    Following-the-rules
    Forkel-about-bach
    Francine-and-matthieu-latreille
    Francine-nguyensavaria
    Francoise-couperin
    Frank-mento
    Franz-buhler
    Franz-seydelmann
    Frederic-chopin
    Frederik-magle
    Freelancing
    French-classical-organ-music
    French-ornaments
    French Tradition Of Organ Improvisation
    Fugheta-bwv-696
    Fughetta
    Fugue
    Fugue-in-d-minor
    Fugue-on-bach
    Funeral-music
    Future-of-organ-art
    Gavin-black
    Gena-bedrosian
    Gene-bedient
    Genevan-psalter
    Georg-bohm
    George-ritchie
    Gerd-hennecke-markus-kumpf
    German-anthem
    German-baroque-organ-music
    Gershwin
    Getting-the-audience
    Gigout-toccata
    Giving-away-ideas
    Glenn-tompkins
    Goal Setting
    Goran-grahn
    Gotteslob-257
    Graham-twist
    Grand-plein-jeu
    Gregorian Chant
    Guy-bovet
    Hand And Feet Coordination
    Hand-bell-choir
    Handel
    Hand Independence
    Handling-gossips
    Hans-davidsson
    Hansola-ericsson
    Harmona 85
    Harmonium
    Harmonium-music
    Harmonization
    Harmonization Exercises
    Harmonizing-melody
    Harmony
    Harmony Exercise
    Harmony-for-organists
    Harpsichord
    Harpsichord-playing-for-organists
    Harsh-sounding-music
    Hauptwerk
    Having-fun
    Hayo-boerema
    Health Problems
    Healthy Practicing
    Heather-hernandez
    Historical-organs
    Hopes-and-fairs-of-2015
    How To Play The Organ
    Hugo-bakker
    Hugo-distler
    Hymn Analysis
    Hymn Harmonisation
    Hymn Improvisation
    Hymn Modulation
    Hymn Playing
    Hymn Playing Exercises
    Hymn-singing
    Ich-dank-dir
    Identifying-the-problem
    Imagination
    Immediate-results
    Improvisation
    Improvisation-contest
    Improvisation Exercises
    Improvisation-in-bach-style
    Improvisation Tutorials
    In-memoriam-jacques-van-ootmerssen
    Inside-of-the-organ
    Inspiration
    Instructional Videos
    Intabulations
    Interesting Organ Music Links
    International Organist Career
    Intervals
    Invention
    Invertible-counterpoint
    I-place-my-trust-in-god
    Italian-organ-music
    Italian-romantic-organ-music
    Italian-style
    Italy
    Jacquesnicolas-lemmens
    Ja-krygell-fugue-in-g-minor
    James-d-hicks
    James-flores
    James-kibbie
    James Michael Stevens
    James-spanner
    Janis-kalnins
    Jan-karman
    Jan-zwart
    Jay-farnes
    Jeanne-demessieux
    Jeannine-jordan
    Jeanpaul-imbert
    Jeff-perks
    Jehan-alain
    Jeremy-david-tarrant
    Jeremy-owens
    Jesse-eschbach
    Jesus-sinners-doth-receive
    Johann-adam-krygell
    Johann-adam-reincken
    Johann-christoph-bach
    Johannes-brahms
    Johann-ludwig-krebs
    Johann-nicolaus-hanff
    Johann-pachelbel
    John-boody
    John-higgins
    John-stanley
    Jonathan-embry
    Joris-verdin
    Jose-lidon
    Joseph-bonnet
    Joseph-rheinberger
    Jp-sweelinck
    Js-bach
    Js-bach
    Js-bach-bwv-525
    Js-bach-bwv-565
    Jsbach Music4f07d8816e
    Jsbach Musicb4ce245bde
    Jsbach Organ Music2fb25be29c
    Jsbach Organ Music91e7fe89b0
    Jsbach Organ Musicaf35993ca2
    Juozas-naujalis
    Kae-hannah-matsuda
    Kalle-toivio
    Katelyn-emerson
    Kathleen-scheide
    Kauffmann
    Keyboard Practice
    Kimberly-marshall
    Kinetic-theatre
    Krzyzstof-urbaniak
    Latvia
    Latvian-organ-culture
    Learning New Music
    Learn With Vidas
    Left Hand Technique
    Legato Playing
    Liebe-herre
    Liebster-jesu
    Liepaja
    Listeners
    Lists Of Organ Compositions
    Lithuanian Music
    Lithuanian Organ Music
    Lithuanian Organs
    Liturgical-musician
    Live-coaching
    Live Performance Vs Recording
    Livestream
    Loosing-job
    Lord-of-all-power-and-might
    Louisnicolas-clerambault
    Louis-vierne
    Luca-massaglia
    Luigi-pozzi
    Lydia-vroegindeveijn-erin-scheessele
    Lynne-davis
    Making-choices
    Making-goals
    Making-mistakes
    Making-music-together
    Making Organ Recordings
    Making-progress
    Manual Changes
    Manual-playing
    Manual Scales
    Manual-scales
    Manuscripts
    Marcel-dupre
    Marches-for-organ
    Marches-for-wedding
    Marco-lo-muscio
    Marie-rubis-bauer
    Marketing For Organists
    Mark-konewko
    Martin-jean
    Martin-pasi
    Martin-sander
    Mary Murrell And Quentin Faulkners
    Mary-murrell-and-quentin-faulkners
    Mastery
    Matthew-buller
    Matthew-cates
    Matthias-schneider
    Maurice-durufle
    Maurizio-croci
    Max-reger
    Mechanical Action Organs
    Mechanical-action-organs
    Melodica
    Melodic Dictation
    Melodic Dictation Exercises
    Memorisation
    Memorization
    Mendelssohn Organ Music
    Mental Attitude In Organ Playing
    Messiaen
    Meter
    Michael-bauer
    Michael-calabris
    Michael-dierks
    Michael-hammer
    Michael-johnston-and-john-apple
    Michael-wise
    Missing-links
    Mixing-colors
    Modality
    Moderato
    Modern-art
    Modern-music
    Modern Organ Music
    Modern-variation
    Modes
    Modulation
    Motivation
    Movie-music-for-organ
    Mozart
    Mozart-bach
    Musical Analysis
    Musical-clefs
    Music-blogging
    Music-for-easter
    Music-for-lent
    Music-forms
    Music-for-pentecost
    Music-for-pope-francis
    Music For Ukraine
    Music Of Johann Ludwig Krebs
    Musicoin
    Music Theory Exercises
    Music Theory For Organists
    Music-therapy
    Musing-with-children
    My Compositions
    My-jesus
    My-music
    Nativity-story
    Newsletter
    Nicholas-papadimitriou
    Nico-declerck
    Nicole-keller
    Nigel-williams
    Nordic-organ-music
    North German Baroque Organ Music
    Norwegian-organ-music
    Numbers
    Older-age
    Oliver-schulte
    Olivier-latry
    One Manual Organ
    On The Bench With Vidas
    Op-7
    Open-score
    Ordinary Touch
    Organ-accompaniment
    Organ And Choir Music
    Organ-and-recorder
    Organ-and-saxophone
    Organ And Voice
    Organ Arrangements
    Organ-as-an-instrument
    Organ-assistant
    Organ-bench
    Organ Building
    Organ-competition
    Organ Composition
    Organ-composition
    Organ-concert
    Organ Demonstration
    Organ Duet Recitals
    Organ Duets
    Organ Exercises
    Organ-exercises
    Organ Improvisation
    Organist Auditions
    Organist Career
    Organist Mistakes
    Organist Shoes
    Organist Success
    Organize Organ Festival
    Organ Maintenance
    Organ-mechanics
    Organ Method Books
    Organ-mirror
    Organ Music
    Organ-music-of-reformation-time
    Organ-pedagogy
    Organ Pedal Technique
    Organ-performance
    Organ Playing
    Organ-playing-level
    Organ Playing Mistakes
    Organ Playing Styles
    Organ Playing Tips
    Organ Playing Tutorial
    Organ Practice
    Organ-prelude
    Organ Recital Playing
    Organ Recitals
    Organ Registration
    Organ-registration
    Organ Repertoire
    Organ Restoration
    Organ Shoes
    Organ-stops
    Organ-teacher
    Organ Technique
    Organ-technologies
    Organ-touch
    Organ-tour
    Organ-training-material
    Organ Transposition
    Organ-tuning
    Organ-videos-from-italy
    Organ Wind System
    Orgelbuchlein
    Ornamentation
    Overcoming Frustration
    Owning-your-music
    Pachelbel
    Page-turnining
    Pain Issues
    Pamela-ruiter-feenstra
    Pamela-ruiterfeenstra
    Paper-organ
    Parenting-and-organ-playing
    Parish
    Paslek
    Passacaglia
    Pastor-de-lasala
    Patreon
    Paul-ayres
    Paul-cienniwa
    Paulius-grigonis
    Pedal Exercises
    Pedaling
    Pedal Playing
    Pedal-point
    Pedal Preparation
    Pedal Scales
    Pedal Technique
    Pedal-trills
    Pedal-tutorial
    Pedal-virtuoso-master-course
    Perfect-pitch
    Performance Anxiety
    Performance-anxiety
    Performance-practice
    Performing-organ-music
    Perseverance
    Personal Development
    Peter-holder
    Peter-sykes
    Peter-van-tour
    Phil-lehenbauer
    Phillip-parkey
    Phrasing
    Piano Exercises
    Piano Practice
    Piano Technique On The Organ
    Piano Touch
    Pieter-dirksen
    Pieter-van-dijk
    Pinkevicius-op-37
    Pipe-organ
    Planning Organ Recitals
    Playing-accelerandos
    Playing Attitude
    Playing-concert
    Playing-from-memory
    Playing-in-ensemble
    Playing-organ-at-an-older-age
    Playing-recital
    Playing With Confidence
    Playing-with-orchestra
    Playing-with-solo-instrument
    Podcast
    Poland
    Polyphonic-music
    Portable-hauptwerk-setup
    Portative Organ
    Positive-feedback
    Postlude
    Practice-guide
    Practice Instruments
    Practice Time
    Practicing Habits
    Praetorius
    Pray-for-paris
    Prelude-and-fugue
    Prelude-improvisation
    Prepare-ye-the-way-of-the-lord
    Preparing-for-an-organ-event
    Preparing For Recitals
    Preparing-for-recitals
    Preparing-for-the-premiere
    Principal-chorus
    Products
    Programing Organ Recitals
    Psalms
    Publishing
    Publishing-organ-music
    Randall-krum
    Recital-opportunities
    Recit-de-chrohorne
    Recording-complete-works-by-bach
    Recording-organ-music-and-bach
    Recording-yourself
    Reed Organ
    Reincken
    Renaissance Organ Music
    Repeated-notes
    Repetitions
    Replacing-organist
    Resistance
    Resolutions
    Rhetoric-figures
    Robert-mccormick
    Robert-morehead
    Robin-gullbrandsson
    Roger-sherman
    Romantic French Organ Music
    Romantic German Organ Music
    Romantic Organ Music
    Sacred Music
    Saint-cecilia
    Saint-lucia
    Samuel-delaunay
    Samuel-giddy
    Sara-schott
    Scales And Arpeggios
    Scales-and-arpeggios
    Scheidemann
    Scheidt
    Schublers-chorales
    Science-and-art
    Scott-elsholz
    Secrets-of-organ-playing
    Secrets-of-organ-playing-calendar-2017
    Secrets-of-organ-playing-contest
    Selecting-repertoire
    Selecting-tempo
    Self-doubts
    Selfdoubts
    Selfimprovementd902628688
    Sharing-your-talents
    Shopify
    Short-octave
    Short Pedal Board
    Sietze-de-vries
    Sigh-motive
    Sight Reading
    Sightreading9d750d820d
    Sightreadinga5764d655d
    Silencing-the-crowd
    Sinfonia
    Singing-your-music
    Slawomir-zubrzycki
    Slow-and-easy
    Small Hands
    Software-program
    Sonata
    Sonata-form
    Sophieveronique-caucheferchoplin
    Sound Delay
    Soundrop
    Spanish-fingering
    Spinet Organs
    Split-keys
    Stanislaw-moniuszko
    Steemit
    Success
    Swedish-organ-culture
    Sweelinck Organ Music
    Swell-pedal
    Sydney Organ Journal
    Taking-a-break
    Talking-on-the-radio
    Taming-the-instrument
    Teaching
    Teaching-organ-playing
    Teisutis-makacinas
    Tempo
    Testimonials
    Tetrachord
    Thanking-someone
    Thanksgiving
    The-art-of-organ-building
    The-art-of-organ-improvisation
    The-arts-ministry-in-the-21st-century
    The-largest-tracker-organ
    The-notebook-of-anna-magdalena-bach
    Thierry-mechler
    Thomas-aberg
    Thomas-leslie
    Time Management
    Tobitha-moldenhauer
    Toccata
    Toccata-in-c-major
    Tom-trenney
    Tonality
    Top 5 Lists
    Tore-bjorn-larsen
    Total Organist
    Tournemire
    Toy-stops
    Tracker-organ
    Training
    Transcription
    Transposition
    Treatises
    Trio
    Trios
    Trio Sonatas
    Triplets
    Trust-and-authority
    Trying-different-organs
    Trying-new-things
    Tune-in-tenor
    Tuning
    Turning Pages
    Tutor
    Two-kinds-of-organists
    Two-part-training
    Tyler-boehmer
    Ugly-music
    Uncomfortable Organs
    Unda Maris Studio
    Unpredictable-organist
    Variations
    Vidas-pinkevicius
    Vidas Pinkevicius Compositions
    Vidas-pinkevicius-op-2
    Vidas-playing
    Video-training
    Viernes-final-from-the-symphony-no1
    Viola-organistica
    Virtual Organs
    Visiting-casparinis-organ
    Voluntary
    Vom-himmel-sieh-darein
    Walter-gatti
    Wayne-leupold
    Webinars
    Wedding-playing
    Weston-jennings
    Widor
    Widor-toccata
    Wilhelm-friedemann-bach
    William-mason
    William-whitehead
    Wir-sind-hier
    Wolff-von-ross
    Wolfram-kampffmeyer
    Workshop
    World-class-artist
    Worldclass-artist
    Writing-fugues
    Wyatt-smith
    Year-of-2014
    Year-review-2014
    You-tube
    Youtube

    Archives

    November 2025
    October 2025
    September 2025
    August 2025
    July 2025
    June 2025
    May 2025
    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

This site participates in the SheetMusicPlus, Amazon, Thomann and other affiliate programs, the proceeds of which keep it free for anyone to read.
​Copyright  © 2011-2025 by Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene.
​Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
  • HOME
  • BLOG
  • STORE
  • TOTAL ORGANIST
  • TOOLS
  • YOUTUBE
  • COMPOSITIONS
  • COACHING
  • ABOUT
  • RECITALS
  • PHOTOS
  • CONTACT
  • LOGIN
  • LT
  • AUSRA'S YOUTUBE