Category: Pedaling

#AskVidasAndAusra 69: Pedal accuracy especially across different pedalboards

9/15/2017

Vidas: Let’s start Episode 69 of #AskVidasAndAusra podcast now. And today’s question was sent by Matt, and Matt has a problem with pedal accuracy, especially across different pedalboards--flat or curved. So, adjusting to different pedalboards, Ausra--was that ever a problem for you?

Ausra: Yes, it was a problem.

Vidas: So I guess this is a problem for a majority of organists, I would say.

Ausra: I guess so, yes.

Vidas: For me, too, I think, when I was a student...whenever I discovered a new organ, pedal playing would suffer. At first, right? I would require maybe a few days, at least, to adjust to a different pedalboard. How about you, Ausra? How many days did you have to have, at the beginning, to feel comfortable with the pedals?

Ausra: Well...many days!

Vidas: Three, four, five?

Ausra: Yes, something like that.

Vidas: Mhmm. So of course, when you’re a beginner, it’s very natural to suffer with pedal playing and adjusting to different pedals. But, what can we suggest to facilitate this progress? Obviously, Ausra, play more instruments, right?

Ausra: Yes. And do more of coordination exercises.

Vidas: What do you mean, coordination?

Ausra: Well, play trio sonatas!

Vidas: Trio sonatas. What if a person has a very weak pedal technique? Maybe not well-developed. Do you think trio sonatas will be too difficult?

Ausra: Well, yes, if it’s just a beginner; but still at some point you will have to play trio sonatas.

Vidas: Maybe you could say trio texture, not sonata.

Ausra: Yes, that’s true.

Vidas: Maybe three voices--take three voices in your piece. Or how about hymns? Would that be helpful to develop hands and feet coordination, at first?

Ausra: Yes!

Vidas: At the basic level.

Ausra: Yes, definitely! It’s very hard, for example, to play pedal part in the pedals- bass line--and to play in left hand only the tenor voice. It always gives trouble for people, because it’s so hard to coordinate. If you can play it, then definitely you can play trio texture too.

Vidas: A simple trio. Because what happens in hymns is that most of the time, voices move in quarter notes, or in general, equal note values. In trio sonatas, you have all kinds of note values, so that’s like the top level of advancement with hands and feet coordination. But you start, as Ausra says, simply.

Ausra: Yes.

Vidas: Simply, with a simple technique. Like a hymn.

Ausra: Yes. And while adjusting to the pedal, it would be very nice that you would not exercise always on the same instrument. If you have a possibility, switch between them. Practice one day on a flat pedalboard, and another day on a curved pedalboard, if it’s possible. That way it will be easier for you to adjust to a new organ and to a new pedalboard.

Vidas: Organists are different. Organist profession (and organ playing) is different from piano playing, right? Because pianos are quite similar everywhere.

Ausra: Well, if you would ask a pianist, he or she would definitely not agree with you!

Vidas: Of course. But they haven’t seen the huge variety of organs! So pianos are relatively similar, right?

Ausra: Well, yes...in our eyes, yes!

Vidas: Yes, in our eyes. But every organ is unique. Every organ...Maybe there are two identical organs, but they are positioned in a different space, and that’s already different, right? A different feeling. For example--Ausra, let’s take this 1776 Casparini organ inside the Holy Ghost Church here in Vilnius--

Ausra: Yes.

Vidas: ...and recently, in Rochester, New York, they built a replica of this instrument in Christ Church. Which means they have a complete, functioning, new instrument built in the style of Casparini--like exact or a very similar instrument to that of Holy Ghost. Do you think, Ausra, that it’s exactly the same as Holy Ghost?

Ausra: Definitely not--

Vidas: No?

Ausra: --because the space is so different.

Vidas: Because the organ is new, as well.

Ausra: Yes. Holy Ghost Church in Vilnius has much larger acoustics.

Vidas: And the organ is newly built, so all the parts are, sort of, functioning differently from the original Baroque period that we have in Vilnius.

Ausra: And I think it has different tuning, too.

Vidas: So far, yes, because the temperament problem has not been solved yet, here in Vilnius. So yes, it’s different, although the two instruments are supposed to be almost the same. So don’t despair when you encounter different organs and you feel like you make a lot of mistakes with your feet, right? It’s just a matter of getting as many organs under your belt as possible.

Ausra: Yes, it will get easier, in time.

Vidas: How many instruments do you have to visit and try, Ausra, first, to break to the next level--to get to the next stage?

Ausra: Probably ten.

Vidas: And every tenth instrument will feel like a small breakthrough, right?

Ausra: Yes.

Vidas: I think that’s a very valid approach for people. Okay, we hope this was useful to you guys. Please send us more of your questions. And you can do that by subscribing to our blog at www.organduo.lt if you haven’t done so already, and replying to our messages. That would be the easiest way to send us your questions. We love helping you grow as an organist. Okay guys, this was Vidas!

Ausra: And Ausra!

Vidas: And remember, when you practice…

Ausra: Miracles happen.

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BWV 572 is finally ready!

8/16/2017

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After weeks and weeks of painstaking work, long awaited practice score with complete fingering and pedaling of Piece d'Orgue, BWV 572 is finally ready!

Would you like to save yourself tenths of hours of tedious work when writing the most stylistically appropriate fingering and pedaling yourself for efficient practice?

If so, check it out here.

50% discount is valid until August 23.

Among other things, Ausra and I discuss the best way of mastering this piece in the last chapter of our e-book "Is It Possible to Learn to Play the Organ When You Are 56 Years Old".

PS This score is free for Total Organist students

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Speed in adding fingering

3/16/2017

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By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here)

I've been experimenting with adding fingering and pedaling for some pieces I've been playing lately.

Everybody will agree, it's such a tedious job.

Not necessarily figuring out the fingering and pedaling.

No, this part can be mastered to the degree when you can think very quickly.

But editing, writing it on the score...

Sometimes I would add fingering directly while looking at the computer screen.

This is hard for the eyes and a slow process.

Another method I use is simply to write down fingering with black pen directly on the score while practicing.

Also slow but not as hard on the eyes.

Today I found another way to do this:

I recorded the first page of BWV 548 into an mp3 file where I literally said the finger numbers and pedalings out loud. It took me a little more than 9 minutes.

Then what's left only is to notate it on the score.

How do you write down fingering and ensure that you don't spend all day and night doing this?

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In time for Thanksgiving: learn Karg-Elert's "Nun danket alle Gott"

10/26/2016

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Many organists know that early 20th century German composer's Sigfrid Karg-Elert's "Nun danket alle Gott" (Now Thank We All Our God), Op. 65, No. 59 from Choral Improvisations is a perfect piece to play for Thanksgiving.

Ausra and I have just finished writing in fingering and pedaling for this solemn piece, so if you want to learn it in time for Thanksgiving, you can check it out here.

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Build your pedal powers

6/8/2016

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Does your pedal technique need work? If so, check out our new video course Building Pedal Powers that Ausra and I have created (50 % discount is valid until the end of June).

This course is free with Total Organist Premium and Premium Plus memberships.

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Would you like to learn Bach's G minor fugue?

2/24/2016

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I have just finished editing the famous Bach's G minor fugue for organ, BWV 578. If you would like to learn this fabulous composition and save many hours of frustration of figuring out the correct fingering and pedaling by yourself, check it out here. 50% discount is valid until the end of February.

Ausra's Harmony Exercise:

Do you have a question about harmony for Ausra? You can reach her by email.

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Heels and contact

12/12/2015

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What is the correct position of the heels on the pedalboard? Should you lift them up in the air or should they touch the pedals?

The following advice is based on the assumption that your organ bench is adjustable or at the optimum height for you when you can touch the pedals with your relaxed feet but the pedals would not be depressed. Of course on the lower or higher benches the story is different altogether.

I think when the feet are not playing and only resting on the pedalboard, then the heels should the resting on the pedals as well.

The movements of the feet of the organist should be economical and when there is no need to lift the feet up in the air, the heels also touch the pedals.

When you're playing the pedals with the modern legato technique, then the motion is from the ankle. This means that the heels should be touching the pedals as well.

But when you're using articulated legato technique for early music, then the motion is from the entire leg and the heels will go up in the air a little.

Try to use these two different approaches on different styles of music for the most stylistically appropriate playing.

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Fingering and pedaling for you

5/12/2015

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Are you having trouble with writing in fingering and pedaling for the piece that you are currently practicing? If so, let me help you. Let me save you many hours of trouble and frustration and create the most efficient and stylistically correct fingering and pedaling for the organ piece of your choice.

Organ Improvisation in Bb

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Pedal trills

8/25/2014

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Ed Ackermann: Photo of members of Fort worth Chapter of the American Guild of Organists, March 15, 2014, in front of the grand Richards, Fowkes & Company (located in Tennessee, USA) organ at Church of Transfiguration (Episcopal) Church in Dallas, Texas, USA. As part of our individual practice sessions, I organized an organ crawl to several large tracker organs in Dallas for our Fort Worth members to play and experience the difference in playing a score on a tracker rather than the non-tracker pipe organs that are abundant in Fort Worth. Most had never played a tracker and were amazed at the difference in various aspects of playing a score.

Pedal trills are quite difficult to execute with one foot - the ankle tenses and the motion becomes jerky. Master French organist and composer Marcel Dupre is known to have said that the secret of the perfect pedal technique is the flexibility of an ankle. This remark is also valid for the trills on the pedals.

So how do you develop this flexibility? Of course, practicing pedal scales and arpeggios in all keys over one and two octaves. Also today's exercise in sight-reading will help you do that.

That's Etude No. 1 from 12 Etudes for Solo Pedals (ca. 1865) by the Romantic French composer Charles-Valentine Alkan (1813-1888). Besides the trills, in this etude you will find ascending and descending arpeggio figures. For the sake of safety, please wear organ shoes with heels while playing it. Take an extremely slow tempo and aim for the nice legato touch.

Don't forget to change position in extreme edges of the pedal board by pushing off the opposite foot. Curiously, the pedal part in the fourth line descends to low B. On modern organs, play measures 2 and 3 of this line one octave higher.

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Dancing pedals

8/14/2014

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When it comes to dancing on the pedals, one of the organ pieces definitely comes to mind - The "Gigue" Fugue in G major, BWV 577 by J.S. Bach. The theme of this famous fugue which you can see in the above picture creates a real dance-like character when played with the pedals. Not surprising - 12/8 meter and fast tempo make it fun to play and even more to watch (especially the feet of the organist).

I've learned this piece many years ago and decided to play it this morning (thanks to Russell who wanted some guidance on learning it).

There are 10 subject entrances in this fugue:

1. (page 1-system 1- measure 1) Subject in G major, tonic, tenor.
2. (1-2-4) Answer in D major, dominant, alto.
3. (1-5-4) Subject in G major, tonic, soprano.
4. (2-2-2) Answer in D major, dominant, bass.
5. (2-5-2) Subject in B minor, relative minor of the dominant, tenor.
6. (3-4-2) Subject in E minor, relative minor, alto.
7. (4-2-2) Subject in G major, tonic, bass.
8. (4-3-4) Answer in D major, dominant, soprano.
9. (4-5-3) Subject in B minor, relative minor of the dominant, tenor.
10. (5-3-1) Subject in G major, tonic, bass.

This time, when I played it, I looked at this fugue with the fresh eye and tried to imagine the difficult places for many organists:

1. (1-2-2) Play a mordent on the beat starting with the main note.
2. (1-5-4) Don't forget to take on the first beat the alto and the tenor parts with the left hand.
3. (2-2-2) Prepare in advance for the pedal entrance.
4. (2-2-2 to 2-3-1) Active pedal part - difficult movement with the right foot.
5. (2-4-1) Additional tenor part - don't miss it.
6. (2-5-1) Active pedal part approaching the cadence in B minor.
7. (3-4-2) Active left hand as well as the mordent in the right hand (start from the upper note on the beat).
8. (4-2-2) Prepare for the pedal entrance in advance. To avoid damaging your knees, your lower body should be facing the high pedal notes and the upper body - looking straight.
9. (4-2-2 until the end) Extremely active pedal part. In descending pedal lines, push off with the right foot and in ascending pedal lines, push off with the left foot to change position on the pedalboard.

Here's the score for printing, if you want to play it. Don't forget to use articulate legato touch and aim for a slow tempo because pedal entrances will not be easy. Play separate parts, if you are a beginner. Feel free to use a secondary softer manual for echo passages (notated - p).

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#AskVidasAndAusra 69: Pedal accuracy especially across different pedalboards

BWV 572 is finally ready!

Speed in adding fingering

In time for Thanksgiving: learn Karg-Elert's "Nun danket alle Gott"

Build your pedal powers

Would you like to learn Bach's G minor fugue?

Heels and contact

Fingering and pedaling for you

Pedal trills

Dancing pedals

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