Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!
Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist. V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius... A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene. V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011. V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today. A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! Vidas: Hi guys! This is Vidas. Ausra: And Ausra. Vidas: Let’s start episode 648 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Joe, and he writes: “Vidas, Hope all is well with you. I am making much headway on Widor's Toccata, even though I have had limited time to practice. The score that I purchased from you certainly has helped expedite the learning process - MUCH THANKS! Since the score did not include registration suggestions, I was curious if you know of scores that do include registration. My organ has the following Stops:” Pedal Organ Diapason 16' Bourdon 16' Quintaten (Sw) 16' Octave 8' Gedackt 8' Choralbass 4' Mixture iii Posaune 16' Trompette (SW) 8' Swell Organ Quintaten 16' Gedackt 8' Violas II 8' Spitzprinzipal 4' Koppelflote 4' Nasat 2-2/3' Blockflote 2' Terz 1-3/5' Mixture III Basson 16' Trompette 8' Clairon 4' Great Organ Quintaten (Sw) 16' Principal 8' Rohrflote 8' Violas II (Sw) 8' Octave 4' Spitzflote 4' super Octave 2' Waldflote 2' Mixture IV Krummhorn 8' Vidas: He has three divisions: Pedal, Swell, and Great, and each has around 10 stops, maybe more. He writes further: “I also have a Floating Division that can be applied to Pedal, Swell, and Great. This includes over 100 stops but cannot be mixed (i.e. only one per Pedal, one for Swell, one for Great). Please let me know if you have any suggestions for registration based on my Stops List. If you believe something is missing that is critical, I may have it in my Floating Division. Your expertise would be greatly appreciated. Much Thanks, Joe Mark” Vidas: Here’s what I wrote to him: “Thanks Joe! Unfortunately all Widor marks on the score is FFF, FF, F etc. As I haven't made a video of this piece I can't really demonstrate it for you right now. Since you have only 2 manual instrument, try to experiment with adding or omitting the reeds on both divisions one by one. FFF would be Tutti. FF would be without Clairon, F - without Basson, MF - without Trompette, PP - without Krummhorn. Manuals coupled. Pedals need to be reduced accordingly too. Hope this helps for now (until I prepare a proper video course). Vidas” Vidas: Ausra, what do you think? Ausra: Yes, I think that’s an adequate proposition. Vidas: Basically, this organ, obviously, is much too small for Widor’s Toccata, right, for Widor’s Symphony. But, obviously, we have limited resources at home, and people still want to play most famous organ pieces ever written. Ausra: I think it’s, though, a good size instrument! Vidas: What we have here in the pedal is three 16’ stops, two 8’ stops, one 4’ stop, Mixture, Posaune, and Tropette taken from the swell division like an extension. On the Swell, we have one Quintaten 16’, then two stops from the 8’ level, two from the 4’ level, Quinte, then Blockflöte 2’, Terz, Mixture, Basson, Trompette, Clairon. That’s the Swell. And on the Great, we have one 16’ stop, Principle and Rhorflöte, that’s 8’ stops, and then Viola from the second manual—from the Swell, and then Octave and Spitzflöte 4’, super Octave and Waldflötte 2’, Mixture and Krummhorn. Yeah, every manual seems to have a decent Reed selection, except it’s a little bit strange. Why would you have Krummhorn on the Great without any stronger reeds. Ausra; Yes, that’s what I was wondering about, too, because it seems like the Swell division everything is fine with it and as well fine with the Pedal, but I guess if he has a floating division, maybe he could add a more powerful Reed to the Great. Vidas: Exactly. Probably not even a Reed. I would add a 16’ Principal to the Great. I would also add the Trompette 8’, Bombarde 16’, and Clairon 16’. That would work. Ausra: Yes, I think so, too. Vidas: Maybe even Chamade if there is one. Right? Ausra: Sure! Vidas: But generally, you still need to adjust the dynamic level by omitting some of the loudest Reed, and maybe Swell pedals if you have one. Ausra: Yes, I guess the Swell pedal might be a great help in playing French music in general. Vidas: Correct. Swell should be very dynamic and open very wide in Cavaile-Coll's organs. And so, if you can imitate that on your instrument, that’s very good. Wouldn’t it be nice, Ausra, to hear a recording or a video of this piece by Joe? Ausra: Yes, it would be very interesting. Vidas: So, if you master this piece, Joe, or even if you haven’t mastered it but are just practicing it, go ahead and upload your practice to YouTube and send us a link; we could share it with our subscribers, too. Ausra: Yes, it would be really interesting to know how the things are going. Vidas: And what kind of sound we are talking about. You know, maybe we are theoretically only imagining based on specification, but when you have a real instrument it might be a little bit different, or it might be a lot different sound. Ausra: Yes, because the voicing of the all the pipes might be various from one instrument to another one, and then if it’s an electric instrument, the… Vidas: ...touch? Ausra: Not touch, but I’m talking about sound; we don’t know how loud it might get or how soft it is. Vidas: Right, because you have the speakers. Ausra: Sure. Vidas: Internal speakers or external speakers, and how many speakers you have, and how… it depends. Okay guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice, Ausra: Miracles happen. V: This podcast is supported by Total Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online. A: It has hundreds of courses, coaching and practice materials for every area of organ playing, thousands of instructional videos and PDF's. You will NOT find more value anywhere else online... V: Total Organist helps you to master any piece, perfect your technique, develop your sight-reading skills, and improvise or compose your own music and much much more… A: Sign up and begin your training today at organduo.lt and click on Total Organist. And of course, you will get the 1st month free too. You can cancel anytime. 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Vidas: Let's start Episode 36 of AskVidasAndAusra Podcast.
Today's question was sent by John and he writes the following question: "Do you think it's achievable for me to learn Widor's Toccata by March next year? My youngest brother has just announced his engagement and the wedding will be in early April next year. Several years ago, he told me he would love to have this piece at his wedding one day. It's probably beyond my technical capabilities, but I really want to give it a go for my brother. I played for the church service last week and everything went really well. You remember last time you ran the question answering series ... I asked about struggling to learn Tenor voice. You would be pleased to learn that I learned Tenor voice for all four hymns. So, I played all four parts for all the hymns now. It felt like I was struggling for a week with no progress, but I kept practicing the left hand and the pedals' combination. Then it just clicked, and it became together really well. Thanks for all your great podcasts, answering people's questions. They're great questions and great answers. John." So, Ausra, for starters, we're very glad about John's progress in church hymns. Ausra: Oh, yes. Very much, yes. Vidas: Because we've been communicating with John over a number of years now and he's been our most loyal subscriber, right? Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Right from the beginning, starting from 2012. He started to play hymns in churches regularly, but his challenge over the time was to play four parts together. He's been practicing three parts, so he's been missing tenor voice. Ausra: Actually, tenor voice gives the most problem, I think. Vidas: But you know what he did right, he didn't double the base with the pedal like many people do. They play four part hymns with the hands. Plus, they add the bass line with the pedals, which is not right. It will slow down your hand and feet independence process. Ausra: Sure. I'm so glad to know that John achieved this independence. That's a very good sign. Vidas: Right. Ausra: Because he has patience and he's such a hardworking man, I think he might get to that Widor's Toccata in time because he still has a lot of time. So, if he will start to practice now and will do it every day, he might be able to play it for his brother's wedding. Vidas: Right, right. Now, it's the end of July. So, let's think about August. August, September, October, November, December, January, February, and March, eight months for one piece. Well, it's a little bit disappointing to learn only one piece over eight months, don't you think? Ausra: Well, it depends on your goal. Vidas: If it's a big goal like he has, maybe he can persevere but a lot of people will quit, I think. Ausra: Yes, I'm sure and I'm just thinking, wouldn't it be possible to find an adapted version of Widor's Toccata? I'm not sure. I don't think I have heard about it but- Vidas: I haven't, and it would be actually counterproductive because later maybe three years from now, he wants to repeat this Widor Toccata and his technique will be better by this time. But this easier, adapted version, I think you can find it online. You can find just about anything online now. So, for people who are really struggling but want to play it, sort of Widor Toccata adapted version, they can find, but perhaps we don't necessarily advise that, right? Ausra: Well, yes. John will manage to play it, then he will have an excellent piece for many occasions because you can play it for weddings, you can play it for service, like as a prelude or as a postlude. That's a great postlude actually. Vidas: Yeah. Ausra: And of course, for organ recitals too. Vidas: Yes, and memorize. Above all, memorize this piece because you will love it and want to keep it in your repertoire for a long time. Ausra: Yes, and I think it's a good piece to play from memory. Vidas: I think the most challenging part with Widor is hand part, not the pedals and not together, hand and feet together combination, but the hand part, this toccata movement. But remember, Widor didn't like people playing his toccata too fast. Ausra: I know. Sometimes, people go just like crazy, just playing like Harley Davidson tempo. Vidas: Maybe not even Harley Davidson but let's say, Yamaha, on this race. Ausra: Yes. It's really too fast. It makes that piece sound so mechanical. Vidas: So, slow down when you practice. Practice in fragments, just like we always suggest with hard pieces. Even practice hands separately now. Ausra: Sure, definitely. Vidas: That's the first step probably. Ausra: Yes, I think so. Vidas: In John's case, I think he has to make a plan. Eight months, right? But for his situation, I recommend to be ready not one month before wedding, but three. Three months will give him enough time to be secure with this piece. So, maybe to be ready by February, that would be great. February, March ... Or maybe even January. Ausra: March is actually the wedding, I think. Vidas: Yes, so maybe by the end of this year. By the end of December 31st, he has to really play this piece for his friends or family without stopping at the concert tempo. That's his goal. With mistakes, don't worry about mistakes by that time. He will have three months to get rid of those mistakes. But make sure you really make a plan to learn enough fragments for each day and refresh your previously mastered material each day so that day by day, you complete this piece. I think it's doable, even if you learn just one line per day. Ausra: Sure, yes. Vidas: One line is maybe a couple of measures in this edition. Ausra: Because in toccata, in the movement like this, there are lots of repetition. Vidas: Yes. Ausra: So when you will manage to, let's say, page or two, it will be a key to the rest of the piece. Vidas: Yes, it's like an exercise. Your fingers will get used and adjust to the difficult level of this exercise and will get stronger and stronger each day you practice. But Hanon exercises would be beneficial too here. Don't you think? Ausra: Sure, sure. Vidas: Just like in any virtuoso piece. Ausra: Also, I think it would be very good way to practice it on the piano, just do the hand part on the piano. That might help to. Because I found that with composers like Widor and Vierne and our great French composers that practicing from the piano helps a lot. Vidas: Because piano was the basis, basically, of the organ technique at that time. Ausra: Yes. VIdas: Yes, good advice. So, find a usable piano and not the keyboard, not synthesizer, not electronic. Ausra: Yes, not a synthesizer. Vidas: But real mechanical piano. Ausra: Because that mechanical feeling of a keyboard will help you to strengthen your fingers actually, to strengthen your muscles. Vidas: If your church has a piano, practice on the piano too. Ausra: Yes. Vidas: Maybe you have a choir room, which has a piano. Not necessarily in the nave, but maybe in the choir room you can go and practice. Ausra: Because if you will be able to play the hard parts of the piano well, it will be well on the organ too. Vidas: Oh, yes. Ausra: And it shouldn't be so hard to actually add pedals. Vidas: No. You practice pedal preparation, of course, also. Ausra: Sure. Vidas: Pedal lines, that's a big key. But other than that, just a slow, persistent and regular practice, that's the key. Wonderful. I hope this was useful to you, John, and other people who want to play Widor Toccata and learn to play it in eight months, let's say, from now. Make sure you don't worry about fingering. Ausra and I have prepared the fully-fingered and pedaled version of this piece. So, you don't have to write down every finger. We've done the hard work for you so that you can jump in and get started right away with correct, efficient, and persistent practice. Please send us more questions. We love helping you grow, and the easiest way to do this is by subscribing to our blog at www.organduo.lt. Then you can reply to our messages and send or ask the questions this way but please be patient. We get tons of questions. We get to your questions eventually and answer them, but maybe not the next day and even not the next week because we have a line of people waiting really for help. This is great, guys. Make sure you practice today because when you practice- Ausra: Miracles happen. By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here)
Eddie writes that he wonders whether the indication to play the left hand staccato chords an octave higher in the last page of Widor's Toccata (therefore, above the right hand) might have been an error on behalf of the publisher. He also asks when this Toccata is played an octave lower to avoid screaming mixtures and a lack of adequate foundation stops would the pedals also need adjustment? Eddie points out that one must be careful not to let the staccato sound as a firing machine gun; one could rather consider the staccato-prescription as 'with leggiero touch' (like Boëlmann prescribes in his Toccata from Suite Gothique). In my opinion, the hand crossings appear to be required due to the sounds necessary in high register. If you have trouble crossing the hands, you can flip them - at that place play the middle stave with the right hand and the upper stave - with the left hand (just as Eddie suggests). If you choose to play the entire toccata one octave lower, the pedal part should remain where it's written. Make sure you don't use 16' stops in the manuals then. I also agree about the similarity of the "leggiero" touch of the sixteenths with the Boellmann's toccata. Keep up your practice in a super slow tempo. The faster you want your end result to be, the slower you should practice for a while. Just a quick note - because many of my subscribers asked for it, this morning I've finished writing in fingering and pedaling in Widor's Toccata for easy practice. If you like this piece and plan to learn it, now is the best time because this score is with 50% discount until the end of August.
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
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