Blog Posts

Can digital piano help learn to play the organ?

10/1/2025

Dear friends,

Here's what we found worth sharing with you this week:

1. SOPP747: Can digital piano help learn to play the organ?
2. Vidas Pinkevicius - Echoes of Palanga: Six Meditative Pieces for Organ
3. Ausra Motuzaite Pinkeviciene - Fanfare Processional in D, Op. 20 | Pedal Reed Organ
4. Vidas Pinkevicius - Starlit Shore, Op. 386 (Organ Solo)
5. Vidas Pinkevicius - Ubi Caritas, Op. 372 | St. Anne's Church Vilnius
6. Johann Ludwig Krebs - Was Gott tut das ist wohlgetan | Haarlem St. Bavo Cathedral
7. Vidas Pinkevicius - Dune Stillness, Op. 385 (Organ Solo)
8. Vidas Pinkevicius - Petite Suite in F Major (Organ Improvisation) | VU Aula Parva
9. Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene - O Lord, How Shall I Meet You, Op. 41 | Stralsund St. Jakobi Church
10. Jeremiah Clarke - Trumpet Voluntary St. Göran Church, Stockholm
11. Johann Sebastian Bach - Wenn wir in höchsten Nöten sein, BWV 641 | St. Göran Church, Stockholm

Thanks for reading! This newsletter is free but not cheap. If you like our work and want to support it, you can buy us coffee or forward it to someone who’d like it. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.

And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!

Vidas and Ausra
www.organduo.lt

Comments

SOPP747: Can digital piano help learn to play the organ?

10/1/2025

Comments

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 747! Today's question was sent by Guilherme and he writes:

Hi Vidas,

I probably won't be able to properly answer these questions, so I apologise in advance for a possibly long email which might not have much use. It's also a bit to help me organise my thoughts.

I'm from Portugal (a village close to Porto). I played the organ in church when I was a teenager and into my early 20s. But, like many things I did back then, I wasn't taking it seriously. A few years earlier I started by learning a bit of the piano, and then switched to the organ. But ultimately the only thing I was doing was playing the melody with the right hand and the chords with the left hand, and I never cared at all about the pedals. So I never really evolved from that basic level, until eventually I left the country.

After living in a few countries in Europe, I'm currently living in Kraków, Poland. Perhaps it's the midlife crisis, but I recently became interested in piano and organ again, and eventually bumped into your website and podcast, which I found inspiring.

I live in a small apartment and started looking at the possibilities for an organ setup. There are many examples I could find online, including your previous Hauptwerk setup, which I could realistically use (although the pedals always cause a space problem). However, one of my problems is my interest in too many things. Piano, classic organ, Hammond organ, etc.

As contradictory as it seems, I chose the piano for the moment and got a digital piano. Now, I do understand that there's a world of difference between piano and organ - and even between classic and Hammond organ.

I don't intend to be a virtuoso in any of these instruments, but I still think the piano can help me a bit. In spite of having different technique and a totally different key action, the main thing I want for now is to improve my hand coordination, and I think I can get there with the piano. Also I'll be fine for a while with a single manual.

Another thing that made me go for it is the amount of available learning apps for piano, as opposed to organ. And in this case I'm not talking about courses with videos, but rather an app which I can use to follow along some piece of music, plug my keyboard to the computer/tablet (USB/MIDI) and get immediate feedback on what I'm playing (at least if I'm playing the right keys at the right time). At the beginner level I am right now, I think this is really useful, even though it can be complemented with other courses, and even with face-to-face lessons.

Ultimately I don't know what my dream is yet. I'd like to get to a decent level (I know this is not very precise), but I don't think I'll ever be aiming to be a serious organist, also because of my current lack of interest in religion. This religious part might actually hold me back from playing in a real organ, although it doesn't have to make it impossible.

With the piano I feel that I'm getting motivated and putting in the time and commitment. I intend to spend maybe a year (or more, we'll see) in this and then get back to the organ. Whatever my dream will be then, taking the time to practice might make the most difference - as you say numerous times in your podcast.

Best regards,
Guilherme

Comments

How to avoid mistakes in organ practice

9/24/2025

Comments

Dear friends,

Here's what we found worth sharing with you this week:

1. SOPP746: How to avoid mistakes in organ practice
2. Organ Recital - St. Jakobi Church Stralsund | 2025-09-19
3. Vidas Pinkevicius - Communion from Wie schön leuchtet Suite, Op. 287 | Stralsund St. Jakobi Church
4. Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene - Pavane and Galliard, Op. 38 | Stralsund St. Jakobi Church
5. Rien Schalkwijk - Tranquility, Op. 2 | Stralsund St. Jakobi Church
6. Graham Twist - Dolcetta | Stralsund St. Jakobi Church
7. Vidas Pinkevicius - Waves at Sunset, Op. 384 (Organ Solo)
8. Vidas Pinkevicius - Amber Glow, Op. 382 (Organ Solo)
9. W.A. Mozart - Fantasia in F Minor, K. 608 for Organ Duet | Grenzing Organ Hägersten, Sweden
10. J.S. Bach - Two-Part Invention No. 8 in F Major | Harpsichord
11. J.S. Bach - Prelude No. 1 in C Major from WTC I, BWV 846:1 | Harpsichord

Thanks for reading! This newsletter is free but not cheap. If you like our work and want to support it, you can buy us coffee or forward it to someone who’d like it. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.
And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!

Vidas and Ausra
www.organduo.lt

Comments

SOPP746: How to avoid mistakes in organ practice

9/24/2025

Comments

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 746! Today Ausra and I will talk about how to avoid mistakes in organ practice. Hope you will enjoy it!

Comments

How can I improve fingering in general without using annotated scores?

9/17/2025

Comments

Dear friends,

Tomorrow Vidas is going on an organ trip to northern Germany - to Stralsund, where he will play a recital on Friday at Jakobikirche during Stralsund Organ Night. If any of our online organ friends are in the area, welcome!
Here's what we found worth sharing with you this week:

1. SOPP745: How can I improve fingering in general without using annotated scores?
2. Vidas Pinkevicius - Whispering Pines, Op. 381 (Organ Solo)
3. Vidas Pinkevicius - Seaside Breeze, Op. 380 (Organ Solo)
4. Vidas Pinkevicius - Cantabile of Early Work, Op. 374
5. Happy Birthday, @AusraMotuzaite! In the Hall of the Mountain King | Edvard Grieg
6. Vidas Pinkevicius - Cantabile by Moonlight, Op. 373
7. Vidas Pinkevicius - Missa de Angelis Meditations, Op. 232
8. Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene - The Advent of Our God, Op. 40
9. Learn with Vidas - Open Position Chords | 2025-09-14
10. Live Organ Music - On the Bench with Vidas No. 59 | 2025-09-12
11. Organ Recital "Baltic Reverie" | Alvitas St. Anne's Church | 2025-09-11
12. Organ Demonstration | Alvitas St. Anne's Church | 2025-09-11
13. Johann Sebastian Bach - Allemande from French Suite No 5 in G Major, BWV 816

Thanks for reading! This newsletter is free but not cheap. If you like our work and want to support it, you can buy us coffee or forward it to someone who’d like it. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.
And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!

Vidas and Ausra
www.organduo.lt

Comments

SOPP745: How can I improve fingering in general without using annotated scores?

9/17/2025

Comments

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 745! This question was sent by Dawn who is our Total Organist program member and she wants to know how can she improve fingering in general without using annotated scores?

Comments

How to find joy and motivation in organ playing again

9/10/2025

Comments

Dear friends,

Here's what we found worth sharing with you this week:

1. SOPP744: How to find joy and motivation in organ playing again
2. Vidas Pinkevicius - Cantabile in the Morning Light, Op. 370
3. Vidas Pinkevicius - Cantabile at Sunset, Op. 369
4. Vidas Pinkevicius - Cantabile at Midnight, Op. 368
5. Vidas Pinkevicius - Cantabile at Dawn, Op. 367
6. On the Bench with Vidas No. 58 - Playing Organ Music at VU Student Fair | 2025-09-0
7. Ausra Motuzaite Pinkeviciene - Trio on O God, Our Help of Ages Past, Op. 39
8. Vidas Pinkevicius - Meditation on Adoro te devote, Op. 366
9. Learn with Vidas - Useful Chord Progressions, Part 2 | 2025-09-07
10. Johann Georg Albrechtsberger - Prelude and Fugue in C Major for Organ Duet Fresta Church
11. Josef Seger - Praeludium in Eb Major | Fresta Church
12. Heinrich Scheidemann - Praeambulum in C | German Church Stockholm

Thanks for reading! This newsletter is free but not cheap. If you like our work and want to support it, you can buy us coffee or forward it to someone who’d like it. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.
And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!

Vidas and Ausra
www.organduo.lt

Comments

SOPP744: How to find joy and motivation in organ playing again

9/10/2025

Comments

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 744! This question was sent by our good friend James Flores from Australia and who shared some of his feedback on our recent episode talking how much to practice on the organ per day. He writes:

"This was a very insightful podcast. For me it's also about deadlines. I think I may have covered this in a video of my own in the past too. The challenge I'm facing now is not about how much to practice, but about how to find joy and motivation in organ playing again."

Comments

The dream I have for organ playing is how to improvise and transpose hymns with ease

9/3/2025

Comments

Dear friends,

Here's what we found worth sharing with you this week:

1. SOPP743: The dream I have for organ playing is how to improvise and transpose hymns with ease
2. Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene - Pavane and Galliard, Op. 38
3. Vidas Pinkevicius - Prayers Without Words, No. 6, Op. 390 | Vilnius St. Anne's Church
4. Vidas Pinkevicius - Prayers Without Words, No. 5, Op. 389 | Vilnius St. Anne's Church
5. Vidas Pinkevicius - Prayers Without Words, No. 4, Op. 388 | Vilnius St. Anne's Church
6. Vidas Pinkevicius - Prayers Without Words, No. 3, Op. 378 | Vilnius St. Anne's Church
7. Vidas Pinkevicius - Prayers Without Words, No. 2, Op. 377 | Vilnius St. Anne's Church
8. Vidas Pinkevicius - Prayers Without Words, No. 1, Op. 375 | Vilnius St. Anne's Church
9. Learn with Vidas - Useful Chord Progressions | 2025-08-30
10. Live Organ Music - On the Bench with Vidas No. 57 | 2025-08-29
11. Heinrich Scheidemann - Nun bitten wir den heiligen Geist | German Church Stockholm
12. "Baltic Reverie" Organ Duet Recital Rokiškis St. Matthew Church | 2025 08 31
13. J.S. Bach - Liebster Jesu, wir sind hier, BWV 731 | Oscar Church, Stockholm

Thanks for reading! This newsletter is free but not cheap. If you like our work and want to support it, you can buy us coffee or forward it to someone who’d like it. If you’re seeing this newsletter for the first time, you can subscribe here.
And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!

Vidas and Ausra
www.organduo.lt

Comments

SOPP743: The dream I have for organ playing is how to improvise and transpose hymns with ease

9/3/2025

Comments

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 743! This question was sent by David and he writes:

Hello Vidas, Thank you for your wonderful advice and tips you give on ‘Secrets of Organ Playing’! I look forward to the articles and appreciate them very much. I have also played the pipe organ for many years and have gone through the Canadian Royal Conservatory of Music program. Since getting married over 30 years ago and raising a large family and being a homemaker, my time with music was more spent with our children learning different musical instruments rather than on the organ. Now that they are grown, I am an organist in our church - I really enjoy it! I find you cover many aspects of organ playing very thoroughly in your articles and look forward to your new coaching program! I think the dream I have for playing is how to improvise and transpose hymns with ease. I am wondering how a person can do it with confidence and professionally. That is the only part of my training that was not encouraged and I feel very insecure with how to go about it. Thank you!

Treena Alberta, Canada