 Thank you everyone for participating! You all made us very happy with your entries. @laputis and I selected the following winners: 1st Place By @elitot: https://busy.org/@elitot/johann-ludwig-krebs-little-fugue-in-c-major Beautiful articulation, nice solid tempo, in general very solid performance. I'm excited to see what you create next... 2nd Place By @andyradtrad: https://busy.org/@andyradtrad/j-g-albrechtsberger-fugato Very solemn playing, good focus and flow... 3rd Place By @drugelis:
https://steemit.com/secretsoforganplaying/@drugelis/jaak-nikolaas-lemmens-short-trio-no-2-in-c-major You should get a prize for mechanical noises of this recording. Sounds very authentic, like in 19th century Belgium... Here are other entries: https://steemit.com/secretsoforganplaying/@alfredmusic/secrets-of-organ-playing-contest-week-6 We hope to see even more entries next week! Here's a link for Week 6: https://busy.org/@organduo/secrets-of-organ-playing-contest-week-6 And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!  Have you ever wanted to start to practice on the organ but found yourself sidetracked after a few days? Apparently your inner motivation wasn't enough.
I know how you feel. I also was stuck many times. What helped me was to find some external motivation as well. In order for you to advance your organ playing skills and help you motivate to practice, my wife Ausra - [@laputis](https://steemit.com/@laputis) and I invite you to join in a contest to submit your organ music and win some Steem. Are you an experienced organist? You can participate easily. Are you a beginner? No problem. This contest is open to every organ music loving Steemian. # Rules 1. It's sort of open mic contest for organ music - no limitation to length, level of difficulty, genre etc. 2. It can be any organ piece, any hymn, any improvisation or any organ exercise. 3. It has to be performed by you without editing. 4. Be sure to clearly state Secrets of Organ Playing Contest, the contest week number, your Steem name, and the random contest entry word of the week. This week's word is "Valentine". 5. Upload your entry to YouTube. 6. Make a post about your entry on Steem. 7. Performance on pipe and electronic organs are valid. 8. Use #secretsoforganplaying as your first tag. 9. Upvote and Resteem this post on Steem. 10. Comment this post on Steem with link to your entry so people can see and listen to it. 11. The contest is open until Monday, February 18, 2019 12:00 PM UTC. # Rewards Every participating entry will receive our upvotes. Additionally, 3 winners will be rewarded some STEEM in the following manner: ## 1st Place: 10 STEEM ## 2nd Place: 6 STEEM ## 3rd Place: 4 STEEM # Judging [@laputis](https://steemit.com/@laputis) and I will serve as judges. We will pick winners based on what sounded the most interesting and best performed to us. Our goal here is to support the community while motivating you to practice, inspiring to create some amazing music and adding more smiles to everyone's day. Questions, comments, ideas? Please let us know your feedback about this contest. Support our fellow contestants - upvote, resteem and comment their entry to let them know specifically what did you appreciate about their music. Also stay tuned for the post about winners from Week 6! If you would like to participate but don't have Steem account, let me know your desired username by contacting me on my blog [https://www.organduo.lt/contact.html](https://www.organduo.lt/contact.html) and I will create an account for you very quickly. We hope to see even more entries next week! And remember, when you practice, miracles happen! 
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 395, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Leon. And, he writes: Dear Vidas: Until today I thought I had made a lot of progress in this. But found out there is still a significant way to go. My organ is in the garage. This winter is not as bad as last, but tonight the low will be -7/8 C. The garage usually gets 5-8 C above that. I have a space heater aimed at the pedal area so it heats fairly well. I have used fingerless wool gloves until now. Today I got some stretch nylon gloves, actually made for women. Perfect: warm, and in order to not slip off the black keys, and even the white keys from moving larger intervals, I have to play even more lightly. As Speedy Gonzales says, Andale, Andale Hariba! V: So, this was Leon’s probably, recommendation for people to experiment with stretch nylon gloves. Have you ever had those women’s gloves, Ausra? A: Yes, I have them. V: I think that you had a least once. I remember this occasion, during your wedding, or our wedding. A: During our wedding. Or you think I got married to myself only, without you? V: Yes. No. I don’t know. A: I had beautiful gloves. V: Those were nylon right? A: Yes, and they were very long. V: Did you play organ during your wedding. A: No! I did not. V: Who played organ during your wedding? A: Oh, classmate. Your classmate—Giernas. V: Giernas. A: And he screwed up right at the beginning. V: Girenas name is spelled G-i-r-e-n-a-s. A: And we have recording of it, because he had to perform a hymn to Holy Ghost… V: Uh-huh. A: And he screwed up right in the first measure. V: Veni, Creator Spiritus. A: That’s right. V: Mmm-hmm. So it was a time to wear nylon gloves. Do you think that such kind of gloves would work for organ playing in the winter? A: Well, they might, but I guess you would still have to remove the tips of the finger. V: Mmm-hmm. You know what I’m using now when it’s cold? In our church is warm because it’s heated but whenever I’m travel someplace to play in the winter, I take with me also women’s gloves. But they’re not nylon, I guess. But they stretch and they fit very well on my fingers or my hands, and I cut off the fingertips, and now I can play just about at any speed, even in the winter. They work very well too. A: Yes, but what a courage to practice in the garage during winter time. Don’t you think it requires some admiration from our side, on our side? V: Uh, you mean, admiration that the organ is placed in such a cold place, or that Leon is practicing in cold place? A: That Leon is practicing in such a place. V: Mmm. A: During wintertime. V: Poor instrument then. A: Well, if it’s electronic then I don’t think it matters so much. V: Mmm-mmm. A: If it’s pipe organ, then yes. It’s not so good. V: Maybe Leon will write about his instrument next time too. A: Although I don’t think it’s much warmer, let’s say in the village churches in Lithuania where the pipe organ stands, so… V: Certainly not! Mmm-hmm. A lot of churches in Lithuania is extremely cold during the winter and actually below freezing temperatures. A: I guess that the heat and humidity damages organ more than the cold weather. V: True. And nowadays of course, most people have electrical heaters positioned next to the organ bench, but depending on the power of the heater and the position of the instrument itself, if it’s a large room or not, then it might be enough of heat. A: Well, it’s funny because I just now thought about that Leon keeps his organ in the garage, and actually our organ is built in a room, where used to be a garage. V: Uh-huh. A: Interesting. V: Yes. Should I go find your nylon gloves? A: Yes! Why not. V: And, do you still keep them? A: No, actually. I borrowed them. They were not mine… V: Mmm-hmm. A: Gloves. V: So you don’t have any nylon gloves now… A: No. V: With you. I would be really interested to try out, without the need to cut the fingertips, because I presume it works for Leon. He didn’t cut the fingertips. A: Well, it might work for some types of compositions, for example, for hymn playing. V: Mmm-hmm. A: But if you would want to play something more sophisticated then I think it wouldn’t work. V: But if it fits really nicely on the hands, maybe it’s not a problem then. A: But it might be too slippery. V: Too slippery, you say. A: Yes. V: Yes. He writes that, ‘in order to not slip off the black keys, and even white keys’ he has to play ‘even more lightly’. A: So, but if you have, for example thick texture, then the light touch might not help. V: Right. It’s amazing how people come up with various solutions for combating cold weather. A: Yes, and it shows a real courage. I admire Leon so much for that. V: Approximately, a few days ago. before we recorded this conversation, in America, in the Midwest, they had very cold weather. A: I’m glad we are not in America any more. I wouldn’t survive such a low temperature. V: I wonder if any organists suffered from that cold. Guys, if you live in the Midwest, please write to us how did you survive the extremely cold Arctic weather. It’s really interesting. Did you, how did you keep yourself warm? Did you burn books, hymnals, or tax books? A: How funny! Ha, ha! V: (Laughs). A: It’s like from that movie, ‘The Day After Tomorrow’. V: Yeah. A: And some photos that we saw from America actually looked a little bit similar to that movie. V: Yes. Only Statue of Liberty was not frozen. A: I don’t think it was, wasn’t probably so cold in New York City. V: Mmm-hmm. A: It just had more like Michigan, and I think Ohio, then Minnesota, Illinois. V: Are you ready for Spring, Ausra? A: Oh yes, but we still have to wait for it. V: Mmm-hmm. Okay guys. Please keep warm during those final weeks of winter wherever you are. Of course if you’re in the summer hemisphere, you have, summer. A: That's right. in Australia, for example. V: Right. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen! 
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 394 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Don and he writes: “Hello Vidas, Would you please provide your ideas on how to "identify a piece of organ literature by level of difficulty" and provide actual titles of pieces so that we, as organists, can make choices on our own when we want to study a new piece of literature. Thank You, Don” V: What do you think Ausra, do you think it is easy to identify levels of difficulty? A: Well I think that’s a nice question. You could write a book about it because it’s sort of what Don wants that you would provide a list of pieces with level marks on them and it takes actually a lot of time. V: Luckily we have American Guild of Organists (AGO) and if you go to their web site https://www.agohq.org and click on EDUCATION and then click on Educational Resources there you have interesting things. Basically these are lists of all organ compositions that for example Jehan Alain created, Johann Sebastian Bach, Guy Bovet, Maurice Durufle, and others but what I found very interesting is Graded Repertoire Documents and there you have of course not many but a few of them; Bach, Langlais, Messiaen, Rorem, and German music after Bach meaning romantic and classical composers too. For example if we click on Bach and you have this possibility to see a document created by Delbert Disselhorst, who was the professor of our professor Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra at Eastern Michigan University and there he has a list of most or all of Bach’s works arranged into four levels. So for example in level one you have Neumeister Chorales, of course Eight Little Preludes and Fugues, of course today it is thought that a student of Bach created these, not Bach himself, Pedal Exercitium, Pastorale, Alla Breve, Canzona, those are level one pieces. But of course they are not suitable for beginners, right Ausra? A: Yes. V: Too difficult for beginners. Beginners can only play something like a minuet when both voices move very slowly. What do you think about the smallest rhythmical value in beginner level pieces. A: I think it might be too hard for some people truly. V: Quarter-note, occasional eighth notes but with Bach you already have sixteenth notes and we advise to start with something easier before Bach and less voices than normally four. Basically two voices is the best. A: Yes but sometimes not the number of voices gives difficulty too because there might be some really demanding pieces even written in two voices for example duets for the third part of Clavierubung. I wouldn’t see these pieces for beginners even though they only have two voices. V: Let’s see if they have those here in the list in which case they should be somewhere towards the end. Clavierubung III is in the fourth level, in the last level but he writes “Many of the manualiter settings may be studied earlier…”, right? So duets could be studied earlier but certainly not at the beginning. A: Yes, but not number one. V: So Don and others were wondering about grading their organ pieces should understand one thing that real composers created music not necessarily for pedagogical intent and even if they did in those days, 200 years ago, the pedagogical aspect was different than today. The master would write something to you and the student would play it no matter what and today the student would say “No, no, no, it’s too difficult” and the master would say “Oh you poor baby.” A: That’s right, everything has changed. V: So yes, for level one obviously we need two voices and very simple rhythms, then you can either add one more voice and still keep simple rhythms or you can do two voices but with more advanced rhythms like sixteenth notes. A: True, but again three voices not always will mean the easy composition as we have example by J.S. Bach, his trio sonatas, they are one of the most demanding pieces in the organ repertoire and they have only three voices. V: I would find this categorization quite helpful for example in terms of how many voices there are one, two, three, four, or more, we have five voices, sometimes even six in the organ repertoire. A: Sure, double pedal. V: Right. Imagine six levels and then in each level we could have sub-levels in terms of rhythmical difficulties. What’s the smallest rhythmical unit, most commonly used note. If you sometimes see sixteenth notes it doesn’t mean that the entire composition is moving in sixteenth notes, just occasionally but maybe the most common rhythmical value is in eighth notes so that would mean probably a second level with eighth notes and the first level would be with quarter notes for me. A: But still you always need to look at the tempo, what tempo the piece is written in because sometimes you could have as small note values as thirty-second for example but it still might be not as hard as it looks on the paper when it is all black because the tempo might be really slow as happens in many ornamented chorales. V: Right. All those things you have to keep in mind while selecting your new organ piece. A: And of course look at the pedal part because it still for many people pedal gives most of the trouble. V: Right. And to be considered level one probably pedal needs to move slower than the hands. A: Sure, sure, probably in half notes. V: Half notes, exactly not in quarter notes. A: Yes. V: And in level two probably in quarter notes, and level three eighth notes and maybe triplets if that’s another disposition of rhythms and meters. So I guess you can get the idea of how to calculate the difficulty of the piece that you are about to study and your own level too. A: And you also need to keep in mind the coordination problems too because for many beginners it’s easier to play on one manual and on the pedal than for example on two different manuals at the same time and the pedal. This also might make the piece more difficult or more easy or when you have to switch manuals a lot during the performance. V: Then we didn’t mention the keys and the chromaticisms. A: Sure because the more accidentals a piece has the harder it is to learn to read music. V: The same piece in C Major would have lower level of difficulty than the same piece with four sharps for example. Umm-hmm. OK guys, we hope this was useful to you. Please send us your wonderful questions and remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen. 
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 391 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Jay and Jay is on the team who transcribes our Podcast conversations. He wrote: “Yesterday, I played organ for my church services (don't get to do that real often). I had practiced the hymns during the week so I felt comfortable with them. During one of them, I made some mistakes on a couple of verses and it didn't go as I would have liked. By the time I got to the third verse I had recovered and it went well. So there are a couple of issues I continue to work on. 1) Volume pedals/swell and great on this organ. When I try to adjust the levels during playing, I have problems and make mistakes in playing. Working the pedals needs to be practiced, like everything else, I guess. 2) Control. I think everyone makes mistakes while playing, to one degree or another (maybe even Vidas—probably not Ausra though ?). The key seems to be, at least to me, how fast we can recover and move on through the piece. Gotta work on technique.” V: And another person from our Total Organist group jumped in and wrote: “Just so you know, you're not alone. I could have written your exact post from the last service I played. In practice, I did everything perfectly. I kept messing up one measure of a very simple hymn on that Sunday, though (Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty). Then, I had to close the swell box a bit because it was a smaller crowd due to the weather and I was playing a little too loudly for the crowd, and when I did that, I messed up the bass, because I didn't get my right foot freed up in time to hit the next notes. In practice all week, I played it perfectly, and even used my hymnal supplement's alternative harmonization with vocal descant flawlessly. On Sunday, I just stuck to the main hymnal because I felt less confident after messing up. I, too, will have to practice operating the expression shoes while playing. I have a really difficult time, for example, when I play Berceuse (Vierne) trying to keep the pedal playing going and operating the expression shoes at the same time.” V: Jay answered to David. He wrote: “Thanks, David. It's comforting to know I'm not the only one struggling with things like this, however, I'm sorry as well. Just gotta keep plugging along—one foot in front of the other, or in this case, one pedal in front of the other. Thanks for your response, and encouragement.” V: And I wrote: “Yes, Jay, practice swell pedal changes ahead of time. And in any place you make a mistake, mark it in the score, go back and play without mistakes in a slow tempo 3 times in a row.” V: Ruth added: “Hi, Jay. You touched upon a major point in your writing. "The key seems to be...how fast we can recover and move on through the piece." I have more background in playing the flute, but I find what you said to relate to the flute also. When I make a mistake, I try to recover almost immediately. Thanks very much for this.” V: Jay wrote to Ruth: “Thanks, Ruth. I play flute, and sax also. Recovery time on those instruments seems much quicker, than on the organ.” V: So Ausra this is a very extended discussion in our Total Organist communication channel on Basecamp. What would you add? A: I would just want to make one quick comment about the beginning of this question about making mistakes that everybody makes them and even I do make them (laughs). So it’s very funny that Jay thinks that I am not making mistakes. Be sure I am making them too, and too many actually. But as you wrote later, it doesn’t matter if you make mistakes or not, it matters how fast can you recover after them and how can you hide them actually. V: What do you mean by hiding? A: It means that you don’t stop, you don’t change tempo, you don’t react to them during actual performance. V: Do you have to distract your audience like “Look, here, the full moon” and then you make mistakes and they don’t listen. A: No, I haven’t done that, maybe you have done that. V: “Look the pastor ate all communion.” A: Well stop making silly jokes but people talked about swell pedal, it’s a problem sometimes for me because at home we don’t have swell pedal and at church we have one, but for example during our study years at the Academy of Music all of the mechanical organs didn’t have any swell pedal so we just had to practice them mentally. V: Umm-hmm. To imitate the foot movements in the middle of the pedalboard to place the right foot. A: Yes and if you would think about the Schuke organ at the philharmonic building where our final exam of organ took place it has a swell pedal but it’s on the side of the instrument and it’s very uncomfortable. V: Like sometimes they have this shoe-pedal in 19th century organs in the very extreme edge of the pedalboard on the right. A: What I’m thinking is that when you practice music that requires to use the swell pedal and you don’t have it for example, you have to prepare mentally to do it. You always need to know in which position your body will be at a certain moment within the piece. V: Umm-hmm. A: So you need to think very carefully about how you are pedaling your piece. V: Yes, if it’s a surprise to you when you are playing an instrument with a swell box, if your feet movements are not comfortable that means that you didn’t prepare in advance and I’m talking about myself too. Sometimes I have to improvise my feet movements and swell pedal movements like that and actually improvisation does help here when you are used so much to playing music on the spot and adding swell pedal crescendo and diminuendo spontaneously then when the time comes to play the real organ composition which you practiced then it’s not that difficult because you practiced those movements millions of times in different situation, right? A: Yes, yes, true and in general I think when actually performing a hymn or any given piece of music the most important thing is don’t stop because rhythm is the most important during actual performance. V: Don’t repeat the notes. A: Sure, especially when you are accompanying congregational singing. V: Because people will think that they mess up when you don’t lead them. A: Sure and I bet if you would record your performance you would find out after listening to it that your mistakes were not as bad as it seemed to you at that particular moment. V: Hmm. Another good thought. Thank you guys for listening and for sending your wonderful questions, we love helping you grow. And remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen. 
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 388 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by May and she asks: “Hi Vidas, by deconstructing the mode, do you mean improvising?” V: May is our Total Organist student and this was part of the discussion I think when she wrote something about the things that she is struggling with. I think the modern contemporary hymn setting and she couldn’t understand the texture in the course and I suggested to deconstruct the mode and then she wrote back what does it mean. Obviously improvising is something different than deconstruction. A: Oh, yes, I guess that it’s very different. V: It’s maybe the next step after deconstruction. A: I never used this term deconstruction but I think that’s quite a good term. It’s like analyzing it basically, understanding the mode. V: She uses terms construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction. Construction as a composer uses, he or she creates the music, the music is being constructed. Then what you do is take this music apart, you deconstruct it and then when you want to improvise in the style of that composer you reconstruct it. A: Yes, all these terms sound very much like in a building, in the building process, building a house, you construct it. V: So, yeah, the process of deconstructing the mode is simply taking maybe an excerpt of a couple of measures long and putting the notes one to each other in an ascending manner without skipping any notes and you will find a scale or a mode this way. Sometimes it’s a seven note mode, sometimes five note mode, sometimes six note mode, sometimes more, eight, nine, or ten, right? Mode or scale is sometimes used interchangeably in this meaning. Ausra, why do I say you need you need a short fragment, not one page long episode. A: I think it easier to analyze when you have a short segment of something because I don’t think you be able at the beginning to take things as long as a page long. V: I would presume that in a page a composer might use several modes already. Several maybe transpositions of the same mode. A: Unless you are a minimalist. V: Yes, but if you are a minimalist then your entire mode will be apparent in the first few measures I think. A: Probably, yes. V: That’s what I mean and what to do then when you discover the mode. For example you even don’t know the name maybe of the mode but you see that it is C, D, E, F#, G, A, and B flat. It has a special term by the way. It is Lydian/Mixolydian but May might not even know the name. What is the point of knowing this disposition of notes? What do you think Ausra? Would that help for her to understand the structure of the hymn and learn it faster? A: Of course, definitely because if you don’t know how a piece is constructed then it’s much harder for you to play it, to learn to play it without mistakes because some things especially when we are talking about modes they don’t make sense to us because we are much more used to that major/minor system. V: Umm-hmm. A: And let’s say natural major and melodic or harmonic minor I guess. But when we are talking about modes then some of the things might not make sense if you don’t understand them so it’s really nice to analyze them. V: And in general when people play a hymn or a piece of music without knowing what they are really playing, they are just looking at the page and in their mind they don’t understand what’s in that page, they just press the keys at the right time in the right space and it sounds this way, they don’t know why. I can always probably compare it with learning a poem in Japanese. You can probably learn special characters and how it’s written in Japanese, sometimes it could be transcribed into Latin alphabet and you would even read it and Japanese person could even understand I would say but you wouldn’t understand what you are saying in that poem. That’s the problem. A: That’s right. V: So that’s why we need to translate the poem into your native language or to the language that you understand and then once you understand what this poem is about the words in Japanese will suddenly start to make sense and you can memorize this poem much easier this way. A: That’s right. V: Is it a good comparison with organ music then? A: I think it’s a very good comparison because it might not make sense and you will not understand why are these accidentals are here and there and because you do not understand them it’s much more possible that you will make mistakes. V: Right. So what’s the first step that May should take? A: Well, since you are the master of improvisation I think you need to… V: But I’m not talking about improvisation here. She is playing a difficult contemporary hymn setting I think. What would you do in her situation? A: I would find out which mode it’s written in and then I would play probably just a single mode just a few times. V: What do mean single mode? A: Like a scale. V: Ah, notes up and down with one hand. A: Yes, I would sing them too and then I would find out if it’s a composer that uses transposition or not because if he uses transposition then I would play the same mode in other keys as well. V: What happens this way if you practice for a number of weeks, sometimes months, then you will start to pick up interesting fragments in your other pieces? I remember John from Australia told me quite early in his organ playing journey that suddenly he can pick up the dominant chord in a hymn, suddenly, or a sub-dominant chord in his organ piece. A: Sure. V: Or any other like short modulation here and there. Other things that are still difficult to understand for him but he would get a glimpse into what’s written from time to time at the beginning but then later on his understanding will broaden and broaden and he will be much better at this with time. A: And the same with the mode if you will internalize it really well then maybe if you will need to add a little introduction or to do some kind of postlude after this hymn if will be easier for you to do it. V: Umm-hmm. So May and the others who are struggling with this please try our method and write back if this works or not. It’s very interesting to share your experience with organists around the world. And keep sending us your wonderful questions, we love helping you grow. And remember when you practice… A: Miracles happen. 
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 389, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. Today, I would like to read a comment from Jeremy and Alan in the conversation, and then Dianne later on joined, and Laurie, and Danielle. All of those students are from our Total Organist group. And let’s start with Jeremy. Jeremy writes: Jeremy: Concentrating during preludes and postlude. My congregation (and minister) tend to see this time as social opportunities rather than as part of the service. This morning the minister decided to discuss his week with the lector, who us seated two feet behind me. I opened the swell box at opportune (and musical!) moments until he decided to move on. Petty of me. How do you all focus when that is going on around you? V: Alan replied: Alan: I have a different problem with concentration: I don't have much trouble when there is activity around and I don't feel as though people are paying that much attention, such as during postludes. But during introits, anthems, even hymn introductions, I often lose concentration, get panicky, make mistakes. It's my lifelong struggle with performance anxiety; wIthout question my biggest challenge. V: I wrote, my comment here: The best medicine is to immerse yourself in such situations more often so that this anxiety could be controlled. Dianne added: Dianne: Alan, I am exactly the same way. The problem is that I now only get to sub on the organ a couple times a year, so I don't get too much practice at controlling my performance anxiety there. But, even when I started out on the digital keyboard at my current church, I would become anxious with offertories and hymn introductions. After 3 years, I am much better! It really is true - practice and opportunity is the answer to most performance problems… V: Laurie added: Laurie: I have a pretty good congregation, and the pastor would never talk during a prelude. But, sometimes if there are a lot of noisy people, I like to lift my hands and feet off the organ at a phrase break and pause a brief moment. The silence catches their attention, and for a moment, they quiet down....until I start to play again and then they start to talk again. It's very difficult, and I don't envy your position. V: And Danielle writes: Danielle: This situation has an element of a philosophical problem... are we playing a concert or playing a worship service? This is not an either/or easy question and will have a different answer depending on the denominations or liturgical traditions we are employed by! I do agree the ending of a service would ideally be more reflective for each worshipper and having a postlude supports this goal. Maybe than getting into a situation where you might be labeled passive aggressive for making pointed crescendos, you could have a direct conversation with the minister. And if this does not work, perhaps channel your energy into preparing these pieces for a recital and just work on improvisation for your postludes...if they are not listening, that gives you more freedom to explore and push yourself so it’s interesting for you. Good luck to everyone with this situation V: And Jeremy later added himself: Jeremy: I have come to accept that the majority of the congregation doesn't listen to the preludes and postludes I prepare. I have taken on the philosophy that this my contribution to an otherwise sophomoric service (in my opinion, the church I play for is moving towards a simple theology based on contemporary cultural references—the sermon two weeks ago referenced World of Warcraft). It is the distraction of the minister speaking loudly two feet away from me that is the problem. It is distracting me from trying to pay attention to what I have prepared. I am not the Music Minister at the church and have mentioned it to him. No changes however, and thus the passive aggressive organ playing I did last week. V: That’s a long story, but Alan added: Alan: I like to remind myself that nobody came to listen to me play the organ; they came for the fellowship and to worship. This helps me with my performance anxiety, and also reduces tensions around some of the situational things I need to deal with. For example, I am so single-threaded that it is difficult to avoid making mistakes when people talk to me, which often happens at the end of service because the console is right there at the front of the pews. Concentration can be a challenge, but I envy Jeremy his lack of (or control over) performance anxiety. Maybe I'll try hypnosis. V: So, that’s a lot of ideas, Ausra. A: Yes, it’s like a… V: What comes to mind? A: It’s like a podcast in itself, I think. You could let it be published just like that. V: Mmm-hmm. A: But I think we all experience this annoying feeling that we prepare beautiful music for prelude and to postlude and nobody… V: Cares. A: Cares. V: Organist is generally just tolerated. A: Sure. And I don’t think we really need to get upset about it. I think that nowadays it’s very important for people to socialize. And for somebody, the only place where we can talk and communicate and socialize with others is the church. So that’s what people do. V: Mmm-hmm. A: They come to church to talk, to interact with each other, and not so much probably to listen to organ music, or to what minister has to say during the sermon. V: Lucky for me, when I play the postlude at St. John’s church—and it happens very rarely of course, because I’m not a regular church organist, I’m just sometimes invited to substitute an ensemble when they cannot perform—so then I take advantage of the situation and play the organ all the time, except for singing Psalm, Hallelujah, Sanctus and Agnus Dei. Those parts that are really required to sing, I would play prelude, postlude, offertory and communion totally with my improvisations. And I’m very pleased that after the end of them, postlude, people applaud, almost, all the time. A: That’s wonderful! It means that some of them really care about what you are playing. That’s a nice thing. V: Maybe Jeremy and others who joined in this conversation, could try a trick—if they have a choir who is still listening to you, maybe, if they are listening to you, you could ask them to applaud to you afterwards. Like a reminder for others also to listen and to appreciate what you’re playing. A few times, not all the time but one, two, three times maybe, and then see what happens, if they stop. A: Well, but not all these choir members might appreciate organist and organ music. I remember quite a few times, when we, for example, were playing recitals or making organ demonstrations in Lithuania… V: Mmm-hmm. A: And other local choir members of the church, and they would stay after mass upstairs in the balcony near the organ… V: Mmm-hmm. A: And we would have to perform, and they would talk and interact between themselves like we even didn’t exist and we didn’t perform at that moment, and it was just so horrible. V: Mmm-hmm. Then maybe Jeremy could talk to the music director. A: That’s a possibility too. V: Mmm-hmm. A: That might help, might not. You never now. But I think it’s worth trying. V: And it that doesn’t help, I understand that Jeremy needs like a creative output in the church. He prepares for entire week and nobody cares and listens, right? That’s frustrating! Then, I suggest, somebody else suggested, right?, like playing a recital—separate event, once in a while. That’s a good combination. Or Jeremy and others who would like to have opportunity to regularly prepare in public and appear in public, could record their video and submit it to our Secrets of Organ Playing contest. I remember Laurie telling that, she is already improving in her organ playing, just because of that constant deadline every Monday. And this is I think, wonderful opportunity for people to express themselves if the church doesn’t appreciate, we will appreciate. A: Sure. V: Our community will appreciate their Youtube performances. A: And I think it will help for you also to improve your performance anxiety. I would say not improve but reduce your performance anxiety. V: Mmm-hmm. Yes… A: Then you will be doing that regularly… V: Yes, because... A: Recording yourself... V: Because... A: Admitting your recording. V: When you know that somebody is recording you or even just your smart phone is recording you, you know that you cannot stop—it’s a one time performance, and no matter what, you finish. You could play like several takes and choose the best one, of course. But each take is still you do your best in each take. And in general it’s a very good practice for controlling your nerves. A: That’s right. V: Thank you guys. We hope this was useful to you. Please send us more wonderful questions that you come up with. And your struggles, and dreams are very important to us. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen! 
Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
Ausra: And Ausra. V: Let’s start episode 370, of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. Today we’d like to review our 2018 year, and let’s see what 2019 might bring. V: So, Ausra, how was your year? It’s probably over by the time our listeners will hear this conversation. So let’s start with you. A: Well it was very hard year for me. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And I’m really lucky to be alive. And always on New Years Eve, I’m thinking that I wish that my next year would be no worse than this one was, but actually, on this New Year’s Eve I actually hoping that the next year will be a little bit better than this was. Because if I would get another year as this one, I probably wouldn’t survive it. V: What do you mean? A: Well, let’s not go into much details, but I almost died—July of this year, so... V: Mmm-hmm. A: What else can I say to that. V: Not too many listeners know about this but you were in the hospital, right? A: Yes. V: Mmm-hmm. And afterwards you had to go to… A: To perform a recital in London at St. Paul’s Cathedral. V: In mid thirty degrees temperature. So it was extremely hot and very exhaustive, exhausting time. Anything else, that you remember from 2018? A: Well this was sort of a highlight of my year. That July… V: That combination. A: Combination, yes. V: Afterwards it’s downhill? A: Yes. I, would just… V: Easier. A: Yes. V: Mmm-hmm. Yes, so for me 2018, of course with your health issues I was very much also affected, and was worried a lot about your health and even whispered daring to go to London alone. But it was both of ours decision that it was worth the risk and we went both together, as a duet. Do you regret this decision, of going to London, today? A: Well, no, I don’t regret it but because circumstances were so severe, I found London a very ugly city. V: Mmm-hmm. A: And now I’m not sure if it’s really so ugly or it seemed to be very ugly because I was so sick. V: And when we wrote about it afterwards, some people actually shared our opinion. A: Yes. V: So maybe it’s not entirely your vision of your mind. A: No. V: Hallucinations. Yes. London has changed after the 2nd World War a lot, and... A: Have you seen it before, that you are talking like this? V: I was there, 3,000 years ago, like the king of elves, said in ‘The Lord of the Rings’, to Gandalf, I think. A: You’re watching to many movies. You need to practice more organ. V: Alright. Talking about practicing, my 2018 was interesting in the way that I was used to going to my church and practicing in the morning and putting videos on Youtube, especially those in slow tempos, so that our team of some transcribers could then later make fingering and pedaling out of those videos, which are proven to be helpful to our students all over the world. What else can I say? It’s interesting to see the community of Total Organists come alive with our Basecamp communication channel. Because every day, they get this question ‘what they’re working on today’, and they can comment, give feedback, what they’re struggling with, what they’re working on. At the end of the week they get the question ‘what they were struggling with’, what the challenges were. At the beginning of the week, they get the question, what are their goals for the week for them. And this communication with them, because it’s internal with the entire group, everybody can see them, and it’s so empowering for a lot of people who participate in this discussion. Of course there are people who tend to be silent and prefer not to get involved with others and prefer to learn on their own, which is fine. But those who do choose to communicate as a group, tell me that it’s very motivating to practice and to keep posting their answers, because we all grow together. A: That’s right. I think it’s very important to motivate each other, and help each other. V: Well it’s my own experience also, in many other initiatives that I was taking earlier in life. I dropped them because I was alone. I didn’t finish my Swedish language learning process because I was alone. I didn’t finish my Shotokan Karate training because I was alone. And many other things, right? But what I didn’t drop, so far, is drawing and posting comic—Pinky and Spiky comics on Steemit platform. And why? Because there is community there. We participate in contests, and we also organize Pinky and Spiky contests ourselves. And that’s also very motivating to keep going. It’s just one of side of my hobby, right? So the same is for organ playing, I believe, for people that want to advance. Ausra, are you a loner, or are you a team player, in your essence? A: Well, probably not so much a team player as you are, because I’m more introverted than you are. V: But I’m also not very well versed in dealing with large groups, like classroom setting, for example, it’s not motivating for me. But in a small group environment, it’s fine. Among friends, I’m well. People who are on the same track as I, are doing the same thing as I’m doing. I feel then comfortable with them. I don’t think me and you are so much different in this respect. It’s just maybe sometimes we feel that how we are perceived by others is different. Our perception is different. So continuing our discussion about 2018, I was really happy that Pope Francis came to Lithuania and I was chosen to play for him during his prayer at the KGB Museum. A: In general I think that September was the best month of entire year, because we played that wonderful recital in Banchetto Musicale festival, and also heard many wonderful early music performances in Vilnius, during that festival. And then you performed for Pope Francis. It was really exciting. V: And then I went to see Pamela Ruiter-Feenstra in Paslek, Poland, to see her play historical organ there, which was very exciting, at the end of September. So yeah, this year had very terrible life, I believe. July, I wouldn’t want to repeat that experience, and later on was easier and easier I believe, downhill a little, better and better I think. What about you? Do you feel that way too? A: Well, yes, but you never know what might wait you around the corner. V: We’re just talking about 2018 of course. A: Sure. V: So yes, guys, we hope this year was a blessing to you and you continue to be healthy and your family’s continue to be healthy too, because without health, good health, it’s very difficult to continue to practice, right Ausra? A: True. And you know what I learned after that recital in London? V: No. A: Well, and you know why I took a risk of going there and performing? V: No. A: Because I was very well prepared before that. Because, look before that recital—let’s be honest—how much could I practice? V: Uh-huh. You spent two weeks, I think in the hospital. A: A week and a half. But I already was sick before and then after that doesn’t mean that I was, I felt right away well, after a hospital. V: Mmm-hmm. A: It wasn’t like that—still feel the consequences of all that thing… V: Mmm-hmm. A: And I’m not completely cured, but, because I was really prepared in advance, that’s why I could go and perform. V: Right. So I think what you mean to say here is like giving advice for people, who are scheduled to play sometime in the future and they think that they have plenty of time to prepare, but in fact they don’t have plenty of time. A: Because you never know what might happen. V: Mmm-hmm. A: So you really need to get some sort of time pillow, I would say. V: What do you mean? What is a time pillow? A: I don’t know. Time pillow—that you put your time pillow and would not worry that you might be late to prepare for things. V: So yeah, that’s a great idea. Because we know from our close friends, sometimes they think they have time, but things change, situation change, and they don’t have enough time to prepare suddenly, which isn’t nice when you have to sit down and play in public—not a nice feeling. So every day is a struggle in your mind, in our mind, what to do with your time, what to do with our time, and to do what we can to practice today, not tomorrow, probably. Because you don’t know what tomorrow brings. So going into 2019, we don’t know what this year will bring, right? It’s hard to guess and predict. We we’re hopeful, right? That as you say, it might be better than 2018. For example, I hope that we will successfully travel to several European countries abroad to organ festivals, to play. That would be a great thing. I hope that our help will be better than in 2018. What else do we hope for, Ausra? A: Well, I’m afraid of hoping for anything, because I’m sort of very cautious about it. That if you would say something aloud, that it will not happen. V: Uh-huh. I see. A: But anyway, next year will be the year of the pig, and since the pig is my favorite animal, I hope it will be successful for me, and for you, if you will be nice to pigs. V: (Laughs.) You see guys! What do I have to live with everyday. A: (Laughs.) Poor Vidas. V: And my animal, favorite animal is hedgehog, and hedgehogs don’t have year for them, so we only have to be good for pigs. A: Well, anyway, I wasn’t born in the year of the pigs, but my mother is a pig. So if you will be good, nice to your mother-in-law, maybe year will be successful to you as well. V: Exactly. If your mother-in-law is happy, then the son-in-law is happy too. A: True. V: Everybody is else in your family is happy as well. Thank you guys for listening. We hope you will have wonderful 2019. Keep sending us your wonderful questions. We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice... A: Miracles happen!  Thank you everyone for participating! You all made us very happy with your entries. Ausra and I selected the following winners: 1st Place By @savagirl4:
https://steemit.com/secretsoforganplaying/@savagirl4/nun-danket-alle-gott I like this wonderful piece because it has a nice flow and sweet harmonies. You chose a powerful Tuba stop (or something similar) which works well with the Principal registration in the secondary manual. How long did it take you to master it? 2nd Place By @elitot: https://steemit.com/secretsoforganplaying/@elitot/organ-content-week-5 Welcome to Steem! Now enter the link of this post to the comments of the contest post. Good start with your first entry! Keep counting the beats so that the piece would remain in the same tempo throughout. I like your articulation... 3rd Place By @drugelis: https://steemit.com/secretsoforganplaying/@drugelis/jaak-nikolaas-lemmens-short-trio-no-1-in-c-major Very nice flow! I can't wait to see what you create next... Congratulations to the winners! I will send them the prizes soon. Here are other entries: https://steemit.com/secretsoforganplaying/@alfredmusic/secrets-of-organ-playing-contest-week-5-my-entry-alfredmusic We hope to see even more entries next week! Here's a link for Week 5: https://busy.org/@organduo/secrets-of-organ-playing-contest-week-5 And remember, when you practice, miracles happen!  Have you ever wanted to start to practice on the organ but found yourself sidetracked after a few days? Apparently your inner motivation wasn't enough.
I know how you feel. I also was stuck many times. What helped me was to find some external motivation as well. In order for you to advance your organ playing skills and help you motivate to practice, my wife Ausra and I invite you to join in a contest to submit your organ music and win some Steem. Are you an experienced organist? You can participate easily. Are you a beginner? No problem. This contest is open to every organ music loving Steemian. Rules 1. It's sort of open mic contest for organ music - no limitation to length, level of difficulty, genre etc. 2. It can be any organ piece, any hymn, any improvisation or any organ exercise. 3. It has to be performed by you without editing. 4. Be sure to clearly state Secrets of Organ Playing Contest, the contest week number, your Steem name, and the random contest entry word of the week. This week's word is "Snow". 5. Upload your entry to YouTube. 6. Make a post about your entry on Steem. 7. Performance on pipe and electronic organs are valid. 8. Use #secretsoforganplaying as your first tag. 9. Upvote and Resteem this post on Steem. 10. Comment this post on Steem with link to your entry so people can see and listen to it. 11. The contest is open until Monday, February 11, 2019 12:00 PM UTC. Rewards Every participating entry will receive our upvotes. Additionally, 3 winners will be rewarded some STEEM in the following manner: 1st Place: 10 STEEM 2nd Place: 6 STEEM 3rd Place: 4 STEEM Judging Ausra and I will serve as judges. We will pick winners based on what sounded the most interesting and best performed to us. Our goal here is to support the community while motivating you to practice, inspiring to create some amazing music and adding more smiles to everyone's day. Questions, comments, ideas? Please let us know your feedback about this contest. Support our fellow contestants - upvote, resteem and comment their entry to let them know specifically what did you appreciate about their music. Also stay tuned for the post about winners from Week 5! If you would like to participate but don't have Steem account, let me know your desired username by contacting me on my blog https://www.organduo.lt/contact.html and I will create an account for you very quickly. We hope to see even more entries next week! And remember, when you practice, miracles happen! |
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Authors
Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. 
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February 2019
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