SOPP342: Top 10 of Vidas' Organ Videos

Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas.
 
Ausra: And Ausra.
 
V: Let’s start episode 342 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And today, we’re going to discuss the top 10 list of my YouTube videos, because in the previous podcast, we looked at some of the videos, and it was interesting to see how many views some of them have.

​So let’s start with #10 on the list, Ausra, which is my podcast conversation with Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin from Paris. Remember the time when the last Čiurlionis organ competition was in Vilnius?
 
A: Well, yes. I remember that.
 
V: So, a group of organists and organ experts were on the jury, and I interviewed two of them. One was Michael Bauer, from the University of Kansas, and another was Sophie-Veronique Cauchefer-Choplin from Paris. We met at her hotel and talked about French improvisation practice. It was a wonderful experience, and this video, although it’s a podcast conversation, but I also released a video version, it’s 28 minutes long, and it has 7,578 views as of today.
 
A: Yes, you already can compete with Lady Gaga! Ha ha!
 
V: Alright, going upward on the list is #9, my video, “How to Master any Organ Composition.” And it’s 39 minutes long, and it has 8,009 views. And, the interesting thing is that it is not listed, actually! It’s not a public video! It’s just for our subscribers, you see! The first video that they receive is this video, “How to Master any Organ Composition,” and it’s based on the piece that you know well, “Ich Ruf zu Dir Herr Jesu Christ.”
 
A: Oh yes, from Bach’s “Orgel Buchlein” collection.
 
V: Right. So, it’s actually fascinating to me that our subscribers have watched a total of 8000 times!
 
A: Good, that’s very nice.
 
V: Not YouTube subscribers, just email subscribers.
 
A: Sure.
 
V: Okay, #8 on the list is, J. S. Bach’s “Prelude and Fugue in C Major” BWV 547, 9/8 meter. This is just the prelude. It’s 5m:44s long, and it has 8889 views. It’s interesting for me to point out that this is one of my first organ videos on YouTube, too,
 
A: Excellent!
 
V: because remember when came back from America, I played a concert in St. John’s Church, and it was recorded, not by me, and part of the concert, I played this Prelude and Fugue.
 
A: Oh yes, I remember all sorts of comments after that performance.
 
V: For example?
 
A: For example: “You know I think earlier Vidas played more interesting. Now he plays like an American!” I just wonder that people can speak nonsense like this.
 
V: And this video, this Prelude and Fugue was the first time I played in Lithuania the Organo Pleno sound—Organo Pleno with Principle Chorus with a Tierce sound in it in the Great manual. It sounded pretty sharp on my ears, like a spice, you know? And afterwards, I felt kind of ashamed, and I thought, “Oh, I should have omitted it. I don’t like it.” But now, I do it all the time with Bach.
 
A: Well, you see how things have changed.
 
V: So that was #8. #7 on the list is, “Prelude in C Major” BWV 846 by Bach. That’s C Major Prelude from Well Tempered Clavier, Part 1—the same one that Gounod arranged…
 
A: Ave Maria.
 
V: Exactly. And it has 10641 views on it.
 
A: Interesting, because I think this piece is recorded so many times; you can find it on the YouTube.
 
V: Yes.
 
A: And you still have so many views! Nice!
 
V: And it’s only 2 minutes long. Just over 2 minutes. Alright! What else? #6 on the list is my video in Lithuanian, actually, my tutorial how to learn to read or sight read music. How to learn to sight read music. It is 4m:9s long, and it has 11403 views as of today!
 
A: It surprises me, because I thought that Lithuanians are not interested in any tutorials.
 
V: Exactly!
 
A: About music, especially.
 
V: Right.
 
A: But, I guess that many choir members from the University probably watched this video.
 
V: Could be.
 
A: And that’s why this number increased.
 
V: Right.
 
A: Because in those choirs, Vilnius University has a few choirs, and not all of them know how to read music, so, some of them might have used your video.
 
V: Exactly. I’ve done a few tutorials about various aspects of music theory in Lithuanian, too, from the years that I’ve been teaching at Čiurlionis school of art, too. #5 on the list is “Aria in D Major” by Bach—the famous BWV 1068 from Orchestral Suite number 3. It’s just 4m:47s long, and it has 11389 views.
 
A: Well, it’s very pretty. That’s why people are listening to it.
 
V: And there are so many recordings, too.
 
A: True.
 
V: Lots of competition. Okay, another interesting piece, #4 on the list, very surprising, relatively new, from January 11, 2017, is “Gaudeamus Igitur, (Student’s Anthem),” Academic Anthem, actually, which is sung in all graduation ceremonies in Lithuania, at least, but also I think in parts of Europe, and other countries, too.
 
A: True.
 
V: It has 13843 views as of today, and it’s just 1 minute long.
 
A: Excellent.
 
V: I played it, not on the big organ, but in the Aula Parva hall at the university during one graduation ceremony, in the Winter semester of 2017. Alright, what’s next? #3 on the list is Demonstration of the Double Harmonic Scale. Do you know what it is, Ausra?
 
A: Of course I know!
 
V: What is it? Can you tell us?
 
A: Well, you could have it major and you can have it in minor. If it’s major you have the 2nd scale degree and 6th scale degree lowered, and in a minor, you have the 4th and 7th scale degree raised!
 
V: Okay, and if you wanted to get more detail about this scale, just watch this video: 4m:19s long, and it has 18379 views.
 
A: That’s amazing! Who would watch it?
 
V: Maybe Hungarians,
 
A: I don’t know
 
V: or people from Egypt, Turkey, some parts of India, where else….this double harmonic scale is popular in those parts of the world.
 
A: But not in our country; it’s not needed for our folk music.
 
V: Exactly. Alright, and then #2, silver medal, on the list is a 4m:12s long video, “Tips for Organists: Common Mistakes in Organ Pedal Playing.” Everybody makes mistakes, and everybody wants to avoid them, right? It was published in 2012, actually it’s an old video, but it has 40133 views as of today.
 
A: Yes.
 
V: I just talked into my camera at our music room, and behind me is our practice organ visible. In one hand, I took an HD camera, and held it with my left hand, I remember even today, and talked for 4 minutes. And now it has over 40000 views.
 
A: I think it proves that playing pedals is still a challenge for many.
 
V: Yes! Guess what’s on the top, first place, or gets gold medal!
 
A: I don’t know,  but I guess it will be something very funny.
 
V: “How to play the C major scale with the pedals on the organ.”
 
A: That’s funny! That’s truly funny!
 
V: It’s 12m:35s long, and as of today, it has 67793 views, and it was published on October 7, 2012! Again, it was done on our practice organ, and on the screen, you can see my feet playing the C major scale in normal tempo and slow tempo with tips and advice for pedaling, too.
 
A: Excellent! I wonder if you would record the, let’s say, scale in D major, how many views you would get.
 
V: Oh, that’s easy! I think I did. D Major scale… pedal….Yes! October 12, 2015, I recorded this video on how to play D Major scale over one octave on the organ pedals…
 
A: And how many views?
 
V: And it has 4133 views.
 
A: Well, it cannot compare to the C major scale.
 
V: Every new sharp…
 
A: I know…

V: Is a challenge. Okay, so….
 
A: I just wonder if these big countries, you know….
 
V: Yes, it’s actually part of the training materials for pedal virtuoso master course.
 
A: Okay.
 
V: Thank you guys for listening. We hope this was fun for you to observe the popularity of some of my organ videos.
 
A: And watch that scale in C major! It will increase the number of Vidas’ watchers!
 
V: Yes! Loop it continuously, day and night! It will become more popular than Lady Gaga!
 
A: Yes.
 
V: And then, Ausra, I have a suggestion! Would you like to do a next podcast conversation about your harmony videos?
 
A: Maybe not!
 
V: Let’s find out how many million views you have.
 
A: Yes, a lot, probably.
 
V: Excellent. So, stay tuned guys, this was fun. And remember, when you practice,
 
A: Miracles happen.