SECRETS OF ORGAN PLAYING - WHEN YOU PRACTICE, MIRACLES HAPPEN
  • START HERE
  • BLOG
  • STORE
  • TOTAL ORGANIST
  • LISTEN
  • ABOUT
  • RECITALS
  • CONTACT
  • LOGIN
  • LT
  • COMPOSITIONS

The Perfect Cure For Church Pianists Trying to Learn Playing the Organ

12/26/2014

Comments

 
Lots of church musicians are pianists. Their churches might have organs but their instruments are piano. They probably have a fairly well-developed finger technique and an extensive experience playing piano. What they lack is of course organ-specific skills such as pedal playing, hand and feet coordination, articulation, and coordination of releases among others.

A cure for pianists trying to play the organ would depend on their goals. Some of them might want to learn to play hymns in church while others - original organ compositions. There are also pianists who would love to learn to improvise on the organ as well. Of course, there is a considerable overlap in people dreams - some people who would want to learn hymn playing would love to play organ music as well. Would-be improvisers might also love to learn to play original organ compositions of classical organ masters.

Here's a cure for pianists who want to learn to master hymn playing:

Take your favorite hymnal and begin learning to play the hymns with pedals. It's best if you practice parts separately first, especially the pedal line. When you can fluently play the pedal line, play two and three part combinations before attempting to play all parts together in a slow tempo.

For pianists who want to learn to play original organ music:

Find easy but quality collections of organ music and learn a few pieces that you like or that fits best the liturgical season of the church year. Make sure you also learn very systematically step by step in a slow tempo. Try to avoid the temptation to play pieces from the beginning to the end without correcting mistakes and all parts together right away. In most cases, you would still have to go back and learn the pieces the right way and develop correct organ practice habits. Learning the pieces correctly in the first place will save you from a lot of frustration in the future.

For pianists whose goal is to learn to improvise on the organ for the liturgy:

Start anywhere. Literally. Just choose a theme (a hymn or your own melody), a mood which would work for a specific place within the liturgy, meter, mode, key, texture, and registration and improvise something interesting. Nobody will tell you what to do or how to do it or that you made a mistake. It's your improvisation. The only thing that matters is that you set your goal to be this: to keep the listener transfixed with your playing and that it would fit the liturgy of today.

It's important to understand the differences from the piano and organ and learn new skill sets that any organist need to be successful. Regardless of your goals in organ playing, you can use the existing hymns, organ compositions or your own improvisations to acquire organ playing skills which you can later use in church service playing.
Comments

    GET FREE VIDEO PRACTICE GUIDE AND 10 DAY ORGAN PLAYING MINI COURSE:

    * indicates required
    Interest
    Sending frequency
    Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
    Picture
    Picture
    Photo by Edgaras Kurauskas
    Would you like to say "Thank You" to us? Buy Us Coffee.
    Authors
    Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene
    Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing.
    Picture
    Do you have a unique skill or knowledge related to the organ art? Pitch us your story to become a guest on Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast.

    Don't have an organ at home?
    Download paper manuals and pedals, print them out, cut the white spaces, tape the sheets together and you'll be ready to practice anywhere where is a desk and floor. Make sure you have a higher chair.

    Archives

    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    April 2012
    March 2012
    February 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011

    RSS Feed

Copyright  © 2011-2019 by Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene.
Vidas' blog on Steemit
​Ausra's blog on Steemit
​Terms of Service and Privacy Policy
  • START HERE
  • BLOG
  • STORE
  • TOTAL ORGANIST
  • LISTEN
  • ABOUT
  • RECITALS
  • CONTACT
  • LOGIN
  • LT
  • COMPOSITIONS