Finish the year strong

By Vidas Pinkevicius (get free updates of new posts here)​​​​​​

How was 2016 for you in terms of organ playing?

Did you accomplish your goals or was your practice lacking focus?

You can still change this. Make the year-end practice count!

To help you with this, yesterday just before the memorial service at my church, I set up a camera facing the keyboards and recorded 86 minutes of video training.

In these videos I demonstrate my exact steps and combinations of practicing the famous chorale prelude by Johann Sebastian Bach Das alte Jahr vergangen ist (The Old Year Has Ended), BWV 614 from the Orgelbuchlein.

By the way, the final video was recorded after the church service for which I had to play a prelude, offertory, communion, and postlude as well as to sing a psalm, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei. I wasn't sure I remembered all the words of the Sanctus and I didn't have the scores with me at the moment so I quickly wrote the words on top of my left hand.

My hand-writing is still visible this morning as I type this and it is visible in the final video from yesterday.

Ausra said it looks like a tatoo I got made while being in prison. :))

Anyway, here's how BWV 614 sounds.

In the evening I came home and prepared all the fingerings and pedalings for this piece too.

The best part - I recommend you practice together with me. This way your progress will be the fastest.

If the pitch level of your organ doesn't match the largest pipe organ in Lithuania, shut down all the stops and play without the sound using mine.

Some people will be able to master this piece in 86 minutes. If this is not enough for you, feel free to watch and practice with the videos a few more times.

Finish the year strong!
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Das Alte Jahr Vergangen Ist Practice (50 % discount is valid until January 4, 2017)