SOPP615: As others have already commented, Vidas, a really useful and helpful upload explaining how you produce such wonderful recordings

Secrets of Organ Playing · SOPP615: A really useful and helpful upload explaining how you produce such wonderful recordings

Vidas: Hello and welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast!

Ausra: This is a show dedicated to helping you become a better organist.

V: We’re your hosts Vidas Pinkevicius...

A: ...and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene.

V: We have over 25 years of experience of playing the organ

A: ...and we’ve been teaching thousands of organists online from 89 countries since 2011.

V: So now let’s jump in and get started with the podcast for today.

A: We hope you’ll enjoy it! 

V: Hi guys!  This is Vidas.

A: And Ausra.

V: Let’s start episode 615 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Graham, and he writes about the video where I introduce my Hauptwerk set-up on YouTube.  Hauptwerk set-up and streaming set-up, to be precise.  He writes,

As others have already commented, Vidas, a really useful and helpful upload explaining how you produce such wonderful recordings - though as amazing as all this technology is, it would mean nothing if it was not for your truly fabulous playing and teaching! As you know, I am a big fan of James. He recently played some Clementi on the organ and I commented with a reference to the contest between Mozart and Clementi in 1781. So I am going to make the same judgement as Emperor Joseph II, who diplomatically declared a draw between those two great composers. I declare a draw between the massive amount of wiring and equipment both you and James have. Just looking at all those 'tripping hazards' gives me palpitations. At least my humble Viscount Chorum just plugs in and plays . . . but of course, does not give me access to some of the greatest organs in the world! Thank you, Vidas.

V:  That’s a nice comment.

A:  Yes, it’s a very nice comment.

V:  Graham is very good with words, and writes very colorful comments on YouTube, and I’m very grateful, because this kind of engagement really is very supportive and makes you feel appreciated.

A:  Yes.  And stops me from throwing the Hauptwerk out of our house.

V:  (laughs)  Did you have some ideas about that, Ausra, earlier?

A:  Yes, basically every time when we are cleaning our house.  Because honestly, how, do you imagine how much time it takes to clean it all?  Of course you do some cleaning, too, but I counted that at home, we have seven keyboards that I have to clean.

V:  (laughs) Seven...seven!

A:  Yes, it’s one on the regular upright piano, and two on the tracker organ, and four on the Hauptwerk.  And imagine dusting all those wires.  It really takes some time.

V:  So we have as many keyboards as the largest pipe organ in the world has, right?

A:  Yes, we just don’t, haven't put them all together.

V:  Maybe we should.

A:  Maybe not. (laughs)

V:  Hm.  Yeah, that would be a good thought, to have seven keyboards in one place.  I do the cleaning of pedals, and Ausra does the cleaning of keyboards.

A:  Yes.

V:  If any of you are wondering how we divide the work.

A:  And actually, really I cleaned pedals as well, but I, you know…

V:  Gave up.

A:  Yes, I gave up on this.  You know, “do something yourself as well!”  So now Vidas took over the pedal cleaning.

V:  But it’s unfair because there are only two pedalboards and seven keyboards.

A:  Well life is unfair, too.

V:  (laughs)  So actually, we have more keyboards than the greatest organ in the world, because it only has one pedalboard.

A:  Are you making some kind of record?

V:  I suspect some people have monsters in their music room that we don’t have to compare to.  What stops people from having 7 or 8 or 9 keyboards?  Nothing, really.

A:  Yes, but some people probably have just the normal people surrounding them.  And because we are both sort of crazy a little bit, so nobody stops us from doing that.

V:  Are you calling yourself crazy?

A:  Yes, after living for so many years with you!

V:  Is this my good influence on you?

A:  I guess so, yes.

V:  What kind of influence have you been leaving on me?

A:  Well, some good influence as well.

V:  Like what?

A:  Like for example, yesterday I came back from work and you were taking care of dog, and you were doing things in the garden, acting like a normal man.

V:  Mowing the lawn?

A:  Yes.

V:  Oh that is the pinnacle of my work, mowing the lawn!  (laughs)  Too bad that lawn mower is too hard to move for you, because…

A:  Yes.

V:  You wouldn’t need me.

A:  Well, good for you - now I need you for something.

V:  You also need me to set up cameras.

A:  Yes, that’s right.  No, actually I can set up cameras for myself, but I still haven’t figured out the easy way to record on YouTube.

V:  Yeah.  I haven’t talked in detail, actually, what it takes, once you have connected all the cameras, you plugged in all the cameras to the computer, they would serve as webcams.  And webcams work for streaming.  So maybe I could, given the time that we have here left on the podcast, yeah a few minutes, so I could describe in detail the steps I take that, to create a live stream on YouTube.  Would you like that?

A:  Yes, you could do that.  It would be helpful.

V:  I would think so, too.  So first of all, step number 1, I plug in Hauptwerk into the power outlet, entire computer, right?  And all the wirings are already connected, so computer plugs in, all the keyboards and pedals are already lit also.  So then I turn on the button of the computer, step number 2, and wait until it powers it up.  Then step number 3 would be I open Hauptwerk software.  Step number 4 would be, I click on the desired organ sample set that I’m going to use, let’s say Velosovo sample set or Cavaille Coll sample set from Caen - we have quite a few to choose from.  All right?  Are you keep counting? What step?

A:  Number 5, I believe.

V:  Number 5, okay.  You keep counting.

A:  But actually, that’s an easy step.  I can do that myself so far.

V:  Okay.  What’s next, cameras?

A:  Well yes, you have to turn on all your cameras.

V:  Step 6, yeah.  Turn on all the cameras.

A:  You can do that.

V:  They are also connected to the computer, so you don’t have to unplug them.  They are always connected.  Step number 7, turn on the lighting.  We have additional LED lighting.

A:  Well, you can play in the dark if you wish.

V:  Yeah, but nobody will see your beautiful hands and feet.  And face.

A:  Okay, okay.

V:  Step number 8, I open OBS Studio program on the computer.

A:  And this is the part where I am already getting lost.  Starting from the OBS Studio.

V:  Yeah, it’s very, you have to download it from the internet, install it on your computer, beforehand.  And then if you have done that, so you have to add all the cameras as video sources.  Just additional steps.  They have plus (+) signs.  Add video capture device, or audio capture device for a microphone for example, and configure them how you would like to use them - which camera goes where.  Which on the top, which on the bottom, which on the left, which on the right, you know, if you have more than one.  You can adjust them, the size of them, with your mouse, actually.  It’s very intuitive.

A:  But I think, that scares me is how you put all those end keys, and what else?

V:  Stream keys you mean.

A:  Stream keys, yes.

V:  So that, yes.

A:  This is the hardest part for me.  I cannot figure it out.

V:  Okay.  It’s step number 9 would be to go to YouTube, to your own YouTube Channel, or to my YouTube channel if I’m streaming to mine, right.  And then open this channel, and on the top right corner of the screen, there are a few signs, and one of them is “live,”  YouTube Live.  You click that basically, this is step number 10 probably.

A:  Well, and if you click on that, will you be live right away or not?

V:  No, no no no.

A:  Okay.

V:  You just click and a separate window appears, and this window appears where you enter all the information about your stream:  the title, the description if you want something, what else, the thumbnail, the picture that would be provided to entice your viewers to watch, you know, you can have your own picture, or keyboard picture, or music picture, or organ picture, whatever.

A:  Okay.

V:  You know, what we do sometimes, we take a screenshot of OBS Studio screen, what cameras are filming at the moment.  Sometimes we look at the cameras this way, we pose, sometimes we play, that way we can have what we want, you know, what kind of thumbnail.  Okay?  And you click “done,” I think.  You click done.  It would go live, but before that, step 11 has to have.  Step 11 is on the left side, there are some strings of characters, keys, like hidden numbers and letters.  You just have to copy one string.  It’s called  “stream key.”  You copy stream key.  And then step number 12 would be go back to OBS Studio, and on the lower right corner, there is a column of various words, and one of them is “settings.”  You click on settings and another window appears, and on the top, I think top, second from the top column will be stream settings.  You click on “stream” and then you will enter the stream keys, you paste those stream keys from YouTube to that separate field and click “apply” and “Ok”  That screen disappears and you are now again back to OBS Studios.  And this is step number 13.

A:  Yes.

V:  When you are ready to start streaming, go live, you click “start streaming” in that lower right hand corner.

A:  I know this step.  The first time I used to do it.

V:  But before that, you have to check the microphone if it’s working.

A:  Sure, if you want to speak.

V:  If you want to speak.  If not, it’s connected to Hauptwerk, you have to play a few notes to see if that microphone is responsive, you see.  And also configure the volume level.  Play the loudest part of your piece and see if the microphone levels don’t go to the red.  Red is too much.  Green is very good, yellow is still okay, but red is too much.  So then if it’s too much, you lower the handle in the mixer, they have audio mixers so you just mix things up this way.  Does it make sense, Ausra?

A:  Yes.

V:  When I explain it.

A:  Yes.

V:  Now it’s your turn.  Today when we will record something, I will supervise you, and you will do all those 13 steps by yourself.

A:  Oh no, oh no.

V:  No?

A:  Oh no.

V:  Okay.  So guys, go ahead and check yourself out if you want to start streaming.  It’s not that difficult.  You don’t have to have Hauptwerk by the way.  You just have to have a webcam.  If you have an iPad, for example, that could serve as a webcam as well.

A:  If I can do it, you can do it, too.

V:  Yeah, definitely, sure.  IPad, you can connect iPad with this lightning cable, and just you have to install additional app, but you can search the internet how to, how to, what are the keyboard, connect iPad as a webcam - how to use iPad as a webcam, for example.  Or your phone could be as a webcam as well.  Anything could be, anything that has a camera can be a webcam, you see?

A:  Sure.

V:  All right, guys.  I hope this was useful to you.  This was a long episode, but quite informative, right, Ausra?

A:  Yes, even I learned something new.

V:  And that happens quite rarely these days.

A:  Yeah.

V:  Because you have a doctoral degree.

A: (laughs) Because I am smart by birth.

V:  Yes.  So please send us more of your questions and take a look at this video, if haven't seen it already.  We love helping you grow. And remember, when you practice,

A:  Miracles happen.

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