Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast

I didn't sleep well last night. So what happened is I got a nasty headache and no inclination to practice yesterday. But... I did it anyway. Can your practice help reduce physical pain you might be feeling? Listen to my thoughts.

Are you thinking of skipping organ practice today? Don't be. If you improve just 1 percent today, miracles will happen in the future. Listen to these thoughts to find out why.

This question was sent by Bruce. He writes: “Hi Vidas, I'm trying to download BWV 578 (little fugue in g minor), but I don't see it in the list of directly downloadable items on the Total Organist web page. Is this piece available to me with my total organist subscription? If so, I would like to take it with me on my travels. How can I get a copy of it? I would really like to review and understand...

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #128! Today's special guest is John Higgins, who is the organist at St Andrew's Presbyterian church in Morwell, Victoria, Australia. John has been a guest a while ago on our podcast. We talked when he was living in another state of Southern Australia, in a small town called Whyalla. He has a tradition of playing Christmas concerts for his former congrega...

This question was sent by Mike, and he writes: “When and When NOT to play the "Amen" of a Christmas Song/Carol? This has been a discussion. Some Christmas songs have an Amen at the end of them, some don’t. When playing one during a regular Church service, that has it at the end, I believe you play it. However, if you are playing this as a Christmas Carol, say for a choir to sing, then you don’t pl...

This question was sent by Bruce, and he writes: “Thanks for extending my review period of Total Organist - it will be a help. I will be traveling most of December, taking care of family, and won't be able to get to the organ much. Thanks for asking what I'm currently struggling with. My main initial goals will be those of a pianist who wishes to extend into the organ. I'm thinking some things will...

Tis question was sent by Bruce. He has a challenge with finger substitution to improve line. He writes: As a pianist, I'm rather used to the sostenuto pedal, to the extent that I probably overuse it and it can be a bit of a crutch. Nothing like this pedal on the organ, of course, so I expect it's all about finger substitution, learning how to do this in a natural way. I expect there are exercises...

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #127! Today's guests are Dina Ikhina and Denis Makhankov who are a family duo of young organists from Russia. Yesterday the organists have performed for the first time in Vilnius St. Johns’ Church Organ and presented before the New Year's Eve a concert entitled "Farewell to Old Year", in which the audience enjoyed the works of J. S. Bach, P. Tchaikovsky,...

This question was sent by David, and he writes: “Thank you so much for producing the sight reading course (and for having a cyber Monday sale on your course---I waited a year to get this discount so that I could afford the total organist course). I feel like this is such a basic question.... but on week 1, day 2 of the sight reading course, how does one subdivide, counting out loud, beyond the 8th...

And today’s question was sent by Aleksey, and he wants to know how to play the pedals without looking at your feet.

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #126! Today is Christmas Eve! Merry Christmas, Blessed Season Greetings to our every listener and subscriber! I'm so happy that we've been doing for a while these podcasts and we're continuing our Secrets of Organ Playing journey for 6 years now and Ausra and I hope to help you grow as an organist for many years to come. And today a special guest is visi...

Today’s question was sent by Aleksey, and he wants to know about registration: “What are some of the perfect, or worst, stop combinations?”

This question was sent by Helene, and she writes that her challenge is not keeping up with her daily practicing. She writes: “I have talents in other ways in that I write fiction and non-fiction; I play other instruments, too. However, there is a great and profound joy in practicing and performing on the organ which is unparalleled.”

This question was sent by Helene. She is an ordained minister, but also plays the organ; and one of her challenges is that she doesn’t let churches know of her ability--basically, as I understand, she keeps her organ playing talents a secret.

Irineo asks how can he upload his pieces to Musicoin platform.

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #125! Today's guest is an Australian organist James Flores. He began his musical career with piano lessons at the age of 4 under the guidance of his aunt, Aurora Flores. Since then, he has been a regular participant at the Albury-Wodonga Eisteddfod and has won the age championships several times throughout his school years. He has also been Junior Champi...

Today’s question was sent by Lilla, and she writes: “Thank you for all your advice about organ playing - especially the pedal virtuoso course that I am taking now. Regarding the arpeggios, is it OK to NOT to follow with both legs, when one foot is playing the highest/lowest notes on the pedal board? I keep my other foot on the note that I need to play when switching legs. For example, in case of B...

This question was sent by Dineke, and she wants to know when you really need to stop learning a piece--when enough is enough, when you have made enough progress so that you could pick up a new piece.

This question was sent by Peter. He writes: “My challenges are lack of time, and spending/wasting time on other things(!) i.e. lack of willpower. And I think I need to improve my sight-reading if I am going to improve my overall organ-playing. Also, I hate most 'modern' organ-music. On this subject,it might be interesting if you could explain, in one of your blogs, what anybody 'sees' in sour-soun...

In this episode we discuss the question of playing a B minor arpeggio with pedals.

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #124! Today's guest is an American organist Tabitha Moldenhauer who is the Program Director of Chicago International Organ Academy. Having created, taught, and managed church and school music programs for all ages, she enthusiastically believes music education should be accessible to everyone. ​ Tabitha is also Music Director and Organist at Church of th...

Today's question was sent Robert, and he writes: “My dream is to be able to play any hymn from our hymnal in church meetings when needed even with very short notice.”

This question was sent by Robert. He writes: “I’m not taking enough time every day to practice.”

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast #123! Today's guest is an Italian concert organist Luca Massaglia. Luca received Organ and Organ Composition degree with top marks at Giuseppe Verdi Conservatory of Turin. He attended many international masterclasses held by Ludger Lohmann (from 2004 to 2009), Louis Robilliard (from 2005 to 2009), Luigi Ferdinando Tagliavini (2008) and Bernard Winsemius,...

This question was sent by Robert. He writes, “I never had a teacher or lessons. I have been doing this on my own.”