Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast

This question was sent by Dimi, and he writes about his dreams and the challenges that he is facing. So: “1. I dream to play at my future organ romantic and baroque pieces, but not only that. 2. I plan to buy a used electronic organ (Ahlborn DS series, 2 manual+pedal) and I haven't found the owner manual and the service manual online, I looked on some forums and sent emails to Ahlborn website, but...

This question was sent by Scott, and he writes My dream is to be able to play well enough that what I'm playing is recognizable. You see, I was once a church organist for 20+ years, until I had my first stroke on January 1, 1999. Two more strokes followed in 2013, so I have had 2 strokes paralyzing my dominant right side and 1 stroke weakening my left side and making it greatly uncoordinated. Now...

This question was sent by Martin, and he writes Dear Vidas, I really enjoy receiving your emails and watching your Youtube channel.  From early childhood, I always admired organ music and organists. In church, I would always go up to watch how the organ was played. I grew up in Bratislava, Slovakia, and listening to the organ in the big Lutheran church was quite an experience (4 manual, 62 st...

This question was sent by Rolf, and he writes his answer to my question, What is his dream in organ playing right now, and also what are some obstacles in reaching this dream?  So, 1. Playing Buxtehude and Bach reasonably well and being able to improvise simple but beautiful melodies for the church service. 2. Earlier there were three things: time, money and lack of knowledge. Since I am reti...

This question was sent by Rolf, and he writes: “Hi Vidas Very good wishes for you both! I want to tell you that I am studying this wonderful Praeludium in C from JS Bach, using your tips. Especially the tip cutting the piece in 4 bars and not making any mistake by playing slower, it’s working! In fact it goes faster and it’s giving me a lot of pleasure, thank you very much!! I will support your be...

This question was sent by Miguel, and he is in our Total Organist community plus he takes private lessons with me, and one time he wrote this message: “My back was quite painful, but now I'm fully recovered and practicing again. Part of the problem was sitting for too long, apart from the 8 hours a day I sit for my computer work at the bank. I sit an hour or two on a bench with no back support. Th...

This question was sent by Hubertus, and he writes, Hello Ausra, Heard your demo of the Alessandria organ with interest. Thank you for hearing you play on that. However, I am 75 and do not yet have enough experience to distinguish what those sounds for registrations entail, because I only started playing about 13 years ago, the total overview is missing. I also bought that organ this year, but I do...

This question was sent by Stephen, and he writes: “I love the Zipoli Pastorale ...!!! Thank you... Zipoli is one of my favorite early Baroque composers!” Vidas: I wrote to him, “Thanks Stephen! What other composers do you like?” And Stephen writes: “In a more contemporary "vein"  I am fond of Dale Wood's music.  There are passages in his work that require a legato technique especially wi...

This question was sent by Nick, and he answers my question, “What is your dream in organ playing in the next 3-6 months, and what are some challenges along the way?”  So he writes, 1. To be able to play a wide selection of easy to moderate standard organ pieces suitable for service use. V:  and challenges would be 2. Sight reading, sight reading and sight reading!

This question was sent by Maureen, and she writes, I have been working on Christmas carols.  There is a Catholic church 26 miles from my hometown needing an organist. I haven't played in public for a long time. Seeing this advert has given me renewed vigour to play with a definite purpose. There is a huge part of me who would love to play again in public and there is the other part of me tryi...

This question was sent by Gerrit, or, I don’t know how to pronounce it.  If he’s Dutch, maybe “Herrit.”  I would appreciate people maybe giving us feedback how to pronounce their names, right?  Would be nice.  So Gerrit writes: I’ve watched and listened to your performance of Duetto, Op. 156 No. 6 of Joseph Rheinberger. Thank you for that. It sounds beautiful. I have a question...

This question was sent by Hubertus, and he writes: “Hello Vidas and Ausra, As for getting informed with your very-very good advice etc. I admire your setup, and do respond to your questions as a moral obligation. As you probably remember from the last mail exchange, I’m 75, and do know for myself, the Very high difficulty of remembering my daily study already the next day. 13 years ago I started f...

This episode is very special, because this year we celebrate 10 years of “Secrets of Organ Playing” activities.

This question was sent by Chad, and he writes, Hi Vidas, A few years ago, I bought a roll-up piano hoping that it would provide a means for me to practice on my airline trips. I desperately wanted to like it. But I HATED it! There was no tactile feel… No way to tell one key from the other. And the contacts didn’t work very well, so it was difficult to play the notes without tapping them pretty har...

This question was sent by Mike, and he writes: “I would like to master a variety of organ music to be able to give a performance. The most important hurdles to overcome are: Being able to work on a consistent fingering to make passages flow smoothly Interpretation of music, registration, Developing and knowing how to make a piece artistically “my own” instead of just playing notes. Many of your po...

We have to take this saying with a grain of salt, because a lot of people today play at home with some kind of electronic instruments or virtual instruments, and in virtual instruments, the sound might be quite realistic, but the touch might be plastic. And it’s quite different from tracker touch in a real pipe organ situation. People might not necessarily discover on their own when they play thei...

This question was sent by Bob, and he writes: “I have read in several places that using the thumb on the black notes is kind of frowned upon. The "Organ Playing Master Course" routinely calls for the thumb on a black note, can you please clarify when it is or is not proper fingering.”

This question was sent by Justin, and he writes, Hello, I am currently subscribed to the Pedal Virtuoso Course. My materials for the week usually arrive on Wednesdays around 11:30 am local time, but for some reason, I didn't receive my materials for Week 5 (not in either my inbox or my spam folder). Could you arrange to have it sent? I've been enjoying the course. I'm an advanced organist, but in...

This question was sent by Daniel, and he writes, Hello Vidas, My ultimate dream in regard to organ playing would be to gain the technical facility and coordination necessary to perform the masterworks of the Baroque repertoire (e.g., BWV 582, HWV 432, the entirety of BWV 1080). Beyond that would be to gain the ability to improvise/think contrapuntally. The three areas that are impeding these goals...

This question was sent by Bob, and he writes, I was just wondering if articulate legato applies to all keyboards or just organs?

This question was sent by  Irineo, and he writes: “Hello there, dear maestro. Thank you for your latest SOPP about Unda Maris. I really enjoyed it. But I have a question: who's the composer of that fantastic G-Major piece you played from 21:00 until 23:17? It sounds early baroque to me, but I can't really say whether it's Bach. And what an AWESOME Bombarde 16' does that organ feature! Where i...

This question was sent by Vidas! By me! And, I've been struggling with mastering Part I of Trio Sonata No. 4 by J.S. Bach . For some reason it's harder to do than I imagined it would be.

This question was sent by Manfred, and he writes: “Hello Vidas, I was not a novice on the pedal, since I played the church organ for a couple of years. When I started to look into nicer and more demanding pieces for organ, I felt I need a better technique at least for playing scales. Fortunately I found your Course in the internet, signed up and practiced the lessons every day over 12 weeks. It is...

This question was sent by Louis, and he writes: “Hello friends: I have read all about your Pedal Virtuoso Master Course . I would like to answer one important question for me. I have seen that there are many scales and arpeggios. I think that this is very good but I need to practice how to find any pedal without looking at the pedalboard. Have you got any special technique for this? Teachers in Sp...

This question was sent by me, Vidas! I posted my answer in the Total Organist Community Basecamp channel, where I’ve been asked the question, “What have you been struggling with the most in organ playing this week. So, I wrote: “Last week I was struggling to record Trio Sonata No. 1 in Eb Major, BWV 525 by J.S. Bach. Somehow I find it easier to play live recitals than to record pieces one by one.”