Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast

This question was sent by Robert, and he writes, "Dear Vidas, Thank you so much for the video of you working on Vierne Final, sym 1. Within just the first 3 minutes I learned so much about how to practice properly, the key word here is properly. I, of course, practice (and I'm a slow learner but I get there) usually sections at a time and slowly but watching you slowly and what appears to me sligh...

This question was sent by Richard, and he writes, I am a pianist and I’d love to get the pedals working when I sit at the organ. I also struggle with improvisation which can be a real hindrance during church services.

This question was sent by Francois, and he writes: “Good day Vidas and Ausra, I hope you are well and you and your loved ones are safe and healthy. My name is Francois, I live in London and I came across you on the Hauptwerk Facebook group as well as YouTube. Thank you so much for all the wonderful videos and music that you two post, it really is an inspiration. I also saw your article about your...

This question was sent by Klāvs, and he writes, "Hi Vidas, There are answers to your questions. 1. My dream for playing organ is to play in church services and in concerts. I have played in church services some times. 2. My 3 important things that are holding me back from realizing my dream is: Equipment - if I want to learn organ playing I need to go to my church, where there is a pipe organ with...

This question was sent by Pieter, and he writes, Dear Vidas, Thank you for your email with week 11 of the sight reading course attached. I am persevering with the daily routine and I notice first of all a much greater stability and confidence with rhythm. Some of the figures in the exercises are complex from a sight reading perspective but this has definitely improved over the weeks. I think notat...

This question was sent by Wendy, and she writes: “Hello Vidas, Your organ duet recital was wonderful… so inspiring. You and Ausra are a great team. Many thanks for sharing your huge talents. I am one of 3 organists who play for services at a Catholic church in Ipswich Queensland Australia...St Mary's. My training is as a pianist. I don't have an organ at home and my organ pedal skills are very lim...

This question was sent by Tim, and he writes: “Dear Vidas Are you able to help me please. I am currently learning the Dubois Toccata in G No 3 and have previously downloaded your fingering and pedaling for the piece. I'm having trouble getting it up to the required speed and wondered if you had any tips to help with this or any other tips or practice ideas that might help. Thank you in anticipatio...

This question was sent by Vivien, and she writes: “Thank you so much for your acknowledgment and interest Vidas. Next time I will understand better how to enter the amount of money and make it more in line with the quantity and quality of expert help coming from you and Ausra. Lockdown means no Church Services and so has given me a chance to improve my basic skills instead of being stressed with d...

This question was sent by Jeremy, and he writes, "Now that summer is here, I am excited to get into one of the courses on Total Organist again. Maybe the Couperin Mass or improv mini-course. Either actually as I have just signed up for them…"

This question was sent by Dan, and he writes: “Hi Vidas, I hope you and Ausra are doing well in your part of the world. Things are going well here. I’ve had to stop getting instruction for the time being from the local organist that’s working with me, due to how things are with this world-wide pandemic. I’m still working away here though, on my hauptwerk VPO, and it’s good I’ve got that here to st...

This question was sent by Ruth, who is our Total Organist student, and she writes: “I am learning a lot about new ways of playing organ, etc. from taking this course. This must be one of the finest courses of its kind on the Internet. Please recall though that some of us are still learning like "wee kids" about the new ways you and others have of using electronic methodology and media. Please hold...

This question was sent by María de Jesús Redentor. And Maria writes, "Good evening, Vidas. My goal in learning to play the organ is to play during the liturgical celebrations and I would like to focus on that. In addition, I would like to get to know the organ registration, as well as improvisation and improvised accompaniment, and also the possibility of performing pieces, especially in the Baroq...

This question was sent by Bill. And he writes, "I put in 15-30 minutes a day working on the sight reading course. I've been working on BWV 543 Bach Prelude & Fugue in A Minor mostly beyond that. Two things that frustrate me are it takes me about 3 months to learn these big fugues (practicing about 1.5 hours/day) and the playing the strings of 32nd notes evenly at high tempo. Any suggestions to spe...

This question was sent by Amir, and he writes: “Hi Vidas Thanks for your email What I have now in my schedule is a daily time to practice sight reading. It does not take more than 15 minutes daily. At the same time I am redoing the exercises I have done 10 weeks ago. I find that looking at the same things again after 10 weeks of doing them, gives me more confidence that things are getting better....

This question was sent by Giovanni. And he asks, How much is the price of an organ for a home, and where can I buy one? Our Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.html

This question was sent by Graham. And he writes, "Hi Vidas, First I would just like to say thank you for your informative videos on playing and teaching the organ. Your passion and insights are much appreciated. 1. I'll mention that I am a complete beginner to playing the organ despite my musical background. I am actually a jazz guitar player who is studying music at university but who has long be...

This question was sent by Hervey, and he writes: “1. My dream for organ playing: To be able to play with above average results for an audience. 2. The three most important things holding me back: a. Not good enough at reading notes. b. Have to memorize music before it can be played. c. I consciously play every note instead of letting it flow freely from the mind.”

This question was sent by Amir. He’s taking our Organ Sight-Reading Master Course. And when I asked him how his organ playing is going so far, he writes: “It was not that bad, my main difficulty are the unexpected changes in rhythms and jumping notes.”

This question was sent by Justina. And she writes, Hello, my name is Justina Pupeikytė and my dream is to get into the Royal Academy of music and after that become a professional organist. But there are few things that are keeping me down. I have very poor sight reading skills and weak transposition. I also learn musical pieces slowly. I am not talking about slow tempo while playing that concerns...

This question was sent by Ruth. And she writes, Hi Vidas, I am in the process of memorizing a piece, based upon what I am learning in this course! I am also trying to keep in touch with members of my church, because we did not meet last week.

This question was sent by Maureen. And she’s our Total Organist student. And she writes, Hi Vidas, The concern with the coronavirus is ratcheting up as you will know. Scotland is beginning to grow concerned and lockdown is being implemented for next week. I thought it would be a great opportunity to play as often as possible during the time when this happens here in Scotland. I would like to study...

This question was sent by Amir, and he writes: “I think you surely heard this question before. What is the rule regarding accidentals if a note with an accidental is to be held for more two bars and after that it is repeated in the second bar, should the note change as an accidental be repeated in the second bar (in case that there is no sign of an accidental) or it is to be omitted? Thanks Amir”...

This question was sent by John, and he writes: “I'm wondering if you could help with selecting the next piece I should learn, and give a ranking to the difficulty of these pieces. As you know I'm at a beginner/intermediate level, there's no way I can tackle a large Bach fugue. I know I should learn some French repertoire, but that is also a challenge with finger technique and playing fast passages...

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 st...

This question was sent by Amir, and he is taking our Secrets of Organ Playing course called “Sight-Reading Master Course,” and he writes: Amir: “Thanks very much Vidas. This should also be interesting as a pedal exercise technique Amir” And I wrote to him: Vidas: “You are right, Amir! Almost everything that can be played by the hand, can be played by the feet too. In fact, the feet often can be re...