Hi,

Fresh back from about 4 1/2 hours of practice on Rheinberger's 3rd Sonata, I thought I would share a few thoughts.

I have two organs to practice on at my church, a 2M tracker Father Willis and a 4M electric Father Willis. I frequently use both of these, and today I kept switching between them after an hour on each. Of course the difference is huge, but the difference in ease of playing is also notable. Every time I go back to the tracker everything gets so much easier.

How important would people say it is to practice on more than one in organ if possible, in order to devolop versatility? Or is this moving about counter productive.

Does anyone else have more than one organ in which they regularly practice on, and how much time do you spend on each and why?

Finally, I just like to say that the Rheinberger is just a stunning piece .......... so good!!

Thanks,

Andy

The 'pluck' touch of tracker action undoubtedly assists in developing good playing.

I regularly play two organs with differenet action and move easily from one to the other. However, I interject a great deal of piano practice in between, especially on organ music. This seems to me to maintain versatility.

For me, moving from electric to tracker is very slightly more difficult than tracker to electric. I do not have any recent expereince of penumatic actions, though the old Walker 'presuure touch box' produced a nice 'pluck' that made for clean playing.

Barry Williams

Am I the only one who mis-read the title of this thread?
It has always seemed to me that pianists and organists are in an unfortunate position at times having to play and perform on instruments that are not their own. Singers never have this problem! Nor do most other performers of course. They have one instrument that they have got to know in every detail and they use that. How do organists manage when they have very little time for any preparation on a new instrument? Do they read the specifications of them beforehand? I don't know.
Sorry to take this

Nope

Am I the only one who thought we were intended to misread it??

How surprising...

My one organ is in fact two organs, so I am very blessed (as is my congregation) on a regular basis...

I read it as "multiplex organs" and thought that was a bit strange as cinema organs are from the pre-multiplex era, so I looked again and read it properly.
Though that did get me wondering if there is an organ in a multiplex someplace. Anyone know?

'Multiple organ' normally seems to be followed by the word 'failure'. Nice to know its not the case here.

I hate to interrupt with a post relating to the intended flave of the thread (and please don't think I'm the type to disapprove of hijacking threads!) but I do think it's important, if possible, to be able to practise on a wide range of instruments.

As with you, Andy, I find playing tracker action organs easiest. I have played more of these than any other kind, and find them to be the most responsive. Also, they feel the most "real" to me. I love the crispness of the action, the fact that it's not toooo light and the immediate sound that comes with pressing the keys.

When transferring to a pneumatic action organ, I find that the lighter touch results in a feeling of being less "involved" in what I'm playing, and it's far less satisfying. The one thing that really does fox me, however, is when there is a big delay between depressing the key and getting the sound out. I feel like I have to play twice as fast for the music to go at the intended pace. I've played very few instruments like this, and play none of this kind on a regular basis, and thus I can't cope so well when one comes along.

Oh, Gawd, you two! No surprises there, then!


That's not what they say!

Ok, Ratty, as nobody else has answered this, I'll have a quick go.

The specification gives you very little detail about what the organ actually sounds like. Experience of lots of different organs is the best guide, and there's no substitute for it. You need to be able to hear where the pipes are, in which direction they speak, and work out what the organ is likely to sound like in the main part of the building in which it's situated. This only comes with experience. Then you register accordingly.

The best bit of advice I was ever given about this, and which I often pass on, is "hang your ears out in the body of the church".

Likewise, you only get to know your way around different consoles and different actions by having experienced a lot of different instruments before. Thus you learn to adapt rapidly.

I am so glad that you have brought this subject up - off topic or not. I have often thought that if I played, for example, the flute; I would carry my personal instrument along to the exam and play it. Job done. So yes, always having to take organ exams on unfamiliar instruments is an added stress - for me at any rate.

I suppose that not being a church organist and being just a 'beginner' in the great scheme of things (grade 5 working towards grade 6 -m with the ABRSM) I found this aspect most disconcerting. Originally all I had was an old Hammond A100 (2 manuals and 25 pedals). When working towards grade 4 one piece of Bach demanded a top D pedal - for which I played the carpet - in order to get used to putting my foot down in the right place !!

So I subsequently asked at the local Chapel and got permission to use their pipe organ once a week - but only during their coffee morning !! The other six days a week it was back to playing the carpet. I had never seen a proper pipe organ close-up before, and even had to be shown how to switch it on. However, by the time I took the grade 4 exam I was at least familiar with the instrument.

Before grade 5 came around they cancelled coffee mornings, at that Chapel, for the duration of the summer holidays; which meant no access to the organ for 8 weeks - so I had to source another accomodating Chapel. I did that and resumed my once weekly practice session on their pipe organ. At least it was peaceful in there as they let me collect a key, for the Chapel, from the Funeral Director's a few doors down. I took grade 5 on that instrument - once again having become very familiar with it.

However, in both cases I felt that if the instrument had been my own, and something that I had daily access to, my performances would have been better.

Also, one deterent throughout was in Winter, when it was so cold that I had to keep my coat on for the two hourly sessions; during which I put hands in pockets, and did all the pedal work first. After that I had to keep warming my hands under the hand dryer in the toilets. I also made a weekly 'donation' to the Chapel funds for the use of the organ.

Of course both these instruments were far removed from my Hammond and the only thing they had in common were two manuals. I now have a Viscount 2 manual digital (with 32 pedals of course) and am told by my teacher that, as it meets ABRSM requirement, I could take the exam on my own instrument - at home ...... but that raises another problem.

We live in a normal sized 3 bedroom house, and I have one room for two organs, computer and desk. As I already suffer badly with exam nerves; to have an examiner sitting (of necessity) so close to me doesn't bear thinking about. So ...... yes, I will have to do the 'once a week in the local Chapel' again, for several weeks prior to my next exam. I'm also told that examiners are happier just before Christmas (!!!) ..... but doubt that my fingers would be !! Therefore I will chose one of the warmer months to take the exam.

I did play in a Music Festival in February on yet another organ but, as it was a three week festival the room was heated. Even then, the only time I had on the 3 manual organ was 15 minutes during the lunchtime break, and even then people were in and out all the time. To say I felt awkward playing it is an understatement.

One more topic I would like to raise is that of CD's being available, containing the pieces relateing to each syllabus. They are certainly available for Pianists, and I believe for other instruments, but nothing for the organ student. I rang the ABRSM about the omission, and the message (very politely I may say) was that it's hardly worth while as so few people take organ exams ! Not being in a position to know how true that is I had no come-back. Anyone else like to comment on this omission ? Or have any information as to the validity of the statement ?

^^
I'm sure if you made yourself available for services at your local church they would give you access to their instrument, but you would find it a double-edged sword.

You seem to be doing very nicely as it is but I can see that you wouldn't want an AB examiner in your front room breathing down your neck, even if it did warm you up a bit.

I think you can glean an insight into most of your exam pieces on youtube, even if it is only to tut at how many gofers (stop-pullers) some people have access to when you have to do it on your ownsome.
Probably they don't issue a CD because you are unlikely to have the exact same resources to hand as they have, and it might deter you from a creative solution of your own (and your teacher).

I can sympathise with the chilliness problem - that is what is most likely to make me pack up and go home; when my fingers will no longer move and the owl on the roof starts hooting.

I am sure this is quite true. Compared to pianists the number of organists taking the exams must be minute.

Given the variability of instruments that students use for organ exams, it would be pretty difficult to offer a CD of exam pieces since they would sound completely different. At least a piano sounds like a piano, even when played by a novice vs. a virtuoso (on the whole!!).

Given that cheap/free music is easily obtained these days via YouTube/Spotify or whatever, it makes more sense to use those resources to get a wide sample of different performances of the same work and use that, in discussion with your teacher, to inform your own performance.

This holds true for graded exams as it does for diplomas.



Cheeky!

I'd never come across Spotify before. Thanks for that, C!

[quote name='mel2' date='Jun 8 2009, 09:25 PM' post='835043']
^^

I think you can glean an insight into most of your exam pieces on youtube, even if it is only to tut at how many gofers (stop-pullers) some people have access to when you have to do it on your ownsome.

One piece I am now OK with; the second - a Chorale Prelude by Healey Willan - I found on Youtube, and it's pretty much as I am playing it, but faster and minus my errors !! Meanwhile, I am still looking for a piece on a theme of Orlando Gibbons (song 22) and edited by Sir Charles Stanford ..... if anyone can help.

I don't want to know exactly how any piece will sound; just get an idea of the tune (if it has one !!!) to see if I'm going to like it. I do find it easier to spend lots of time on something that I like.

Stanford wrote two sets of Six Preludes and Postludes, Set One Op.101 and Set Two Op.105

The piece you refer to is from the second set - http://imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/8/87...d_postludes.pdf - it's on page 5.

Good luck!

Ses

I played this one for an exam recently and like you, tried unsuccessfully to find a recording of it somewhere for clues.
It has been discussed on here before how it can be difficult to obtain organ recordings other than from certain online outlets and I suppose I didn't exactly hunt it down.

Just remember it is a triumphal sort of piece and start it with a nice bright registration, lowering it to mp/mf on the swell section about 16 bars in, gradually increasing it until the climactic bit and the cadential passage in the final line.

No.