Today, we would like to talk about our recent trip to Denmark to Svendborg and Copenhagen. In Svendborg, we played our organ duet recital, in the Svendborg International Organ Festival, so I thought it could be a nice opportunity to talk about it in greater detail.

This question was sent by Susan. she writes:

Hello Dr. V.

I have subscribed to the pedal virtuoso master course. I am 76 years old, started playing organ after retiring from a non-musical career at age 70. I have taken organ lessons for 5 winter seasons in Florida (I am a snow-bird). I have fibromyalgia and found after week 1 of pedal exercises that my legs were very sore and tired; can deal with the soreness, but fatigue make them want to give out. Week 2 I could only practice every other day. Week 3 I did not start, because I had to continue to practice and be able to play for weekly church service, plus this past week was practicing for a funeral service. So now I am a week behind. Do you think I should continue this course? Also, regarding the lessons—are the arpeggios supposed to be all legato? I wear size 10 1/2 shoe but still find it difficult to reach g to c. Thank you for your consideration of my problems.

Susan

This question was sent by Tamara. And she writes:

Starting out “with a bang” on the 10 Day Pedal Challenge and Pedal Virtuoso course. It’s already Day 4 for me! My biggest issue will be making time every day to practice, say, for ½ hr or so, instead of trying to cram everything in on 1 or 2 days per week. So far I’m on a regular schedule. Could use support from the gang here in staying on track! Thanks to Vidas, Ausra, and all organists here!

This question was sent by Ruth. And she writes:

"Today I will be going over hymns not familiar to my congregation. The reason is that I would like to select several for them to learn, but only one at a time."

This question was sent by Ruth. And maybe this is not a question per se, but an observation. I asked Ruth, who is our TotalOrganist student, to write what she has been working on and she wrote:

Our church organist has been in the hospital with a very serious illness. I am an ordained minister, with some experience in music. In this geographical area, it is difficult to find substitutes for organists. So, for several Sundays now, I have played the piano for the hymn singing and have also led the worship service. For special music, I played the flute, on which I have done a lot of solo work. So far, it is working out fine, but I do not know when the organist will be able to return. For now, I practice music and also prepare the worship service. Preaching is a major part of the service. For me, it takes a huge part of the week to prepare the sermon, with an effort to study the Biblical texts in great detail, since those texts form the foundation for the sermon. So, my days consist of practicing music and studying for the sermon and service preparation. I ultimately have to write the service for the bulletin. Fortunately, this church has someone to type and copy the bulletin.

This question was sent by James. And he writes:

Dear Vidas,

Forgive me emailing you again so soon, but I have recently been to two recitals by world—famous organists that were very disappointing. Reason? Playing in churches with very resonant acoustics which turned the music into a mere muddle of sound.

I played one of those organs today (see attached) similar acoustics and layout to St John's Vilnius (a loud final chord took 6 seconds to be inaudible), with an attached console in the west gallery.

Playing for my own enjoyment, I played at my normal speed and it sounded fine—the resonance wasn't so apparent in the gallery. But I know in the body of the church it would have sounded a mess.

Are there any simple rules for judging speed, legato etc in these circumstances?

Maybe this will be of interest to others.

Best wishes,

James

PS am still working on "Memento" - a challenge, but the miracle WILL happen!

This question was sent by Suzy. And she writes:

Dear Vidas,

​One of my dreams for organ playing is reaching higher and lower for pedals with confidence that I hit the right pedal. What is holding me back is:

1. Performance Anxiety which fluctuates. I have rituals for getting into a good mindset. I have a breath deeply, and center the mind so it is not fighting itself eg right and left centring. I

imagine a dial in the middle of my forward that I have to press the word ‘Center’ switch. I must not be too analytical but go with the flow, and have muscle memory.

2. Sometimes the way I practice. I need to not just play through; I need to focus exclusively on the bars that need attention. Timing this even for ten minutes a time rather than playing through without corrective practice. I have to consciously prevent myself just playing through which is not practice.

3. Having confidence in my ability. Also setting targets. Realistic ones. Don’t keep starting new pieces without finishing perfecting them. Eg learn two new pieces per month. So I need to set targets. Also playing hymns at the right tempo.

Thanks, Suzy

This question was sent by Ariane, who’s our Total Organist student. And I asked her on Basecamp, what is she struggling with, in organ playing. And she writes:

I am trying not to worry about struggling, I just want to make music as good as I can.

In this question, William writes:

“I worked on Meditation of Vierne. Not used to playing double flats. It was fun.”

This question was sent by William, and he writes:

“I worked on Meditation by Vierne. And the first page of Vierne Carillon. Very discouraging. Just can’t seem to bring tempos up after practicing. When you practice over and over slowly it is difficult to get pulse of to sound musical. Any thing I can do. Do I just keep going slow? At what point do you move tempo?”