“Hi Irene, I’m interested to know if you’d be interested in teaching organ lessons. I live in Iceland and recently moved to the countryside where I am the organist and choir director for two churches. As a pianist I can ‘make do’ on the organ, but I’d really like to improve and I know lessons would keep me motivated….”
Church pianists, can you relate?
There are times when the church we play for happens to have an organ, and no organist to play on it. And since you’re the pianist, people would naturally think that you would know how to play another keyboard instrument on the fly.
For most pianists who have almost zero experience in organ-playing, the natural reaction might be to panic a bit. After all, playing the organ does require a different set of technique which can be quite terrifying for many pianists.
BASIC TECHNIQUE 1 || USE OF PEDALS
One of those is the use of pedals. As a pianist you’re used to two or three pedals, while organists deal almost over two octaves of notes just on the feet.
BASIC TECHNIQUE 2 || ATTACK VS. RELEASE
Then there’s the touch. On the piano, it is all about the attack, whereas with the organ it is all about the release, so using the same weighted pressure on the keys will not necessarily produce the desired outcome.
BASIC TECHNIQUE 3 || SOUND REGISTRATION
Sounds produced on the piano have variety, but it usually ranges with volume, length or quality of the same sound — the striking of hammers on a set of strings across a big soundboard. On the organ its a whole new set of different sound and sound combinations, a veritable orchestra in one person’s hands. Air passes through different sizes of pipes, with the volume controlled with the feet. Several stops are pulled or pushed (depending on the organ) which imitate the sound of flutes, reed, strings, and bells.
As a pianist, it does gives one a certain edge to acquire organ technique skills. Also, an organ sound is such a nice addition to have during the church service tho. For many congregations, it fosters a reverent and solemn atmosphere that other instruments just cannot provide.
So, if you’re someone wanting to brush up on your organ skills, or you’re totally new to it but know how to play the piano, here’s a list of very good online organ tutorials. Enjoy!
Oh, and did I mention they’re all free?
30 Lessons for the New Organist
The American Guild of Organists (AGO) Committee on Continuing Professional Education produced a series of 30 videos especially geared towards pianists who are asked by their congregation to play the organ. It helps new organists acquire basic skills and techniques as quickly as possible. Each video lesson is 2 to 7 minutes long, and there is a wide variety of topics from shoes to bench height, stops, registrations, and basic pedaling. An audio-only version is also from the National Library Service for the Blind and Print Disabled (NLS).
Mini-Course on Basic Organ Registration
In this 60-minute course, Margot Ann Woolard gives 34 demonstrations of the basic sounds and combinations of organ registration. She gives advice on what stops work best for Bach pieces, for preludes and postludes, for basic hymn-playing, as well as how to notate these registrations on the score. A free PDF guide also comes with the audio.
6 video-series about the basics of the organ
These videos were developed by students of Brigham Young University designed to answer the most common questions about it the organ. Here are the topics they covered:
Positioning Yourself at the Organ Console
How to Make Pedaling Easier
How Do I Play Legato at the Organ?
The Organ vs. the Piano
Creating Soft Solo Combinations at the Organ
The General Cancel
The New LDS Organist
This free course of twelve lessons is designed to help pianists adapt their skills to the organ as soon as possible. Lessons 1-5 and 10-12 are for everyone. But those who must begin very soon to play for church meetings might consider themselves “in shortcut mode” and skip lessons 6-9. These four lessons are for those who can spend the time required to refine their playing “in polish mode” before beginning to serve as an organist.
All twelve lessons are available free over the Internet as audio lessons (podcasts). There is a total of just over four hours of instruction, with each lesson lasting between five and thirty-five minutes plus pause time. The lessons involve listening to instruction, trying out new skills at the organ, and playing simplified hymns.
Also comes with over 59 pages of handouts, transcripts, and a detailed list of topic description.
A Church Organist’s Primer
Part 1: Respected organ instructor Sally Cherrington explains and demonstrates the basic elements of manual technique, pedal technique and notation, understanding console controls, and playing hymns and the liturgy.
Part 2: This acclaimed series introduces the student to the art of selecting stops appropriate to a wide variety of organ literature from various historical periods and traditions.
Part 3: This final video introduces the student to accompaniment techniques for a wide variety of hymnody from traditional to gospel to contemporary. Examine a variety of hymnals for major denominations. Learn secrets to indexes cross-referencing subject, author, composer, and source. Find out what works and what doesn’t in leading group singing. Discover a wealth of source materials for a rebirth of congregational singing in your church. Even pianists and other keyboardists will learn valuable skills. After viewing this series, you’ll never play a church service the same way again.
There are lots of ways to succeed in learning the organ. If live private organ lessons are not available for you, I hope these classes will get you going!
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