Secrets Of Organ Playing Podcast

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 741! This question was sent by David and he writes:Hello Vidas,Thank you for the email. I am happy to answer the two questions. My dream is to learn how to play pieces that I love or that are "standard repertoire" with confidence and good technique.Three things holding me back are better technique, better ways to learn a piece and playing faster. Most challenging are fingering a piece and ornamentations.I hope this helps.DavidHere you will find all my scores: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/category/arrangeme/?q=Secrets+of+Organ+Playing&aff_id=454957You can support this channel by becoming a member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/joinIf you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduoPayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkeviciusWe support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/enMy Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.htmlTotal Organist - the most comprehensive organ training

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 740! This question was sent by Jeovane and he writes:Hello Vidas, could you help me with a question? What is the significance, in registrations, of Grand choeur, grand jeu and plein jeu? I learned that plein jeu is the combination of all the founds and mixtures; grand jeu the combination of all principals, mixtures and reeds; and grand choeur a organ tutti. Is this correct?Find out more: https://organduo.lt

Let's start episode 739 of Secrets of Organ Playing podcast. This question was sent by Tamsin Jones and she writes:My organ teacher taught me various ways to orient myself and to find notes while playing the pedals, such as finding the gaps between black keys or brushing up or down to the next note. However, my intuition is telling me that at some point I need to begin playing mainly by internalised knowledge of where the notes are; in other words, the techniques are starting to feel like training wheels that I'd need to jettison in order to play faster and more fluently. Could I please have your thoughts on this topic?During those 10000 hours you have to make decisions about what to focus on. I watch videos of concert organists and they don't seem to be playing by feel, but rather by spatial awareness. However, perhaps they're using touch in a highly efficient way that's not detectable by camera. If it's by spatial awareness, when does a player make the change and is it something tha

Let's start episode 738 of Secrets of Organ Playing podcast. This question was sent by Jeovane and he asks:Did the Soviets allow sacred music? This question reminds me of Arvo Part’s Credo, banned for "political provocation".Hope you will enjoy the conversation!

Let's start episode 737 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Kathrin and she writes:Do you also compose for others, after their wishes? Do you get such requests sometimes?For what instruments do you compose beside the organ or piano?Hope you will enjoy it!

Let's start episode 736 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Alessandro and he writes:I am writing to you to ask for advice about my situation as a passionate organist with health problems. I suffer from diabetes, therefore I have problems with the pedalboard to find the notes due to the decrease of the sense of position, typical of the disease. I also have vision problems with difficulty reading the three staves at the same time. I had built in the past, a good repertoire, even done some recitals. Now I feel like I have lost everything. I was already a slow learner, now it takes me a long time to study a piece. In a month I would like to show a friend the first movement of the Eb major Trio Sonata, and the Dorian Toccata by Bach, but the effort and the mistakes are so many, and, if I think that I mastered these pieces, I get discouraged and go days without practicing. I would almost like to start studying (or revising) the organ from scratch because I really like it a lot. I wan

Let's start episode 735 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Dawn and she asks:Ausra, ​is your technique for composing the same as Vidas?Hope you will enjoy this conversation!Find out more at https://organduo.lt

Let's start episode 734 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Kathrin and she writes:That's a really interesting topic. Can I add a few questions?- Level 1 - 2 - 3 method sounds plausible. But for me, when a piece really looks like level 1, after practicing for a while, it turns out, it's at least level 2. I never found level 1 pieces.What would you suggest?- First I have to prepare my services. It costs me a lot of time to remember pre- and postludes. When I don't play a piece for a few weeks, I have forgotten it. So I don't have much time to learn new pieces.Do you have a method not to forget pieces anymore?If you liked this conversation, you can buy us some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduo

Let's start episode 733 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Ann and she writes:I have a related problem. I also have been working on the E flat trio sonata, and have absolutely loved working on it/playing it. But I played it in a recital recently (one movement) and I played it badly, even though it is great when I play by myself. When I started playing, my hands were actually shaking. This is the second recital this has happened to me in, the first was a Guilmant Finale. I play the piano relatively frequently in public and have never had shaking hands. But when playing the organ, which I've taken up again in the last couple of years after many years off) – the shaking hands and the fear of messing up. I can't take a permanent church job to get in more frequent public playing because of schedule issues. Should I just give up playing in public, or is there a fix for this?Get more organ playing advice at https://organduo.lt

Let's start episode 732 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. These questions were sent by Rien and Benas and they write:Maybe you could answer this question in a podcast (referring to Benas): with some pieces you “feel” while practicing that everything comes together. And if you are there, you stay there. Even if you don’t play the piece for a while, it still flows (maybe with some light practice) out of your hands in the right way, while other pieces don’t seem to “stick”. What’s the reason? Not enough practice, wrong practice routines? Or just a mismatch between the piece and performer?Benas:Hi, Rien, that's a very interesting topic You've touched upon - yes, I think some pieces are just inherently "mismatched" with the performer (I've had quite a few when I was learning piano in music school), but after a while I tried revisiting them and often found that the issue was the skill level required to play as well as understand the piece. But some of them just can't seem to be done

Let's start episode 731 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Dan and he writes:Interesting podcast episode here, on pedal technique, Vidas.  You talk about putting hands on the bench during pedal solos. I’ll often do this, as I’m not playing anything in the manuals.  Would you say this is a good thing to do, technically speaking?  Or would you advise organists that you’re working with, to keep their hands on the manuals, so they can be ready for when manual parts come back in?  Speaking of playing baroque music with toes only, with the Toccata, from BWV 564, and the pedal solo that it has in it, how would you play the part that has triplets in it, as smooth as possible?  This is a bit in that pedal solo in that toccata that I've always not gotten as smooth as I’d like it to be, and as smooth as I’ve heard organists generally play it.  Find out more at https://organduo.lt

Welcome to episode 730 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast! This question was sent by Benas, our student at Vilnius University organ studio "Unda Maris" and he writes:After learning to play Bach's Trio Sonata in Eb major, I found myself reluctant to try and explore the rest of the Trio sonatas. What could I try to overcome this fear? Last year, I played Bach's Trio Sonata in E-flat major (BWV 525) at Vilnius University Unda Maris Studio Recital in winter. I found the entire learning process extremely difficult compared to any other piece I tried to learn. Usually, when I am learning to play any piece of music, at some point I get a certain feeling that it's all going to come together eventually and that has been a good predictor of whether I will perform it well in the concert. However, with this piece, I could not feel that at all and my concert performance was really not up to my liking, making an underwhelming result after practicing it for about a year (although I must admit, the pra

Let's start episode SOPP729 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Nick and he writes:Hi there! Been following your site for a while (and even bought a few pieces). I just recently stepped up to learn organ for my church – it’s a Catholic traditional Latin church, so I’m being asked to play hymns, interludes, and to accompany chant when I can. It’s been a while since I’ve been at the keyboard – so I’ve started myself over in theory books (currently in book 4 of a 10 book series) and am doing my best to start to learn pedals. I’ve been working with a local teacher here who is a concert organist and we’ve been going through the New Oxford Organ Method book along with Flor Peeters’ Little Organ Book. I recently saw that you all have the total organist course and I’m interested – however I also don’t want to make the mistake of grabbing too many resources. I’m emailing to get some insight into the course – is there a way it would be able to help me develop my skills faster than where I

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 728! It's Vidas and usually we do these conversations with Ausra but today I’m delighted to speak with a very special guest—someone whose music has brought inspiration, beauty, and calm to listeners and performers around the world.Dr. James Michael Stevens, joining us from Nashville, Tennessee, is a remarkably prolific composer, pianist, and educator. He currently serves as the Dean of the School of Music at Welch College, and his creative output is nothing short of astonishing. With thousands of published compositions, Dr. Stevens has developed a signature style that blends lyrical grace, spiritual depth, and heartfelt simplicity.Many of his works, especially his meditative piano pieces, have become favorites among church musicians, educators, and recording artists alike. His music resonates deeply with people looking for comfort, peace, and emotional honesty—and more recently, it has also found a home in the repertoires of organists.In this episode, we’ll expl

Let's start episode 727 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Gene and he writes:My question is tempo, on BWV 624: Hilf Gott, dass mir's gelinge by J.S. Bach. I'm amazed that I can play it pretty well,  and it sounds pretty good on my funny, little house organ. Fluit 4, on the triplets and to Pedal. Cantus on Principal 8. I can play it @75, metronome, mostly. Soon, I will be able to do it, start-to-finish. Of course, I listen to people on YouTube playing it much faster. Is this an embarrassingly slow tempo? What should be a goal?

Welcome to episode 726 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast! This question was sent by Tamsin and she writes:I have a technical question that you might be able to shed some light on.  When playing Baroque repertoire I usually use all-toes technique.  I would like to ask if you find foot-crossing and other elements of all-toes technique easier to perform on a straight pedal board than on a radial pedal board since the distance does not change.  Put another way, do you think that radiating pedal boards suit heel-and-toe technique better?Many thanks and warm regards,Tamsin

Let’s start episode 725 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Steve and he writes:Is it possible at 78 years old to memorize?Hope you will enjoy this conversation!​

Let’s start episode 724 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Kathrin writes:I can‘t play versets for services like confirmation. I need festive, more or less bold and „friendly“ pieces, at least between 3 to 5 minutes, pieces with repeats are always nice. The „biggest“ organs I play regularly have 14 (a mechanical organ) and 12 (pneumatic organ) ranks on two manuals, no preparations. What would you suggest, not to play Dubois‘ „Fanfare“ and BWV 553 every year?

Let’s start episode 723 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Filippa and she writes:Hi Vidas,1. My dream would be for the idea of improvisation not to make me very nervous and to be something I can do with some degree of confidence!2. The 3 things holding me back are: chord progressions and harmonizations while improvising, not practicing improvisation like I practice my repertoire, and needing lots more SUPER simple videos like you share to help me learn.I would love to see more videos about simple improvisations- I am a great organist, but improvisation is (and has always been!) a major “black hole” for me- and I am getting a lot out of your videos about harmonization, chord progressions, and simple improvisation. More of these simple videos, or ones that build on the video would be most helpful.For example, I used the techniques in the “Auld Lang Syne” video to make an improvisation on St. Brendan’s (They’ll know we are Christians”) as it is also pentatonic -in an ABA format (I’m

Let’s start episode 722 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. This question was sent by Dawn and she writes: "My New Year's resolution is to be confident at improvising.You can support this channel by becoming a member here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCO4K3_6QVJI_HlI5PCFQqtg/joinIf you like what I do, you can buy me some coffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/organduoPayPal: https://PayPal.Me/VPinkeviciusWe support Ukraine: https://www.blue-yellow.lt/enMy Hauptwerk setup: https://www.organduo.lt/tools.htmlTotal Organist - the most comprehensive organ training program online: https://www.organduo.lt/total-organistSecrets of Organ Playing - When You Practice, Miracles Happen! https://organduo.ltListen to my organ playing on Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0ckKPIvTWucoN3CZwGodCO?si=YWy7_0HqRvaZwBcovL-RKg#secretsoforganplaying #vidaspinkevicius #ausramotuzaite