Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 788! Today's question was sent by Nicolo and he writes:Dear Vidas,I'm an avid listener of your podcast and always enjoy the conversations that you and Ausra have.I'm a beginner located in Colorado (USA) looking to invest in a small practice organ like this residence organ that Bedient makes. I think you know this builder well, so I wanted to get your opinion on this configuration as a practice instrument.Is having an independent pedal necessary for practicing trio sonatas? This organ requires the pedals to be coupled with one of the manuals.Also, are manual couplers useful in a practice instrument or not strictly necessary if one accepts the limited tonal palette?Thank you,NicoloHope you will enjoy our conversation!

You walk into a dark church, you've never seen this console before, and the audience starts arriving in exactly 30 minutes. Is it actually possible to be ready? Today, we’re breaking down the emergency checklist.

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 786! Today Ausra and I would like to share our discussion on the emotional and technical considerations when choosing music for funerals and memorials, exploring Bach's and other composers' best contributions to the genre.

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 785! Today Ausra and I will talk about my unsuccessful trip to Aland Organ Festival last week when due to multiple flight cancellations and delays I would have missed my own recital and therefore had to cancel it. It was the first time in my 26 year career as international concert organist. There were some lessons learned from this experience too so we hope you will enjoy our conversation!

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 784! On June 11 Ausra and I went to the organ recital of Olivier Latry who visited Vilnius for the first time. This event was part of the Vilnius Festival and took place at St. Casimir's church. It was one of the most amazing recitals we have ever listened to in Lithuania! Hope you will enjoy our conversation!

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 783! Today Ausra and I will be giving some practical advice for organists to handle common mechanical issues like loose keys and ciphering, empowering them to maintain their instruments (with some words of caution, of course). Hope you will will find it useful!

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 781! Today Ausra and I will discuss the question of learning modal organ improvisation for beginners. We got inspiration for this topic from the comment by our good friend James Flores who said he should try modal improvisation. Hope you will enjoy it!

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 781! Today Ausra and I will discuss the question about playing organ music from tablets and MobileSheets app. Hope you will enjoy it!

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 780! Today's question was sent by Dawn who is our Total Organist student and she writes:How can I learn ‘Mental Practice’? There is a lot of information about this on Youtube by other musicians but none of them are Organists. They claim to have an ability to play mentally, without a score or instrument. They see, hear and feel as if they are playing using their imagination. To what extent is this true? Can anybody learn it or not? And if so, at what stage in the learning process should you learn it? And how?

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 779! Today Ausra and I will give some practical steps for classically trained organists to finally start improvising with confidence. Hope you will enjoy it!

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 778! Today Ausra and I will discuss the topic of navigating the most common and high-stakes church services for organists weddings and funerals.

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 777! Today's question was set by Leo and he writes:"What organ repertoire would be comparable to the Durufle Requiem? I’ve played the Prelude and Fugue in the name of Alain years ago for my Masters organ recital. Currently preparing a recital for the Spoleto festival in May."

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast No. 776! Today's question was sent by Margaret and she writes:"I am a 77 year old female first year piano student who wishes to play the organ as fast as possible. How much daily practice would you suggest?"

This is a continuation of SOPP446 about learning Noel X by Daquin.

This question was sent by John. And he wrote: Dear Vidas, I improvise at every service. I often improvise before the start of Solemn Mass (generally an improvised prelude on the first hymn) and always at the Offertory - during the censing of the altar. The only times I do not improvise at the Offertory are during the seasons of Advent and Lent. On Palm Sunday, I improvise on Stations of the Cross at the evening service. [On Maundy Thursday, the organ is silent after the solemn procession until the Gloria at the Easter Vigil.] Best wishes, John