Organ works

[Ekpes]

Hello ,please are they any oragn piece or works that can improve the performance of an organist who does not seem to be improving after much practice .thanks

[Krummhorn]

Hi Ekpes,

The organ pieces themselves will not make or break an organist ... imho, it is the organist who has to improve themselves in order to succeed.

Can you give us an idea of what you have been working on? And, have you been taking lessons with a tutor or organ teacher?

[Ekpes]

Sir,i am trying to help a frend who has the problem.He is using the smallwood organ tutor,he is doing well with the hymns,but he is not improving with the classical ,so sir i wanted to find out if there were pieces that could improve the playing of a dull organist and the organist thanks

[Krummhorn]

Ok ... how long has this friend been playing in church? And, which classical organ works has this friend been working on?

I've viewed the wiki page about Richard Smallwood ... I see that he is mostly devoted to Gospel music, which is quite different from Classical music.

There are two main publications for organ study: 1) Harold Gleason: Method of Organ Playing (pricey book, but older versions will be cheaper) and 2) John Stainer: Complete Organ Method

I highly recommend either - I used the Gleason book (still have it from 1960) as it was an excellent reference book used in conjunction with formal organ studies (lessons) years ago.

Once again, I must emphasize that no individual music piece will make a 'dull' organist sound 'exciting'. It is the organist themselves who make the music come alive or remain 'dull' ... it's all in the interpretation of the score.

I can only stress much practice ... practice, practice, practice and more practice, and when done practicing, practice some more. If you read my 'signature', "Amateur musicians practice until they get it right ... Professional musicians practice until they can't get it wrong ... " a meaningful phrase I came up with many years ago and still live by it today.

[Ghekorg7]

Hi Ekpes,

Lars said it all, I'll just add something you must know more :
Practice and after practice, must practice.
That's all.

Ah, I forgot, when finnish practicing, don't forget to.... practice.

All my best
Panos

PS. Apart from practice, there are cases where a "dull" musician, remains "dull" no matter how many years of practice done. Or even change of musical style. The sooner the realisation of this undoing , the better, as time will be saved and target will be set for other things than practicing music, IMHO.

[Ekpes]

I am satisfied with your replies mr krummhorn,you are a great asset to this forum ,he has been playing for his church for two years now, and he has been working on handel messiah.i wil tell him all you and other members have said thanks and God bless

[Krummhorn]

Hi Ekpes,

Well, Handel Messiah is a challenging work ... but it is not 'organ music' per se - it is choral accompaniment mostly, although there is an organ score for it available only in the UK.

I might suggest that your friend attempt the 8 Little Preludes & Fugues of JS Bach (spurious works now thought to have been composed by Krebs). Those are pretty much a standard for all new organ students, and they are on the same 'difficulty' threshold as Messiah.

Also checkout the works of Alexander Guilmant, available there as free downloads since his music is in the public domain now. I would also recommend Prelude, Fugue et Variation of Cesar Franck. That was one of my first year organ pieces, as was the Sonata I of Felix Mendelssohn.

[wljmrbill]

One additional thought has helped me at times. Listen to a good/wellknown organist play the piece and this at times gives you insite into the music ( but do not copy the playing--use as a guide ) dull organist can sometimes be within the registrations they use when performing. 2 years is not long for playing organ either unlkess have a good background in piano. The key as all have said is PRACTICE.

[Ghekorg7]

Hi Bill !

I agree 100% and you gave me the opportunity to mention John Scott Whiteley. I cannot stop watching/listening to him play.
He's one great inspiration no doubt !

Best
Panos

[AllanP]

My organ teacher showed me one way to make the music flow better. She took away the sheet music and made me play from memory as much as I could. She told me that the sound improved considerably. The theory is that by concentrating on reading, the listening part gets less attention.

The comment about the "Eight Little Preludes and Fugues" reminded me. I am trying to memorize the change points in the music so that the notes and fingering are known ahead of reaching that point in the music. So far, this method is getting results.

Allan

[Krummhorn]

Hi Alan,

That memorization techinique was something I also learned ... really helped to know the piece better without having to concentrate on the notes in front of the player. My own interpretations of the music change, often for the better, when playing from memory.

Great that you are getting good results on the 8 P and F's, too.

[chrishandoko]

Does anyone know Handel's organ works for solo organ (not Organ concerto)?

[Contratrombone64]

Playing the organ's a piece of cake. Playing it beautifully is an entirely different matter. It is THE most difficult musical instrument, period. Some say the horn, but hey, you only need to worry about the fingers on one hand there and no feet.

[chrishandoko]

@contratrombone64:I absolutely agree with your opinion. I just think to learn about this instrument for entire my life (may be?)
but really I like this isntrument because of it's complexity and need good coordination almost entire of human sense.

[lupo9696]

so far as I know there are no organ works besides the organ concerti from GF Händel.
But there are a lot of transcriptions of various works such as AIR from Water Music, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba from Solomon, Hornpipe from Water Music, Halleluja from Messias, Largo and many more.