How/when did you learn the organ.

[Krummhorn]

Thanks, Peter ...

The Möller pipe organ company (Hagerstown, Maryland) went defunct about 1992. The family had sold out to a group of investors who tried to cut corners and refused to re-invest in the company ... then there were the labor disputes and the eventual fold of the entire company.

Allen Organ Company (Macungie, Pennsylvania) bought up the "remains" of the MP Möller company, not to build pipe organs, but to use the name along in conjunction with their business to build augmented instruments adding their digital technology to existing pipe organs that need "enhancing" and face budget constraints where adding additional pipework is impractical due to space considerations or impossible for lack of finances. My church can do neither ... we have the space, but no possible way to fund more ranks, digital or otherwise, not even a console upgrade.

 

[methodistgirl]

Believe it or not I never took organ lessons. I just sat down and
started to play it. I still do that today at the pipe organ at the
church I go to now. I will play by ear and read music.
judy tooley

 

[criptlyon]

Hello!
(Refreshing this thread) :grin:

I just started to learn in February 2009 (on a Viscount Cantorum VI) with a learning book made for "keyboard rookies", by a French organist. It's very well done for me, as it was clear for me that I didn't want to do anything with piano before learning organ.

 

[Cosmosa]

Hello
I started the piano at 7yrs and used to accompany church services when I was a teenager. I then took it up again seriously in my 50s and took exams for the first time, going up to grade 8. Then like many pianists I was cajoled into playing the organ and given a handful of lessons from an inspiring cathedral organist and I became obsessed. This was when I was 60. He told me that unless I added pedal notes into the hymns straight away I would never have the courage to do so and so I have never looked back. However, I have had to spend so long on hymns since I play often several services per week that it has taken me 6 years to reach grade 5 which I take in a couple of weeks time. I have just occasional lessons and also go to master classes organised by a local organist association.
I have taught myself mainly from Anne Marsden Thomas books and CDs. I also record myself and now at long last have an organ at home. Apparently I have already ruined the lounge with my piano, so the organ had to be smallest one available from Wyvern that would fit in sideways in the utility room. Thus the door can be closed, headphones insisted upon and then everything can appear as normal.

 

[Bagnew]

I started piano lessons at 5, and a few weeks ago started teaching myself organ (Playing Hymns, a Buxtehude Fugue in C, Arrival of the Queen of Sheba, BWV 565 (still haven't got very far into the fugue yet, but practicing!) and anything else I can find). I'm playing a little Allen Digital Computer Organ, which is quite nice, and I do have the opportunity (but I haven't taken it up yet) to play a 2m/P Pipe Organ made by the Aplin Organ Company, here in New Zealand.

 

[SilverLuna]

I started playing the keyboard at age 5 for a birthday gift from my mom. I used to compose my first songs on it. It was a simple Yahmaha 4-octave keyboard. I then upgraded to an electric organ at age 10, then i sadly dropped it But i kept my keyboard and still liked to mess with it.
Then last year i picked up on a pipe organ. I'm 13 now, and i guess you'd say my level would be intermediate/advanced. I still love to compose, though ^^ I'm self-taught, it's hard to find even a good cello teacher where i live

 

[jcabraham]

My father was/is a church organist and choir director, and a lover of Bach, so I was exposed to all the best from an early age. I got to sit and noodle at a real Casavant pipe organ before I could read. I took piano lessons from my father for several years as a child.

Then, like an idiot, I quit. I did other things: I played bluegrass mandolin for several years, played classical guitar and lute for several years, got degrees in Latin and Greek, ended up a computer programmer.

NOW, at the ripe age of 42, I have started taking piano lessons from my father again! Moreover, we're starting on organ this week (Beauvarlet-Charpentier Fugue in g minor and the Short P&F in F)!

REALLY wish I'd not taken a 30 year break in the middle now! I'm glad to have experienced other things, but I think all along I knew I wanted to follow in my father's footsteps. Don't ignore that little voice in the back of your head.

Jim

 

[jcabraham]

I have taught myself mainly from Anne Marsden Thomas books and CDs.

Where, oh where, can one find these things? They seem to be unavailable for sale in the US.

Jim Abraham

 

[Krummhorn]

Hi Jim

Welcome to the forum :tiphat:

Great that you got hooked on the piano and organ again, and it's simply wonderful that your Dad is going to be able to tutor you :up:. I had hoped my son would have wanted to follow in my footsteps as an organist, but the drive was never there for him. Guess there is still hope.

I wish you all the success in the world .

 

[Contratrombone64]

I took to the organ far too late in life, that said, with each day I practise, and I do this twice a day: once in the morning for 30 minutes and in the afternoon for an hour (I'm lucky, where I work has a splendid two manual pipe organ in the College chapel).

As a result of my sheer determination my pedalling is improving and my hand and feet coordination is becoming less likely to "do my head in" as it did when I first started. You all must know that playing the organ is like hoping on one foot whilst rubbing your tummy with your right hand in clockwise circles and patting the top of your head with your left hand all whilst saying "I am the modern model of a modern major general ..." perfectly synchronised ...

 

[SilverLuna]

Contra- I can't even do that xD I don't really think at all when I play the organ (unless I'm sight reading of course) Until after about 30 minutes of non-stop improv my fingers and wrists are sore.... xP

Congrats on your accomplishments!! 8D It's it great to have breakthroughs? ^^

 

[methodistgirl]

Silver, you aren't the only one who was self tought. Every instrument
I ever played, I had to learn it myself. The music teachers here are
slim unless you want to join a school band somewhere. They don't
teach the instrument you want to learn. For instance, a violin would
be a bit out of place in a marching school band or pipe organ. I had
to teach mysef.
judy tooley

 

[Dorsetmike]

Looking back through this thread it seems most started on piano or in some cases an electronic keyboard. I was wondering if any of you had experience on Harpsichord either before or after moving to organ. The harpsichord always strikes me as being closer to the organ than the piano, maybe due to the second manual and in some cases pedals.

 

[SilverLuna]

Silver, you aren't the only one who was self tought. Every instrument
I ever played, I had to learn it myself. The music teachers here are
slim unless you want to join a school band somewhere. They don't
teach the instrument you want to learn. For instance, a violin would
be a bit out of place in a marching school band or pipe organ. I had
to teach mysef.
judy tooley

You know what, it's exactly the same here. The only organ teacher here only teaches you the basics, but I've already taught myself those things. Unless I move to a larger city, I have no other choice but to teach myself... but hey, I'm perfectly fine with that. As long as I have people online who can give me advice and technique methods, I'll be fine. I also like to watch youtube videos, which really helped with big and complicated things like Widor's symphonies.

Good job for being self-taught, though. It's really tough, but if you want to do it, you can. I'm only self-taught at the organ and flute.
So you play violin?

Mike- I've played a harpsichord before, but since they're extremely rare now, I doubt some people learned it before the organ. It's an awesome experience, but it's sad that even organs are becoming digital.
Baroque instruments themselves are just awesome- I recently played a viola de gamba, and the bow hold is very weird, but the sound is pretty awesome. You play everything with chords when you have 7 strings to deal with! 8D

 

[Dorsetmike]

@Silver, your comment on the rarity of Harpsichords prompted me to have a Google for Harpsichords for sale, found quite a few pages, even found a Pedal/2 manual in Seattle for $5,500 (needed a bit of work, including a couple of strings) Generally the prices seemed similar to good pianos (except the cheaper upright pianos "ideal for beginners") The cheapest harpsichord I saw was $2450, or a kit for $580.

I think probably one of the limitations of harpsichords for home use is the size, if you have room for a grand piano, then yes you could probably fit in a harpsichord instead.

 

[jcabraham]

Looking back through this thread it seems most started on piano or in some cases an electronic keyboard. I was wondering if any of you had experience on Harpsichord either before or after moving to organ. The harpsichord always strikes me as being closer to the organ than the piano, maybe due to the second manual and in some cases pedals.

It's closer to the organ because of the articulation. The harpsichord "speaks" at the top of the keypress, rather than at the bottom like the piano. Also, like the organ (leaving aside the swell), there are no dynamics. You get one volume, and that's it. I think the second manual and pedals are incidental. There's no reason a piano couldn't have them; most harpsichords (except the French) were single-manual, and pedal harpsichords were an extreme rarity. Pedal clavichords were somewhat more common, though clavichords are guaranteed to have only one manual. Early music is complicated....

 

[jcabraham]

@Silver, your comment on the rarity of Harpsichords prompted me to have a Google for Harpsichords for sale, found quite a few pages, even found a Pedal/2 manual in Seattle for $5,500 (needed a bit of work, including a couple of strings) Generally the prices seemed similar to good pianos (except the cheaper upright pianos "ideal for beginners") The cheapest harpsichord I saw was $2450, or a kit for $580.

I think probably one of the limitations of harpsichords for home use is the size, if you have room for a grand piano, then yes you could probably fit in a harpsichord instead.

THE place to shop is the Harpsichord Clearing House, in Rehoboth, MA: www.harpsichord.com

 

[SilverLuna]

@Silver, your comment on the rarity of Harpsichords prompted me to have a Google for Harpsichords for sale, found quite a few pages, even found a Pedal/2 manual in Seattle for $5,500 (needed a bit of work, including a couple of strings) Generally the prices seemed similar to good pianos (except the cheaper upright pianos "ideal for beginners") The cheapest harpsichord I saw was $2450, or a kit for $580.

I think probably one of the limitations of harpsichords for home use is the size, if you have room for a grand piano, then yes you could probably fit in a harpsichord instead.

Well... I guess they're not rare, but, just not cheap ^^;

 

[Dorsetmike]

Well... I guess they're not rare, but, just not cheap ^^;

Well then, you'll just have to wait until one of us wins the Lottery

 

[Mush]

Back in LA at one of the chuches I used to play at, we had a nice little one manual harpsichord. The business manager took it home for his kid to learn to play on because he didn't have a piano. I never saw it again.