I have never really tried to learn to organ before today. I just got back from an hour and twenty minutes on the church organ practicing. Let me tell you it is WAY more different than the piano than I ever thought. It's not just adding feet . . . even if it was, just that wouldn't be quite as easy as I expected. It is a TOTALLY different instrument and there is a totally different language I will have to learn . . . the great, the swell, the stops, etc. And my fingers have to learn a whole new way of playing.
Here are some differences between piano and organ:
Piano- There is voicing. The melody in any song should stand out, or be "voiced" louder than the rest of the notes.
Organ- No voicing. It doesn't matter if you hit one note harder than another, they will be the same volume.
Piano- Basically use whatever fingering makes the most sense and makes it fastest to get to notes. You have a pedal to sustain the notes!
Organ- Use crazy fingering in order to make the music sound sustained in the correct places WITHOUT a sustaining pedal. (Otherwise it will be totally choppy sounding.)
Piano- No fancy footwork. All of your energy and concentration can go into what your hands are doing!
Organ- Lots of fancy footwork! I'm having a hard time feeling the distance between notes without looking! . . . and SO what my hands are playing suffers too! . . . especially since I have to play that weird to make it not CHOPPY!
Piano-If you are using the pedal for that lovely sustaining sound . . . all of the notes are sustained.
Organ- You can sustain the left hand independent of the right and vs versa which has a lovely effect and makes me feel like I'm playing TWO instruments in an orchestra. (Fun Handel song in the Organ lesson book :))
Summary: This is all very fun and I'm glad my husband had the idea for me to learn the organ and my bishop is letting me practice at the church(we have a ward pianist, not an organist). I feel very much like my mother and have a much deeper appreciation for the talent she developed on the organ. Everyone appreciate your ward organist!
5 comments:
Oh sweeet! Very fun for me to read!! And you're absolutely right--the organ is different than the piano! The same--but different. It requires a different TOUCH. Reading this made me want to show you techniques that I'm sure that book is teaching you. Keep in mind with your practicing that I remember doing a lot of practicing with just ONE HAND to learn technique. And also a lot of practicing with JUST your feet. Believe it or not--after you have played and practiced quite a bit--it starts to become second nature! You no longer have to 'think' about what you're doing--it'll come naturally. (although of course there are always some difficult places in some songs that will require you to practice and figure out the best way to play)
I guess you could have googled a picture of an ORGAN for that post!! :) So happy that Justin is encouraging you! However, it does make me glad that "I" learned how to play the organ when I was a teenager--rather than after I had FOUR KIDS!! I should have gotten you into organ lessons when YOU were 14 or 15!!
Good thing you're so dang smart and so determined and dedicated! Makes me admire you even MORE! xoxo
I wished I had my phone a few times to call and ask you questions, although that would have been weird in the chapel. Like how do I control the volume??? And what are easy hymns to practice feet on? And how do I decide if I want to use the swell or the great on a hymn? I practiced "Come Follow Me" a few times. It wasn't too bad, but I still messed up one of two times per run through. Gotta go watch movie with hubby. Love you!
I just sent you about 3 text messages to answer your questions. :) But I wasn't sure on the volume question if you were asking WHERE are the volume controls or HOW do you control the volume DURING a song? Let me know.
Soo sweet. I wish I could learn...I'm still trying to learn all the hymns on the piano. :) I just sight read unsuccessfully some of them still. :) I want to take organ lessons...they give some free ones in our stake sometimes...I'll have to go to that the next time they offer it. I forgot the last time. Good for you Am-never afraid to learn something new-guitar, organ, cello, etc!
Wow! That's great Am! What a fun challenge for you - and time for yourself. Great to admire Mom and all those organists out there! David (Debi's husband) got to play the Conference Center organ this winter! 7,000 pipes!!
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