I recently took up the organ few months ago. I would like to excel at this instrument and I am seeking advice on how to improve on playing the organ.
I used to piano up around grade 7 but stopped and returned after a three year hiatus, I play at around a grade 6 level.
As you posted in the Classical Section I am going to assume you are mainly interested in playing Classical Organ.
One obvious option would be lessons, if there is a good Organ tutor in your area. In the UK we have the RSCM, (Royal School of Church Music) and they run some Organ workshops which are quite useful.
There are a couple of good books that I have found really useful, Little Organ Book by Floor Peeters, and The Organists' Manual by Roger E. Davis.
Church Organ: Monk & Gunther 13 Rank Pipe Rank Home Organs: Technics SX-GA1, Technics SX-GX7
Depending upon your location, whether or not you play in church, what kind of organ you have, the style of music you are interested in -- someone here may be able to point you in the right direction. So provide some info about those things and perhaps a member in your area will chime in with some advice.
John
---------- *** Please post your questions about technical service or repair matters ON THE FORUM. Do not send your questions to me or another member by private message. Information shared is for the benefit of the entire organ community, but other folks will not be helped by information we exchange in private messages!
I think you are about my level.
-Find an organ to practice on (if you don't have one already).
-Learn how to play the pedals without having to look at your feet. Find organ music that requires pedals so that you have an excuse to practice and get comfortable playing with your feet. I liked the Organ Chains by Brent Jorgansen. They are easy enough that you would be able to sight read them as you get comfortable playing the pedals.
-Read the manual on any organ that you play regularly so that you know how to use different features. On public instruments, make sure you know the rules for using the instrument.
-Get familiar with stops and stop families so that you can select better registrations.
-Also, start looking for a teacher. I finally got a lead on someone that lives near me after nearly four years of looking.
-While looking for a teacher work through some intro to organ courses. I found "Basic Organ Techniques" by Keeler and Blackham very helpful as well as the New LDS Organist podcast from BYU (I think AGO has posted a similar set of lessons but I haven't tried it).
Good luck and don't forget to have fun.
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