Pedalling technique

[AD43]

Hello All,
Couldn't find an education etc. forum, so I cam here. I have just started learning the organ playing religious and secular classical and baroque mainly. I was just wondering whether I need heels and knees together, just knees, or none as I have received all as advice from credible people, so i would just like opinions on each one and suggestions, do you have different technique for different styles?
Thanks
From AD43

[samibe]

I'm probably not the most qualified person here to answer this (as I am unlearning some bad habits) but I'll take a hack at it.

The point of knees and heels is to give you a way to feel your way around the pedalboard without having to look. There's also a gap method where you feel for the gaps between the black keys to know where you are. I'm sure there are others. Eventually, they should be unnecessary because you will develop the muscle memory for where all of the pedal notes are. For faster and/or more difficult music there isn't time to feel around the pedalboard. You have to know where the notes are.

I developed some bad pedalling habits that my teacher and I have been working on fixing. I used to play on the outside edge of my feet sometimes. I've since learned that I need to play on the inside edge (big toe or inside ball of foot) so that the other parts of my feet don't accidentally press adjacent notes down (I think playing knees together might help this develop naturally). I think I'm at about 15 hours working on that and it is finally starting to feel normal. I found out that white keys are usually played with your toes about an inch away from the black keys. Black keys are played with your toe covering about a third of the key. Heel slides are used to slide between white key and black key position. That has made pedalling so much easier.

[you795a]

In my opinion, Harold Gleason's Method of Organ Playing is a good book to learn from. It is expensive however but it goes from basic to advanced. Also, A Church Organist's Primer Part I Manual and Pedal Technique by the late Sally Cherrington is a good video to watch. You can find it on the internet to watch. Like I said these are just my opinions.

[lcid]

Pedaling: Gleason

I highly recommend Harold Gleason's Method Book. It's the one I used the most and there is an older edition free download at the link below. They are expensive but can be found used on the web and well worth the money. The knees are held comfortably close together and heels together for smaller intervals.

https://urresearch.rochester.edu/ins...alItemId=32256

[myorgan]

AD43,

There has been considerable debate over the years on the Forum regarding this topic. If you search the Forum, you'll find extensive treatises on the subject.

Personally, I find heels together to be much more essential than knees together–both for the purpose of finding pedal notes without looking, as well as guiding the lower appendages about the pedalboard.

Michael

P.S. I learned using the Gleason method, but there is another by Oswald Ragatz which is good as well.

[voet]

Prior to the Harold Gleason's method book in 1949, many organ teachers used John Stainer's. Stainer advocated feeling for the spaces between the sharps to get your bearings on the pedal board. This method went out of vogue when Gleason's book came along. However, I have noticed on some videos of Diane Bish that she uses uses her toe to feel for the sharps. It has made me wonder if her early training was with the Stainer method.

[Piperdane]

My first organ lessons began with the Gleason method book. Still have mine from 1961 and refer to it every once in awhile.

Many years later I have somewhat shifted my pedal style to the Stainer method, and also cross over and cross under as conditions warrant, something that, if I remember correctly, was rather taboo with the Gleason method.

Currently I feel for sharps and naturals - because of severe foot neuropathy (due to diabetes) I can no longer wear regulation organ shoes, so play in my socks, tight fitting ones. Seldom look down except for a beginning note perhaps.

[lcid]

John Stainer

My first organ lessons began with the Gleason method book. Still have mine from 1961 and refer to it every once in awhile.

Many years later I have somewhat shifted my pedal style to the Stainer method, and also cross over and cross under as conditions warrant, something that, if I remember correctly, was rather taboo with the Gleason method.

Currently I feel for sharps and naturals - because of severe foot neuropathy (due to diabetes) I can no longer wear regulation organ shoes, so play in my socks, tight fitting ones. Seldom look down except for a beginning note perhaps.

Yes, I used John Stainer's method book as well and reccomend it. Just worked out of Gleason more and still have both books. Sorry to learn of your difficulties with neuropathy, but glad you are adapting and still playing!

[Al Offt]

You can find one of those previous threads at https://www.organforum.com/forums/sh...-free-pedaling . I started out two years ago without formal instruction and find that pedal technique will evolve as you try different suggestions for better accuracy and minimal leg movement.