Vidas: Hi guys, this is Vidas!
Ausra: And Ausra!
V: Let’s start episode 429 of Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast. And today, I’d like to talk a little bit about what Jeremy wrote about Total Organist when I asked him how is total organist working for him so far. He wrote:
"Just so much to learn! Loving every second as it gives me something to work on daily."
V: Do you know what he means, Ausra?
A: Well, I guess that I do.
V: We have plenty of materials in that database that we’ve prepared—fingering and pedaling and training, and programs, and anything you’d probably wish, too. And it’s constantly improving and updating. So, the good thing is that we have subdivided the Total Organist achives and training materials into the levels of difficulty. You know, Ausra? Beginners, Basic level, Intermediate level, and Advanced level.
A: That might be very useful, because sometimes it’s confusing, and you don’t know which one you need. How does one determine which level he or she is in?
V: Well, there are quite a few ways, but the first way, very intuitive way, for example, if a person thinks he or she is at the advanced level, they could download a score from the advanced level and sightread it. If it’s too difficult for them, then go one level earlier, into the Intermediate level, and if that’s too difficult, maybe go to the basic level, and something like that. Then, sooner or later, you will discover your true situation. Another thing that is possible to do with Total Organist is that you look at your interests. Some people like Bach’s music. Some people like Harmony and Theory. Some people like Hymn playing. Some people like improvisation, and Sightreading. And we have courses and training for any area of that level of expertise. So, you don’t have to play all of it that we provide, but you can choose what works for you, for your goals.
A: Excellent!
V: Now Ausra, do you think that Jeremy and others download those materials on a frequent basis? Maybe not daily, but something like that, or do they practice one score for more than one week?
A: I think it depends on the score—what kind of a score it is. If it’s a more advanced organ composition, then yes, you wouldn’t be able to learn it, maybe, in a day. You would need some time to work on it.
V: You know what an interesting thing is, that whenever I sightread organ music, I record it. And my hands are clearly visible from above. And then, I upload this video to YouTube, and then distribute that video to our team of transcribers who work on fingering and pedaling for these scores. And as soon as they’re done, they send me the link of that score, and as soon as I’m able to double check their work and finalize the score and upload it online, then I’m sharing the link with the Total Organist community as well. So, they don’t need to wait for the rest of the Secrets of Organ Playing community to get it, because we have a waiting line, which may form quite in the future waiting list. But the Total Organist community would get it first.
A: Excellent! So it’s very beneficial to belong to this community.
V: You know, and just so you know, for example, yesterday, I submitted “Sinfonia No. 9 in F minor” to transcribe by Bach to Jan, who has just finished transcribing the “Sinfonia” by Bach, also, and she needed more work afterwards, so I went to YouTube and gave her more work. And, before that, obviously, I recorded a “Andante Sostenuto” by Widor, and this is an assignment for Juan, who has just finished something else. And, by the way, yesterday, I recorded a long video, maybe 30 minutes long, with the piece by Vierne, “Carillon de Westminster,” because one of our subscribers, I think it was John, asked for the fingering and pedaling for this wonderful piece, and I haven’t done this before, so yesterday, I put a camera above my hands, and recorded it for half an hour and uploaded it to transcribe for Alan. So hopefully, this piece will come quite soon, too.
A: It’s a great piece!
V: Maybe by the time you guys hear this conversation or read the transcript of it, maybe by that time, this score will be already available. So guys, if you want some kind of material to work on on a daily basis, and support from other members of the Total Organist community, we would highly recommend this course. And not only we, you see, Jeremy recommends it wholeheartedly, as well. Thanks guys, this was Vidas,
A: And Ausra.
V: Please send us more of your questions; we love helping you grow. And remember: When you practice,
A: Miracles happen!