Learning the Pipe Organ
“In the Latin Church the pipe organ is to be held in high esteem, for it is the traditional musical instrument which adds a wonderful splendor to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lifts up man’s mind to God and to higher things.”
Little Organ Method for Religious Houses
This guide is set up into 31 Lessons of pipe organ instruction. It assumes a basic knowledge of reading music and/or basic piano. It is designed to facilitate those without a teacher, and each Lesson provides 5-10 minutes of focused study per day, that when taken as a whole, constitutes a month-long mini-intensive study of the organ. The culmination of the study is learning to play a 4-part hymn texture through the study of pedals, polyphonic voices and manuals study.
Audio Examples from the Method
Supplemental Practice
Certainly, you will not "master" the instrument at 5-10 minutes per day. However, by beginning your daily practice with the concise lessons, you assure that you are progressing in technique. Also, the lessons may, and should be repeated several times, and reviewed after the introductory intensive.
You can use the next 10 minutes of your daily practice learning repertoire, psalm tones, preparation for Mass, and so forth.
You may also consider the following, highly reccommended, collections:
Eight Little Preludes and Fugues - J.S. Bach circle
Fiori Musicali - Frescobaldi
The American Guild of Organists
A valuable Guild for all organists, providing numerous resources on everything from guidelines for the hiring of parish musicians, to educational materials, explanations of the mechanics and history of the pipe organ, and so much more.
“When students are given the opportunity to learn and play the organ, then there will be more organists!
Electronic keyboards are not Organs!”
