anyone here also an organist?

[quantum]

Does anyone here also play the organ in addition to the piano?  I've been considering taking up the organ, probably just to play in church.  I've doodled on it a little, but I wan't to know you're experiences in playing both instruments.  How do you practice if you don't have an organ at home? 

[thalbergmad]

A couple of years ago i bought an organ designed for a small church or home use, from a company called Arthur Lord over here in England.

The first difficulty was getting it in the house. It looked small in the showroom.

I found the concept of weightless keys a little difficult to get used to, but once i got it into my small brain than it didn't matter how hard i pressed the keys, the volume was still the same, i began to make some progress.

Of course to someone who has only played the piano before, being in charge of 32 pedals was exciting and needed to be practised on their own.

My organ has 32 stops and 6 programable pistons and i must say is very user friendly. The sound is enough to start my lampshade swinging and is of good quality.

If i were a concert pianist, i am reasonly sure i would not want to combine both instruments. I think it would be very difficult to become brilliant on both.

But to the amateur, it is just a nice toy to play with.

[quantum]

I don't really plan on becoming brilliant on organ, piano is really my chosen instrument and there is already enough to work on.  I just want to get some practice on an organ.  Sometimes when you play in a church the organ would be in better shape and have better sound than the piano.  I'd really like an organ in my home, but with a 6' piano already there I'd have to squeeze it in (that's still a dream in progress). 

Thalbergmad, do you have any pics of your organ?

[thalbergmad]

I will take some photos tommorrow and post them

[Etude]

I used to play the Organ, but I went to an idiot teacher who never taught me proper pedal technique.  He taught me on an electric organ  .  In the end, I went week after week to play hymns to him, after finishing he'd just tell me they needed more work.  I stopped going to him.  I found out some pedal technique from my school music teacher (toe and heel) and tried using it at every opportunity when I felt confident, I don't play anymore, because I haven't been to church in months, though I should start going again really, but I am supposed to be having lessons with her this summer.

[Barbosa-piano]

 I can play the organ, but I don't practice anything, it is very hard to find an organ in my area. I've been to Baylor University's Pipe organ Encounter, which was great in many ways. The pedals on the organ are surely hard to manage when playing with both hands. I tried to play Bach's Prelude no. 1 for Organ, and it was easy to play with both hands, and pedals separately, but to put them together is a little bit difficult. It is a great instrument, and I love it as much as the Harpsichord or the Piano. I like its powerful sound. Most people that I knew on the Encounter went to their local church, and asked someone if they could practice on the organ.

Mario Barbosa

[amanfang]

I "played" a little bit in high school, and took three semesters in college.  I practiced at school - there were about 5 organs available to practice on - 3 pipe and 2 electric.  When I'm not at school I find it very hard to just go practice.  I don't have an organ at home, and the only one I can play on is at my church.  They have a nice electronic Allen organ.  It gets a good full sound.  But I only have time to make it over there once or twice a week.  Although I don't do that on a regular basis, unless I'm working on something specific that I want practice for. 

[c18cont]

I had a major in piano,

And a minor in organ, in university, and have worked as an app. tech with two small organ builders. I did at one time do some commerce in pipe organ, and built an organ into my home, after removing it from a church in central Florida, and re-voicing it. I have played many years for several churches.

HOWEVER, I found the additional time spent on organ technique, seemed to limit my ability with piano technique a bit, as they are, of course quite different..In addition you have the added problems with the  taking of practice time for two (or more, as I also was a vocalist..) instruments, thereby limiting your time on each one...

I have always felt that the attention to organ was perhaps not wise in that respect, as I always felt piano was my first instrument, and as a choral director for many years, the piano served as a major instrument perferred for me as my voice was never very attractive even in it's best days...

I do believe I would have been a better pianist if I had maintained my attention to just the piano, and not actually "studied" organ.

Any others have any thoughts or historical evidence on this idea?

My Regards,   John

[whynot]

Well, I will cast my vote for playing the instruments that fascinate and move you, if you have a little time and access to it.  Professional help is a big plus, too!  I do play organ professionally, but I think the spirit of the original question also has to do with, as Mr. Cont discussed, whether we lose anything by dividing our efforts (John, you are always very tactful, by the way).  For some people, there probably is a loss, although not for everyone.  I suspect that it has something to do with the type of learners or thinkers we are in general:  whether we solve problems in one project by starting a new project altogether (this works for me), or stay completely focused on the task at hand until it's resolved.  Just a theory, nothing to back this up! but it does explain why there are gifted, even brilliant people on both sides of this question of playing several instruments while being quite serious about at least one of them.  You might enjoy doing a search on this.  It's amazing what many of the forum members do in additional to piano.   

[c18cont]

I appreciate your thoughtful reply, whynot, and I am glad it fits your apparent naming as well..,

In my case, I probably made too often, the mistake of completely leaving the one, to practice the other. I was reasonable as a beginner on woodwinds and brass, for example; (as most of us do in college, I learned well enough to do band in the fall...)

I never let secondary interests become important, as my major instrument, complete with full lessons several times a week.....I simply changed my mind a few times about piano and organ...therefore switching my actual major instrument completely. (Could have been worse, if I had changed from lets say violin to trumpet several times...!)

I was in college 2 years beyond the requisite 4( )...and I completely changed my instrument to organ for three years, never touching the piano...(It was the Mozart Fantasy that got me, or maybe the Poulenc Concerto...)

All that was not to say you cannot many do very well on a number of instruments...(I still play pretty good flute, which I loved...

My Regards, to the list,   John

[c18cont]

P.S.,

I left out the old joke about band for non-band people..."It's hard to march with a piano...."

John

[pianonut]

neat to see that others are interested in the organ, too.  i now have a full size hammond organ (quite old) at right angles to my piano.  it gets little use right now, but i hope to take some lessons.  it has the full set of knobs/buttons and pedals.  occasionally i play it like the piano and hit a  bass pedal note every line.  my feet are too slow right now.  i'd like to become good enough to play organ at weddings/funerals, and possibly commencement exercises.  next on the agenda after piano concerto.

am practicing chromatic pedalling.  not sure i'm doing it right.  heel toe heel toe up to C and switch feet?