Any organists out there?

[chauncey]

Hey guys. I was just wondering, are there any organists out there? Myself, I am an organist and if there is any pianists out there wanting to be one you should go check out local churches or universities! It is an AMAZING instrument, deemed "The king of all instruments" by some people.

Also, does anyone listen to organ pieces?

This is my favourite organ piece by Bach.

[m1469]

Cool, hi .   I'm not an "organist" in this life  , but I took organ lessons for 2 or 3 terms in University and it was pretty fun.  I remember one of the first times I sat all alone in the organ room and started playing, that sound just rang all the way through me!  I was slightly scared at first that I was going to like it more than the piano, but that didn't happen.  I don't ever play the organ anymore, but there's a very nice one sitting in the organ loft at the church where I sing ... it never gets used anymore now that we have a piano and the woman who used to play has moved along.   Sometimes I feel sad for that organ, built to do great things but sitting there all quiet and still, instead.   It's actually really sad  .  I played a Bach prelude and Fugue as the prelude music in church on that organ once and it was really quite a wonderful experience, I guess sometime I'll have to find myself up there again, especially since I could go there anytime I want!

Thanks for sharing your music and your love for what you do .  

[drkilroy]

I had a few organ lessons, but my teacher, besides organ basics, taught me actually only about harmony, so I could improvise. But well, yes, I can play organ. I have never played on pipe organ, however, only on analog imitator. I really like the prelude and fugue you posted, I have been learning it for some time but it needs polishing.
Apart from Bach (who is a must!) I like French organ music the most, especially by Saint Saens, Messiaen and Alain.

Best regards, Dr

[timothy42b]

I don't ever play the organ anymore, but there's a very nice one sitting in the organ loft at the church where I sing ... it never gets used anymore now that we have a piano and the woman who used to play has moved along.  

I went to a church far, far away where the organist was a converted pianist who had not worked with the pedals.

She was only going to be there a year, so there really was no point in putting the effort into learning them; she just played the swell and great manuals. 

52 years later she retired and I took her place.  In all that time, she had never practiced pedals, because she never thought she'd be there more than another year.  Just goes to show.  Not sure what, but it goes to show.

I played the organ at that church about a year myself.  I never attempted pedals in performance but I did practice them.  Hee, hee.  Then their musical tastes changed and they wanted piano and guitar instead. 

[m1469]

52 years later she retired and I took her place.  In all that time, she had never practiced pedals, because she never thought she'd be there more than another year.  Just goes to show.  Not sure what, but it goes to show.

haha ... yeah, it goes to show!  It goes to show that you can easily end up stuck doing something that you never intended to do if you don't just finally decide not to and act on that decision!  That's actually *exactly* something I've been scared of ... I'll just do this one thing for a while ... weeks go by ... months go by ... years go by ... life goes by  .  But, methinks she must have at least somewhat enjoyed it?  I hope.

I played the organ at that church about a year myself.  I never attempted pedals in performance but I did practice them.  Hee, hee.  Then their musical tastes changed and they wanted piano and guitar instead.  

Yeah, I had just started learning the pedals ... it was fun, but that's probably about the time I decided I probably didn't need to start seriously devoting time to a third instrument.  I of course could figure some of it out again if I wanted to, but that will just be for whims and fancies!

[iansinclair]

Indeed there are!  In fact, organ was my primary "keyboard" instrument -- I'd had a few piano lessons early on as a child, but organ was my instrument, and I was a Minister of Music/choir master/church organist (pick your title) for almost 50 years.

I still play now and then, and I still have access to the instrument in the church I played for when i retired, but... now I work on piano, which I have at home (I'd love to have an organ in my home, but I can't stand the electronic variety, and simply don't have the space for the real thing).

It is a very different instrument than a piano.  Many of the techniques and fingerings are quite different, and I have found that the two really take a different point of view.

Favourite music to play?  Depends very much on the particular instrument at hand!  (Organs vary so much more widely than pianos do!).  If I have an instrument to hand which can manage it -- Alain, particularly Litanies; Widor... modern French (but oddly I've never been all that keen about Franck).  Otherwise Bach, Buxtehude...

[pianovlad1996]

Hi, I'm pianist and organist. I'm currently learning Bach's exercise for pedals BW 598 or something like that. It's awkward and my feet are quite destroyed but hope it helps me. 

[piano_vs_science]

I have a similar question...
any science lovers out there???