transition from organ to piano

[coathangerwings]

Hello. I'm new here.

Anyway, I used to play the organ at semi-beginner's level (step 5-6) and I still know how to play it. Recently, I've decided to play the piano and am now taking piano lessons and enjoying them immensely but I still make mistakes regarding notation (the note for middle C on the piano is.. uh..  not-so-middle on the upper keyboard -- forgive the wording  ) and of course the weight of the keys are vastly different. I'm so used to the soft touch of the organ that sometimes, after a practice session on the piano, my hands are kind of sore. I'm glad I have a Yamaha U1 which, I hear, has a lighter key weight than most other brands.

My question is, for those who used to play the organ, how do you make the transition easier? Or is this a totally stupid question and should I just go practice a lot? 

[Daniel_piano]

Hello. I'm new here.

Anyway, I used to play the organ at semi-beginner's level (step 5-6) and I still know how to play it. Recently, I've decided to play the piano and am now taking piano lessons and enjoying them immensely but I still make mistakes regarding notation (the note for middle C on the piano is.. uh..  not-so-middle on the upper keyboard -- forgive the wording  ) and of course the weight of the keys are vastly different. I'm so used to the soft touch of the organ that sometimes, after a practice session on the piano, my hands are kind of sore. I'm glad I have a Yamaha U1 which, I hear, has a lighter key weight than most other brands.

My question is, for those who used to play the organ, how do you make the transition easier? Or is this a totally stupid question and should I just go practice a lot? 

This is quite I'm strange, I mean your not being used to piano touch
As a matter of fact you never start on organ
Organ classes all begin with 5 years of piano and when you're ready to do Chopin Etudes on piano you pass on organ adding the pedal and the baritone clef and starting studying pieces for organ while going on with the piano program
So, it's very strange that as a organist you've never played piano before

Anyway, I know many people who passed made the transition from piano to organ and it's like learning a completely new instrument
On the other hand the transition between organ and piano is almost immediate and organist can get a diploma in piano performance in few years

Daniel

[coathangerwings]

Er, it just happened. I wasn't on any formal program at all. Took up organ lessons back then bec. it was all the rage and the teacher did not mention having to practice on the piano. To be honest, it was easier on the organ bec. the LH just has to thump out rhythms. With the pedals, it felt like dancing. Just a matter of coordination.

[amanfang]

I have a friend in a similar situation - she had always played organ and never piano.  I think she found it easiest to start with things like Bach.  Or perhaps something else contrapuntal.  Once you get comfortable with the feel of the piano, then move onto something more melodic and chordal or accompaniment type, such as Beethoven or Mozart.  I myself started organ after several years of piano and found the switch very hard.  The feet coordination and reading the third pedal line was hard for me.  Anyway, hope this helps.

[coathangerwings]

Thanks, amanfang.  I tried a Bach piece in my Grade 2 book and you're right; it does seem easier.

Re: pedalling. It might help if you try playing a piece with just the LH and the feet. I do that when I struggled through one. Just trying to get the feel of the rhythm. The RH just followed suit.

[amanfang]

Yes, I did find that when practicing, it is easiest to play LH and pedal, and then RH and pedal before trying to play everything at once.  Sightreading comes hard though....

[Daniel_piano]

Transition from organ to piano is 100000 times faster than transition from piano to organ

Daniel

[amanfang]

interesting statistic...   

[Daniel_piano]

interesting statistic...   

To be more precise
At my school there are classes for those transition in similar instruments
That simply mean that if have already grade 5 or 9 in piano by also beginning an organ class you don't start from the scratch
Students with a diploma in piano moving from piano to organ begins at the 4 grade level while people moving from organ to piano begin at the 8 grade

That means that for someone who already mastered the piano it will took 6 grades or years to master the piano, while from someone who mastered the organ it will take 2 to 3 grades or years to master the piano

This is probably due to the fact that moving from piano to organ you have a lot of extra stuff to learn such as more keyboards, not sitting on your feet, reading the baritone clef, using the pedals
While switching from organ to piano you basically have to just get used to the feel of the key and the pedaling, all the rest will be just practicing repertoire because you aquired all the technique needed from piano studying organ (as a matter of fact the most complex pieces for organ are way harder and demanding more technique than any virtuoso piece for piano)
There's a lot of new technique to learn when you switch from piano to organ while there's almost no new technique to learn when you switch from organ to piano

Daniel

[coathangerwings]

Amanfang: I know what you mean. I suck at sightreading, too.  It was easier just memorising. 

Daniel: That IS very reassuring. Thanks, man.  Yeah, the main obstacle here seems to be trying to get over the newness of the feel of the keys. Can't believe I haven't tried getting into piano before. It's definitely more satisfying.