2 comments about Organ Music for the Church Pianist: Practical Service Music and Tips for the Emerging Organist (2-Staff).

1. I'm a Pianist turned Organist. This is perfect. The arrangements are easy enough to learn in a short period of time. The pedal parts are far from being scarry as opposed to many organ piece.



2. I made the transition from piano to organ about six months ago. I should have had this book from the beginning, but better late than never. The songs are easy to play, but they still sound good. The first half of the book has songs that are manuals only, which is very good for a pianist-turned-organist. The second half has songs with easy pedal parts, which are also good. No spiral binding, but the book is thin enough that keeping the pages open isn't a problem.

5 comments about Method of Organ Playing (8th Edition).

1. Since the first appearance of Harold Gleason's Method of Organ Playing in 1937 it has been the most comprehensive and complete tool on the market for training first-class organists. The Gleason method is unique among books of its kind in that it has been in a continual state of evolution throughout its eight editions. The vast practical and pedagogical knowledge of Harold Gleason and his wife, concert organist Catharine Crozier Gleason is presented in the most up-to-date fashion in the current eighth edition. Every page of the book reflects both first-rate and recent scholarship as well as tried and true materials for beginning players. The lists of organ literature, the bibliography and the historical information that supplements the pedagogical portion of the book makes it a worthwhile investment for organists at all performing levels. As a beginning player I was reared at the organ with the fifth and sixth editions of the method and have returned to it often thoughout my career as a performer and teacher. Method of Organ Playing should be a must in the library of every serious organist and is a model for any kind of method or instruction book.



2. My organ instructor insisted I find this pricey book for my studies. I reluctantly ordered it, and I'm really glad I did. It is a comprehensive learning tool for any organist, useful exercises and great pieces are included.
   
   I called every music store in my area and no one had this book, but Amazon did! I could have hunted for this book in stores forever. Save yourself the trouble and order it here.
   
   This book is not for pianists who want a quick transition to the organ, but for serious students of the instrument. There are plenty of cheaper organ method books out there, but the Gleason is the best.



3. I have known since I was sixteen that Gleason is the only way to go in terms of technique. (My high school and college teachers were both Mildred Andrews' students.)I found a second edition and several fourth editions here at Amazon.com in reasonable conditions, and most of them are very affordably priced. These are wonderful collector's items at real life prices - something not often found. I have seen a fourth edition before: it is in manuscript. I look forward to seeing my second edition!



4. I used this same book when I was taking lessons in high school, went on to college as an organ major, and now use for teaching my own students. This is a great way of teaching classical organ technique, if followed correctly.
   It especially builds a sound pedal technique and strong fingers.
   Lots of good pieces too.



5. I am an experienced pianist and have been tapped to play the organ at church for years, but I play it without pedals and while I have learned to choose and combine stops according to my own taste, I wanted to learn more about how stops are put together on organs. And I want to learn how to use pedals more than the occasional dominant and tonic uses I now when the music allows my time to find them.
   
   This book is just what I wanted. Harold and Catharine Crozier Gleason have kept this method relevant through eight editions since it first appeared many decades ago. The book has explanatory text, illustrations, progressive exercises, and a nice selection of graduated pieces. The book assumes that you begin with a level of keyboard skill (piano, they say) of the level where you can handle the Bach 2 and 3 part Inventions.
   
   Part 1 provides text that introduce you to organs, how they work, classes of pipes, mixing stops, and registration. Part 2 is just two pages providing an outline of this method. Part 3 introduces you to playing the organ on just the manuals. It begins with very simple exercises and soon provides a mixture of held and moving notes and combined touch. Finger substitution is an absolute requirement of organ technique and is taught quite well and its cousin, the finger glissando (sliding to neighboring notes). The section on how to play multi-voiced works and articulating the different voices so they are heard clearly is quite helpful. Part 4 introduces some practical issues of technique for playing pieces rather than exercises and provides more than 40 useful short pieces that give you experience in a variety of techniques and require you to use everything you have learned so far. I also enjoyed that the authors provide a few samples of the pieces in original notation along with the modern notation so you can see how different they are.
   
   Part 5 introduces the pedal from how to sit at the console, very simple exercises including step-wise, small intervals, heel and toe, foot substitution, alternate toes, wide intervals, broken cords, harmonic intervals (playing two notes at the same time), and chords. Part 6 provides exercises and pieces for manuals and pedals together and begins very simply.
   
   Part 7 provides some perspectives on performance practice from various periods and places including ornamentation. A table of ornaments is provided. Other issues such embellishment, notes inegales, fingering, touch, phrasing, articulation, the doctrine of affects, rubato, style, and interpretation. Part 8 covers the practical issues of playing for sacred services.
   
   Part 9 provides scales for manuals and pedals. The appendices provide interesting material about organs around the world from various periods, information about composers of organ music of the Renaissance and the Baroque, a bibliography for further reading and a glossary.
   
   The book is bound in a very sturdy way that will stand up to long use. However, you will have to work to get it to lay flat at the organ (at first) or use other books to keep it open to the pages you are working on.
   
   A very useful text for pianists being used as organists, organ students, and anyone interested in developing beginning organ skills.
   
   Reviewed by Craig Matteson, Ann Arbor, MI

No comments about Handel: The Messiah; An Oratorio, Vocal/Organ Score Complete (G. Schirmer's Editions of Oratorios and Cantatas).

2 comments about Forest of Pipes: The Walt Disney Concert Hall Organ.

1. It's only the Gehry Organ, but I like it. It is in the Walt Disney Concert Hall, in Los Angeles.
   
   Yes, it is called, "a forest of pipes." Or a "log jam of pipes." Or "french fries." Or "a startling array of cockeyed organ pipes." And one detractor said that "it will set back organ building a hundred years."
   
   In this book, we see photos of early study models, with metal pipes, then with a façade of straight but angled wooden pipes, and then with the trumpets at the top, and finally with the curved and angled wooden pipes and the trumpets below. The longer pipes are indeed wooden (and used as part of the façade), with pipes behind the façade being made of alloys of tin and lead.
   
   We often measure the size of an organ by the number of pipes, or by the number of sets of pipes that produce a given timbre, called "ranks." These ranks are controlled by the organist using "stop controls" (generally tabs or knobs) at the keyboard.
   
   Originally, the proposed cost was one million dollars. But Manuel Rosales pointed out that this would only be enough for a small organ, of about 25 ranks. Finally, a budget of 3 million dollars was agreed on. It took $999,509 just for the materials, shipping, and insurance. Anyway, the budget was used, and the result was a 4-manual organ with 72 stops, 109 ranks, and 6125 pipes, the longest being 32-feet (which has a frequency of 16 Hertz).
   
   How does this compare with other pipe organs? I'll mention twelve others to compare it with to give you an idea. The organ I remember best is the one in MIT's Kresge auditorium, where I heard E. Power Biggs practice. That has 3 manuals and 41 stops.
   
   What about other concert hall organs? The Dallas symphony orchestra has a 4-manual organ with 65 stops, 84 ranks and 4535 pipes. It was built a little before the Gehry organ. The Cooper Organ in Philadelphia's Kimmel Center is 4-manual, with 111 stops, 125 ranks, and 6938 pipes. It was built a little after the Gehry organ. The organ in Sydney's Opera House has 5 manuals with 131 stops, 205 ranks, and 10,154 pipes. The Royal Albert Hall organ in London has 4 manuals, 147 stops, 177 ranks, and 9997 pipes.
   
   Other pipe organs are even bigger. The Los Angeles First Congregational Church organ has 5 manuals, 265 stops, 346 ranks and about 22,000 pipes. In Szeged, Hugary, the Fogalmi Templom organ is 5-manual with 171 stops and 9040 pipes. Washington DC's National Cathedral has a 4-manual organ with 155 stops, 186 ranks and 10,650 pipes. The Sydney Town Hall has a 5-manual organ with 126 stops, 160 ranks, and 8756 pipes and has a longest pipe of 64-feet. The Mormon Tabernacle organ, in Salt Lake City, has 5 manuals, 170 stops, 206 ranks and 11,623 pipes.
   
   The very biggest organs are the 6-manual Wanamaker Grand Court Organ in Philadelphia (386 stops 461 ranks and 28,482 pipes) and the 7-manual Convention Hall Organ in Atlantic City (852 stops, 452 ranks, and 33,112 pipes, and with a 64-foot longest pipe).
   
   In this book, we see comments from several of the people involved in producing this organ and first using it. Organist Cherry Rhodes calls it "an experience-and-a-half!" As she says, when you play on the upper console, the sound is "quite immediate." But when you play on the smaller remote console, on stage, there's a delay due to the distance that one has to take into account.
   
   Anyway, she found the organ easy to use. In particular, she liked the sequencer button, that allows the organist to progress through the succession of registrations from the beginning to the end of the piece.
   
   This book, by Jennifer Zobelein, is a fine tribute to a superb musical instrument.



2. We were so excited about the book about Disney Concert Hall, and its accompanying CD, that we sent copies to several of our organist friends. They were thrilled with it!

1 comments about The Organ Music of J. S. Bach.

1. This book is fundamental for every organist! Very clear and full of relevant and difficult to find information about Bach sources. A must buy.

2 comments about Popular classics (Reader's Digest Songbook).

1. I stumbled upon this book, took a chance and brought it home. So glad I did. I can hear this music being played for a Garden Brunch, Bridal Shower, and at a High Tea. This music book is a collection of Operas, Symphony Themes, Waltz, and ballets. The symphonies and concertos are by some of the Great Composers: Tchaikovsky, Dvorak, Strauss, Gershwin, Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms. These are just a few. There are just over 100 songs. Sleeping Beauty, Swan Lake, Nutcracker mini-Suite,New World,Russian Dance,Brahms Sym No. 1,2,3,4, Beethoven's Syn No. 3,6,7, and many many more.All the songs are simple to play. I was able to play each song for the first time all the way through. I would have never been able to walk into a music story and start collecting sheet music of these beautiful pieces. Reader's Digest made it very easy! If you enjoy playing for lunchoens, teas and such, this is a great book to have in your collection.



2. I like to sing along while I play the piano, and I always seek out songbooks. I found this book, and I like several other songbooks in the Reader's Digest series. But this one has no lyrics! Instead of classic songs to be sung, it has simplified piano versions of classical music pieces. Very disappointing.

5 comments about The Hammond Organ - Beauty in the B: Second Edition (Keyboard Musician's Library).

1. Previous to the publcation of Vail's book, newcomers seeking to penetrate the mystique surrounding the Hammond organ had to rely on a diffuse smattering of sources for information. Most such sources are commercial: technicians, restorers, shops dealing in vintage musical gear, etc. Though many of these specialists are deeply knoweldgable and provide great products and services, it's a small and competitive community, which can make it difficult for the curious novice to get objective information. As a younger keyboard nut, I personally bugged enough of those people to learn that most do not have the time or energy to play the role of educator, especially if a sale is not imminent.

   Playing this role is exactly the point, though, when you have a book to sell, and Vail approaches this task with a thoroughness, integrity, and love of the subject that make this one of the best books of its kind. No. it's not an exhaustive technical reference, nor the end-all of any debate about the Hammond. It's not meant as such, any more than a docent-guided tour of a famous museum is meant to replace a PhD in art history. Rather, it's the beginning of a journey, and for this subject, a better beginning than we've ever had.

   Among Vail's many sources are longtime Hammond exec Alan Young, who also shed light on the legacy of John Hanert, the engineer who made many of Laurens Hammond's ideas work, rotary speaker inventor Don Leslie, and a who's who of the jazz, rock, and gospel players that imprinted the Hammond-Leslie sound on our consciousness to the degree that even people who've never heard the name of the instrument recognize "that sound." While I haven't fact-checked every page, it is simply absurd to suggest any generalization that the sources are suspect or the information inaccurate.

   Overall, this is an enjoyable and informative read that can save you a ton of legwork in approaching the realm of the mighty Hammond. The better part of a century lies between us and its conception, and some current repairers and restorers scrape part numbers off components so their work can't be duplicated. In such a world, Vail's book is as objective as it gets.




2. I had borrowed a copy of this book from a friend, and after skimming it, decided then and there I had to have my own copy; so I bought one.

   It's great to see that someone took the time to research and write such an informative and interesting book on a very "niche" piece of the music industry.

   It should be required reading for anyone interested in the Hammond organ, and it's history. Because of the amount of pictures and quotes, it makes for very "easy" reading. I finished it in about one day, and still refer to it!

   I recommend it, highly!




3. As a Hammond B3 player for more years than I'd like to admit, I WILL admit I enjoyed this book tremendously. Now, it's not a tech manual, but I thought the book was laid out very well. It gave a good description of who Laurens Hammond was, such as being inventor of the electric clock. When doing research there's always gonna be some folks out there who may disagree with some statement, but that's just natural. I think that Mark Vail did an incredibly thorough job of researching this instrument and its history. He showed that he has a personal interest in it as well. A lot of people can just write a book 'cause they're paid to, but Mark has passion for the B. He showed it all the way through. I liked the reproductions of some of the original brochures, with the pictures of the different models. I remember those from when I was a kid -- my mother went to buy a Hammond and brought those brochures home. Quite often when I'm talking with someone about a particular model, I'll take out Mark's book and show them the photos and descriptions. He gives the year the models were built, what their price was -- that sort of stuff is very helpful and just plain fun to know.



4. This book is better than nothing, it alerts potentially otherwise ignorant readers that Hammond organs have a distinct following, market value, and sources for parts and service. However, it is not thorough historically, technically, or musically.

   There are other organs besides Hammonds, there are other Hammonds besides B-3s hooked to Leslies, and other kinds of professsionally recorded music besides jazz and Chicago blues that people still enjoy-even Ken Griffin (although personally I can't stand him). It's a pretty lopsided look at an instrument with a lot of history, only a small slice of which is considered "hip" by the Jann Wenner-thinking people who control today's popular magazines. (I write this on June 1 of the year 78 MM-which brings to mind "Specialization", a bouncy 1960 tune riffing on this very subject...)

   If you want a thorough Hammond education, I'd start with the original Hammond service manuals and brochures followed by some of the period literature for organ hobbyists, as well as print and web sites devoted to the sacred cows of Jimmy Smith, Jimmy McGriff and the DeFrancescos and their little branch of the big organ tree. Soap operas, Black churches, skating rinks and even the notorious Anton LaVey all have a place in Hammond history which the jazz organists are not overridingly more important than.




5. This book is the Bible - A must have for all Hammond owners and Tonewheel/Leslie wannabes! It has the history, the technology, tips on buying, restoring and playing the greatest keyboard instrument since the grand piano. Learn about drawbar harmonics and how the Leslie Speaker works - try out registrations and licks from the legends. As an owner/player I cannot recommend this reference highly enough.

1 comments about The Registration of Baroque Organ Music.

1. Barbara Owen succeeds in condensing more than 200 years of registration practice in a working volume. The book is organized by time period and nationality, allowing the reader to assimilate the trends of each of the organ "schools." Each chapter is prefaced by a list of the relevant composers, as well as stop lists of representative organs. Perhaps Owen's signal accomplishment is a combination of historical awareness with the practical needs of the performance. For instance, after giving the background on the Italian voce umana stop, she suggests that one can replicate the sound on a mechanical action organ by coupling two 8' principals, with one detuned (half drawn). Overall, a practical reference for the performance of 16th, 17th, and 18th-century organ music.

1 comments about An Introduction to Organ Registration (Church Music Pamphlet Series).

1. This "little" book is so well written it should become a standard for all serious organists. It has an explaination about overtones that has not been matched in any other book I have seen, even physics books. The author clearly explains stops and families of stops so that any one new to organ registration will remember the description. Well priced and well written. I have given the book as a gift to other organists.

No comments about A Treasury of Organ Music for Manuals Only: 46 Works by Bach, Mozart, Franck, Saint-Saens and Others.