Playing the Church Organ Book 3 - Paperback

by Noel Jones (Author)

Book 3 - Building Stop Registrations Using Voice Palette(TM) Stops This book goes into depth into more than just using more stops, instead right along with the new stops you will be playing we investigate techniques of combining stops as well as developing organ technique. The organ can have just one keyboard, but this is sort of rare. Organs have two or more keyboards and pedalboards so that the organist is able to play more than one instrumental line and sound at a time. The organ is one of the few instruments that makes this possible. While pianists play, bringing out the bass melody, then echoing it in the treble, it's all using the same sound. Pianists must work hard to produce a difference in the tone while playing - an organist just chooses a new stop Here we play music that echos itself, music in which the organ accompanies itself, and that use two different instruments playing against each other. We also go into choosing tempos, stroking the keys for sparkling playing, using our secret weapon - silence - to accent notes and guides on how to choose stops by analyzing the music. Coupling - playing stops on two keyboards at one from just one keyboard - is used to build up the chorus sound of the organ, sort of like combining two choirs for a special performance. More clues to matching registrations are accompanied by music that makes it easy for you to see and hear how this all works. Pedals remain optional - and much of this music was written for organs without pedals as composers understood that organists in smaller churches also had money to buy music, so quite a bit of organ music appears in print with and without pedals. We dig deeper into what the stops are and how to use them as well as giving you all sorts of ideas for creating your own stop settings. By the end of this book you will understand the Voice Palette(TM) stops that are behind the engraved stop tablets or drawknobs of your organ. They are like having the ingredients for making a pasta dish not just Italian cooking, but also German, French and even for American macaroni and cheese. These organs today have stops representing many nationalities of organ building and with these organs you are able to dip into each style of organ building and experiment with registrations to make the music sound just as you expect it to, very easily. - 25 pieces written for the organ including 3 fugues, three settings of the choral "Jesu, Meine Freude" by Pachelbel, Bach and B hm and four settings by Walther. - Learning stop families and traditional stop combinations including the "cornet" are a lots easier when you can actually play and hear them. - "Scholarly Music" turns out to be fun to play when you are using the stops it was written for by the composer. Hear Bach how Bach heard it. - New music that will serve you and your church congregation for many years.

Author Biography

Noel Jones, AAGO has studied and worked as an organist in the United States, Germany and Italy. In a career that includes working as an opera coach, choral director and over the last 30+ years designing and tonal finishing digital organs and organs that combine pipe and digital stops, he has trained more than 500 organists to play digital church organs. Known for his work writing beginner's guides to Gregorian chant, he applies the same skills in writing these books that have a special emphasis on taking pianists and keyboardists and turning them in organists quickly and effectively. His experience on the road working with organists makes him especially effective in helping organists make the connection between the organs they play and the genius of the designers of the instruments as they take the organ into the 21st century. Owner's manuals describing the features of the organs are well-supplemented by Jones' books that show the benefits of the features, often with music that is playable and can become part of a church organist's repertoire. His experience and enjoyment of the Roland & Rodgers church organs is an inspiration to pianists who want to become organists and organists who want to continue to improve their skills.