Methods in Organ Teaching

01 WARM-UP

02 WORK ON THE PIECE

03 THE PIECE AS A GAME

04 LEARNING TO PRACTICE

Methods in Organ Teaching

warm-up

With small technical exercises in the call-recall process between teacher and student, fingers and feet can be warmed up and motor skills can be trained.
The "Music House" is a game designed by the author in which the same fingertips of both hands touch and individual fingers are pulled back. The "roof" is round so that the movement corresponds to that on the key without having the weight of the key.
A ritualized greeting dictates the sitting position and posture.

Arbeit am Stück

Die Noten einer Tonhöhe werden jeweils in der gleichen Farbe gemalt. Dann werden Regeln aufgestellt wie: „Nur bei Rot spielen, den Rest singen“ oder: „Nur bei Rot und Blau...“ usw. So kann das Stück Schritt für Schritt entdeckt werden.
Den*die Schüler*in Motive im Notenbild erkennen lassen: Wo geht es hoch / runter? Wo ist ein Sprung / Schritt? Wie groß ist der Sprung? usw. Dies wird dann mit immer den gleichen Zeichen gezeichnet und für die Intervallgröße eine entsprechende Zahl zwischen die Intervalle geschrieben. Die Tonrichtung einer Tonleiter kann im Raum abgegangen werden, bevor das Stück auf der Orgel gespielt wird. (aufwärts = vorwärts, abwärts = rückwärts).
Notenlinien werden auf den Boden geklebt und das ganze Stück wird vom*von dem*der Schüler*in gelaufen bzw. gesprungen (bei Intervallen). Dabei kann die Lehrperson auf der Orgel begleiten.
Die Hand des*der Schüler*in wird umrandet und jeder Finger einer Farbe zugeordnet. Die Töne des Stückes werden mit der gleichen Farbe markiert.
Wenn das Stück über die 5-Ton-Lage hinausgeht, kann die Veränderung der Handlage jeweils genau notiert werden, z.B. mit einem Pfeil in die Richtung und der entsprechenden neuen Fingerzahl. Dies sollte musikalisch angepasst mit einem Phrasierungsbogen oder einer Tonrepetition geschehen.
Um einen rhythmischen Zugang zum Stück zu bekommen, wird der Rhythmus in der Originalaufteilung geklopft (rechte / linke Hand: auf die Oberschenkel klopfen, Füße: auf den Boden klopfen).

The play as a game

The teacher and student alternate between beats and motifs.
An improvisation of your own is played on the title of the piece, and then you can consider how this improvisation can be connected to the notated piece.
The teacher plays a bar and the student guesses which bar it is. Then the student plays and the teacher guesses.
The whole piece is played silently (this can be done as an "air organ", on a table or with the registers turned off). Now, one by one, selected parts of the piece are "brought to life" and sound with tones.
The rhythm (or pitch) of a piece is cut apart and can be reassembled like a puzzle. Other sequences can also emerge.
The piece is told as a story and the parameters are changed accordingly; the piece may be played several times in a row, each time with a new story (e.g. an elephant appears = all note values are augmented).
The piece can have different endings, for example a sad and a happy ending, accompanied by appropriate text. In this way, any number of repetitions can occur.

Learning to practice / homework

For a positive learning atmosphere, it is very important that the teacher does not make general judgmental statements about the learner, but rather formulates sentences such as: "Your finger has not yet made the right path here. How can we teach it that?" The teacher and student form a team together and suggestions can be given for independent control.
In order to improve certain passages of a piece, it is a good idea to play different versions accompanied by the question: “Which one sounds better?” This encourages the student to listen and develop an aesthetic. The teacher then explains how this can be implemented (“I will give you a tip on how to achieve your goal”).
The notes are "looked at" and reflected upon in silence. Mental practice requires a lot of concentration. The advantage is that the imagination can be trained, regardless of whether the muscles and coordination are ready. It is a good idea to first learn one bar at a time by heart and then play it on the organ. The notes can be in a different place or held up by the teacher.
Building on this, the entire piece can also be played on the table or organ bench to train coordination and movement independently of key pressure.
A similar method can be used with notes at the keyboard: the next note or chord is imagined in terms of sound and hand movement. This improves hand posture, as you work without force impulses and in a relaxed manner, as well as imagination, concentration and direct, error-free playing, as there is no need to improve it afterwards.
The “homework” is not given as exercises, but as motivation to play something, to try something out, to look for a new subject, etc. Homework is nothing new, but rather a repetition of lessons.
Rotating attention can be trained with the checklist “What am I listening to today?”
Before beginning each piece, it is important to perform a ritualized preparation so that the player is mentally and physically prepared.
After getting to know the “practice modules” in class, you can also use them independently at home.