Learning Helmut Walcha’s chorale prelude of Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen

Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen choral prelude

At my last lesson, I was assigned Helmut Walcha’s chorale prelude of (or is it on?) “Herzliebster Jesu, was hast du verbrochen”. One English translation is “Ah Holy Jesus, How Hast Thou Offended.” When Michael …

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The blessing of Finger Substitution

One of the first skills I learned when starting organ lessons was finger substitution. If you are not an organist, you may not know what finger substitution is. When I took piano lessons in my …

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What is a cabinet pipe organ?

Recently, Ted and I attended the Paul Jacobs pipe organ concert at the Toledo Museum of Art. The concert was in the evening so we decided to spend the afternoon walking through the museum. We …

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9 Questions about organ shoes answered

Organist wear shoes designed for playing the organ. Many are surprised to learn this fact. Here are some more questions and answers: What are organ shoes? Organ shoes are special shoes designed to be worn …

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What is a fugue?

Recently, as I sat down at the organ to practice, my oldest sister, Renee, called. I decided to keep playing while on the phone. Renee asked me what I was playing. I was practicing the …

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My top 3 reasons for creating a list of pipe organ terminology

Organist Definition

I will be building a glossary with the terminology related to the pipe organ, electronic organ, organ music, etc. I am creating this list of definitions for two primary reasons:  #1: Giving you a resource …

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