Are You Making These Common Organist Mistakes?
Although every organist wants to succeed in organ playing, there are common mistakes along the path to success.
Knowing and avoiding these pitfalls can save you a lot of time and energy.
In this article, I will share with you some of the most common organist mistakes and how to avoid them.
1.
Practicing without a goal in mind.
How many times do we sit on the organ bench and just go through the motions.
We may play the piece once or repeat it several times but without being aware what we need to accomplish here.
Ask yourself these questions regularly.
Was the posture, hand, and foot position correct? Did I play the notes in this episode correctly? Were the fingering and pedaling without mistakes? Did I play the rhythm correctly? Was the articulation precise? If the answer to any of these questions was "No", then go back and do it correctly a few times.
If you are aware of these goals constantly while practicing, your performance level will improve dramatically over time.
2.
Not having an experienced mentor.
Having a mentor, a teacher or a coach is crucial to your advancement.
Although there are manuals, textbooks, and tutorials from which you can learn many things about organ playing, having a person whom you can trust is even more important.
There is one specific issue that needs to be addressed here: a good mentor will hold you accountable for your actions.
He or she will not listen to any excuses.
The mentor will push a little further each time you say "I can't".
This is because the mentor was in your shoes once, mastered something, and can share this skill with others.
3.
Not listening to the mentor you trust.
What happens if you have a good mentor but you don't follow his or hers advice? Of course, your progress will be much slower.
What happens if your mentor tells you to practice for two hours a day, and you only practice for 30 minutes every other day? What if your mentor asks you to memorize a page of music, and you only memorize one line? Mentors are supposed to be strict.
Only then real progress can be seen.
But remember, only you are responsible whether or not you accomplish the task that your mentor asked to do.
So trust your mentor and try not to make excuses.
4.
Habit of not finishing tasks.
Some people choose a piece of music, play it, practice it but never really master it.
Long before they know the piece, they take another one.
This approach will not get them very far.
This can happen if the piece has places that organists cannot master easily.
So they switch to another piece.
I say this way people can eventually quit practicing the organ altogether.
We have to finish what we start unless the piece is really too difficult for us for the moment.
If this is the case, ask your mentor for advice.
Realizing these common mistakes that organists often do and consciously avoiding them will help you to become a better organist.
Be serious about your progress and you will reap great results.
Knowing and avoiding these pitfalls can save you a lot of time and energy.
In this article, I will share with you some of the most common organist mistakes and how to avoid them.
1.
Practicing without a goal in mind.
How many times do we sit on the organ bench and just go through the motions.
We may play the piece once or repeat it several times but without being aware what we need to accomplish here.
Ask yourself these questions regularly.
Was the posture, hand, and foot position correct? Did I play the notes in this episode correctly? Were the fingering and pedaling without mistakes? Did I play the rhythm correctly? Was the articulation precise? If the answer to any of these questions was "No", then go back and do it correctly a few times.
If you are aware of these goals constantly while practicing, your performance level will improve dramatically over time.
2.
Not having an experienced mentor.
Having a mentor, a teacher or a coach is crucial to your advancement.
Although there are manuals, textbooks, and tutorials from which you can learn many things about organ playing, having a person whom you can trust is even more important.
There is one specific issue that needs to be addressed here: a good mentor will hold you accountable for your actions.
He or she will not listen to any excuses.
The mentor will push a little further each time you say "I can't".
This is because the mentor was in your shoes once, mastered something, and can share this skill with others.
3.
Not listening to the mentor you trust.
What happens if you have a good mentor but you don't follow his or hers advice? Of course, your progress will be much slower.
What happens if your mentor tells you to practice for two hours a day, and you only practice for 30 minutes every other day? What if your mentor asks you to memorize a page of music, and you only memorize one line? Mentors are supposed to be strict.
Only then real progress can be seen.
But remember, only you are responsible whether or not you accomplish the task that your mentor asked to do.
So trust your mentor and try not to make excuses.
4.
Habit of not finishing tasks.
Some people choose a piece of music, play it, practice it but never really master it.
Long before they know the piece, they take another one.
This approach will not get them very far.
This can happen if the piece has places that organists cannot master easily.
So they switch to another piece.
I say this way people can eventually quit practicing the organ altogether.
We have to finish what we start unless the piece is really too difficult for us for the moment.
If this is the case, ask your mentor for advice.
Realizing these common mistakes that organists often do and consciously avoiding them will help you to become a better organist.
Be serious about your progress and you will reap great results.