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I've never played pipe organ. I'm a pianist and a friend of mine ask me to play on the church on his wedding on a pipe organ.
Are there enough difficulties playing a piano song on the pipe organ to make any problem? What considerations do I have to take on the performance?
I've been asked to play the Wedding March only.
The black and white bits are the same, except you will probably only get 49/61 of them instead of the 88 you're probably used to. The action will be rather different, too. No matter how loudly or quietly you try to play, the volume will remain the same.
There is no sustain pedal, so that will be different, too. You'll have to acclimatise yourself to playing with your two hands on separate boards. Instead of the sustain pedal, you'll use your right foot on a swell pedal, but once set, it can be left alone - till you accidentally knock it!! Don't bother with the pedals, that's a skill for another day.
A basic knowledge of what the stops do will make what is played more listenable - using the same sound for everything gets quite boring. Certainly get some practice in before the big day. Good luck!
It's obvious when you think about it, but the biggest difference between an organ and a piano is the way their sounds decay.
A piano is a hammer hitting a string. The loudest sound is right at the beginning, and from there on the sound decays organically as the string returns to rest. If you let the dampers do their thing, the decay is shortened, but it's still there. The shape of the volume envelope of a piano is a sharp peak, followed by a progressively more gentle slope eventually settling back to zero.
An organ is the opening and then closing of a valve that pumps air into a pipe. There is no decay at all until you release the key, then the air and sound shut off virtually immediately. The shape of the volume envelope is like a table: straight up, then flat across the highest level, then straight back down to zero. If you use the swell pedal to open or close the enclosure around the pipes, you are affecting volume (that is, making the table top uneven), but you are not changing the fact that there is no gradually flattening decay. Of course, the reverberation of the room/church does it's thing after you release the note, but this is not at all similar to the way a piano string decays, and in any case you can't control it by, say, hitting the key harder.
This all means that you have to be very precise about something when you play an organ that you do not have to nearly as precise about when playing a piano: the moment you release the key.
On an organ: Release is an important as attack. Release is as much a rhythmical event as attack. And release changes the harmonic content suddenly.
Don't be worried about this. See it as a very cool additional feature of the instrument. You get two rhythmical elements for the price of one. It's really interesting to focus on the end of the sound as much as the beginning. It will also improve your technique and musicality on the piano.
It sounds like you're probably going to play the Mendelssohn Wedding March. If so, this should be okay for you to play on the organ. Just looking on Google, there are loads of arrangements of this piece, both for piano and organ. Of course, a piano version will suit you much better, as you won't need to play the third stave, which is the pedal part played with the feet, and you'll be able to practise it on piano.
I think the most important thing to do, is make sure you have practised the piece plenty, and are confident playing it on the piano before the day; then, you should be able to play it on the organ more easily.
If the range of the music is too large to play on one manual (keyboard), you can play with different hands on different manuals. This will sound more interesting too, as you can set different sounds for different manuals using the stops.
If you are able to, it might be worth trying to get in touch with the church; they'll know if the organ has any peculiarities - organs do tend to differ quite a lot. It would be even better if you had a chat with their organist...
Have fun!
Organ playing requires more legato, learn to slide around the keyboard. Sometimes it helps to change fingers while the note is still held down so that you can move more smoothly to the next note. It's a good exercise for a pianist wanting to get a cleaner legato line.
In a situation like this, the present church organist/pianist should be contacted regarding the organ for any helpful pointers, etc. This is an especially respectful approach to take. It's best to meet with this individual before the wedding day so that there aren't any surprises.
If the organ is locked, someone needs to be there that has a key or knows where the key is kept so that you have access.
Once organ is unlocked, you need to know where the power switch is. It's not always obvious.
When an organist approaches the organ bench, we slide onto the bench, we DON'T stand on the pedals.
Like a piano bench, you can adjust an organ bench to your comfort level by dismounting the bench and moving it to your comfort zone.
If you do play pedals, you play them with FLAT shoes. When you're not playing the pedals, you can rest your feet comfortably on the back of the bench rail.
You can place your music on the rack just like you would at the piano.
Before the week or day of the wedding, it's best to make arrangements with church personnel sir you to show up to practice on organ so that you can get the organ sound you're needing, prior to day and of wedding.
FYI: There are preset buttons under each manual. Choose one of the manuals and try each preset button under that manual. Play a couple of measures from your music. You will be hearing soft and louder to much louder as you go from one preset button to the next.
I would do this with each manual and presets. These have been set by an experienced organist, so I know that you'll find something you like.
If you don't hear one on that manual, go to the next manual and try each preset button.
Continue to do this, until you hear what you like..
The day of the wedding:
The pastor will take his place which is the que for the groom, best man and other groomsmen to take their place by the pastor.
I always got a signal from the wedding coordinator that all was well and ready.
I played the "Trumpet Voluntary" for the bridesmaids processionsal down the aiisle and get into place.
I started the Wedding Processional only after the bridesmaids were in place up front and bride and Dad were standing in place at back of sanctuary.
When you play that octave F intro on the organ of the Wedding March, that's the signal for the congregation to stand up and turn toward the back of the church to watch the bride and her Dad start processing down the aisle to the front of the church. I rarely ever had to go to the second page of the Wedding March. The organ sets the tempo for them to walk down the aisle.
Once they are standing in front of pastor, you can delicately end the Traditional Wedding Processional.
If you are responsible for playing the traditional Wedding Recessional. After the pastor says "I now pronounce you husband and wife. You you may kiss your bride" the congregation rises and applades and then the traditional Wedding Recessional is played.
Best of everything and most of all, have fun!
There are slight differences between keyboard technique on organ and piano, but if you're a good pianist and have a decent ear, you'll probably make a lot of the adjustments automatically. As an experienced pianist, I did not find it difficult to learn to play organ manuals. Note that organ notes sustain as long as you hold the key, but there's no sustain pedal as on the piano.
However, you should get familiar with how the stops work (if you're not already), and also develop some basic pedal technique if possible.
You'll manage! Don't try to be clever. Set up a loud sound on one manual of the organ, a softer one on another. Play with both hands on the same manual, but move to the other one as appropriate.
Make sure you can play the pieces on piano with no pedal and no pianistic tricks. You have to plonk ALL the notes down NOW. Don't worry about legato, the acoustics of the church will take care of that.
If it all shows signs of turning pear-shaped, rather than playing handfuls of wrong notes, just play the top and bottom notes of the music. It will sound fine.
If possible, get help. Ask if the church organist will give you a little time on the morning of the wedding. Church people SHOULD be kindly and charitable (funny how that doesn't always happen, isn't it?). Set up suitable sounds. Show you how to turn the thing on! He will appreciate your desire to contribute to your friend's wedding. If absoultely necessary he will probably be prepared to rescue you.
Alternative - most churches have a piano. Or a digital one can be brought in. Tell your friend you'd love to take part, but would be much happier playing a familiar instrument. Maybe you could also play something during the registry signing?
One large aspect in organ-playing not present in piano-playing is the decision of which stops to pull for certain parts of the piece. This decision will vary from organ to organ as each will have its own set of stops (sounds). Sometimes, the editor of the piece will give suggestions at the top of the first page, and will sometimes tell you to pull (activate/turn on) or push (deactivate/turn off) certain stops throughout the score. Most of the time, it will be up to you to decide to see which combination sounds appropriate.
If you haven't had the opportunity to tinker around with a pipe organ, I'll give you a few quick and dirty pointers:
Another aspect is pedals. You don't just tap every single note with the toe of your left foot, as I've seen many first-time organ players do. If you tinkered with an organ's pedals, you'll discover that you will need to use your heel as well, and both feet to achieve the required legato. You may end using your right foot to the lower pedal notes and your left foot on the higher pedal notes, which may cause you to lose your balance and fall over. You will gain the balance over time, but I don't think there are very many technically demanding organ pieces and arrangements for weddings.
But as already mentioned, you will need to make arrangements with the church to allow you in during the week to practice. You will need to do this for every other church's organ you're playing for each wedding, since each has a vastly unique feel compared to the variation between 2 different pianos.
It really depends on how much time you have to prepare. You can probably adjust to the organ well enough to play a simplified version of the march at the wedding in 6 months, assuming you find a qualified private teacher and diligently follow his instructions. It will require a lot practice for you but is doable if you have the time.
The pipe organ itself is not related to the piano in any way other than the scales of notes, and is about as similar to a piano as a xylophone is (actually it is more similar to a harpsichord). To be a good organist, you have to scrap much of what you have learned about piano technique, because very little of it will help you when you get onto the organ bench. You may be able to play it, but if you're playing the organ as if it were a piano, you might as well be playing the cello as if it were a violin.
There are vast differences between the two instruments. To play the organ well, you need to start from the beginning and learn the basics of registration, pedal technique, tracker and electropneumatic organ playing, and expression (that is, the use of the swell pedals.)
That said, it is possible to play tunes on the organ, such as arrangements of the Mendelssohn Wedding March, by playing the organ as if it were a piano. Some Allen organs have something called a "Great Bass Coupler" which makes it sound like a pedal part is being played when activated, which is frowned upon for permanent church musicianship but is occasionally necessary.
If you are sure you can press the right keys at right time, it will probably sound like a music for the most of the listeners (excluding serious organists, these will probably see many things done unprofessionally). I tried to switch my digital piano into "organ mode" - no touch sensitivity any longer but sounds interesting and nice, while I only play very simple pieces.
I would say go an try, will be a great day to remember anyway. Just be very careful not to break anything on the unknown instrument.
Forget it! If you are playing a large organ with 3 to 4 keyboards and upwards of 30 or 40 stops or more you may be eaten alive or worse - disappear for good. To play an organ well needs a lot of time and effort, without that you don't stand a chance against the beast. It won't sound right without using the pedal board and a least 2 manuals for the wedding march. Saying a prayer isn't going to help you much either.
