The Organ Forum

I don't know the BPM off hand but I like it with a little bounce.  You have to be careful though because the chorus is a little more tongue twisting (IMHO) than the verses.  I like to push it to the point where any faster would make articulating difficult and require focus on getting words right instead of singing the hymn.

 BTW - we use it for our final hymn as a celebration that He lives.  We open with Christ the Lord is Risen Today and immediately move into Up From The Grave He Arose.  I LOVE doing that hymn because you pull the tempo back and get all quiet on the verse.  Then you hit the chorus and BAM!  Up from the grave He arose (He arose) with a mighty triumph oe'r (sp?) his foes (oe'r his foes).  He arose the victor from the dark domain and He lives forever with His saints to reign.  <add reeds>  He arose (he arose) He arose! (he arose) Hallelujah Christ arose! ........ Then you get all quiet for a serious verse and come out swinging for the victorious text of the chorus.  It's just awesome.

BTW - My "bad habit" with He Lives is getting a little too exhuberant and overpowering the congregation.

.................. Now where'd my harmonic trumpet and en chamade go? :)

Tutti,

I probably play this hymn with the dotted quarter at 90-100 bpm with a ritard each time on the last line of the refrain "You asked me how I know He lives, He lives within my hear."  To me this hymn has a two-beat feel.

On a side note, I once made a simple medley from "He Lives" and "Because He Lives."  I started with the refrain of "Because" on 4/4 time.  When I did the verse of "Becasue," I played it in 6/8 and went straight into the verse of "He Lives" in 6/8.  Then I did the refrain of "He Lives" in 4/4.  Of course, this was not for congregational singing; it was an organ solo.  I sometimes like to change the time signatures to give a different feel to a common hymn if I'm playing it as a solo.

Later,

Allen

 

Tutti:

He Lives is lively? Funny because a co-worker is doing that hymn on Sunday as well and was singing it quite a bit faster than I do it. Hold on 1 second and I'll tell you. . . 165-170 eighth note. And you guys?

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Roland Atelier AT-90, Yamaha Electone 115D, Yamaha Clavinova CLP-970, Yamaha PSR-2100

Bombarde32:

I'm the same way on the cancel.  Except that if I'm coming off a hymn with a lot of stops I'll push them in, then press cancel several times.  Once that is done I'll push the crescendo down a few times to make sure it's off.  Then I'll push the shutters closed (it's digital so there's no actual open/close sound) several times in case there's still a stop on somewhere. 

I live in fear of dropping a hymnbook or any other music book on the keyboard when some of the stops are "on". Therefore as soon I as I finish playing whatever it is, I press the cancel button immediatly.

Has anyone every dropped books on the keyboard during a service?

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Currently own:
ALLEN TC-3S (#42904 - 3rd Feb 1971) with Sequential Capture System

Speakers:
x1 Model 100 Gyro Cabinet
x1 Model 105 Cabinet
x3 Model 108 Cabinet

Is this fussy, OCD, or just careful?  I keep an abundant supply of postage-stamp size sticky notes on the console.  I use them to tell me which piston to use when.  [There's an abundance of urban legends regarding the invention of sticky notes, to which I would add another: they were invented by an organist frustrated at having to pencil in pistons, registrations, etc!]

Speaking of fussy, I (almost) always ask my pastor (who is something of an impetuous type) early Sunday morning if there are "any surprises" in the service.  His reply: "If I told you, they wouldn't be a surprise, would they?" (to be fair, I hasten to add that he follows that question with a useful answer.)

In that regard, I failed to ask yesterday evening before Good Friday worship.  Sure enough: at least three times in the service, the bulletin directed the congregation to stand before singing.  If I had asked, I would have planned little longer introductions.  [Yesterday evening was the third Good Friday for our congregation to use the Rabenberg condensed version of Bach's St. Matthew Passion as the worship service.  Even in this condensed version, this work can bring tears to the eyes of the solid, stoic conservative Lutherans in our congregation.]

DR 

nullogik:

Bombarde32:

I'm the same way on the cancel.  Except that if I'm coming off a hymn with a lot of stops I'll push them in, then press cancel several times.  Once that is done I'll push the crescendo down a few times to make sure it's off.  Then I'll push the shutters closed (it's digital so there's no actual open/close sound) several times in case there's still a stop on somewhere. 

I live in fear of dropping a hymnbook or any other music book on the keyboard when some of the stops are "on". Therefore as soon I as I finish playing whatever it is, I press the cancel button immediatly.

Has anyone every dropped books on the keyboard during a service?

For the same reason, I cancel the organ after every hymn etc.  But yes I have dropped a book during a service.  It was about 6 month ago.  The closing chorus is never in the book, so I place the hymnbook (very large one) on the right of the organ during the Benediction.  For some reason, it slipped out of my hands and went to the floor.  About one quarter of the congregation saw what happened or figured it out.  They were laughing and my face was very red.

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Acts 2:38
Psalm 150 (KJV)

I've inadvertently brushed a note or two during a service, which is annoying more than anything.  New keyboards might help, as the ones I have are rather sensitive.

More embarrasing however, is starting to play when you think the minister has finished.

Regarding Post-Its... I wish they made those specifically for organists.  I would like to see them as small circles that you could peel off.  I hate having to rip Post-Its into small pieces, and discarding the non-sticky part.

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Soubasse32

Nullogik,

Yes, I have dropped a hymnal on the keyboard.  It was not long after I started playing in church.  I thought my loose-leaf version of the hymnal was on the music stand properly, but it wasn't.  During a prayer, it slid off the music stand, engaged some stop tabs on the way down (it was a stop tab organ), and landed on the swell manual.  However, it was not too bad.  It was an electronic organ with the entire organ under expression.  I did have the expression pedal at minimum volume when it occurred.

Later,

Allen 

nullogik:

Has anyone every dropped books on the keyboard during a service?

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Roland Atelier AT-90, Yamaha Electone 115D, Yamaha Clavinova CLP-970, Yamaha PSR-2100

soubasse32:

I've inadvertently brushed a note or two during a service, which is annoying more than anything.  New keyboards might help, as the ones I have are rather sensitive.

More embarrasing however, is starting to play when you think the minister has finished.

Regarding Post-Its... I wish they made those specifically for organists.  I would like to see them as small circles that you could peel off.  I hate having to rip Post-Its into small pieces, and discarding the non-sticky part.

Yep, I too have brushed a few notes, though it tends to be the pedal notes for me. Sometimes my foot catches on one of the lower octave pedal notes as I slide on to the bench - that was when we had our old analogue where the "cancel" button wasn't working. Now I have a working Cancel button it never happens. 

Heres another question, do you accidentally press foot or thumb pistons whilst playing?

I did this the other day, and hit the 9th General piston with my foot, thankfully, I was on Gen 8 so it didn't make much of a difference.

However, I can remember one organist who accidentally brushed a General piston with his foot, and because someone had set it that way, all the pedal stops were cancelled and he was playing just with light flute stops - this was in the middle of the hymn. 

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Currently own:
ALLEN TC-3S (#42904 - 3rd Feb 1971) with Sequential Capture System

Speakers:
x1 Model 100 Gyro Cabinet
x1 Model 105 Cabinet
x3 Model 108 Cabinet

Heres another question, do you accidentally press foot or thumb pistons whilst playing?

I doing that once, in the middle of a congregational hymn. (NOTE: this happened very soon after the installation of the organ and I wasn't particularly accustomed to the instrument, yet).  No stops were set on the piston I hit, and so the sound stopped--completely.  What was doubly embarrassing was that I had promoted the acquisition of the instrument, assuring the congregation that it would be exceptionally reliable!
 

DR 

Done similar things.  I practice in my street clothes.  Then Sunday rolls around and we have these massive billowing choir robes that I always forget to take into account (I mean, I've only been wearing them 4 years now so it's easy to forget

Anyway, I prefer to use the toe pistons and the robe blocks my line of sight.  So from time to time if I'm not paying attention to what I'm doing I'll go to the top row (2 rows of 5) instead of the bottom and hit FF instead of mp.  Nothing like hearing your solo reeds come into the middle of a nice restful hymn.

Perhaps I should start using the thumb pistons more ...

nullogik:

Heres another question, do you accidentally press foot or thumb pistons whilst playing?

Yes. 

One organ I play has keys that seem a bit on the short side, and the thumb pistons seem just a bit low.  My knuckles have brushed a thumb piston on more than one occasion.    It upsets me a bit, as this is a very fine organ otherwise.

Another organ I play has an abundance of toe pistons - one of the generals is extremely close to the choir expression pedal.  I've inadvertently brought on full combinations (with chamades, of course). 

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Soubasse32

HI

All,

I will practice a song that I already know and have been playing for 20 years (Like "he lives") and also change the registrations and leslie/trem. AT my church ---a United Church of Christ/American Baptist--dual affliation, does a 'blended' mix of music.  I get the music ahead of time.. I practice at home on my Conn 550 But thats not good enough I have to go to the church at least 2 x  during the week to practice on the church organ [wurlitzer 4300] 

 This question was asked:

I live in fear of dropping a hymnbook or any other music book on the keyboard when some of the stops are "on". Therefore as soon I as I finish playing whatever it is, I press the cancel button immediatly.

Has anyone every dropped books on the keyboard during a service?

YES! YES! I have done that before... I usually just make a 'funny face' and the congregation smiles [trying not to laugh] and everyone moves on with the service!  Sometimes during offertory, I will turn on the Drums/cymbal on  the pedals and right after the offertory is the DOXOLOGY , I forget sometimes to turn off the drums/cymbal and go right into the doxology with them on.. YIKES!  I have to have the organ bench a certain distance from the organ [the organ is a spinet] and I have to sit on the bench just a certain way or I feel like im 'out of sync' and crooked or something. My last fussy thing is I have to let the organ warm up. Its a transistorized machine, it plays the second you turn it  on.  Yet, I have to wait like 3 mins. or so after I turn it on before I will play it.

from

Anthony, in Hayward, Ca

one of the generals is extremely close to the choir expression pedal.

 On my organ at home, I have a crescendo pedal and forever activating it by confusing it with the swell pedal.  I wish I could disengage it.
 

I just remembered another situation that occasionally happens.

In my church I improvise some meditative music, and then will play a chime to indicate the congregation should stand.

The minister explains this, saying "let's take a moment for quiet reflection; when you hear the chimes, please stand".

Of course, the danger is in accidentally playing the improvisation on the chimes, resulting in a cacophony of bells!  Some wonder "what happened to the meditation?" - others are confused as to whether they should stand immediately, and yet others are stifling fits of laughter. 

I've done that more often than I care to remember - usually it happens as a result of not remembering to undo (or redo) the manual transfer.

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Soubasse32