learn to play the organ

i am a fresh graduate now i am looking for a job in my major and i think it is a good chance to complete practicing to play organ since i stopped doing it when i started my university life…
i llike playing organ as it help me to express my thougts and feelings and also to enjoy my passtime with my family and my friends and i think it does characterize me…

I AM 51 YEARS OLD MAN,I WANT TO LEARN ORGAN TO PLAY ONLY IN CHURCH TO GLORIFY GOD ALMIGHTY JESUS CHRIST.

I’m getting lessons, and I’ve been allowed to use the organ of a hospital chapel to practice.
All I need to do now is to practise, practise, practise!!!

I love gospel music and we had a organ donated to us (the church). We are in the process of starting a church aas we are just in a rented building. We have already purchased the land, well, chairs for the church, the plans, etc but there are still much to be gotten.God will provide

i’m 17 and play piano and drums already but very interested in becoming an organist. The only problem is I don’t know where to start. I’m lucky enough to have a piano but I would definetely need an organ (where could I buy one? and what type?). The other problem is I dont know where to get lessons. If I went to the local church do you think they would know of any organists willing to teach me? thanks =]

I have been playing the organ off and on for 6 years. I took lessons formally in the beginning but, after a nearly 4 year break without playing, I have only recently begun attempting to pick it back up again. I am lucky enough to have found a church here in Orlando that let’s me practice to my heart’s content as well as play for English masses.

I only remember so much from my lessons in high school so I have been trying to coach myself further because I definitely have room to improve. Our new director of music for the diocese is an instructor and has mentioned interest in teaching me so I may take him up on the offer. ($60/hour is pretty steep though)

All in all, my main area of problem is with my feet. I have pretty decent coordination and i get the notes right most of the time espcially if I practice before-hand, but I know my technique is awful. I remember my former teacher always telling me “use the balls of your feet!” I’m pretty sure I’m not doing that.

I would recommend learning the organ to anyone interested. Along with choral and cantoral voices a superb sound can be achieved. The study of sacred music, also, opens up a world of reverence and majesty that is truly awe-gripping (and quite addictive).

I play flute, piano, and organ, and organ is my favorite. When I play, I can hardly believe the power and the intricacy of the music I’m making, far beyond any other instrument. In fact, when I’m at the organ, I can make more music with just my toes (on the pedals) than other musicians can with their hands! :) Organ can be intimidating to learn (less so if you know how to play piano) but if you enjoy making music, it’s very, very rewarding! The basics are relatively easy, and with some work you can do it.

I play the organ in church…so i see this 1/2 something i have done ‘cause i already play on an about twice a week or so basis…but i am not so good at the foot pedals, so this is partly still a goal in progress…but i love playing…its all about blending the notes. i play the piano too and there is more blending (thats the best word i know to describe it).
I love how there is a lot of variety of sounds that you can make with an organ. i love to play a song like the The Star Spangled Banner and blare it and get the full effect that just cant quite be reached with a piano.

i’m in highschool and an enthusiast of all music. i play guitar and lap steel and am trying to learn violin.
i recently found an old silvertone church organ at my local thrift store for 25 dollars and grabbed it. bunch of keys that need work and it’s full or rats’ nesting. definitely spent some time in a barn. there is a lady at my church who can play and may be able to teach me, but i am eagerly looking for any resources on self teaching there may be.

Playing the organ is not easy; just remember that both hands, both feet, your memory and your reflexes all have to be synchronised and able to simultaneously do their thing in perfect time, especially if you play for dancing or “strict-tempo”. It is not essential to learn to read music, although it helps if cannot remember tunes from memory or playing by ear is not your thing.

The organ world can be cliquey, the organ clubs in particular, and some professional, mainly pipe organists can be a bit stand-offish, but don’t let that put you off. There are as many that are true gentlemen (and women), and are eager to show off what the organ can do, and are just as eager to give helpful hints and advice, especially the older organists who know their way round the instruments. Some claim that learning Piano is essential, and a lot of organists do this, but then again, from personal experience, and knowing a good few professional organists, it is entirely your choice, and NOT essential; in fact some organists, especially classical organists scorn upon pianists who ‘claim’ to be organ converts.

I personally love the Theatre Organ, although Classical Organ is an art in itself, and I would grasp the opportunity to play the Wurlitzers, Christies and Compton cinema/theatre organs near where I live with hands, feet and teeth!

I learned to play by ear when I was six, on an electronic organ, and my inspiration was hearing the WurliTzer Theatre pipe organ at Thursford in England, played by Robert Wolfe, a superb predominantly self-taught organist, over a local radio station, and asking my mother “what’s that, and where can I get one?” She laughed and said “I Don’t think it will fit in our three-bed semi”, but my parents took me to Thursford the following week, and from there I was hooked… next stop; Blackpool! = )

Watching the Tower WurliTzer rise through the stage with Phil Kelsall playing “Beside the Seaside” was just the icing on the cake for me! I built up a huge collection of Theatre Organ records and CDs, and would spend every moment I could practising, listening and learning to play like my idols.
There are many different types of organ playing, which makes it such a superb diverse instrument, as it can come in many guises, and play practically any form of music, hence its nickname “The King of Instruments”.

My advice is getting a good teacher if you want lessons, definitely get yourself an instrument that you feel comfortable with, and can produce the kind of sounds you think is fitting to your repertoire, and get yourself down the local church if you want to try a pipe organ (well worth it!); you may not always get the “keys” to the organ for free, remember these things cost a lot of money to keep in tune and keep serviced, so a donation would be to your advantage, but it is a great way to really get to grips with the instrument, and relish in the sheer power it can produce, or marvel at the mellow, almost whispering sounds it can produce for your quieter moments. Learning the art of tonal-registration is considered by some to be as important as learning to play it!