MUSIC 116R Weeks 1 and 2

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Welcome to the BYU Group Organ program. You have probably attended your first class, and may feel overwhelmed by the hundreds of "little" things to do. Fear not! There is hope. To simplify your life as you continue learning to play the organ, commit to these few items and let the rest fall into place:

Commit to a REGULAR PRACTICE time 5 or 6 days per week. Stick to it.
FOCUS on one item at a time as you practice or study. Dedicate your energies in tiny compartments of time.
FOLLOW THE PLAN. Use the course calendar and the "Assignments" handout as your "what do I do next" guides. Note carefully the due dates.
ASK QUESTIONS. Talk with other class members or with your instructor during class time. Use email if you wish.
Attend the FRIDAY LABS--This is one of the best ways to keep up in this course.

REMEMBER to take careful notes on all podcasts, reading, and during any class discussion. Your notes will be your main review material for the exams, as many of the podcast/discussion topics are not covered in the text.

PRACTICE items for the first two weeks:

TENOR SOLO (podcast, and Hymns 36-37). You should be working on one verse of a hymn to be played with the tenor part played on another manual as a solo. Be able to play it two ways: in the normal range, and one octave higher. Reading was due by the second class day. Playing due by the end of the first unit.
PROGRESS ON PEDAL EXERCISES. Pedal exercises from the text should be a part of every practice session through week 12. You should begin from the point at which you left off in your previous semester of Group Organ. If you completed all groups of exercises, you should go back and work through the "review" exercises. If you have completed the review exercises, work out a plan with your instructor to deepen your pedal skills. You should play pedal studies for an instructor every week.
LEFT HAND AND PEDAL STUDIES 1 AND 2. Choose eight hymn arrangements from Easy Organ Hymn Settings or another similar resource (with instructor approval; fingering and pedaling must be supplied) from which to learn the left hand and pedal parts only. Choose pieces other than the left-hand and pedal parts from the current hymn or repertoire projects, and other than the hymns that you studied in Music 115. Work towards attaining complete independence of the two parts. Due by the end of the first unit.
REPERTOIRE PROJECTS. A repertoire project may be a standard organ work, a hymn setting (hymn "prelude"), or a hymn. Both repertoire projects must be selected and approved by the end of the first unit. The first one should be finished by end of the second unit. Choose music that is interesting and challenging to you, that is in line with your goals in organ playing, and that can be completed in the allotted time. You may wish to choose music from the listening project, or from the music in the back of the OrganTutor Workbook.
HYMN PROJECT 1. For the first hymn project, choose a hymn OTHER THAN one you learned during your previous organ study. "Come, Follow Me" is suggested, but an alternate hymn may be substituted with the instructor's approval. Prepare all verses in standard style (soprano, alto and tenor on the Great, bass on Pedal), with an introduction and at least two changes of registration. Where appropriate, one or two verses may employ an alternate rearrangement of the voices (tenor solo, manuals only, soprano solo, etc.). Due by the end of the second unit.
FINGERING TECHNIQUES REVIEW. You should all ready be proficient in the six fingering techniques: direct fingering, redistribution, crossing, finger glissando, substitution, and thumb glissando. Review them (pp. Manual 23-44), and be able to play any of them rather easily. Reading due by the third class period.

OTHER items for the first two weeks:

SYLLABUS. Read through the syllabus, the "Assignments" sheet, and other materials given to you by your instructor. Become familiar with the Music 116R web site (Use the Music 116R link on the Organ Study at BYU web site [www.organ.byu.edu or find it by searching for "organ" from the BYU Home Page]). Because most of the projects need to be learned over a long period of time, you MUST be aware of deadlines and pace yourself accordingly. Reading due by the second class period.
CREATIVE HYMN PLAYING--INTRODUCTION and TENOR SOLO (pp. Hymns 35-37). Two podcasts and other study due by the third class period.
PEDAL TECHNIQUE REVIEW. Read carefully pp. Pedal 2-5--especially the Pedal Technique Checkpoints. Refer to one checkpoint at a time as you practice any pedal exercises or pedal parts in hymns or repertoire. Become so familiar with them that you do not have to think about them. Reading and review due by the third class period.
LISTENING EXERCISE. Follow the specific instructions given in the booklet on organs 9-12. Enjoy this exercise, and use it as an opportunity to find music to play this semester. Project due by the end of the first unit--the last class day of Week 4.
TOUCH, ARTICULATION, AND PHRASING. Read in the OrganTutor Workbook pp. Intro 22-24 and& in Hymns 52-53. Podcast and other study due by the third class period.
REPEATED NOTES, ACCENT, AND TYING IN HYMN PLAYING (podcast, and pp. Hymns 3-4 and 42-50). Be familiar with the basic concepts in dealing with repeated notes in hymns (review the OT lesson, "Hymn Playing--Repeated Notes" as needed). Apply these concepts throughout the semester in all hymn projects. Podcast and other study due by the fourth class period.
INSTRUCTIONS FOR THE LDS ORGANIST. Read www.lds.org/cm/display/0,17631,4987-1,00.html and then participate in a Blackboard discussion group on the topic, "appropriate music." Post at least twice: one question, and one response to someone else's question. To access the Blackboard discussion group, click "Communication" and then "Discussion Groups." Note the due date established by the instructor. Reading is due first, followed by discussion participation.