Introduction

Organ Touch Defined

In organ playing, touch has little to do directly with the amount of weight in the hand or pressure applied to the key. Instead, touch refers simply to the manner in which the tones are connected. The various organ touches fit under three general categories:

• LEGATO--the tones are connected without a break.
• NON-LEGATO--the tones are separated by relatively small breaks.
• STACCATO--the tones are separated by relatively large breaks.

The blue line to the right represents the size of the break or rest that is taken between two tones. The left end represents no space between the tones--a legato connection. As you move to the right the space grows larger. This is explained further on the next screen.