How Do You Do That?

[@mepoindexter]

"If you make a mistake, repeat that mistake and everyone will think it's deliberate." The words I live by.

[@spacejazz6272]

it's a sentiment shared by German Jazz drummer Benny Greb, he mentions it in a talk he gives on KZbin. I'm of the belief that music as a whole is just a series of repeated mistakes that has somehow gained artistic legitimacy!

[@mepoindexter]

@@spacejazz6272 That's a dark view of music theory.

[@spacejazz6272]

@@mepoindexter not at all, after all music theory is descriptive not prescriptive. the mistakes came first, the theory second.

[@mepoindexter]

@@spacejazz6272 The ratios in western music are developed from the ratios in Pythagorean theorem. That's the basis of "harmony", they line up "harmonically."

[@JewelBlueIbanez]

It’s a good rule, but not absolute. For example, if you accidentally start playing a hymn too soon during Mass and have to stop (don’t stop abruptly; it sounds obvious. Improvise a quick ending.) When you start again, don’t repeat the intro from the same place. It sounds obvious then.

[@julianvasey1]

i love that little tune it made me smile

[@tomkoenig]

I have recently discovered you. Very glad. Your instruction is very helpful. My grandparents spoke english, but were more comfortable speaking German. So, as a bonus, I find your way of speaking comforting. They teased each other about hi-German and lo-German talking. Blessings to you and your new wife. Your videos and sound are great.

[@Charles-Reardon]

“It worked, she said yes” Perfect

[@Ice_Karma]

Congratulations to you and your wife on your wedding!

[@mousehouse4617]

Congratulations and thanks for an inspiring video. It's true, you learn a new thing everyday, I never knew until you explained it here what the chord notations A/D G/D etc. actually meant.

[@MrKeys57]

Hi! You mentioned imagination, and yes Improvisation is=playing after ones own imagination! - very difficult to teach, because there is so many variables, and not to forget, it is a gift! - not every musician can improvise! - Its like craftmanship, a "simple" craftsman, for ex a carpenter may do very sturdy an robust chairs! Whilst the very skilled carpenter add ornaments, maybe figurines on the chair, because he uses his gift of imagination! :D Likewise in music, the more imagination and skill the musician have, the more beautiful the improvisation becomes! - The chords you showed is a very good platform to practise improvisation on, the melody can be played maybe in thousands different ways (well, hundred anyways..), and not to forget that Chords can also be added on the right hand, to fill it up and making it sound even more fuller and beautiful! - thanks for this video and be blessed in your marriage!! Levi from Finland (but for now living in sweden)

[@peterzweck1763]

That was great. I use a poor man's Hauptwerk in our church and my home organ called "Grandorgue"...same sort of thing as Hauptwerk but open source and free. Not quite as refined as Hauptwerk but still excellent for someone who doesn't have access to real pipe organs very often. Thanks for the improvisation lessons from a rural organist in Australia!

[@ruuddevreugd8369]

Fraser, first of all ... CONGRATULATIONS with the wedding !!! I hope you really enjoyed your holidays. Further more I just wants to say that you are my inspiration to keep up my playing on the piano. Thanks for that.

[@bryangl1]

Fraser, I do hope you read this. With your explorations toward buying your own instrument, I went through the same exercise two years ago. I can clearly see why Hauptwerk is of interest and that's an excellent area to explore. For a number of reasons I ended up buying a 3-manual Allen. But in retrospect, for greatest authenticity of sound I would suggest you also explore Viscount instruments very thoroughly (I have absolutely no connection with them or their British distributors who provide models specifically tailored to that market). Viscount, based in Italy, do not use sampling but a technique which surprisingly can give an even greater authenticity of sound. While they can provide quite a range of voicings, they can't equal Hauptwerk and if you are wishing for a degree of portability, Viscount might be less versatile, but as an organist very aware of tonal quality and authenticity, you would be doing yourself an injustice if you didn't at least give Viscount a very detailed look.

[@bobh5087]

Thanks, Fraser. It's always good to see and learn something fresh and new. And congrats on your recent marriage. 👍 Like you, my under-grad through post-grad college organ profs didn't really teach improvisation to any worthwhile extent - 98% of our efforts were spent on learning organ literature/repertoire. What I've learned about improvising I've pretty much picked up on my own from reading and listening to master improvisors and just experimenting. The most important thing re church improvising, for me at least, is *relaxing and just letting things flow* ... Being absorbed in simply *CREATING A BEAUTIFUL "ATMOSPHERE"* - like a gentle fragrance in the air.... Re "wrong" notes - my graduate organ prof told us the same thing: If you play a wrong note, *play it again later* and it's not a "mistake" any more. 😊

[@rongaul8169]

Wow. Thank you. As an semi-uneducated musician, (high school concert band with some piano), I conduct our church choir as best I can. Sometimes we have a piece of music with melody and no accompaniment but what I thought was guitar chords. Well we do have guitars accompanying the choir, but know, with this video on improvisation I will try to move that issue forward.

[@joannecordelia]

I taught myself also. You just made it so clear what I already know! Music is amazing! Thank you! I’ll listen more often. ☺️ I love learning some German too!

[@SteveCaddy]

A great video that actually explains exactly what I do every week... but I've never been able to really describe it myself.

[@jamchiell]

Congratulations on your nuptials Fraser. Tell me, will you be visiting Scotland to do any organ videos?

[@moldenburg909]

Thank you for this small lesson and you improvisation was fun to listen to.

[@wheelsntraks]

Congrats to you both Fraser; wonderful to have found each other!! I enjoyed your improvisation, it's fabulous! I'll bet you could have fun with Scot Joplin's works!

[@farahmohammed1963]

The ring!! How you wear it well!💕Once again, many thanks for an informative, educational and fun video... you have taken the anxiety away with your fun and easy explanations. I had a good laugh when you were describing improvisations done by some professionals... I remember hearing literally a two hour atonal organ concert based on a very accessibly tuneful 8-bar melody... I am still traumatized to this day, and that concert was about 35 years ago!!😊 Looking forward to many more instructional videos... they are most welcomed! Re. acquiring a Hauptwerke organ: I ADORE mine!! This is the greatest invention ever!! When you get yours, consider acquiring the Arlesheim Silbermann 1761 sampleset... it’s sweet!!🌺😊🎶

[@AndrewMundellAndrewJMundell]

Thank you fraser as always very interesting and welcome back Mrs Gartshore

[@billh3828]

Thank you for posting and congratulations to you both. I fiddled around with the Miditzer virtual theatre organ with a midi keyboard a few years ago and great fun. Good for your jazz styles. Cheers.

[@kenfraza]

Fraser, as one of your Patreon supporters I wish you had higher tiers of giving available! Please consider revising the app and increase the upper levels. I would be willing to increase my giving to $50 or $75 per month if it was available!

[@gamers7800]

Once again Congratulations on your marriage...may you and your new bride enjoy a happy and full life together ...God Bless.

[@StevenStromberg]

Thank you so much for putting this together! It gave me some good ideas and direction that I'll be able to use to get started!

[@cornwalldragon4617]

Congrats to you both!

[@pinkdispatcher]

All the best wishes for your marriage! I see you have gone with the German tradition of wearing the wedding ring on your right hand. I know many Germans these days that wear it on their left, as seems to be more common in many other countries. Speaking of improvisation, I usually play Christian Pop and Worship on the piano, and also accompany more traditional hymns. But when people ask me if I play the notes, I usually reply that I just play the letters (and receive a blank stare). Luckily our (Methodist) Hymn book has all the letters I need. When I need to improvise, I usually base it loosely on one of the songs in our "Youth" song book (called "Himmelweit"). I play a very similar style to what you have shown, all self-taught. The only difference really on the piano is that you need at least one finger of the left hand for bass note (unless I have a bass player along). Thanks again!

[@georgieleejrs8299]

I believe what you just said!! you need improvisation to get the best results of what you are playing; I play for communion once a month at my church and I have a blast doing it!!! alot of fun and I am glad you have a happy marriage together!! looking forward to hearing you again--- thanks for the memories of music!!

[@jpboileau5473]

Great video as always!

[@danw1955]

Welcome back, and congratulations to you and your bride Fraser!😁👍 BTW, as far as the Hauptwerk console, you might want to try to contact Barbara Dennerlein about the custom console she had built for her home, since you're both in the same country. She could most likely get you in touch with her builder. Just a thought...😉

[@stevehunter8473]

Thankyou. I did my first ever improvisation during Communion on Sunday. Just a simple one using the Chords from the Tune 'Sussex' and using notes from the chord in the right hand. It seemed to work. Lots more experimentation and practice awaits.

[@eggyknap]

I've always found improvisation fascinating, and impossible. Thanks for this!

[@stephenaguirre7580]

Watching from California USA. I’ve been watching organ videos since 2012. I finally found an awesome channel I can subscribe to!! Thank you for your content!

[@rickb9238]

That was really enjoyable. I don’t play and don’t read music but I enjoyed your explanation and really enjoyed your improvised bit at the end. Thank you.👍👍

[@mannfan12]

Sincere congratulations on your marriage. Wish you a lifetime of happiness.

[@reglementme6321]

That way of using the hymnal was a habit of mine for years, it was always fun, certainly with seven services per weekend. Seven new pieces every weekend.

[@jenlw8974]

Thanks Fraser, your improvisation videos are especially appreciated - had me reaching for my harmony books...good luck sourcing a Hauptwerk setup - I've got my eye on my husband's retirement pension ;) Hello to Vanessa :)

[@ltaproductions7989]

As a Hauptwerk user, It's the best in the business.

[@madorganist4134]

Wonderful video - as usual, Fraser! Congratulations on your marriage, as well my friend! I always enjoy seeing you on here.

[@mastered38]

Congratulation for your wedding ☺️🥰🥰

[@joannecordelia]

Same way with piano. I’ll take a written piece. Usually three verse or three or more changes in music. You can change it around to meet the need of the service. It takes some thought patterns!

[@mkshffr4936]

Another and informative delightful video. Interesting that you mention Hauptwerk. It is a fantastic product. I use virtual pipe organ software also with my home organ. Due to the extreme cost, copy protection dongle, and lack of Linux support I use a different system but still find it very useful. Keep up the good work and congratulations on your wedding!

[@amangogna68]

Perfect organ music for a weeding !

[@barbarawarner1442]

Right. Name that tune Happy Husbandry.

[@OrganNLou]

Fraser, welcome to the Hauptwerk club. I have been a fan of Hauptwerk for many years. ENJOY!

[@lukejones7842]

Hi Fraser, I see you have had a lot of comments regarding the electronic console, but my church has an Allen organ which in my opinion is very good. It has two manuels and about 50 stops and a bunch of couplers including "turn off romantic tuning" and seems to come with a lot of stops of which you can choose for each.

[@Advent22mix]

Perfect timing on this video! I'm working on learning to realize figured bass right now. I'm very excited to hear about your idea for a home/portable console. If you are looking to minimize cost there is a free open source alternative to Hauptwerk that I use called GrandOrgue. Piotr Grabowski has I believe around a dozen excellent sample sets on his website which are all offered for free and are available in both Hauptwerk and GrandOrgue formats. I happen to also be looking to build a home console so GrandOrgue is a perfect fit for me since I can focus my very limited budget on the manuals and pedals.

[@edbolwijn3886]

How do you make the same pedalfault as in the German version......improvisation😂 Loved it...thanks to you and your wife🆒👋🏽

[@virginiaorganbuilder]

Congratulations!!

[@joannecordelia]

I don’t think communion is like a ball game but I love that kind of music!😉😁❤️

[@johnguilfoyle3073]

Worth Considering: I watched a video where an Average Joe bought a shipping container with Oak Floors and metal walls and ceilings. His plan was to store heavy equipment parts. The incredible thing was he went inside with a video camera and sang Amazing Grace and it was truly amazing. The Acoustics in that container was akin to a poor man's cathedral.

[@barbarawarner1442]

Hey, John! You would probably get a kick out of Farmer Alex who is a blogger in ¿Kansas? He invited a college choir to come sing a recital in a brand new grain silo. He also played trumpet in his high school band and had a blast. Well, I had a blast playing that video. It sounded Awesome!!

[@johnguilfoyle3073]

@@barbarawarner1442 YES! I caught that one. Not everyone can afford a cathedral. :-)

[@JewelBlueIbanez]

Our organist improvises on the Gregorian chant propers of the Mass out of the Liber (still in the ancient Gregorian chant notation). I love listening to good improvisation and picking it apart with my brain.

[@sstroh08]

The organist at my church does the same haha. She improvises it quietly with the left hand and plays the melody with a low flutey sound with the right. Sounds really cool.

[@MrRichulan]

Congratulations. A good opportunity to play the Wedding March from Mendelssohn.

[@ExAnimoPortugal]

Awesome! Great stuff to improve my organ playing

[@manuelbogoni2552]

Many Many Congratulations for this important moment in Your life!!!To You and to your Wife!!!!I hope for you the best, and an intere life in Love and Music!!! Manuel

[@danielkurniawan1336]

Congratulation for your wedding 😇😇

[@andrewharmon7929]

Congratulations!

[@vbantjes]

Here in South Africa money is tight so I use GrandOrgue with my Ahalborne L100 organ with a aplifier and a speaker box with a 3 way crossover well its free amd their are some nice VPO sound fonts avaliable ... Thank you for your video's

[@edwinselvadoss7955]

Kindly tell me the fingering for the 9th bar of the wedding march and explain how to play the trill in previous bar

[@fionaeller7809]

Sympathisch in Wort und Spiel !☺

[@spacejazz6272]

another brilliant video Fraser. have you considered investing in a decent tripod to give your poor wife's arms a rest! or alternatively have one camera set up on a tripod and a separate camera person to get different angles. just a couple of ideas 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

[@XenophonSoulis]

Good ideas!

[@MatVitaL8]

Very nice video. Thank you

[@AsteroidTVGaming]

omg yes! I am very looking forward to the Hauptwerk!!

[@hdrenginedevelopment7507]

I love Haupwerk, but only have one keyboard. I just trade around between playing the pedal or left hand with the left hand and the right always does its own. Only 2 out of 4 available appendages makes Bach a little more manageable for a beginner 😂

[@PatrickBijvoet]

You should try to visit the Organ in the Great Church of St Bavo in Haarlem, The Netherlands. (Not the Catholic Catherdral who is also called St Bavo, but the one on the Grand Market in Haarlem). Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart played that organ when he was a child. It is my hometown. I do not have any connections, but it would be amazing. And congratulations on your mariage!

[@jenlw8974]

Patrick A truly wonderful place! Enjoyed being in the organ loft while watching a demo by Jos van der Kooy :)

[@PatrickBijvoet]

@@jenlw8974 It is..

[@schwarzalben88]

I always refer to it as “snake charming music” basically Vamp till ready 😊

[@JewelBlueIbanez]

The other benefit of being able to improvise on a theme I realized once was that when you’re patiently waiting for the wedding party to arrive after the wedding was supposed to start 5 minutes ago, you can passive aggressively improvise on the Jeopardy theme.

[@barbarawarner1442]

Dear JewelBluelbanez. I love it. Maybe my eye yi yeyes, but I learned mostly by ear anyway and of course my voice changed so, yes, I Definitely learned how to wing it. I had a regular Saturday thing I played for and five keyboards and a rack and a multi input Fender amp and my suitcase of snakes.haha. cords. Of course, one thing mushrooms and I got hired for weddings and receptions. Some places I played were quite small and I Had to improvise the wedding music. Then I got hired by some people who had a large wedding and a gigantic wedding party in a huge hall and I realised I never learned the "official" music, any of it. So, I had to go purchase copies of the proper sheet music and for the first time had to read and play the music. My friends razzed me about having to learn what I was doing all these years! Lol.

[@sshawnuff]

Maybe Manfred Mann composed Davy's on the road again back in the day after noodling on Gotteslob 739 a bit. :-)

[@barbarawarner1442]

You do something like I do. I also improvise in the style of a different composer or utilize what I call genreisation. Yes. Amazing Gracw in Easy Listening, for instance. I was having too much fun listening to you.😸🎵🎶🎹

[@barbarawarner1442]

How many others of you have a bunch of music stuck on the wetware?🤓🎹🎹🎹🎶🎵🎶🎵🎵🎵🎶🎵🎶. My first husband and I were having too much fun on my brand new Gulbransen 380 Equinox that can play Bach to Rock, Buxtehude to Bacharach and Bernstein. One day we had the same days off (happened only when the planets lined up. Lol)so Frank and I were stuck on Beethoven jokes. Soon I was playing Warner on the organ and poor Frank had shorted out. He was saying "I Love it when you sit down and, uhhh, you uh, shoot, what's the word?? Uh, you sit down and de_compose." Since then in my house that's been the proper technical term for improvise.

[@philw4625]

An old uni friend used to play (somewhat ironically) a tape of Klaus Wunderlich music when he was happy. Kind of reminded me of that. Is that rude??!

[@Jake_Broer]

Is playing a hymn during communion a "western" thing? You said that you usually play a piece or improvise during the communion procession. Most of the churches I have either sung or played at or attended usually play a hymn that goes with the idea of the eucharist. Curious to know. Great video as always!

[@MrKeys57]

Btw, in our church where i play i must improvise a lot, because it is very hard to predict what the pastors next move will be!! Lol! - Levi

[@mouldypretzel]

It took some trial and error to learn how to spell hauptwerk as a non german speaker, but hopefully I'll save a curious mind some trouble. Hauptwerk... and it's not some cheap VST either

[@IndyMAB1964]

Is the wedding ring worn on the right hand in Germany/Europe? I had thought that the video was reversed until you started playing the chords and you showed the music book on the video.

[@Bergensiana78]

Michael Blane In some countries here in Europe, it’s common that the wedding ring is worn at the right hand.

[@IndyMAB1964]

@@Bergensiana78 Thank you for the answer.

[@heinmadsen-leipoldt2341]

Congratulations with your wedding

[@nicholasriley8977]

My mother used to call my improvisation Scribble - simply because it often wonders wherever my mind takes it! Or maybe even my sub-conscious takes it 🤪

[@RenzoColameoIrlanda]

U R a great man, Musician & teacher..... Your wife doing a Great recording work. Take care & all the Best of everything to all of you !!! Hugs from Ireland: Renzo * The Italian guy (musician too).... :-)

[@robertdougherty349]

Vivaldi-esque Improvisation ! :D

[@BenPazza03]

Why is your ring on the right hand?

[@henrikheikkinen]

Buy Mixtuur organs for hauptwerk. That's the way, trust me. I've played them.

[@SoltiMusic]

When the organist is getting married who plays the organ and what is the music under the ceremony? :)

[@rosadovelascojosuedavid1894]

Congratssssss for your HOCHZEIT

[@JewelBlueIbanez]

You could always sing (chant) the the actual Mass Propers and then improvise as necessary.

[@SantaridesaKTM]

Congrats on the marriage. Is there any chance of you doing a rendition of Metallica- Nothing Else Matters, Thanks. Luv the channel BTW.

[@barbarawarner1442]

Oooh. Oooh. Ooh. Lots of possibilities. My Way. Live to Die. I Wanna Know What Love is...uh oh, got the rest of us started. Oh, That Blue Danube thing. That is indestructible. I had fun doing an arrangement of a patriotic medley wrapped up in Hymn to the Working Man in Neoclassical genre. I also added some various synth voice wave envelopes too. With my amp there is an output that I can plug the whole business into the house speakers where I was to play too. Surround Sound Rules. Love doing the Harvey Wallbuzzer.

[@larikipe940]

Ah, so you're saying it's Johhan Sehastian Hach?

[@thecrackofdawn3672]

Toccata und Fuge F Dur. pls.

[@Juraberg]

🎹👍🏼

[@dougdavis8367]

When I go to different churches to hear different organs. They never sound as clear and crisp as your recordings. As a guide where is the best place to sit for best sound. Congratulations on marriage.

[@TheBaritoneCrooner]

So Fraser, because you're on the other side of the world is that why you wear your wedding rings on the right hand? 😏

[@celticqaidbear]

Free download for theater pipe organ.

[@phillipbaggio7915]

Like the Miditzer?

[@phillipbaggio7915]

@Timothy Salomon Right. I have seen organists who would hook up a MIDI module like an Allen system to their pipe organ consoles as you described.

[@mkshffr4936]

There are some nice ones for jOrgan also.

[@oskardolch9281]

First I thought that this video would be about organ, then I realized that it is about a middle age self confident guy. Bless you ...

[@adam4757]

Congratulations on your marriage :)

[@mattsmithlon]

This was my question too!

[@JeroenvKL]

To be honest, I’d rather see and hear you visiting real organs and hear you talking about them, an dusing those for educational purposes than a digital hauptwerk organ. They can never sound and act like the real thing, since you would have to record every tone combination of every stop combination, which would make it waaay to time consuming and expensive.

[@JewelBlueIbanez]

Gah, the ablutions are so much more than merely “washing up”.

[@hanspeterwortman7726]

#1 Lead a congregation!! Not everyone can do that well.

[@mouldypretzel]

Congratulations on your marriage

[@doristheslug9609]

I shall try my best to 'do the homework' so to speak. I shall upload it to me channel where you can find it

[@wp3613]

Hoffrichter would be the only manufacturer that I know of (and I have) when it comes to portability... Good luck! from Kentaro Sato www.wisemanproject.com

[@doristheslug9609]

SECOND!!!!! Wahey!!!

[@WAX6428]

WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!!! The number one reason for a pipe organ in a church is “congregational singing” and I pity the congregation that must suffer at the hands of an organist who does not understand this. 1. Congregational Singing 2. Service Playing 3. Improvisation 4. Literature. The organ suffers from organist who do NOT understand that their number one reason to play for church is to “play for church”, it is NOT recital time.............................

[@tarhuntas]

boy, you must be fun to talk with

[@wurlitzer895]

Wax6428. Please do not be quite so opinionated, but rather bear in mind that there are many churches where congregational singing is quite limited, and developing those skills which Fraser explains in his videos is not just useful, but virtually a necessity. Of course a church is not a concert hall and the musical requirements are entirely different, but let's do our utmost to enhance the worship of God to the very best of our abilities, however great or limited those abilities may be, and surely that will include accompaniment, repertoire and, yes, learning how to improvise effectively, if only for a couple of minutes or so 'to cover the action'. Being an effective church musician takes sensitivity, versatility and a high degree of practical musicianship including proficiency in sight-reading, improvisation, score-reading, transposition and hymn playing (a dying art in many churches, but that's a different story). I have no doubt that very many organists will find this video to be immensely helpful.

[@JewelBlueIbanez]

That’s not what the Catholic Church has to say about the purpose and role of the pipe organ during Mass. In fact, the pipe organ is actually forbidden during certain times of the liturgical calendar and the traditional Requiem Funeral Mass according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

[@Charles-Reardon]

All of these rules are making us forget the true purpose of having a church organ; inviting the spirit. Some people feel the Holy spirit hearing a Hammond ripping out jazz scales with a choir singing "Hallelujah!" in the background, some people feel the Holy Spirit hearing classical music on piano, some people feel the Holy Spirit through people expressing their God-given talent, like through poetry, music, or art. God gave us talent to share with others, and Mr. Gartshore is doing exactly that! Do not chase the Spirit away yelling "WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!!!!" Please! I will give it to you, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, and I respect that. Just don't rain on our parade yelling WRONG WRONG WRONG! Anyway, I still wish you Merry Christmas, my friend Wax6428! I hope someday you will learn to appreciate what you are hearing.

[@SingerGeneLeonard]

Congratulations !!

[@AndrewWilsonStooshie]

Congratulations!