some tips to playing the pedals

[diverse379]

organ pedals are the biggest difference in playing a real organ from a keyboard organ

if you know how to play the pedals you will be able to minister a lot more effectively

I have noticed an increase in my pedaling and I wanted to share some insights and a couple of drills

shoes
I have seen people play in timberlands and big clunky shoes
but usually these guys were highly talented and gifted

(A navy seal can run 8 miles in the sand with 40 pounds strapped to his back and do his mission and turn around and run back )
but most athletes would have a lot of trouble doing this

so if you were running a race would you strap 40 pounds on your back?

so when you go to your organ where organ shoes or at least shoes
that are close to organ shoes

the sole should be leather and not too thick
and the sole should not protrude from the upper part of the shoe
and they should be as narrow as possible

positon of the foot you should tap the pedal with a snapping motion from the ankle
do not stomp on the pedals

you should use the inside of your foot
i know some people use the outside but classical organ method advocates the inside of the foot
and I have found it more comfortable and effective then using the outside

heel toe
you should think about using a combination of heel toe to play the organ


strengthening the mechanism

at first it will be very hard to play pedals

but if you do some heel toe exercises these will help you get your mechanism working

when every you are just standing or sitting around

tap out rhythims with your toe
then with your heel then combine the heel toe

tap until you feel the burn then rest
and start again

the better and snappier the toe and heel are
the better your pedaling will sound

God Bless

[TheReturn]

TOES FOR BLACK KEYS HEELS FOR WHITE KEYS. AND TAKE IT FROM THERE.

I USUALLY FIND ANY SHOES COMFORTABLE TO PLAY THE ORGAN IN. ACUALLY (evan though there corfortable) I DON'T LIKE PLAYING IN TIMBERLANDS. I THINK ITS BECAUSE THEY GIVE YOU ABOUT AN EXTRA INCH OF HEIGHT, SO IT FEELS LIKE THE PEDALS ARE CLOSER.

BUT, OTHER THAN THAT, I DON'T HAVE PORBLEMS WITH ANY SHOES.

BUT I ABSOLUTLY CAN'T STAND PLAYING WITH NO SHOES AT ALL. lol



HOLLA
CATRON/TheReturn

[diverse379]

TOES FOR BLACK KEYS HEELS FOR WHITE KEYS. AND TAKE IT FROM THERE.

I USUALLY FIND ANY SHOES COMFORTABLE TO PLAY THE ORGAN IN. ACUALLY (evan though there corfortable) I DON'T LIKE PLAYING IN TIMBERLANDS. I THINK ITS BECAUSE THEY GIVE YOU ABOUT AN EXTRA INCH OF HEIGHT, SO IT FEELS LIKE THE PEDALS ARE CLOSER.

BUT, OTHER THAN THAT, I DON'T HAVE PORBLEMS WITH ANY SHOES.

BUT I ABSOLUTLY CAN'T STAND PLAYING WITH NO SHOES AT ALL. lol



HOLLA
CATRON/TheReturn

I hear you on toes on black heels on white that works great for some flat keys  but what happens when you are playing in the key of C or G are you saying to play all the white notes with your heel?

That is not how the classical masters say to tackle it. when you are playing successive white notes you should use heel toe that way you can keep a legato touch if you only use heels on the white notes and never toes
then you can never achieve legato touch

as far as shoes I understand that you can probably play in anything
but beginners need all the help they can get and the recommendation from every classically trained organist i have met
and every organ method book I read is that you should where an organ shoe or something close
which is a thin leather shoe although i know several gospel musicians who dont care what they wear

also if you are playing pipe organ which costs sometimes millions of dollars
you dont want the gravel and pieces of outside debris
to wear your pedals down
and because shoes dont bother  one person (a navy seal) then that doesent mean that the average beginner shouldnt take into consideration whatever will enable them to feel and articulate the pedals.

this post is meant for the beginner not the veteran
often when we become accomplished we forget what difficulties some people may encounter

i offer methods of pedaling that I learned from a classical organ method book

so although some things may seem un necessarry i just say give it a try before you throw it out.

[2tight]

It took me a while learn the pedals but now i finally have down pack.

[docjohn]

hope your blessed for your servants heart bro!

[diverse379]

hope your blessed for your servants heart bro!

thats deep bro thanks

I know I am blessed but i rarely make a connection between what i post here and my career

but definitely I am being abundantly blessed in my music ministry

[SupremeSaltine]

Good tips diverse.

On the shoes:  Playing in proper shoes will reinforce the heel-toe style.  As Hammond players we are one-footed organists.  Classical players use both feet because they're not always using an expression pedal (da volume pedal) with their right foot.  I play in an oxford as narrow as possible with a thin leather sole and about a 3/4" heel.  I have big feet.  Wearing a shoe with a rather "slick" sole can let you hold a white note with your heel while you pivot your toe (or vice versa) into position to hit a key a 3rd away (like a jump from from G to B or G to E).  Sometimes you will find yourself out of "sync",which means you are on "toe" and your next note has to be "toe" too.  So you hit your initial note with "toe" then  quickly switch your foot on the initial note to "heel" and then pivot to make your jump.

So if you have a G major scale in the pedals:

G with heel
A with toe, rotate heel and hold down the A
B with toe, rotate heel and hold down the B

You get the idea.  I'm not saying this is "the way" to play a one-footed G major scale.  Some classical player would probably say I'm absolutely wrong.  I'm saying there will be a lot of times you're hitting a note with toe and holding it with heel to make the preparation for your next move.

You can also do a toe-toe slide or heel-heel slide if you're moving in  half or whole steps.  Having a heel on a shoe makes this possible.

[diverse379]

Good tips diverse.

On the shoes:  Playing in proper shoes will reinforce the heel-toe style.  As Hammond players we are one-footed organists.  Classical players use both feet because they're not always using an expression pedal (da volume pedal) with their right foot.  I play in an oxford as narrow as possible with a thin leather sole and about a 3/4" heel.  I have big feet.  Wearing a shoe with a rather "slick" sole can let you hold a white note with your heel while you pivot your toe (or vice versa) into position to hit a key a 3rd away (like a jump from from G to B or G to E).  Sometimes you will find yourself out of "sync",which means you are on "toe" and your next note has to be "toe" too.  So you hit your initial note with "toe" then  quickly switch your foot on the initial note to "heel" and then pivot to make your jump.

So if you have a G major scale in the pedals:

G with heel
A with toe, rotate heel and hold down the A
B with toe, rotate heel and hold down the B

You get the idea.  I'm not saying this is "the way" to play a one-footed G major scale.  Some classical player would probably say I'm absolutely wrong.  I'm saying there will be a lot of times you're hitting a note with toe and holding it with heel to make the preparation for your next move.

You can also do a toe-toe slide or heel-heel slide if you're moving in  half or whole steps.  Having a heel on a shoe makes this possible.

you got some knowledge doc

as I was reading your post i realize that pedaling is a little like fingering in that
it is not wreong if you can execute it I play my B scale starting with my pinky in my left hand and that is not correct fingering but i can play the scale flawlessly so my professor had to just leave it alone

so with pedaling I am sure there are thngs that you do that are not correct by the book but as long as you renere a good presentation who cares

I am doing this song now when in our music God is glorified in the African heritge I am having a little difficulty with the bass line in this song
especially on the pipe organ

what I will have to do is play just pedals until i can execute it flawlessly