Piano or Organ?!
Question: Piano or Organ!?
I am interested in playing the Organ after i having reached grade 5 in piano, can any1 tell be the adv!. and dis adv!. of both of them and which should i concentrate on more!?
I also would like to know if playing the organ would give me more chance of getting into good universities or not :D
Thankyou in AdvanceWww@Enter-QA@Com
I also would like to know if playing the organ would give me more chance of getting into good universities or not :D
Thankyou in AdvanceWww@Enter-QA@Com
Answers:
I think learning how to play the organ is an awesome idea!. I went to college on piano and organ scholarships!. I competed against 20 really good pianists for 15 scholarships; on the other hand, I competed against 2 people for 5 organ scholarships!. That in itself is a good reason to pick up the organ!. also, organ programs are starving for students, and they're willing to take so-so players (but still pretty good - or at least teachable), where piano studios only want top notch players who have studied since they were fetuses!.
If I were you, I would definitely concentrate more on piano!. Besides obviously needing to know how to play the piano in order to begin to play the organ, the stronger your piano chops, the better you'll do in college (in keyboard theory, in piano proficiency exams, etc!.)!. Not only that, you can get a job as an accompanist for voice lessons or play at a church!.
On the other hand, playing the organ gives you a definite advantage!. You'll learn a lot of literature that most musicians know nothing about!. You'll be able to hone your coordination and improvisational skills, you'll learn how to read figured bass and alto/tenor clef really well, and you'll be WAY FAR ahead of everyone else when you take Counterpoint class!. Learning organ registration will help you very much if you take orchestration classes!.
Even though there's not a huge demand for organists right now, I would say 80% of organists that play at churches are over 60 years old (that's a made up statistic, but pretty close to true)!. also, I made more than twice as much money playing the organ for churches as I did as a pianist and I never had to look very hard for a job!. You'll also make a whole lot more playing for weddings and funerals!. By the way, there are a lot of churches that aren't getting rid of organs any time soon - in fact, here in my town, there are lots of churches building bigger ones - and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so!.
Even if you don't devote your whole life to being and organist, it's an awesome job skill to have and will make you a better, more well-rounded keyboard player!. My advice is to at least check it out!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
If I were you, I would definitely concentrate more on piano!. Besides obviously needing to know how to play the piano in order to begin to play the organ, the stronger your piano chops, the better you'll do in college (in keyboard theory, in piano proficiency exams, etc!.)!. Not only that, you can get a job as an accompanist for voice lessons or play at a church!.
On the other hand, playing the organ gives you a definite advantage!. You'll learn a lot of literature that most musicians know nothing about!. You'll be able to hone your coordination and improvisational skills, you'll learn how to read figured bass and alto/tenor clef really well, and you'll be WAY FAR ahead of everyone else when you take Counterpoint class!. Learning organ registration will help you very much if you take orchestration classes!.
Even though there's not a huge demand for organists right now, I would say 80% of organists that play at churches are over 60 years old (that's a made up statistic, but pretty close to true)!. also, I made more than twice as much money playing the organ for churches as I did as a pianist and I never had to look very hard for a job!. You'll also make a whole lot more playing for weddings and funerals!. By the way, there are a lot of churches that aren't getting rid of organs any time soon - in fact, here in my town, there are lots of churches building bigger ones - and spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to do so!.
Even if you don't devote your whole life to being and organist, it's an awesome job skill to have and will make you a better, more well-rounded keyboard player!. My advice is to at least check it out!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
You didn't state whether or not you had ever sit down at an organ, and tried to play it!.
What most pianist who are "would be" organist encounter as the biggest impediment to performing on this "King of Instruments", is being able to perform on its pedals, and co-ordinate this with performing on the multiple keyboards(plus manipulating the stops and bellows pedals)!.
I was a fairly good pianist, but when I tried to learn the organ in college, I only lasted for about 6 wks!.; I just couldn't co-ordinate my feet with my hands: it's much more difficult than one might think!.
I would explore whether or not you have the capability of adapting to its many performance requirements, before further consideration of your question as posted!.
And I totally agree with your first responder; there's not much of a market for organists nowadays, even good ones!.
Let's say - just for arguments sake- that you did become competent on both the piano and organ prior to entering college!. I would imagine that it would probably give you a leg up on other applicants at the better schools!. Sure, but at present, that is yet to be accomplished, not assumed!.
Bottom line: contact an established, professional organist if you can, and discuss your question with them: nothing like a professional opinion!.
Good luck,
AlberichWww@Enter-QA@Com
What most pianist who are "would be" organist encounter as the biggest impediment to performing on this "King of Instruments", is being able to perform on its pedals, and co-ordinate this with performing on the multiple keyboards(plus manipulating the stops and bellows pedals)!.
I was a fairly good pianist, but when I tried to learn the organ in college, I only lasted for about 6 wks!.; I just couldn't co-ordinate my feet with my hands: it's much more difficult than one might think!.
I would explore whether or not you have the capability of adapting to its many performance requirements, before further consideration of your question as posted!.
And I totally agree with your first responder; there's not much of a market for organists nowadays, even good ones!.
Let's say - just for arguments sake- that you did become competent on both the piano and organ prior to entering college!. I would imagine that it would probably give you a leg up on other applicants at the better schools!. Sure, but at present, that is yet to be accomplished, not assumed!.
Bottom line: contact an established, professional organist if you can, and discuss your question with them: nothing like a professional opinion!.
Good luck,
AlberichWww@Enter-QA@Com
Looked at schools lately!? Organ programs are being cut left and right!. There just doesn't seem to be a call for them!.
Traditional paid positions in church music are also going by the wayside; scrap the million dollar organ and bring on the drumbz, geetarz, and amplifryerz
!.!.!. and don't pay the musicians!.
All that said, the classical organ is still just about my favorite instrument!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
Traditional paid positions in church music are also going by the wayside; scrap the million dollar organ and bring on the drumbz, geetarz, and amplifryerz
!.!.!. and don't pay the musicians!.
All that said, the classical organ is still just about my favorite instrument!.Www@Enter-QA@Com
Completely different instruments!. If you get used to the multiple manuals, soft pneumatic action and playing bass with your feet, you'll lose the feel for piano!. Plus there's not much demand for organists these days!. As for which one to choose, how can we help you!? It's your decision!Www@Enter-QA@Com