Subject: Adventures in Creative Futility: Organ Lesson 37
Date: Sat, 29 Aug 1998 15:31:55 -0700
From: "James H. H. Lampert" <jamesl@hb.quik.com>
To: {The "Adventures in Creative Futility" Network}
Ladies and Gentlemen, Maestras and Maestros:

    Before I get to the lesson, let me remark that I finally found the
time to start working on the first three of the four pieces by
Kabalevsky. "Humming" (Easy Classics to Moderns, Page 136) seemed simple
enough; I immediately realized, noting that both hands are playing the
same notes, a fifteenth apart, that this is one of the few pieces that
would actually be EASIER on the organ (indeed, a completely trivial
exercise). "First Dance" is simple enough, except that the chords in the
left hand are a bit unfamiliar, and downright painful in spots. (Mainly
from not quite knowing how to get my fingers how to form the chords
without putting stress on SOMETHING.) "Chit-Chat," being a fun dialog
between the hands, also seems to suggest possibilities on the organ.

    But to the lesson! We spent most of the time working on the McHose
Dorian-mode Canon, finishing with a few pedal exercises. Between the
pedal part of the McHose, and the pedal exercises, I was definitely
feeling the past few weeks in my thighs. I found that while I wasn't
even remotely ready to put all three parts together, I could sort of
manage any two of them, without too many awkward pauses or wrong notes.
Because I'd not touched it in the entire hiatus, we decided not to touch
"Father, We Thank Thee For The Night" this week.

    After the lesson, I spent another half hour practicing, working
first on various pedal exercises, then experimenting with "Humming" (I'm
delighted to report that I can sort of get through it as a pedal solo!)
and "Chit-Chat" (with lots of manual contrast, and pedal solos).
--
James H. H. Lampert
http://www.hb.quik.com/jamesl