3 Tips for Playing 16th-18th Century Hymns on the Organ

Although hymn-playing might seem as uniform area of organ art, it requires at least several different approaches. In other words, hymns from different historical period should be played differently. In this article, I would like to give you 3 tips for playing 16th-18th century hymns on the organ.

1. Articulate Legato for 16th-18th Century Hymns. Because the general traditional touch for keyboard music composed up until the 19th century was the so-called Ordinary Touch, it should also be applied for hymn-playing of that period as well. Look at the century when the particular hymn tune (melody) was created.

If your hymn tune was created in the Reformation time, the Baroque, or the Classical period, then you should play it using the ordinary touch. The ordinary touch in today's terms might be referred as articulate legato. It is neither legato, nor non legato. The notes should be neither connected smoothly nor too detached.

2. Feel the Alternation of Strong and Weak Beats. However, achieving the articulate legato in such hymns is not enough. Since one of the most important characteristics of performance practice in early music is meter, try to emphasize the meter. Any meter has a beat which is stronger than the others. It is called the downbeat. In 2/4 meter, the first beat is the downbeat (stronger) and the second is the upbeat (weaker). In a 3/4 meter, the first beat is stronger, and the other two are weaker. In 4/4 meter, beats 2 and 4 are the weak ones. Beat 1 is the strongest and beat 3 is relatively strong.

In hymn-playing, try to make the stronger beats more accented. The other beats are weaker and don't need to be accented. So this alternation of strong and weak beats is very important in correct performance of 16th-18th century style hymns.

3. Shorten the Weak Beats. Since the organ mechanics does not allow making dynamics with the strength or the softness of your touch, the most common way to achieve metric accents and feel the alternation of strong and weak beats is by shortening the weaker beats and prolonging the down beats a little. In other words, if your hymn tune moves in quarter notes, make rests on the weak beats. These rests depend on the acoustics of the room - the longer the reverberation - the shorter the weak beats might be and the greater the articulation.

If you play your 16th-18th century hymns with articulate legato, feeling the alternation of strong and weak beats, and shortening the weak beats, your hymns will sound much more precise and in style.

By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide "How to Master Any Organ Composition" http://www.organduo.lt/organ-tutorial.html in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

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4 Tips for Choosing the Best Fingering While Playing 16th-18th Century Hymns on the Organ

Performance of 16th-18th century hymns on the organ requires special kind of fingering. This type of fingering helps to achieve the desired articulated legato touch and feel the alternation of strong and weak beats. In order to play the hymns in style it is important for an organist to know what kind of fingering to use. In this article, I will give you 4 tips for choosing the best fingering while playing 16th-18th century hymns on the organ.

1. Avoid Placing a Thumb on Sharp Keys. Because performance of early type of hymns has so much in common with the performance of early music on the organ, generally try to avoid placing the thumb on sharp keys. This has something to do with the early type of keyboard which was used in the Renaissance and Baroque organs. These instruments had keys which were both shorter and narrower than our modern day piano or organ keys. Placing a thumb would be very inconvenient on an early style instrument. However, sometimes the thumbs are necessary to use because of wider intervals and chords in the left hand part.

2. Avoid Finger Substitution. Another important point about early fingering in hymn-playing is that you should avoid using finger substitution. Finger substitution is a technique, fully developed in the 19th century and helps achieving a perfect legato touch. This technique involves substituting one finger to another while holding one key. Since we need a different type of articulation in early music, finger substitution will create some difficulties of articulating the hymns properly.

3. Interval Fingering. In hymn-playing, when you play two voices in one hand, you can use interval fingering which has much in common with the finger skipping technique. This rule generally means that every interval in the Baroque or Renaissance period had its precise fingering and succession of similar intervals should be played with the same fingerings.

4. Write in Fingering. I recommend that you write in the exact fingering that you will be using in your hymn. Do this at least at the beginning stages of your organist career. In doing so, you will prevent from playing your hymns with accidental fingerings which might not help you to achieve the desired precision and articulation.

Treat your hymns like normal organ music and practice accordingly. For example, you may find that in some cases playing not the entire 4 part texture but practicing in voice combinations is more beneficial. Or if you have trouble with sight-reading your hymn, stop and work on one phrase at a time.

By the way, do you want to learn to play the King of Instruments - the pipe organ? If so, download my FREE video guide "How to Master Any Organ Composition" http://www.organduo.lt/organ-tutorial.html in which I will show you my EXACT steps, techniques, and methods that I use to practice, learn and master any piece of organ music.

View the original article here