MUS 81 - ORGAN

Dr. Charles Tompkins, Furman University Music Department

Studio: DMB-109 (864-294-2969)

The study of organ is open to students who have attained a level of proficiency on the piano which allows them to perform such works as Preludes and Fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier  of Bach; easier sonatas of Haydn, Mozart, or Beethoven; and/or works of moderate difficulty from the l9th- or 20th-century repertory. Students taking organ for the first time will be asked to play a brief piano audition to verify this preparation. It is recommended that piano study continue while organ lessons are being taken.

The goals of organ instruction at Furman include the following:

·         to develop the student’s technical, musical, and interpretive abilities at the organ

·         to give an understanding of organ registration and design

·         to familiarize the student with the literature of the organ, as well as the instruments, registrations, and performance practices associated with organ music of particular countries, historical periods, and composers

·         to teach service playing skills such as hymn playing, improvisation,            accompanying, and conducting from the console

 

1.   LESSONS. Lessons will begin this term the week of September 15 and end the week of December 1.  Juries will be on Monday, December 8.

 

Please observe the following:

·         be on time for your lesson, with shoes on and music ready

·         no gum, perfume, cologne

·         always have with you a pencil and a notebook for writing down assignments

(no notebook = no lesson)

 

2.   MAKEUPS. Missed lessons will be made up only when an acceptable excuse is given (e.g. illness, academic or other legitimate conflict). Written confirmation from an appropriate source is expected in such cases. Lessons cancelled or missed for other reasons will normally not be made up, and will be considered in assigning a final grade. Please notify me as soon as possible in advance if you know you must miss a lesson.

 

*Organ students are expected to have e-mail accounts, and to check them several times each day for messages.

 

3.   PRACTICE. Minimum practice requirements for students taking organ lessons are:

 

·         Performance Majors, 4 cr.: 18-24 hrs./wk.

 

·         Performance Majors, 2 cr.: 12-18 hrs./wk.

 

·         2 cr. (1 hr. lesson ): 7-10 hrs./wk.

 

·         1 cr. (1/2 hr. lesson): 4-7 hrs./wk.

 

 

 

2.

 

Sign up on the organ practice room doors for no less than the appropriate total shown above. The amount of time you practice on specific days may vary, depending on your schedule, but the important thing is that you do practice each day! Even when the going gets tough (multiple papers due the same day, multiple exams the same day, etc.) you need to do an hour (or even a half-hour) to maintain continuity.

Keys for the organ practice rooms and McAlister organ cage may be obtained from Facilities Services (a small deposit is required).

Music and organ shoes should be stored in your locker.

Please, no food or drink in the organ practice rooms or in McAlister. 

4.   MCALISTER AUDITORIUM PRACTICE. Practice time in McAlister is available by signing up on the weekly sheet posted on the bulletin board outside my office. This practice is generally on a first-come, first-served basis. The signup sheet will have some times already blocked out (these are lessons and times when something else is happening in the hall). If you decide to practice in McAlister on the spur-of-the-moment (e.g. during a time you have a practice room signed out), please go ahead and write your name on the McAlister practice sheet.

 

Practice time in the auditorium “after hours” (e.g. after 10 p.m. each night) should be scheduled through me and the Public Safety office, for security reasons. For the same reasons, please be sure that the door to the organ cage is closed and locked whenever you are practicing alone in the auditorium.

Please use good judgement and sensitivity when practicing in the auditorium.  If work, setup, and other preparations are taking place on stage; sound/light checks are being performed; important, official-looking people are standing downstairs talking, and (especially) casting perturbed glances in your direction; or other similar situations present themselves, you should either (a, practice quietly, or (b, come back at another time when the hall is not in use. Finally, be aware that the auditorium staff has the right, at any time, to request that practicing cease - even if you are signed up on the schedule.

Daniel Chapel organ use will be specified at a later date once the voicing and dedicatory recitals are completed, Spring 2004.

5.   PERFORMANCE / REPERTORY CLASS meets Monday evenings, 7-8 p.m.

Performance / Repertory Class has two purposes. First, it serves as a "performance        lab" in which students are given the chance to gain experience playing their repertory, including hymns, in front of an audience. (As time permits, comments and coaching will be included.) Secondly, it provides an opportunity to study the organ literature, through listening to outstanding recordings of repertory from all periods, played on all types of instruments. Scores will be provided, and commentary/ discussion will also take place. 

6.   RECITALS  / EXTRA EVENTS.  On Sunday, September 28 there will be a Hymn Festival at First Presbyterian Church, Greenwood, SC, featuring that church's new Goulding and Wood pipe organ. The hymn festival will be conducted by Dr. John Ferguson of St.Olaf College, one of the outstanding organ improvisers in the United States and a nationally known leader of such events. I strongly encourage you to attend this hymn festival; transportation will be provided, as well as recital credit. 

 

7.   FIRST BAPTIST. Organ students who do not have a regular church position are

required to attend one (1) Sunday morning ll:00 service this semester at First Baptist     Church, Greenville, where I serve as organist. Details on specific dates will follow.

 

8.   GRADING. Grading this semester will be as follows:

 

·         65%   Lessons (assigned repertory, hymns, and technical exercises)

·         20%   Jury

Students receiving scholarships in organ are required to perform at least one   substnatial work from memory on their jury.

·         15%   Organ Class Performances

 

      Criteria for grading is as follows:

 

·         fulfillment of assigned work and progress shown (week-to-week and entire semester)

 

·         at all stages of learning:

            -quality of manual and pedal technique

            -accuracy of notes, rhythms, part playing

            -cleanness, evenness, consistency, sensitivity of touch

            -steadiness of tempo, strength of rhythm, sense of line

            -technical security and fluency displayed

            -musicality and involvement apparent

     

      The following are also considered in assigning a grade each week:

 

·         score preparation evident (fingerings and pedalings)

 

·         my perception of your “practice diligence” (how often I see / hear you in an              organ practice room, especially at the times you have signed up for)

 

·         whether I have to repeat the same comments / instructions at multiple lessons

 

·         whether I must “supervise practice” during your lessons rather than teach

 

·         fulfillment of potential, i.e. are you working to the best of your ability?