Name: Teach Them Diligently (Branson)
Start: 2025-05-15T00:00:00-05:00
End: 2025-05-17T23:59:59-05:00
Location: Branson, MO

Tagged: keyboard, music lessons, Organ

This topic has 3 replies, 3 voices, and was last updated 13 years, 10 months ago by RobinP.

Viewing 4 posts - 1 through 4 (of 4 total)

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June 19, 2011 at 8:14 pm
suzukimom
Participant
Hey everyone…
Quite a while ago we got an Organ (for free!) and shortly after a Piano (for free!). My husband agreed to us getting them with the understanding that I would teach the children to play it/them. We already do Suzuki Violin, so I told him that they would have to be at a certain stage of that first, so that they weren’t overwhelmed AND didn’t get confused. (the finger numbers are different from keyboard type instruments and string instruments…) We also got (free!) a Casio Midi keyboard which has full sized keys, although not 88, and isn’t touch sensitive… but is otherwise fairly nice.
I did a little bit with my son on the Piano, but backed off on it… it was the Faber & Faber My First Piano Adventures, and he did like it. However…
the piano we got now needs turning, and also needs some repairs, which we can’t afford. Our house is also feeling smaller with the baby, and I am probably going to freecycle the piano trusting that another will come our way when we want/need one again.
SO…. I’d really like to start teaching my son the organ. He is doing well in violin, is pretty much tall enough to manage the pedals, and I think it is time.
BUT… there doesn’t seem to be any organ method books out there that look any good to me. In our city it is hard to find anything for the organ at all. I do have some organ method type books that “came” with the organ… but they are designed for adults (and adults from the ’50’s or ’60’s at that…) and I look at them and go “Yuck” (even though the one set is the set I learned organ from in the late 7-‘s, early 80’s).
Suzuki does have (pretty new) and Organ Method… but it looks like it is only taught in Europe at this point, and I can’t get any answers from the person who developed it. I don’t know if you need a full pedalboard or if a 1 octave pedalboard is sufficient…. and also other similar questions. I also know (from using Suzuki violin, and also looking at the Suzuki Piano book) that the Suzuki books don’t give information about how to teach the songs or anything like that…. so I don’t know how good I’d do at using it anyway.) Yamaha used to have a children’s organ course too (I took their preschool one!) – but I can’t find it, and think you had to take it from them.
I’m not expecting my kids to become concert piano players or church organ players, but I would like them to be able to play songs on a Keyboard based instrument….
Does anyone know of ANY child based organ courses out there???
(I would prefer not to just use a piano course, as there are differences… there is the pedalboard, how to do the volume (another foot), 2 different manuals, etc.)
I did consider doing the Faber & Faber Piano course on it as it was a nice course – but it is setup too much to use the entire piano keyboard, etc. I am also considering using our church’s “Keyboard Course” (although it is mostly Piano based too) – but it is mostly adult type hymns, and I’m not sure how great the teaching methods are in it….
HELP???
June 19, 2011 at 9:11 pm
Bookworm
Participant
Hi!
From my son’s experience (taught himself piano with a mentor, and then did the same thing with the organ) I’d really recommend talking to your church organist. In my son’s case, it was much easier to learn the basics on the piano, and then expand to the necessary new things on the organ. The piano is a lot more adaptable. In our case, our church organist simply mentored my son as necessary as he got used to the various parts of the organ and how to play. He does have some books, but they mostly are for people who can already play basic hymns on the piano. If you want, PM me and I can give you some resources we’ve found that have been very helpful, from books to blogs, but they all start with a person already having basic keyboard skills first. In our experience church organists are VERY excited to have anyone show any interest at all and will also be a great resource for you.
As for piano courses, I think the Keyboard Course is great. My son used it heavily although his mentor did have him skip the simplified hymn arrangements–he insisted that the real hymns wouldn’t take that much longer and had a list of easier ones for him to do. I can get the list for you later if you want. Ds is at a Scout camp working all summer, but he took his keyboard with him (incidentally, he’s in an impromptu “band” with several other boys who brought guitars) and he’d surely remember the first dozen or so hymns he learned, straight from using the basic Alfred’s books. He was older when he started, and highly self-motivated, so he moved quickly but I think the basics are the same anyway.
JMHO! I’d have been totally flabbergasted to try and figure out what to do for organ first. Piano first was soooo much easier! Ds learned some simple basics and was playing hymns on the organ after only a few weeks adjustment. He’s continued to learn more, but he had some serious “on-the-job” training after he was called as assistant ward organist, then the regular organist fell and broke her shoulder a few weeks later!!!
June 19, 2011 at 9:28 pm
suzukimom
Participant
Well now, that is a QUICK way to get on-the-job training!
I took organ as a very young child, as well as again as a teenager, and although there is a lot to it, I don’t think it is that hard to start with…. you’d start with learning the pedalboard and the manuals seperately….
I’ll look over the keyboard course again… the pedalboard could be introduced using guitar chord letters if necessary…
I did find one child’s organ course out there (besides suzuki) http://www.amazon.com/Progressive-Organ-Method-Young-Beginners/dp/0947183310/ref=sr_1_fkmr3_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1308518880&sr=8-1-fkmr3 but it looks like book 2 doesn’t exist…..?
June 20, 2011 at 12:28 pm
RobinP
Participant
I agree with Bookworm. My degree is in music. Piano was my primary instrument and organ was my secondary. My first organ lessons were simply taking hymns and playing the bass line with my feet. I learned about setting my registrations as well. Technique is very different for organ manuals (the keyboard) so I worked on this as well. When this was comfortable, I began some organ classical literature, simple Bach Preludes and Fugues, etc. That served me well and my college organ professor was pleased with what I had learned.
I did work through Method of Organ Playing by Harold Gleason. This was beneficial because it gave specific exercises for technique. For example, you must sustain notes with your fingers rather than the sustain pedal on the piano, so there were exercises for those. Double thirds are an important organ technique, but many of these exercises could be made up yourself or your church organist could help you. There were pedal exersices and scales as well. Probably much of it would be overkill but did want to mention it.
I haven’t played the organ in years. Don’t have access to one really. It’s a shame…