Organ & Sheet Music Blog

An organist's hands playing two manuals of a pipe organ console, with piston buttons below the keys and warm wood behind

How to Practice Hands and Pedals on the Organ

Hands and feet won't cooperate on the organ? Here is the layer-by-layer routine I use to learn new music, from the pedal line alone to all three parts.

How to Practice Hands and Pedals on the Organ

Hands and feet won't cooperate on the organ? Here is the layer-by-layer routine I use to learn new music, from the pedal line alone to all three parts.

Organist's hands on a four-manual pipe organ console, seen from above, with rows of drawknobs on either side

Silent Night Free Canon: An Easy Christmas Orga...

An easy Christmas organ prelude: Silent Night as a free canon, with the melody echoing softly between registers. Here is how to register and pace it.

Silent Night Free Canon: An Easy Christmas Orga...

An easy Christmas organ prelude: Silent Night as a free canon, with the melody echoing softly between registers. Here is how to register and pace it.

Organists seated at a softly lit gallery console in a dim cathedral, with tall silver organ pipes on the left and a painted mural on the right

Now Let Us Rejoice: The Story Behind the Hymn

W. W. Phelps printed “Now Let Us Rejoice” in Missouri in 1833, months before the Saints were driven out. Here is the hymn’s story and how to play it.

Now Let Us Rejoice: The Story Behind the Hymn

W. W. Phelps printed “Now Let Us Rejoice” in Missouri in 1833, months before the Saints were driven out. Here is the hymn’s story and how to play it.

Three-manual wooden pipe organ console with hymnbook and sheet music on the music desk, flanked by drawknobs

Organ Legato for Hymns: Finger Substitution and...

Keep hymns smooth on the organ with finger substitution and tied common tones, plus when to re-strike the melody so every word is heard.

Organ Legato for Hymns: Finger Substitution and...

Keep hymns smooth on the organ with finger substitution and tied common tones, plus when to re-strike the melody so every word is heard.

Organist's hands writing notes with a pen on sheet music resting on a warm wooden organ music rack above the pistons

How to Mark Your Sheet Music Before Sunday

A soft pencil prevents most Sunday slips. How I mark fingering, pedaling, registration, breaths, and page turns so I am ready at the organ.

How to Mark Your Sheet Music Before Sunday

A soft pencil prevents most Sunday slips. How I mark fingering, pedaling, registration, breaths, and page turns so I am ready at the organ.

Organist's hands playing the manuals of a warm wooden church organ console, with piston buttons below the keys

How Great the Wisdom and the Love: An Organ Pre...

How Great the Wisdom and the Love as a reverent beginner organ prelude, with registration tips and where it fits best in sacrament meeting.

How Great the Wisdom and the Love: An Organ Pre...

How Great the Wisdom and the Love as a reverent beginner organ prelude, with registration tips and where it fits best in sacrament meeting.