Excerpt from The Technique and Art of Organ Playing

This book is designed to provide the teacher with the technical material necessary to carry the student from the beginning of his studies through to the acquirement of complete command of his instrument. The aim has been to include in one volume a study of all the distinctive principles of organ technique, with enough illustrations and exercises through which they may be mastered, together with interesting compositions which will at once call for their application.

It is hoped that the textual division, Part I, may prove of value in saving the teacher's time by supplying a book of reference for students and also by providing material from which themes may be drawn for class conferences in which these points may be discussed and enlarged upon.

In assembling in one volume studies of all the various points of organ technique necessary to the equipment of the organist with as detailed a description as possible of the process by which each is to be mastered, the author has had in mind, also, the many students who must pursue their work without the personal guidance of a teacher. To the studio of every teacher there come pupils who are able to remain only a short time, who then, although eager for further study, are obliged to return to their posts to do the best they can for their further advancement in their art, and to teach others out of their still limited equipment. Of course nothing can ever take the place of the personal guidance and example of an inspired teacher; this book simply aims to provide the next best thing for students who must continue their studies thus or not at all. With their needs in view the author has endeavored, in Part I, to take up each point of technique in logical and related order, and to describe it clearly and definitely, with illustrations whenever they may aid in comprehension and application; and, in Part II, to supply, also in logical order, just as many exercises as are absolutely necessary to cover each point, and pieces which, although they demand the application of each point of technique as it is acquired and are therefore excellent studies, are never mere studies, but are such as will be of use to the organist always, and of so great variety in style that effective recital programs can be made from just these numbers.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.