Cat,
You are probably going to shoot me down on this, and every musician here will break into an enourmous spout of laughter, but,…
… is there any chance that a non keyboardist of trained pianist could learn enough fake stuff to play the organ. I know it can be done on piano, you lay down chords and a lead line. I mean, if you could develop an on-line training program to turn guitarists into organist, it might solve a lot of problems.
I figured since we were talking about pipe dreams…
You would probably have to talk to an organ expert, like one of the teachers that was in our faculty last week. They would be able to make an intelligent answer to your query.
One of those professors made the statement and offered supporting statements tha the organ is actually much easier to play than the piano. He spoke about the easier action that requires a lot less hand and finger strength.
I can see his point. So perhaps your idea would be feasible and worth trying.
But I guess I just can’t see taking “shortcuts” just for the sake of having an organ instead of a guitar or a piano.
Would we accept a priest who was trained on a “fast track” to ordination? I mean, what’s the big deal? Toastmasters trains ordinary people to speak in public. And the words of consecration and all of the actions–this could be taught in a few weeks, right? And the order of Mass–couldn’t the priest just use a script like the actors do?
Obviously that sounds not only silly, but dangerous.
I kind of feel the same way about faking a musical instrument. There is a lot more to making music than just doing the mechanics.
A child can play Beethoven’s Fur Elise, and often play it with technical accuracy. But then listen to a professional pianist, a concert pianist, play the same simple piece of music. Under the hands of the experienced pianist, the piece comes alive. It is touching, ethereal, beautiful. It will make us cry. It will recall memories of someone we loved, and we will visualize beautiful settings, lovely smells, and sweet sights.
I believe that as a pianist, I am skilled and experienced enough in both my technique and in my spiritual walk with Jesus, to able to play hymns and other sacred music in such a way that people are touched, encouraged, comforted, and admonished. I often have people come up to me after Mass and say that they were moved to tears by something that I played. People also come up and tell me and the cantor that they felt that the two of us were blending just perfectly, and it made the Mass seem so ethereal to them.
I don’t just play notes and chords, I play music, and I don’t just play music, I play the Word of God written into songs. This is the kind of thing that would disappear if we used the ACME School of Pipe Organ. I have stated several times on the other pipe organ thread that I expect to practice several days a week for at least a year before I will be ready to play anything at Mass. That’s not just me being an anal, prideful perfectionist. That’s me wanting to honor the Lord with the very best, not with a half-butted attempt.
I think that if anything were to change in the wording of the Vatican II document, what I would change is this: “A
well-played pipe organ is the instrument of choice…” A pipe organ in and of itself is just a machine, with no holiness. If anything, it has a gaudy, carnival-like appearance compared to a simple, elegant guitar, or a sleek wooden piano.
It is not the machine that honors the Lord. It is well-played music that honors the Lord.
Let’s shoot for, say, two weeks from today?
