Organists from throughout the United States have come to appreciate the consistently informative and thought-provoking annual organ conferences sponsored each fall by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. The 20th conference, held September 18-20, 1997, brought together over forty organists to explore the topic of organ pedagogy. The sessions were led by two distinguished master teachers of organ: Dr. Roberta Gary, Professor of Organ and Head of the Division of Keyboard Studies at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music; and Warren Hutton, Professor Emeritus of organ at the University of Alabama. Discussions of the Alexander Technique (Gary) and "Inside-out teaching" (Hutton), masterclasses, reviews of pertinent literature, a recital, and a concluding panel discussion allowed conference participants to consider the physical and psychological dimensions of organ performance and pedagogy, and to gain insights into the methodologies that have successfully served Professors Gary and Hutton and their students.
Professor Gary contributed to the conference as both recitalist and clinician. Vivacity and clarity characterized her recital of works by Buxtehude, Byrd, Bruhns, Scheidemann, and J. S. Bach, all of which handsomely complemented the resources of the Bedient organ at Cornerstone Church. The secrets of her spirited and engaging performance were revealed the next morning during her sessions on the application of the Alexander Technique to organ study. Assisted by "Fred," a small plastic skeleton whose antics delighted the crowd, Gary explained the relationship between physiology and ease of movement at the organ. She remarked that misuse, not overuse, of muscles is responsible for many of the physical maladies that plague keyboard players. Neck tension, in particular, results in a predictable tightening of muscles throughout the body; tension in the jaw reduces the flow of oxygen to the brain and thus impedes clear thinking. Noting that "the keyboard is flat; you are not," Gary encouraged her audience not to choke the keyboard, but rather to embrace it by using fluid rotational and spiraling movements suggested by the music itself. She cautioned, however, that excessive physical motion can actually compromise rather than enhance the desired effect of a phrase. Gary also stressed centering the body on the "rockers" of the pelvis in order to gain maximum support and mobility on the bench. Because she had been hidden from view by the gallery installation during her recital, she played again several passages from the recital program to demonstrate the correlation between her physical gestures and their musical results.
While Professor Gary focused on physical aspects of organ playing, Professor Hutton probed the psychology of organ teaching and performance. His sessions, entitled "Inside-out Teaching" and "Helping the student to 'own' their own performance," posed numerous questions concerning "Inner Game" concepts drawn from the writings of W. Timothy Gallwey, linear/non-linear and left-brain/right-brain thought processes, performance anxiety, and techniques for invigorating practice and keeping pieces fresh. Citing the teaching of Fenner Douglass and Arthur Poister along with the study of eurhythmics as the greatest influences on his own musicianship, Hutton proposed that integrating elements of both right- and left-brain thinking, understood symbolically rather than physiologically, might well prove to be more effective and liberating for the student than the strongly left-brain approach that tends to dominate organ teaching. He noted, for example, that the very concept of trying implies doubt and a self-conscious effort to compensate for imagined deficiencies, while allowing something to happen stems from the trust and conviction in one's own body and musical ideas that can bring the player to a transcendent state of "total awareness." Teaching techniques involving non-judgemental activities; relaxed concentration with focused action, as opposed to effort; exploring the student's creative capacities through symbols, physical motions, and imagination; and frequently asking questions can all facilitate students' ownership of their performances and expand their critical faculties to develop their own musical ideas. In addition, Hutton challenged us to reflect on how our own actions as teachers might inadvertently stifle the curiosity that a new student brings to their first organ lesson, and he reminded us of how easily we can inflict permanent damage upon a student's psyche.
In discussing creative and innovative practice techniques, Hutton proved to be a wellspring of ideas. Using the Bach B minor prelude, for example, he experimented with playing the opening gesture while envisioning toy soldiers marching, a shepherd in the fields at dusk, a gaseous emanation, and an excited child in a candy store, each of which produced a distinctive musical interpretation. He noted how tinkering with tempos and exploring the various sounds possible on any given instrument can also inspire ideas, while still more insights can arise from awareness of the temperature of the keyboard, the texture of the keys, and other kinesthetic elements of organ playing. Most importantly, he urged focusing not on mistakes but on the reasons for mistakes; not on correctness and habit but on personal conviction; not on judgement of a performance but on the sheer joy of music-making. When practice occurs in an atmostphere of "confident vulnerability," Hutton observed, then it becomes the arena in which we as players come closest both to the music and to ourselves.
The panel discussion that typically closes the UNL Organ Conference often generates some of the liveliest and most controversial exchanges of the event. Perhaps the most problematic issue for conference attendees involved reconsidering the relationship of knees and heels to the measurement of intervals on the pedalboard. Hutton suggested that organists might visualize intervals rather than slavishly follow the common wisdom of what he called "the things together school." Gary's suggestion to support one's weight on the bench by spreading the legs apart with the thigh muscles rotated inward precludes keeping the knees and heels together. She acknowledged, however, that the great diversity of human body types suggests a vast range of options for physical positions at the organ and encourages a flexible, adaptive approach to teaching body position rather than strict adherence to a prescriptive model. Reminding the audience that organists are, in effect, "athletes of the keyboard," both clinicians advocated the use of isometric exercises to warm up before practicing, and Hutton demonstrated several examples. Finally, both Gary and Hutton stressed the value of gentle humor as an invaluable teaching tool, one that they used in abundance throughout the conference.
Professors George Ritchie and Quentin Faulkner of the UNL School of Music are to be warmly commended for organizing yet another stimulating, well-paced, and smoothly-run conference. Thanks and congratulations are also due to the masterclass participants, primarily UNL students, whose careful preparation and ready responsiveness to new ideas ensured the success of the event. For more information about the upcoming 1998 conference, contact Dr. George Ritchie at the School of Music, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Lincoln, NE 68588-0100.
