Well, that did not take long!

Why the photo of a church organist? Well, let me tell you!

I am LDS (Mormon) and the unwritten rule is, if you play piano, you will most likely eventually be asked (or "called" as it is referred to in our religion) to play the organ. As mentioned in my last post, most people, including me at one point, naively assume since a person can play piano, they can play organ. I assumed I could play the organ passably well while trying to learn it. Wrong!  Yes, a pianist can possibly play the organ right away, and it might sound passable, at best,  to the untrained or uneducated ear. However, will that pianist be playing the organ the way it was intended to be played, in full organ (not piano) style? Definitely not! Further training by a professional organist is essential  to a pianist who wishes to play the organ correctly, competently, and  in which the way it was designed to be played.

 I understood all of this when I purchased my organ. Prior to my purchase, I was blessed to procure the services of a fantastic and incredibly talented organist and teacher, who lives not more than a quarter of a  mile away from me. She agreed to provide lessons, and we agreed to start out slowly, so I could learn this instrument from the ground up. This meant relearning and reviewing basic music theory, studying how it applied to the organ, as well as other organ basics that I needed to be trained on.  I had exactly two lessons before that slow and desirable learning pace came to a screeching halt.

 So, why the title of the post, "Well, that did not take long?" Read on.

 As mentioned earlier in this post about the unwritten rule of being a Mormon (LDS) pianist, I found myself being "called" or "asked" by my clergyman (or "bishop" as we refer to in my faith)  to play the organ. Again, I had only two formal lessons before this happened. I knew this day would eventually come, because of the aforementioned unwritten rule.  Never mind the fact that I happened to now have a large organ in the front room of my home. It’s not like I could hide something as monstrously huge as an organ under a blanket, and hope nobody would guess what it was whenever someone from church came over! Also, I have a big mouth, so the fact that I posted photos of my beautiful, new organ on Facebook, definitely sealed my future fate. I knew I was definitely setting myself up for a pretty much permanent position of church organist, and I accepted that.  I was living on borrowed time, and I knew it. My love of the organ, and near lifelong desire of learning the instrument, won out over any hesitations in a possible life sentence.  However, I had hoped for at least a year of formal lessons under my belt before the inevitable happened. And, as you guessed, it did happen.

It is not official yet, but I did accept the request to become the church organist. Am I nuts? Yes. Am I insane? Without a doubt. Will I prematurely speed the development of more grey hair? Most definitely.  But, the love of my faith, and the love I have for Jesus Christ, made it so I was willing to accept this incredible challenge. I have a great love for all kinds of music, and a huge love of church hymns from not only my faith, but from other faiths as well. After all, I have been playing them on the piano since I was a young child. That love was born early, and still continues strongly to this day.

For those of my faith who might be reading this, you might be finding yourself in the situation where you need to begin your calling immediately. Perhaps you do not have the luxury of taking formal lessons before you begin your service. If the only resource you have is the auto-play feature, or auto-presets on the chapel organ, God bless you! You’re amazing, and I commend your willingness to serve when you’re most likely terrified, and perhaps know nothing of what you’re doing. May God bless you for your valiant efforts!

 As for me, I insisted to my pastor (bishop) on at least another month or two of hardcore, intense lessons before I begin. (We currently have two ladies who play organ right now, so they can fill in until I can get passable. I am not leaving my church in a bind as I frantically try to passably play, thank goodness!  However, I do know they have also served life sentences, and probably wish for some kind of relief. Hence, where I am at now. ) There are two reasons why I told my pastor (bishop) that I need at least a minimum of a month before I begin.

 Reason one is because my whole goal when purchasing my organ was to learn all there is to learn about playing it, and learning how to play it well. I want to be able to play competently, and for pleasure someday.  I don’t want to skimp on my lessons and education.  I do  understand I will only be able to play simplified arrangements in the beginning, because of my insistence in learning the instrument correctly. My bishop (pastor) understands where I am coming from, and knows it will be a while before I can play like a competent organist.

 Two, music is a huge part of worship. There is nothing more beautiful than voices raised in song and praise, and the messages found in those hymns are truly inspiring. I want to be able to play those hymns so that people are not cringing at the mistakes the organist is making, but can instead  enjoy and partake of the beautiful spirit, message, and music found in the hymns. I ask that anyone in the congregation I belong to, who might be reading this,  please be patient with me. I am putting in countless hours of lessons and study to get up to snuff, and will hopefully see that day coming soon. In the meantime,  please do enjoy the missed sharps, flats, and other mistakes that will be sure to happen!

Stay tuned for more, as I chronicle this challenging and incredible task! There will be tons of adventures, and misadventures which you will definitely not want to miss. I already have a few I have experienced, and want to write about, but they will have to unfortunately wait for another day. I am all blogged out for the night. J