Pathways to Proficiency in Organ Improvisation

Abstract

The question of how one learns to improvise at the organ is complex. This study uses interviews with four organists to establish their paths to proficiency. The questions asked covered organ improvisation and the interviewees’ general background and experiences in music. Summaries of organ improvisation method books that were deemed helpful by the interview subjects are included in the learning descriptions. These method books were Cours complet d'improvisation à l'orgue by Marcel Dupré, Improvising: How to Master the Art by Gerre Hancock, Breaking Free by Jeffrey Brillhart, and Let the People Sing! by David Cherwien. The author found that improvisers had significant background and training in aural skills that were acquired outside their formal training in improvisation. A more complete picture of their skills acquisition is given in light of this insight. Interview subjects were David Cherwien of Mount Olive Lutheran Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, Jeffrey Brillhart of Yale University and Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, Todd Wilson of Cleveland’s Trinity Cathedral and the Cleveland Institute of Music, and Paul Soulek of St. John Lutheran Church in Seward, Nebraska, and Concordia University Nebraska.