learning organ basics from a master

[diverse379]

I am really on a quest to understand this instrument

i was watching John peters second video (he is the master)
and he was doing a song called theres a storm out on the ocean

i play this song on the organ pretty nicely too

but nothing like john peters

now here is the thing i want to say
watching john is a lesson in what to strive for but dont feel that because you are not on that skill level you cant use the stuff he does

first his left hand on this song

the song is really like a blues so you ae really going from the 1 to the 4 to the 1 and then 6 2 5 1
that being said

first he was in the key of C not my favorite key on the organ but whatever right?

i noticed he did the 1-4 1-4 thing that we do on piano (the blues shuffle thing when you rock betwwenn the 1 and the four chord)

but he was usins the tritone with the added ninth going to the tritone and fifth
it sounded nice
the vchords he used were
Ped/Lh
C/E Bb D

G/F B Eb

now he was not merely going oomp pah with his foot he was walking bass with his foot but the basic pattern was as what i listed

and this is what i mean when i say you can realy look at his style and start to come away with something you can use

you can learn the style first with just roots in the foot and then root  five in the foot
and then a full walk all the while you are playing the same pattern in the left hand

when he was over the four chord

he played

F/ Eb A C
C/ Eb Bb D

now for the 3-6-2-5-1
i know i said 6-2-5-1- but dont worr fuggetaboudit

E/ GCE   or  E/ G# DG
A GC#E
D/ F#CE
G/ FBE
C/EBbD


So this is a good blues thing to get down in every key
you can play theres a storm out on the ocean or you can play gblues runs

now on to the righ hand

All I can say is that his right hand was so complete he didnt even need his left hand to fill it out just his foot and right hand alone sounded good enough to match up to any organist i have ever heard

what made it so good well some say buch heyward keeps time and plays runs in his left hand little short motiffs
well john plays melody keeps time and plays short motiffs in his right hand

so he is doing three things at once

i couldnt get the right hand flow i understand the concept but doing it is another story

all i can say is be rhythmic with the right hand and dont necessarrily plop it down and lay on the chord

break up the chord do little horn like lines withi in the chord hits

for now i am just making sure i can play the melody single note style

i feel it is far more important in the beginning stages to be accurate with your melody then to try for big chords if you are not going to be hitting with precision

so i will work the melody and the chord hits will come later


and a note to all you video dvd purchasers
the stuff you see may be difficult and you may not be able to execute it but if you work it out slowly and keep at it eventually it will become faster and better
and even if it takes 3 months

then three months you will have a fantastic style
that you will own for a life time  three months work for 30  or 40 years worth of playing
a big return on your investment of time
better that then let the tape collect dust for 3 years and three years later you still dont have a great style

just a thought

[b3wannab]

Which tape is this diverse?  I have his very first tape where he does hymns but I would like to get more of his organ stuff.

[diverse379]

Which tape is this diverse?  I have his very first tape where he does hymns but I would like to get more of his organ stuff.

tape two he really goes all out and plays quite a few worship songs and demonstrates some shouts and preacher chords

also the camera angle is much better on tape two and tape three

i have tape three also
although i dont remember what was on it
i am really taking my time to go through tape two right now

[rpking]

Good points you made Diverse.  John Peters' organ 1 tape seemed to be more of a trial and error run because Sebastian didn't have him break down much of the hot stuff he did.  The camera also was on the side, so you really have to use your ear to hear the runs and chords.  That's probably why Wheatworks doesn't advertise that lesson like John's organ 2 and 3 lesson dvds. They did a much better job breaking down his technique on them.  I just can't wait until the piano dvd comes out.

[diverse379]

next week put your dibs in on that one it is going to be really hot because it is going to have real sheet music and  some professors breaking down the theory of what he is doing