How much practice does it take to carry a service on organ?

[fenderjazz]

I'm a bass player teaching myself to play the organ. I've been practing about 2 hours a day for a month and a half.  I've learned about ten hymns that I can play in every key.  How long do you guys think it might take me to get good enough to hold down a service? At the church I go to they have testimony service and any body can start a song. The organist really has to be on top of his game there. Is there any advice you can give me to help me learn faster?

[aljeres]

consistancy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! be consistant! if you continue the pattern you are, and invest in ya passion! success is yours in 2 to 3mo tops! will get you up to the basic level to hold it down!

[Mane]

check this out the best thing to do is to just get in there even if you mess up u now know what to practice on and when it rolls around next time bam there is u ready for it i only been playin for three years and im not bostin or anything but i picked up pretty fast with the lords help im only 15 may i remind you and im one of the main organist in my in my precient think about it :roll:

[blessedhammond]

Just like everybody said stick with it. Some other ways to practice is to listen to the radio and try to pick up what they are doing. Another way is to try to apply the same format that you use for the hymns to the testimony songs or the songs in general. A good format to use is the 1,4,5 pattern.

[Count]

Fenderjazz. There no certain amount of time it takes to get good at playing the organ to carry a service. All that depends on the individual. We're all different and have different levels of capabilities. Example: at one time, I couldn't play the organ to save my life but I played a mean valved trombone. So one evening during a consecretion service at my church, the organist didn't show. I was the only musician there, but now I must admit, I also played the piano but not all that well. However, I got on the organ with fright in my heart, and prayer on my lips and went for the gusto. It was a hard road for me to venture, but I kept at it each night.For nine weeks. Before I realized it I was playing that Hammond B3 as if I'd been playing it all my life. So the moral to this story is , If you want to get good at something, remember to do two things at the same time, Pray and most of all, practice. It helps to have someone you can go to that will help you learn the organ. God's Blessings to ya.