University of Nebraska 20th Annual Organ Conference

Edie Johnson is the assistant organist/choir director at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Indianapolis as well as seminary organist and instructor of piano and organ at Christian Theological Seminary. She holds the B.Mus. in organ, magna cum laude, from Furman University studying with Dr. Charles Tompkins. She completed both the M.M. and D.M. degrees at Indiana University, where she studied with Dr. Larry Smith. Ms. Johnson is an active recitalist throughout the United States and she also leads workshops on mental rehearsal and imagery for universities and AGO chapters.

The use of mental imagery in the creation of music goes back many generations. Composers such as Mozart, Schumann, Wagner and Brahms utilized mental processes in their compositions, often hearing works in the mind before putting them on paper. Olivier Messiaen claimed that harmonies evoked specific colors in his mind?s eye and the myriad of colors that he experienced influenced his innovative compositions for organ, piano, orchestra and other media. All musicians have experienced mental rehearsal and imagery of music, perhaps unknowingly, in some fashion. You may have had a teacher who incorporated analogies, evoking creative images, or remember a passage of music that persistently remained in your inner ear.

Over the past thirty years, there has been a surge of interest in mental imagery and rehearsal in a variety of fields. In various studies, the majority of research has shown that in learning and retaining a motor skill, mental rehearsal combined with physical practice is much more effective than physical practice alone. An organist may benefit from mental practice both in the initial and later stages of learning. In addition, beginning organ students may incorporate this process; however, it may be difficult for a new organist to imagine actions with which he/she is unfamiliar.

Mental rehearsal and imagery can have great benefits for performers. When incorporated consistently, mental rehearsal may heighten the efficiency of practice time while it also allows muscles to relax and decreases excess tension in the body. This in turn may reduce instances of pain and performance-related injuries. Mental rehearsal creates minute innervations in muscles; it programs and prepares the body by forming a mental blueprint. Mental imagery assists performers in coping with performance anxiety, thus providing a mechanism for increasing quality and consistency of performance.

Mental rehearsal requires consciously practicing sounds, motions and senses in the mind while simultaneously releasing unwanted tension in the muscles. This process heightens the awareness of sensory feedback, and it allows the mind to be in conscious control, thus directing physical actions rather than simply responding to them.

Mental imagery is the ability to develop an image without analyzing its contents. This involves seeing an image in the mind?s eye as if watching a movie. It is important to be able to imagine events from both an internal and external perspective. Mental rehearsal and imagery may be employed both at and away from the keyboard. Learners and performers may employ these techniques within practice sessions or during rest periods, walks, and other monotonous activities.

The most successful and vivid imagery employs all of the senses. Aural imagery can be strengthened by playing a passage, mentally hearing the music and then repeating this until the aural representation is as clear as the actual performance. Visual imagery involves the ability to see objects or events in the mind?s eye. This may entail experiences such as seeing the details of a score as a clear mental image to enhance memory, imagining watching one?s self perform as if sitting in the audience, or mentally visualizing the instrument and movement of the hands and feet from an internal perspective. Kinesthetic imagery indicates imagining the sensations involved in muscular movements. For example, you can employ kinesthetic imagery by thinking about what it feels like to play an exercise or passage of music, focusing on the muscle movements in the fingers, legs, arms and shoulders. If kinesthetic imagery does not come easily, alternate miming the movements of playing with mental rehearsal until the sensation of the muscle movements is vividly imagined. Involving the senses of taste and smell also heightens the imagery experience.

Relaxation

The first step to vivid imagery is learning to relax the body completely. Total relaxation allows you to eliminate external stimuli and become more aware of your inner state.1 Muscle tension is a common concern among organists at all levels. The demands of the instrument produce tension in the neck, back, hands, arms and legs. Utilizing relaxation procedures eases the organist's bodily tension that can hinder the quality of practice and performance. You may use progressive relaxation, tightening and releasing specific muscle groups throughout the body. Another common relaxation technique is auto suggestion in which you mentally speak words, such as "Relax your jaw, release the muscles in your back." A text that provides further insight into benefits and processes of relaxation is Herbert Benson's The Relaxation Response.2

Relaxation is an important initial step when employing mental rehearsal and imagery at or away from the organ. It is also a useful tool when preparing for a performance, to calm pre-concert nerves or to visualize successful performances. Most importantly, relaxation must be practiced under non-stressful conditions before you can effectively employ it in a pressured situation. Benson and other experts recommend incorporating a relaxation session for ten to twenty minutes daily, in order to gain maximum benefit.

Centering

Centering is a means of calming the body and channeling an individual's focus and energy to the task at hand. Sports psychologist Robert Nideffer created this technique for athletes. Don Greene, a sports psychologist who has coached the U.S. Olympic diving team as well as musicians at the Juilliard School and members of major orchestras throughout the United States, has adapted the idea of centering to suit musicians. Centering allows you to shift from critical, verbal thinking to creative, musical thinking. Greene states, " . . . you can picture what you want to do, get a feeling for how you are going to do it, and hear the sound that you'd like to create."3

Greene provides the following guidelines for "Centering Down" in his text, Performance Success.

1. Form your clear intention. Precisely state a goal, for example: "I am going to learn how to center down" or "I am going to carefully practice this pedal solo."

2. Pick your focus point. Greene suggests choosing a focus point that is below eye level, because having the eyes closed or lowered is more conducive to right brain activation. This can be difficult for organists, especially if playing on a four-manual instrument with a high music rack. This could be a good reason for playing from memory or at least only referring to the music occasionally.

3. Close your eyes, focus on your breathing. When first learning to center, it is important to first close the eyes; later you will be able to do this by just lowering the eyes and focusing gently. You should concentrate on breathing from the diaphragm rather than the upper chest. Breathe in through the nose and out from the mouth for three to seven breaths, until entirely focused on breathing.

4. Scan for excess tension and release it. With each inhalation, scan the body for tension from the head to the feet. When exhaling, release the tension. 

5. Find your center. The center of gravity in one's body is about two inches below the navel and two inches into the body. You must maintain the center of gravity in relation to the chair or bench as you center. During times of stress, the sensation of the center tends to rise and the goal in centering is to keep the center of gravity at the proper location.

6. Repeat your process cues. Process cues are concise, "supportive directions" that help you focus on goals once successfully centered. This phrase should be a specific cause phrase, not an effect. For example, when beginning a Bach sonata you might think, "Clear articulation," or before beginning Vierne's Berceuse, you would think, '"rolling legato." These phrases might be instructions that you have heard from a teacher when working on a particular piece in a lesson.

7. Direct your energy. Energy must be gathered at your center and then directed through the body to a specific focus point. If these steps are taken thoroughly you will direct energy and concentration to successful completion of the performance goal.

Focused Concentration

Performers who consistently achieve optimal and peak performances have a high degree of mental quiet. This is a state in which concentration remains steady, avoiding any external interruptions. Within this focused status, the performer lets the physical movements and the music flow freely; however, this mindset can be interrupted by internal criticisms and external distractions. 

When performing, if something irrelevant or distracting enters your mind, Greene suggests asking yourself if this is relevant or irrelevant. Try not to force the mind onto the task at hand, simply think "irrelevant" and pay the distracting thought no mind.4

If you experience problems with distracting thoughts during performance or practice, it might help to play through a piece and afterwards write down all of the thoughts that came into your mind. For example, thoughts concerning job pressures, personal issues or everyday tasks may intervene and decrease the quality of the performance or productivity of the practice session. When you take note of the distracting thoughts and analyze the list, it becomes evident how mundane and irrelevant these thoughts are, and it may help you disregard these items as they arise in the future.5

One of the most distracting elements of a musician?s concentration is the presence of negative thoughts. Many athletes use the technique of "thought stopping" to eliminate both distracting and negative thoughts. When you experience an irrelevant or unproductive thought, briefly attend to the thought, say "stop" out loud and clear your mind. Select a particular thought pattern that you really wish to extinguish. Then close your eyes and try to imagine the situation in which the negative thought generally appears. Finally, practice interrupting the anxiety-producing thought until it is eliminated entirely. This process may take much time, focus and practice; however, the reward will be a decrease in negative thought patterns and distractions to concentration. Discover phrases, such as a positive mantra ("I feel strong and I radiant confidence."6 "I play with clarity and strength.") or emotions that can be conjured to combat negative thoughts during performance. It is important to become aware of self-defeating phrases that interrupt constructive thoughts and replace them with positive ideas and feelings.7

Positive self-talk can greatly increase confidence and thus decrease arousal and anxiety immediately prior to a performance. If you experience nervous symptoms such as a dry mouth, cold hands, nervous stomach or other such physiological annoyances before performances, your first thought is probably something like, "I hate this feeling and I'm not going to do well." This thought pattern can be reframed with the statement, ?"These feelings help give me the energy I need for an exciting performance." It is important to take bothersome or negative thoughts or self-talk and put a positive spin on them.8 For every negative thought that crosses the mind, strive to come up with two positive thoughts.

Performances are rarely perfect, and musicians should strive for optimum performances rather than perfect performances. Every human is fallible, and it is imperative to keep experiences within a realistic realm of accomplishable goals.9 The most beneficial type of self talk is referred to as "realistic self appraisal" with comments such as "I will probably make a few mistakes, but the important thing is relaying the music."10

Mental Rehearsal Techniques

When practicing the organ, postural alignment, proper breathing and relaxed muscles are imperative. When incorporating mental rehearsal, the mind retains your overall physical state along with the music, so it is important to remain relaxed during these portions of a practice session.11

When first developing imagery ability, attain a state of relaxation, decide upon an external or internal perspective, and then practice imaging from one point of view. After proficiency is gained in one perspective, switch to the other. Initially practice visualizing yourself performing from the audience's viewpoint, noticing deportment, energy and emotions from this external perspective. Next, imagine what it feels like to be at the organ playing, noticing all details of the experience: body position, muscular contractions, emotions, etc. You must practice the two perspectives independently at first; later, they can be combined. As you become more experienced in imagery, you can quickly shift from an internal to an external perspective.

Decide in advance on one element upon which to focus. This can be incorporated with centering and setting up a "process cue," a simple phrase or word that summarizes the immediate performance goal. For instance, you should decide if you are going to focus on a single element such as muscle tension, precise notes, expressive timing or piston changes.12

When initially learning a skill, external imagery may be the most efficient technique. For example, a beginning organ student may benefit most from external imagery because he/she is not familiar enough with the muscle movements involved in playing the instrument to imagine them from an internal perspective. When a skill is very comfortable and automatic, kinesthetic imagery may work more effectively. For an advanced player or a beginner, imagery and mental rehearsal work most effectively with consistent practice.

Three Step Practice Loop

Mentally imagine the ideal sound, play the passage, and then analyze the result. Did the physical performance match the inner ear's model?13 This is a wonderful idea for musicians of all levels to put into daily practice. You may incorporate this technique as a teaching tool within lessons by asking the student's reaction to a performance, determining what element(s) require alteration and reminding him/her to repeat this process during practice sessions. By focusing the learner's mind and ear, this time-efficient idea is a great way to sample different interpretations or experiment with various ways to shape a phrase.

Mental Leadership

Mental leadership entails thinking ahead rhythmically while playing a passage or taking silent breaks to mentally rehearse a motif or phrase. When initially incorporating this technique, practice playing a simple example, such as a scale, hymn or exercise from a method book, for either manuals or pedals. At first, it is perhaps best to play with only the hands, or only the feet. While playing, focus on staying mentally ahead by thinking the sound and fingering, or pedaling, of the next note immediately before it occurs. Depending upon the meter and tempo of the passage, you could think ahead with the value of an eighth note, but if playing slow note values, it is possible to think ahead by a quarter or half note. The main goal is to think ahead rhythmically in order to maintain strength in the meter. Initially the organist should think ahead by individual notes, then by measure and finally by phrase. This method encourages you to anticipate both musical and technical issues within a piece and can also enhance sight-reading skills. After you gain proficiency with simple scales or hymns, you may transfer the process of mental leadership to specific pieces. This technique is an excellent way to make the mind guide the muscles and the music, rather than letting motor memory take the lead. 

Example 1:  Mental Leadership

Practice a simple scale, such as the following, using the small notes to quickly think ahead the pedaling for and sound of the next note, moving the foot to its next position as soon as possible.  This promotes anticipating movement and sound while playing so that you are always preparing the body and mind ahead of the music. (Example 1) Employing mental leadership can be especially useful in pattern-based pieces, such as the famous Final from Louis Vierne's Symphonie No. 1. It is beneficial to imagine a brief grouping of notes, perhaps starting with two to four sets of notes and increasing to measures and phrases. During this process, begin by analyzing harmonies, accidentals, and hand position of a short grouping prior to physically playing. Continue by alternating the physical playing and mental analysis, feeling and hearing the next grouping during each rest period.

Example 2:  Mental Leadership

Vividly imagine playing each consecutive grouping during the rests then physically play the grouping. As proficiency increases, you can later imagine groups of eight, twelve, etc. (Example 2) This process allows you to analyze accidentals and to think of harmonies, patterns and sounds allowing the mind to guide the muscles rather than vice versa. Whenever you stop to think through an upcoming passage, it is imperative to relax the muscles, be aware of any tension and release, breathing deeply. Although this process sounds time consuming, when practiced regularly and properly, it may decrease the amount of learning time as well as increase memory and retention of the passage. 

Miming

Mime motions of playing while hearing the sound in the inner ear and paying careful attention to muscular movements. This technique is especially helpful in pieces with large leaps, difficult manual changes, extended reaches or rapid piston changes. It takes much less muscular tension to mime through a passage than it does to physically play.

Example 3: Miming

From Cantabile by César Franck

In Example 3a, mime moving the hands from the Positif and Récit to the Grand Orgue to achieve a smooth, solid transition. In Example 3b, mime the octave movement between the two circled notes, making sure that the first note is released gently and the horizontal arm movement is accurate, settling the fingers over the notes before playing.

Verbal Cueing

Based on your own interpretation or an instructor's suggestions, write cues in the score and speak them aloud as you get to that passage; later, the cues can be imagined rather than spoken. You may employ phrases such as "play legato, articulate before the downbeat, stretch the hand," etc.

Example 4:  Verbal Cueing

From Berceuse by Louis Vierne

When playing this example, you could think phrases such as "rolling legato," "reach up to the F#," "open swell pedal," "close swell pedal," etc.

Modeling

Listen to a recording and imagine the motions involved in playing; do the same when a coach is modeling for you. Imagine that you are a performer that you admire and play through a piece with his/her energy and flair.

Creative Images

Think of the images or characters that the music evokes; play a movie in your mind that corresponds to the piece. The movie can be created while listening to a recording, during physical practice, or while hearing the music in the inner ear. Instead of a movie, one might simply recall evocative images in the mind?s eye such as a regal event during a majestic work, or a playful scene during a lighthearted passage.

Altering Tempos of Mental Rehearsals

It is best to employ mental rehearsal at the same tempo as physical performance; however, there are exceptions when altering the tempo may be desirable. When working slowly on a new piece it is possible to mentally rehearse the piece at the desired final tempo. This can be helpful when working out fingerings and initial technique for the piece. You may also skim through simple sections and mentally rehearse the successful performance of difficult sections or memory posts.

Mental Practice with a Metronome

Increasing the tempo of a new piece may be done by incrementally raising the speed of a metronome. You will have stronger rhythm and improved success with this technique by setting the metronome to the appropriate tempo, hearing the desired passage in your head with precise rhythm, then playing the passage at that tempo. Most likely, by following this technique, you will play with steady rhythm rather than speeding up or slowing down to match the metronome.

Memory

Mental rehearsal can be incorporated in the early and advanced stages of memorizing a composition. You can employ this technique both at and away from the organ. When initially learning a new work, mental rehearsal and imagery with the score (away from the instrument) allow you to analyze the formal structure, harmonic and melodic patterns of the piece. Thorough understanding of a work's structure from an analytical standpoint increases the speed of memorization.

When memorizing a phrase or short passage, play through the phrase looking at the score, then play through it mentally, with eyes closed, noting sounds and movements, and then physically play the passage from memory, continue this process for several repetitions. This technique may seem time consuming, but it can make memory more solid and can allow you to memorize more quickly. The muscles benefit from rest during the mental rehearsal period while the music is reinforced in the mind. It is imperative that you combine vivid aural, visual and kinesthetic images during the mental rehearsal.

When a composition is securely memorized, it is beneficial to mentally play the piece away from the instrument. This can be done sitting or lying down in a state of relaxation, or while on a walk or other monotonous activity. When practicing memory in this fashion, it is important to incorporate all of the senses, visualizing the score and location of performance or practice, imagining all piston changes and dynamic changes, and most importantly hearing the correct notes, phrasings and interpretations in one's inner ear. If there is a passage that cannot be heard internally away from the keyboard, then this is a passage that needs extra physical and mental rehearsal in order to be securely memorized.

Conclusion

Organists and other musicians should continually aim for optimal performances, striving to do their best, yet realizing that live performances are rarely ever perfect. Employing relaxation techniques as well as mental rehearsal and imagery can improve your chances for achieving an optimal level in all performances. Incorporating mental methods assures that the mind stays ahead of the body, thinking beforehand about both technical and musical issues. Initially, you must spend a great deal of time to develop mental imagery and  rehearsal techniques, but the time yields improved quality of concentration and focus, thus saving practice time in the long run.

Mental rehearsal should never be considered a permanent alternative to physical practice. There is certainly no substitute for physically engaging the muscles in practice, but mental rehearsal enhances the cognitive and spatial elements of a task and also allows time for theoretical analysis of the music. Taking time out for mental rehearsal during the physical practice session has the added advantage of giving the muscles time to rest before reaching a fatigued state.

Mental rehearsal and imagery are most effective when they are extremely vivid, involving all of the senses. You must be aware of muscular sensations, sights, sounds, smells and tastes in great detail in order to benefit from mental imagery. One of the most important elements of mental rehearsal is that you relax the muscles before practicing mentally. The brain memorizes muscular tension or release along with the mental representation of the music.

Whether dealing with performance anxiety or individual practice sessions, always be open to new images or forms of mental rehearsal. By employing basic mental rehearsal and imagery techniques, you may find additional methods that work better, or some that are entirely ineffective. It is important to share these ideas with colleagues and students; all can learn from one another. Also, consider writing down newly discovered mental practice techniques or effective images in a notebook or journal.  These ideas can then be applied to other pieces or used for teaching; they may even be employed within other venues such as choir rehearsals or public speaking.

It is always important for musicians to remember successful performances and frequently recall the feelings associated with these experiences, as well as vividly imagining successful future performances. The preparation, emotions and sensations associated with past successes are the foundation upon which future successes are built.   n

Organ Conference 2000

For twenty-two years George Ritchie and Quentin Faulkner have developed and presented a wonderful series of organ conferences at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Musicians throughout the United States and abroad have come to expect a superb conference with clinicians, artists and teachers who are among the most respected people in their fields. (See sidebar for a brief retrospective history of the Nebraska Organ Conference.)

The twenty-second conference was no exception to the rich history of this event. Sixty-two organists from 16 states and Canada converged on Lincoln September 14-16, 2000, to experience a very different type of symposium entitled "The American Symphonic Organ." Because Lincoln possesses one of the most unusual new organs built at the end of the last century--the Schoenstein symphonic organ in First-Plymouth Congregational Church--the event was held entirely off-campus. All sessions were held at First-Plymouth Church and were led by four people prominent in their repsective fields of endeavor. David Briggs, director of music and organist at Gloucester Cathedral; Frederick Swann, organist in residence at First Congregational Church in Los Angeles; Jack Bethards, president and tonal director of Schoenstein & Co.; and John Levick, director of music and fine arts at First-Plymouth Church.

The conference opened on Thursday afternoon with an introduction to the First-Plymouth symphonic organ, which comprises the Lied chancel organ and the Ruth Marie Amen gallery organ. Jack Levick began this session by playing a transcription of "Nimrod" from Elgar's Enigma Variations (arr. William Harris). This piece very ably demonstrated two unusual features of this organ: the double enclosed divisions of  the Solo-Celestial and the Gallery-Ethereal, and the variable tremulant control that can be assigned to the crescendo pedal.

Jack Bethards, with the able assistance of Thomas Murray (who dedicated the chancel organ in October of 1998), then introduced the organ with an in-depth discussion and demonstration of the many unique features that Schoenstein has been developing in its series of "American Romantic" instruments. While acknowledging that one can cite many an example of poor Romantic organs from the early 20th century--with their wooly diapasons, imitative voices, and heavy concentration on celestes--the "Neo-Baroque" emphasis in organ building that began in the middle of the last century, while producing many splendid examples of the best in American organ building, caused the wanton destruction of some very great examples of the Romantic organ. It has been only within the last few years that the E.M. Skinners, Kimballs, and even an Aeolian or two have once again been recognized for the magnificent instruments that they are.

To begin with, Jack Bethards expanded on what makes the symphonic ideal. First, the true symphonic organ must possess a wide variety of tonal colors to enable the organist to have the same registrational capabilities as the symphonic orchestrator. Second, the ideal organ must have clarity, which is critical to playing the romantic repertoire. Next, the symphonic instrument must possess maximum dynamic range to enable precise control, either by building on a "terraced" basis without the use of the swell box, or by using normal and double-enclosed swell boxes and by providing for suddenly accented changes. This last requirement has resulted in the development of one of the more interesting features on this organ. By devising a Sforzando coupler that routes a Swell-to-Great or Solo-to-Great coupler through a momentary touch-toe lever, Schoenstein provided a simple way to give an accent to the first beat of a measure played on the Great manual. The fourth requirement is to have a wind system that is absolutely steady and of adequate capacity. Finally, the organ must have an action that is lightning fast in both attack and release, to provide for proper articulation, accenting, and fluid response.

All of these requirements add up to an instrument that is extremely flexible--as flexible as a symphony orchestra. Bethards feels that the symphonic organ can be even more expressive than a symphony orchestra because it is under the complete control of just one artist. He also feels that the symphonic organ concept has nothing to do with slavishly imitating orchestral voices. Rather, it provides a symphonic range of musical tools to the performer.

The First-Plymouth organ possesses an astonishing spectrum of tonal colors, ranging from a wealth of diapason choruses (for Bethards, the diapason chorus is to the symphonic organ what the string section is to the orchestra), to the four tubas on 15≤ wind, to an ensemble of four unison clarinets, to two oboes on the Swell (a capped English Oboe and a piquant French Oboe). One final note about the organ: the gallery organ is really an independent instrument with its own two-manual console, and served as the principal organ at First-Plymouth during the installation of the chancel organ. Though only of twelve stops, the gallery organ is robust and, with its double expression system, is an instrument of wonderful dynamic range that can hold its own against the chancel organ, as was demonstrated later in the evening in the "Kyrie Eleison" from Vierne's Messe Solennelle.

The question inevitably arises: why resurrect a concept that for years was considered woefully out of date and out of step with current trends in organ building? The heyday of the symphonic or romantic organ was in the 1920s when it was difficult, if not impossible, for most people to hear live orchestral performances. The symphonic organ installed in numerous civic auditoriums across the country as well as in the homes of some very wealthy individuals presented the opportunity to experience live performances of the great orchestral repertoire via transcriptions. And experience and enjoy they did! It was not unusual for crowds of 5,000 or more to turn out for these concerts.

Jack Bethards stated that there are some very good reasons for the symphonic organ to co-exist today with historic organ-building practices. First, since the main role of the organ in church is to accompany both the choir and congregational singing, the symphonic organ provides the required variety of tone colors at all dynamic levels, including the important effect of full organ, under complete dynamic control. Powerful, clear bass is equally important for promoting congregational singing. And fast key-action is imperative for making the accompanist's job as stressless as possible. Second, the wide array of tone colors also can help to relieve boredom among musicians and their congregations. Third, much of the currently-used organ repertoire continues to be from the romantic period; the symphonic organ can interpret that literature, Bethards asserts, as well as interpreting earlier literature in a musically satisfying (if not "authentic") way. Finally, the symphonic organ presents, as no other form of organ building can, a venue for the resurgence of the transcription, which is once again captivating enthusiastic audiences on the concert circuit.

Following Jack Bethards's and Thomas Murray's introduction to and demonstration of the Schoenstein symphonic organ, British concert organist David Briggs concluded the Thursday afternoon session with "The Art of Symphonic Organ Registration with particular Reference to the Performance of Transcriptions." There are few concert organists as well versed in this subject as Briggs. He became a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists at age 17, and was the youngest cathedral organist in England when he was appointed master of the choristers and organist at Truro Cathedral in 1989. A brilliant improvisateur (as we were to hear for outselves in his sold-out recital Friday evening), he is just as well known today as a master of the organ transcription.

Briggs noted that the use of transcriptions in concert programming is once again in vogue, the pendulum having swung back. The movement back to transcriptions was led by Thomas Trotter, and heralded by such artists as Thomas Murray and David Briggs. The renewed interest in the use of transcriptions is an attempt to rekindle audience appreciation and interest in the organ. When registering a transcription, a goal is to use "acoustic coupling" to achieve a bigger spread of sound. By adding 8' stops in succession and by beginning to use the swell box in one division and then adding the unenclosed division while closing the swell, it is possible to achieve seamless registration, very similar to what the conductor obtains from a symphonic ensemble. Briggs concluded this session by playing the second movement from his compact disc recording of Mahler's Fifth Symphony, a transcription that took him 300 hours to produce and another 300 hours to learn.

The Thursday evening event was a concert by the Abendmusik Chorus with organist Fred Swann. The chorus performs weekly as part of the worship services at First-Plymouth Church, and has been conducted by Aaron Copland, Randall Thompson, Daniel Pinkham, John Rutter, and Sir David Willcocks. The chorus has presented both well-known choral masterpieces and            some seldom-heard choral works such as Horatio Parker's Hora novissima (now available as a CD on the Albany label). The Thursday evening concert was the first in the Abendmusik-Lincoln 2000-2001 series and was co-sponsored by Abendmusik, The University of Nebraska-Lincoln School of Music, and the Lincoln Organ Showcase. The Abendmusik-Lincoln concert series was begun by Jack Levick in 1972 and has become one of Lincoln's premier subscription concert series, having won the Governor's Arts Award.

The music ranged from Andrew Carter's "Hodie Christus natus est" to "I Was Glad when They Said unto Me" by Parry. The program included a lovely piece entitled "Alleluia" by First-Plymouth organist emeritus Myron Roberts. For this writer, the highlights of the evening were "In the Year that King Uzziah Died" by David McK. Williams and the "Kyrie Eleison" from Vierne's Messe Solennelle. The latter piece utilized the gallery and chancel organ to splendid effect. Fred Swann, whose name is synonymous with sensitive and fluid organ technique, accompanied the chorus with playing that was stunning. For the concert's organ solo work, Swann chose Introduction, Passacaglia, and Fugue by Healey Willan. The Schoenstein organ proved itself to be every bit the ideal instrument for accompanying an ensemble of the size and quality of the Abendmusik Chorus.

After experiencing Fred Swann's talents as accompanist on Thursday evening, the conference participants eagerly awaited the Friday morning session with Fred Swann on the topic "Meeting the Challenges of Accompanying at the Organ." Swann began by elaborating on a number of points that are integral to being a successful accompanist. One must be a true partner with the choir, must know when to be subservient and when to be assertive, must be sensitive not only to the particular piece of music but also to abilities and limitations, if any, of the group, must be supportive and have an intuitive sense of what a particular piece of music is calling for, must become "one" with the individual or choir, and must accompany in as colorful a manner as possible. Swann then gave a few hints for adapting piano scores to the organ:

1. Play in the center of the keyboard, avoiding extremes of range.

2. Leave out unnecessary doubling of octaves, but be alert to places where coupling will enhance the sound or is actually called for in the orchestral score.

3. For arpeggios, hold a chord with one hand and play the running figure on another manual within as small a range as possible.

4. For triplet figures, do not repeat every note unless the tempo, text, and organ action make it viable. Again, one might sustain a choir on a second manual with one hand or hold certain notes in the choir while repeating others.

5. At all times preserve the rhythm, especially important rhythmic figures. Also, observe phrasing and accents which can be achieved by touch.

6. Play all fast bass passages, except for notes on strong beats, with the left hand on the manual. Be careful to avoid a "peg-leg-Pete" effect in the pedal.

7. Play tremolos as you would on the piano, depending upon the responsiveness of the action.

8. Preserve the integrity of the bass line at all times, playing in the proper octave of the pedal.

9. Match your touch and registration to the style and period of music, just as you would in performing an organ solo.

10. When possible, consult an orchestral score for clues to registration and for lines that may have been omitted in the piano reduction but which are possible on the organ. Recordings are helpful if orchestral scores are not available.

An additional suggestion is to utilize four hands, if possible, in oratorio accompaniment. This will help in adding orchestral voices to the keyboard reduction. Swann noted that Brahms first scored the Requiem for piano four-hands, and this score could be played to advantage with organ four-hands. He also recommended turning parts of Handel's Messiah into a "trio." Above all, the accompanist must practice as assiduously as one would practice a solo piece. Fred concluded this session by demonstrating the various accompanying techniques that he recommends for successful and stressless performances. The participants were shown annotated scores and recommended registrations for Joseph Clokey's A Canticle of Peace and Randall Thompson's The Last Words of David.

After a lengthy lunch break in which the conference participants were encouraged to visit some significant organs in the area by builders such as Bedient, Casavant, Aeolian Skinner, and a recently restored 1875 Kilgen in the First Church of Christ Scientist, Fred Swann continued with the afternoon session entitled "Creative Hymn Playing."

He began by reminding everyone that hymns are truly the music of the people. As such, good hymn playing demands a strong sense of creativity and vitality. A cardinal rule is to use plenty of organ. It nearly always follows that good, solid organ playing results in optimum congregational response. To answer the question of what is the preferred phrasing to use, Swann usually follows the textural phrase. When there is no punctuation, he recommended then using the musical phrase.

The tempo will vary with different occasions. Here an intuitive sense is important. In terms of touch, legato may not always be best in successful, creative hymn playing. Clear articulation is really key to providing the most support to the congregation, as is maintainence of proper rhythm. Eighth notes should be given their due, and Swann recommends, if anything, lengthening them. When registering the hymns, he suggests using a principal chorus of one kind or another. It is often advantageous to solo out the melody with interesting, colorful stops, perhaps even using chimes on occasion. As Swann said, "More souls have been saved by chime notes than all of the mixtures in captivity."

It is important to be sensitive to the situation when determining the length of an introduction. In accompanying the congregation, it is helpful to hold the final chord of each stanza for an extra measure. Interludes should utilize the same basic rhythm as the hymn and should begin on the last sung measure of a stanza. There should be a clear indication to the congregation of the beginning and ending of an interlude. Free accompaniment of hymns can be very effective but can often be equally as annoying, particularly if used too often. The only ritard should come at the end of the last stanza of the hymn.

The conference continued Friday evening with an organ recital by David Briggs. This recital was also a part of the Abendmusik-Lincoln Concert Series. As was the case on Thursday evening, there was a sold-out crowd for this event. The first half of the program was devoted to transcriptions, beginning with three by Bach--"Sinfonia" from Cantata 29 (arr. Arthur Wills),  "Badinerie" from the Second Orchestral Suite (arr. David Briggs), and "Komm, süsser Tod" (arr. Virgil Fox). Outside of the Wanamaker organ, one can't think of a better instrument on which to hear this last piece than the First-Plymouth organ.

Briggs continued with his transcription of the "Hungarian March" from the Damnation of Faust by Berlioz, followed by pieces by Debussy and Rimsky-Korsakoff. The first half ended with another of Brigg's wonderful transcriptions, Richard Strauss' Death and Transfiguration. The first half of this recital was eclipsed by the second half, which was entirely devoted to a series of improvisations entitled Suite improvisée. There were nine movements, each in homage to a great composer and/or artist: "Blockwerk" (in homage to our Medieval predecessors); "Tierce en taille" (François Couperin); "Ricercare" (Bach); "Andante" (Mozart); "Passacaglia" (Brahms); "Elegie" (Vierne); "Danse infernale" (Stravinsky); "Scherzo symphonique" (Pierre Cochereau)  ; and "Sortie" (Phillipe Lefebvre, Notre-Dame de Paris). This was a brilliant performance and utilized all of the vast resources of the Schoenstein organ to full advantage, including the double expression system, the split pedalboard and the Sforzando couupler.

The conference concluded on Saturday morning with David Briggs' second session, entitled "Balancing a Recital Program . . . How to Educate and Excite Your Audience." The goals of an exciting concert program are "to move people" (Louis Vierne); to give the audience the same feeling that they get when attending a symphony concert; and to never, ever be boring.

In terms of program planning, Briggs feels that there are five types of concerts to consider:

1. A lunchtime recital, usually of 45 minutes duration.

2. An evening concert, which is more formal and usually with an intermission.

3. A specialty presentation; i.e., for a conference such as this.

4. A dedicatory recital intended to show off the instrument.

5. A recording session.

Whatever type of program is being considered, the most important goal is to have great variety in the program. Include one or two well-known pieces along with some which will be new to the audience. There should be a nice balance between giving the listeners a good time and giving them a certain degree of education. Of course, the specifications of the particular instrument are key to developing an appropriate program. Variety in the program is achieved by not programming two pieces back to back that are of the same mood, using a great deal of color in the registration, and varying the dynamic range and the tonalities.

In developing the program format, the opening number should be a piece that is probably familiar to the audience and is rather easygoing, a piece that lets the listener "settle back and enjoy the flight." Then it should be on to something that is much more brilliant. The program should speak to the audience and not be too long. If one addresses the audience regarding the program content, one should do so before the program begins, preferably using some humor. It is a good idea to have the second half of the recital shorter than the first. Briggs maintains that the use of transcriptions is a wonderful way to reach a wide audience, as is the use of other instruments such as the trumpet or even the flute (the Poulenc Flute Concerto, for example). The recital should obviously end by sending the audience away on a very high note. If there are to be encores, they should be short and contrast with the end of the formal program. David Briggs' encore on Friday evening was an improvisation on a Ragtime theme, which contrasted perfectly with the brilliant "Sortie" that concluded the formal part of his recital.

In developing a program for a compact disc, it is important to consider the instrument's versatility, your versatility, the commercial viability of the music performed, and a program that will hold the listener's attention.

No concert can exist in a vacuum--a thorough and wide-reaching public relations program must be developed and implemented. Paid advertising is the sure way to get the message out and  best promote a recital. But, paid advertising can be cost prohibitive; therefore, we must rely upon public service announcements and listings in both the broadcast and print media.

Briggs touched briefly on the art and use of improvisations in a recital. Cochereau called improvising "an illusionist art." Though it doesn't always happen, when the spark is ignited, a good improvisation can produce an element of excitement that no written piece can attain, according to Briggs. This final conference session ended with Briggs playing his recording of his transcription of The Sorcerer's Apprentice by Paul Dukas.

Following a panel discussion with all of the artists and clinicians, another memorable University of Nebraska-Lincoln Organ Conference came to an end. Many thanks to the clinicians and artists: Jack Bethards, Thomas Murray, Jack Levick, Fred Swann, and David Briggs. And, once again, thanks to George Ritchie and Quentin Faulkner for presenting a dynamic theme for the conference and for being gracious hosts for the event. Special thanks to Dr. Otis Young, Senior Minister at First Plymouth, the Abendmusik Chorus and the entire staff at First-Plymouth Congregational Church for their wonderful hospitality.

No report on the 2000 UN-L Organ Conference would be complete without a word or two about the venue in which it was held. First-Plymouth Congregational Church is perhaps one of the most unusual churches in the country from an architectural standpoint. It was designed by a noted New York architect, Harold Van Buren Magonigle. Dedicated in 1931, First-Plymouth was his first and only church commission in a long and distinguished career that included designs for the Main Memorial in New York's Central Park, the famous Liberty Memorial Tower in Kansas city (currently undergoing a major renovation after years of neglect) and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo. When the congregation (a merger of First Congregational and Plymouth Congregational) began planning for a new larger church in the middle 20s, the thought was to have a building of Gothic or New England Colonial design. But, as time wore on, this thinking changed and the pastor at the time (Dr. Ben Wyland) wrote, "I wish that some master architect in classic architecture would give us a church that would fit America and be called an American type of church architecture." For this building, the architect went back to the early Basilican church and the Greek Forum for basic styles and then proceeded to design a church that is unique--not only to Lincoln but to the rest of the country as well. The dominant feature of the building's exterior is the Carillon Tower, which contains the largest and only true carillon in Nebraska. The glory of First-Plymouth is the sanctuary, a stunning space with the acoustical properties of a great concert hall. The acoustics in this space enhance not only the organ but choral and congregational singing as well. Even with a full house on both concert nights, the sanctuary provided a rich resonance and clarity of sound.

Gavin Black is the director of the Princeton Early Keyboard Center in Princeton, New Jersey. He is at work on a pedal-playing method that will probably be available in the fall of 2008. He welcomes feedback by e-mail at . Expanded versions of these columns with references and links, along with a collection of pedal exercises, can be found at .

Pedal playing, part II: opening exercises
Last month I closed by stating that there are three reliable ways of finding notes at the pedal keyboard with accuracy, namely: 1) finding notes absolutely, in relation only to your position on the bench; 2) finding the next note that a given foot has to play in relation to where the other foot just was; and 3) finding the next note that a given foot has to play in relation to where that foot last was or what that last foot just did. I also said that while all three of these are useful and necessary, it is the last one that is actually the most useful and the best source of really secure, comfortable pedaling. This month I want to elaborate on that idea, and then to describe a beginning exercise based on this third approach.
For the moment, we are concerned only with the use of the toes in pedaling. This is emphatically not because I believe in eliminating the use of the heel or in restricting it in principle—as noted last month, I consider every part of the foot to be fair game for playing pedal keys. Rather it is because the gesture of pointing with the toe is more natural and basic as a way of using the foot, and therefore should be the beginning and the basis of pedal technique. In fact, although “toes-only” pedaling is quite rightly linked to older repertoire and performance practice (17th and 18th century, approximately), even in the 19th and 20th centuries, without any specifically “historical” intent, it was often recognized that the toes were the logical place to start in teaching pedal playing. For example, the influential and often reprinted organ method of Sir John Stainer begins its pedal playing work with the toes alone. Once any student is fully proficient at finding note patterns at the pedal keyboard with his or her toes—given that the technique is fluid and comfortable—it will be easy and natural to use the heel for some or even many notes. Playing with the heel is, in a way, a special case of finding a note with a foot in relation to what that foot just did, and it can be very reliable. Of course, there are musical and historical considerations that might argue for or against the use of heel in any given situation, and I will discuss these at some length in a later column.
It is more natural and intuitive for a person to judge or know how far he or she has just moved one foot than to know spontaneously how far one foot is from the other or how far one foot will be from the other after it has been moved. It is this intuitive judgment that makes it possible for us to drive cars knowing that we will hit the brake when we need to. In order to tell how far one foot is from the other foot it is necessary to link the two feet together by creating some sort of juxtaposition of the legs, for example by keeping the knees more or less together or by keeping the upper legs more or less parallel and roughly a constant distance apart. All such constraints on the position that a player assumes on the organ bench are perhaps acceptable or even comfortable and good for some students or players. But they are also the main source of the discomfort—initially physical but then increasingly mental as well—that many organists and prospective organists feel with the instrument. In fact they are the reason that a steady stream of interested students end up giving up the organ, as I mentioned in last month’s column. Of course some of the physical constraints that are suggested as ways of orienting the two feet to each other are intended only for the beginning of study and are meant to be modified or dropped later on. However, they are still often damaging to the process of a student’s becoming comfortable with the instrument initially, and the success that students have moving past this discomfort varies considerably. Organizing the learning of pedal facility and technique around an awareness of what each foot is doing with respect to its own position allows the student to avoid this sort of problem altogether, and also leads to a remarkably secure mastery of the pedal keyboard.
Musically, of course, any pedal part is the sum of what the right foot plays and what the left foot plays. A listener does not know, and probably does not care, which foot is playing what. However, from a technical point of view, a pedal part consists of two separate lines, one for the right foot and one for the left foot, just as any keyboard piece consists of a left hand part and a right hand part. It often makes sense to analyze the technical work required to learn a keyboard piece as consisting of the two separate tasks required of the two hands. It also often makes sense to analyze a pedal part as the two separate tasks required of the two feet. Pedal lines approached this way usually reveal themselves to be conceptually very simple. Something like 80% of all notes in the pedal repertoire are generated by one foot or the other doing one of the following three simple actions: repeating a note, moving one step, or moving two steps. This is a much simpler technical picture than that presented by the note-surface of pedal lines, in which of course there are all sorts of intervals and all sorts of patterns as to which foot is playing what. (For a couple of classic cases of this, see the two long pedal solos from the Bach F-major Toccata and the pedal part from the Widor Toccata). It makes sense for an organist to pick any pedal line apart, to see which foot is playing what and to look for simple, memorable, or useful patterns. I will return later to this idea as it applies to experienced organists hoping to improve their happiness with their level of pedal mastery. However, this approach makes even more sense for a beginning organ student. A simple set of exercises will enable a new student to take the intuitive sense of where a foot is in relation to where it has just been, train it to be increasingly precise, and tie it in solidly to the particular logistics of the pedal keyboard. One important benefit of learning pedal playing this way is that after only a very few exercises that feel like exercises, any student is able to use essentially any pedal line as practice material. This makes it easy to keep things interesting for the student and for the teacher, and allows the student to have a satisfying sense of being connected from the very beginning to the world of real music and to the tradition of great organists through the ages.
In keeping with all of the above, the first thing that I ask a new student to do in preparing to work on pedal playing is to sit in the middle of the organ bench in a way that is comfortable, relaxed, and informal. Most people have been trained—subliminally if in no other way—to arrange themselves more or less “at attention” in situations that seem even vaguely formal, including the situation of a music lesson or a musical performance. However, any posture that needs to be maintained consciously and that involves any discernible use of muscles is probably at risk for creating tension and should be avoided. Of course it is possible to imagine an exaggeratedly “informal” posture—slumped over to one side, for example—that would indeed have to be corrected. I have, however, never once actually encountered a situation in which a student’s natural, comfortable posture presented any sort of problem for organ playing. It is important to start off with the bench at a good height. The height is probably right if the act of utterly relaxing the legs and back—completely letting go, as if flopping down on a couch—does not quite make the feet inadvertently play pedal keys. This will prevent the student from having to use muscle tension to keep the legs and feet up away from the pedal keyboard while playing.
Once a student is seated comfortably on the bench I suggest the following:
1) Find the lowest “A” on the pedal keyboard. It is fine to do this by looking, for now.
2) Play that note with the left foot, using whatever part of the foot can most comfortably push the key down fairly close to the nearest raised keys but without touching them. This will (essentially) always be part of the toe region of the foot, and will be the outside of the foot for some players and the inside for some. (For a very few students with quite small feet it will be the very tip of the foot.) The question of which particular part of the foot can most comfortably address the key will depend on the angle at which the foot is approaching the key, which will in turn depend on the student’s posture on the bench. The more the student tends to keep his or her knees together, the more likely it is that the inside of the foot will be the most comfortable for playing this A; the more the student lets his or her knees drift apart the more likely it is that the outside of the foot will be more comfortable. Neither one is right or wrong; there is no reason to favor one over the other. It is very important to let the student figure out, starting from an individually comfortable posture, what details are right for that student as to foot position for playing particular notes.
(Note: by the time the student has played and released the A once or twice, he or she should quit looking at the pedal keyboard, and rarely look again).
3) Ask the student to play A then B. This should be done slowly and lightly, without either slithering the foot along the keyboard or snapping the foot high into the air between the two notes. The foot should trace a small arc that moves directly from the center of one key to the center of the next. If the student misses the B, then on the next attempt he or she should compensate in the opposite direction from the miss. If he or she played A–C, then on the second attempt he or she should think “I should move my foot a tiny bit less far.” If the mistake was the other way then the thought should also be the other way. This simple way of thinking about the logistics of missed notes is remarkably effective for correcting them, in this context and in others.
4) Once the student has successfully played back and forth between A and B several times, ask the student to play the notes of an A natural-minor scale, up and down, very slowly and lightly. The lower four notes (A–B–c–d) should be in the left foot, the upper four (e–f–g–a) should be in the right foot. For each note, the student should make an appropriate decision as to foot position and what part of the foot actually plays the note based on the approach described in 2) above. It is important that the student keep everything very slow so as to have plenty of time between each two notes to think about all the details, without any need to panic.
5) Once this scale seems comfortable—slow, light, even, accurate, and feeling easy to the student—the next step is to play an A major scale in exactly the same way. This, of course, introduces less regularly spaced one-step intervals. and so is more challenging. It is normal, in fact nearly universal, for a student to land in between e and f coming down from f-sharp, for example. The way to correct this is again simply to say, on the next time through that moment, “I must move my foot a tiny bit farther.” This works remarkably well.

This simple, basic scale-based exercise is extraordinarily effective in training the sense of what it feels like to move one foot the distance of one step. This is the foundation of secure pedal facility. Next month I will introduce exercises that train that same sense in more complicated musical contexts, and expand the scope of what we are asking each foot to do.■

“Get off the bench and give me ten!”--An investigation of the benefits of physical stretches on organ performance posture

Patrick J. Hawkins is currently pursuing his DMA degree in organ performance at Arizona State University, Tempe, where he is the graduate teaching assistant for the organ department. His articles have appeared in The American Organist and in the Music Educators Journal. As a concert organist he has recorded works of J. S. Bach for the Arkay Records label and has appeared in recital throughout the USA, Europe, and in South Korea. He is organist/choirmaster at the Episcopal Church of the Nativity in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Physicians and music teachers have recently encouraged musicians to incorporate exercise into their daily lives. Wolff (1999)1, writing in his monthly “Medical Corner” for the I.T.A. Journal, suggests that one of the main benefits of a regimen of strength and endurance training for musicians is balanced and efficient performance posture and increased energy. These benefits, he argues, will allow musicians to have increased stamina for performance-related tasks. Roberts (2000)2, a trombone instructor and an active runner, reports that out of 211 participants surveyed at the 1991 Keystone Brass Institute only 49.3% of the participants said that they exercised on a regular basis, and 82.1% of these individuals were under the age of 40. Since this survey, Roberts has continued to encourage his pupils and other professional musicians to add Cyclic Incremental Over-training into their exercise program. Sirbaugh (1995)3, like Wolff and Roberts, believes that both aerobic and anaerobic exercise is vital for musicians, especially singers who need stronger abdominal muscle conditioning in order to perform bel canto literature.
Martial arts are a popular form of exercise that music teachers are encouraging their pupils to incorporate into their schedules. Bruenger (1994)4 believes that T’ai Chi helps in brass playing, as this martial art requires an awareness of the area known as the “tant’ien” located a few inches below the navel in the lower abdominal muscle region. The development of these muscles through exercises and drills, he feels, will aid in better control and production of air needed during a brass performance. Benson (1998)5, a pianist, advocates the martial art known as Qigong. Following a personal injury involving a broken arm, she used Chinese Qi (life) gong (energy) as a type of physical therapy. Benson reports regained strength and flexibility, a loss of bursitis, and lowered performance tension due to a 20-minute daily exercise routine. Similarly, Roskell (1998)6 believes that exercise training using Iyengar Yoga will help keyboard musicians. She reports a 20-year improvement in her personal back pain and thumb tenosynovitis through the use of this yoga exercise. Roskell has taught a “Yoga for Pianists” class at the London College of Music, and claims that this martial art is aimed at improvement of alignment, coordination, and strength throughout the whole body.
Good posture is vital to keyboard musicians who wish to avoid pain or performance injuries. In a survey of leading piano teachers at conservatories and colleges across the United States conducted by Clavier magazine (1994), Paul Pollei of Brigham Young University said “one of the most awkward examples (of poor posture) is the young child whose legs do not reach the floor and therefore has cramping back muscles and possible injury to structural development” (p. 15). Glaser (1994)7, a former pupil of Schnabel and Casals, states that good posture must begin at the torso and that 75% of weight should rest on the hips and 25% should rest on the feet. Organists, however, are not able to balance themselves using their feet during a performance due to the nature of the instrument. Thus, like the child that Pollei describes, organists too often break their performance posture at the upper and lower back due to weak abdominal muscles. Fishell (1996)8, a well-known organ pedagogue and recitalist, notes in her organ technique manual that bad body position at the console can be seen when an organist’s torso leans or curves back excessively, which can result in technical insecurity as a result of reduced range of motion. She states that such posture breaks can also result in physical pain.
At least two music instructors use physical therapy exercises to aid in posture and the reduction of performance injuries (Wristen, 1996,9 and Steele, 199110). Wristen, a piano teacher whose master’s thesis involved issues of performance injury, says that over half of all musicians seeking medical treatment for performance-related injuries each year are keyboard musicians. In addition to recommending that all practice sessions be broken into 25–30 minute segments followed by a 5–10 minute break, Wristen advocates the use of a 10–15 minute pre-practice warm-up session involving at least seven repetitions each of arm, shoulder, shoulder blade, elbow, palm of the hand, and wrist exercises. Steele (1991), a percussion instructor, also believes in the benefits of physical warm-up exercises before and after practice and performance. A 1988–1989 study by Steele sought to design pre-task warm-ups in correlation to necessary musculoskeletal segments used by percussionists. After videotaping his students’ performances, he invited a physical therapist at Frankford Hospital to review the videotape and to recommend appropriate warm-up exercises for them in order to lesson the risk of performance-involved injuries. The physical therapist suggested that the students should warm up for at least five minutes before each practice or performance using a combination of 18 different exercises: shoulder stretch, shoulder shrugs, shoulder rotation, shoulder-arm windmills, neck-limbering, elbow curl, elbow windmill, shoulder lift, shoulder diagonal rotation, forearm twist, wrist stretch, hand massage, finger wiggle, hand shake, arm shake, back flexion and extension, and trunk rotation.
As there is no reported literature on the effect of exercise on organists’ posture, the purpose of this study was to investigate the benefits of physical stretching exercises on three organ performance majors’ posture as demonstrated at weekly lessons.

Method
The subjects for this study were Ji Young, Shiela, and Seung Eun. All three females were organ performance majors at a major research university in the Pacific Northwest portion of the United States. Ji Young was a doctoral student from South Korea. She had been physically active for the past ten years and enjoyed swimming, weight training, and attending yoga classes. Shiela was a master’s degree student. Though she reported taking occasional classes in ballet and yoga, her busy schedule prevented her from exercising on a routine basis. Seung Eun was an undergraduate student, and like Ji Young, was originally from South Korea. Seung Eun stated that she had not been actively involved in an exercise program. All three women were proportionate in their height and weight and were under the age of 35.
In December 2001, a certified physical trainer was invited to attend the subjects’ organ class and lecture on the importance of exercise in a musician’s healthy career. The subjects were shown a series of four physical stretching exercises that were designed by the trainer and the subjects’ organ professor to be of benefit to organists in the reduction of postural performance problems: a warm-up “leg over” exercise involving the lower oblique muscles, a lower abdominal exercise, an abdominal plank exercise, and a postural strength/endurance exercise labeled the “prone cobra.” The subjects were told that they would be required to perform these exercises during the next quarter of classes.
At the start of the new quarter in 2002, the three subjects were selected out of a class of ten, as their schedules were flexible enough to allow them to meet with the experimenter once weekly, at the same time, over a period of three weeks. At each session the subjects were asked to demonstrate all four exercises, were tested on the amount of time they could perform the postural endurance test using a stopwatch, and were asked to submit a daily exercise time-log for the week. At the third and final meeting, the subjects were asked to comment if they noticed any benefit of the exercises upon their performance posture or upon their general feeling of well-being.
The subjects’ organ professor was asked to record the number of postural breaks that were noticed when the subjects were performing during their weekly lessons. A tally sheet was used to record these observations, and each subject was recorded at four consecutive lessons. The first observation began before the students began their exercises, in order to record a pre-test score. They were told if they needed to correct their posture at their subsequent lessons, but were not shown their professor’s tally sheets and written comments.

Results
The three subjects’ self-reports of weekly minutes of exercise show that they were able to exercise at least 45 minutes or more per week using the four designed stretches (Figure 1). Both Ji Young and Shiela reported a high level of exercise their first week, because they had been to the gym three times for yoga or weight-training classes. Seung Eun did not attempt any other form of physical activity during the three-week period other than the required stretching exercises. However, she was consistent in the performance of these. Shiela experienced a significant decrease in her amount of exercise during week two, due to illness. While the amount of exercise that Ji Young was able to perform decreased each of the three weeks, her self-reports show that she was the most active of the three subjects in the study.
Each subject was tested weekly on the amount of time that they were able to perform the posture/endurance stretch. Results showed an increase for each of the women over the three-week period (Figure 2). Both Shiela and Seung Eun showed steady improvement at each testing session. Ji Young showed a decrease during week two, because she reported that she had over-trained at the gym the day before the test and had sore muscles. However, her final score showed an increase from her first session.
The subjects’ organ professor recorded the total number of postural breaks observed when each student was performing during their weekly lessons (Figure 3). The first observation occurred before the subjects were asked to begin their stretching exercise program, in order to record a pre-test score. Lesson two occurred on the same day that the students began their exercise routine. The observations show that both Ji Young and Shiela demonstrated a decrease in the number of performance posture breaks over the four-week period. Seung Eun appeared to have remained the same; however, her two posture breaks at lesson four were reported by her professor to have been minimal.

Discussion
The observations made during this study show that all three subjects were able to perform at least 45 minutes of exercise per week using the designed stretches. In addition, all of the women showed an increase in the amount of time that they could sustain the “prone cobra” posture/endurance test, and two of the three subjects showed a decrease in the number of posture breaks during their lessons. While these results are not conclusive, they do suggest that physical exercise involving stretches might aid in the reduction of postural problems observed when playing the organ.
Comments made by the three subjects at their last testing session revealed that all three believed that these exercises would help them over time in avoiding performance-related injuries resulting from postural problems. Ji Young said that her organ professor had noticed a continued improvement in her posture since she began using the stretches. Shiela said, “When I think of posture, it helps me to think of the abdominal muscles working.” This suggests that core muscular conditioning and training might be beneficial to organists, who must support their weight in the pelvic area more than other keyboard musicians. Seung Eun, like Shiela, noticed the most improvement in her abdominal region. She also said that she liked the warm-ups and that they “felt good.”
Perhaps the most interesting finding was that Ji Young demonstrated only one posture break at her third lesson and no posture breaks at her final lesson observation. Furthermore, she spent more minutes per week exercising that the other two subjects. While Ji Young did practice physical stretches, she also reported having taken several yoga classes, and was active in swimming, jogging, and weight training. This seems to confirm Wolff’s (1999) medical recommendation for musicians to use a combination of strength and endurance training to help improve performance posture and stamina. Future studies may wish to compare subjects who use a combination of aerobic, anaerobic, and stretching exercise to those who only use stretching exercise and those who do not exercise at all. Also, future studies should involve a greater number of subjects and should test behaviors over a longer period of time.
On a personal note, soon after this study was made this researcher was involved in a serious rear-end car collision, which resulted in a lower-back injury. With the help of a physical therapist and a personal trainer, who was a certified public school instructor of physical education, I was able to soon regain my normal active practice and performance schedule as a professional organist, music teacher, and choir director. For the past six years I have adopted a weekly schedule of aerobic activity along with weight training and physical stretches. As a result, my back injury has caused me no pain and I feel a greater personal sense of well-being than before my accident. I wholeheartedly believe in the power of exercise, and I encourage all of my musician colleagues to remind themselves to get off the bench and begin their own exercise routine.

Not even the torrential rains of the season's first hurricane could restrict the enthusiasm of the 20 participants from seven states at this year's BACH WEEK at Columbia College, Columbia, SC. Dr. Edmund Shay serves as the director of this annual conference and was joined this year by Dr. Roberta Gary, Professor of Organ at the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music; Dr. Ludger Lohmann, Professor of Organ at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik and Darstellende Kunst in Stuttgart, Germany; Dr. Robert Hawkins, Associate Professor of Worship and Music at the Lutheran Seminary in Columbia; and Laury Christie, a certified teacher of the Alexander Technique and voice professor at the University of South Carolina.

Each day commenced with a demonstration and workout in the Alexander Technique. With each session, Ms. Christie and her skeleton associate, Fred Bonaparte, helped the group to discover an awareness of one's body, freedom and flexibility in movement, and ways in which to use muscles to release tension while playing the organ. (Can you believe that's even necessary?!) My favorite technique was constructive rest, whereby one lies on the floor with back down and knees slightly bent. A few minutes in this position is truly a wonderful escape from any source of tension! The spirals or three-dimensional turns to which we were introduced will be of great value in moving more freely on the organ bench to alter registration.

The remainder of the morning allowed for a host of people to play in a master class setting for Roberta Gary and Ludger Lohmann. The atmosphere was non-threatening, ultra-supportive, and beneficial to all of the participants. This experience was equal to a compact year of organ class.

During the afternoon, we studied the entire Clavierübung III, its structure, suggestions for registration, interpretation of texts and ornamentation, and a performance of each piece. Christ Chapel became Scotland Yard, for we all assumed identities of Sherlock Holmes or Nancy Drew, searching for any possible clues regarding Bach's vast symbolism in numbers.

Thursday evening climaxed the week's study with a concert performed by Roberta Gary and Ludger Lohmann on the Flentrop organ in Christ Chapel. With Bach's Toccata, Adagio, and Fugue in C Major, Prelude and Fugue in E-flat Major, and six settings of Allein Gott in der Höh' sei Ehr', it was an inspiring program.

On Friday, Dr. Hawkins directed us on an historical journey through the liturgy of Bach's services at the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. With this day also came a "much-too-soon" need for farewells to wonderful people who created memorable experiences, including humorous lunch discussions and evening adventures in search of Columbia's finest cuisine. All good things always come to an end but these good times will return. See you next June! For more information contact Dr. Edmund Shay, Columbia College Music Department, Columbia, SC 29203-9987, phone 803/786-3613.

--Denise Elmore Jefferies

Hartsville, SC

Fifty-two registrants from 21 states gathered in sun-soaked Lincoln, Nebraska for the 21st annual University of Nebraska-Lincoln Organ Conference held September 17-19, 1998. The title of the conference was "Perspectives on Recent and Future American Organbuilding," with five organbuilders invited to give lectures: Gene Bedient, John Brombaugh, Steven Dieck of C.B. Fisk, Manuel Rosales, and George Taylor. Gene Bedient immediately answered a question which had been on my mind by saying that all organbuilding is historically informed to some degree, suggesting that a better term would be "historically inspired." In the case of the five builders represented at the UNL conference, being historically inspired indicates producing instruments which emulate specific features of European organbuilding of past centuries. The list of historic attributes these builders employ includes mechanical action, low wind pressure, wedge bellows, stop nomenclature, flat pedal boards, mechanisms such as ventils, shove couplers, split keys and short octaves, 56 or 58 note keyboards, elements of case design, and of course, scaling and voicing appropriate to replicating historic sounds. These builders have comprehensive knowledge about historical styles developed through extensive study of instruments built by Schnitger, Silbermann, Clicquot, and Cavaillé Coll, among others, and working under the tutelage of builders such as von Beckerath, Flentrop, Noack and Fisk.

Each builder was given a two-hour time slot to reflect on his work and to address the following questions:

How have your organs been influenced by historic organs? By today's practices?

What is the future of historically informed organbuilding?

Can you envision your firm being influenced by the American Classic style of organbuilding?

How have your perspectives on organbuilding and your instruments changed over the years?

What organbuilding problems or questions currently interest you?

What new directions might your firm take in the future?

What do you consider to be your most important contributions to American organbuilding?

 In the mahogany-paneled conference room of the Wick Alumni Center, armed with slides and specifications, each builder spoke about his background, how he got established in organbuilding, and shared information about his most important projects.

Builders' Lectures

Gene Bedient took the audience on a tour of his opus list, narrating his slide presentation with descriptions of the historic influences and techniques used in building each instrument. Bedient's early work is concentrated on the 18th-century French and North German styles, perhaps culminating in the organ built for St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, an approximation of the French classic style, complete with marche pied pedal board. Opus 22, a two-manual organ for the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Charleston, South Carolina completed in 1987, brought a transition to the 19th-century French style. Organs for St. Rita Catholic Church, Dallas, Texas (1992), and Idlewild Presbyterian Church, Memphis, Tennessee (1989), were also built along French 19th-century lines, including ventils, orage, and octaves graves couplers. Opus 52 and Opus 53, completed in 1996 and 1997 respectively, incorporated American Classic ideas, combining North German elements in the Great and Pedal with French ideas in the Swell, in one case retaining a contrebasse in the pedal on 5≤ of wind and providing a concave-radiating pedal board. At that time, work was in progress on a Spanish-style instrument for the Cathedral of St. Vincent de Paul in Omaha.

Bedient concluded his lecture by outlining his contributions to the field of organbuilding: educating American organists about French instruments by building historically-inspired instruments, interesting children in the pipe organ, promoting the viability of small instruments, educating people about the cost of a pipe organ, and efficiency and production control. He summarized his view of the American Classic organ as including standard 61-note keyboards, a concave-radiating pedal board, combination action, and equal temperament, with a main goal of the style being accessibility.

John Brombaugh took a conversational approach in his lecture, relating his early fascination with Hammond organs and love for the sound of old organs which developed from listening to recordings made by E. Power Biggs. He has been strongly influenced by North German organs, having spent time working in Hamburg, and receiving training from Noack, Fisk, and von Beckerath. Brombaugh is particularly fascinated with old Dutch instruments, most notably those in Gronigen, which he toured with Harald Vogel.

Reminding the audience that the organ is primarily a musical instrument, one of the oldest types of instruments in existence, Brombaugh asserted that ancient organs were very musical, and music was written for them because of their sounds, rather than the present practice of building organs to accommodate repertoire. He sees great value in studying organs older than those of the North German and French Classic styles. He also added that he believes all major cultural centers need mean-tone organs in order to hear early music in the temperament for which it was written. Brombaugh sees historic instruments as the basis and foundation for his work, and uses them as a guide to help him develop his own style. He believes organs built today according to historical styles will not be exact copies, but will bear the mark of the individual builder, in his case a strong North German accent. This belief influenced his choice of the Italian style for the organ he built for Duke University chapel since he felt he could build an Italian-style instrument most authentically, providing a good contrast to the Flentrop and Skinner organs already in the chapel. 

Brombaugh entertained questions from the audience, one of which spurred a discussion about acoustics in American churches and whether or not they provide a hospitable environment for European/historic organ sounds. He responded by saying American organbuilding has developed and evolved despite acoustical limitations, and organbuilders having developed ways of dealing with those conditions, adding that one has to be realistic about what he's building. He suggested the best way to approach bad acoustics is to keep in mind the functions the organ needs to fulfill, especially in relation to congregational singing.

Anticipation was in the air as Steve Dieck approached the podium, tacitly acknowledging the Fisk company's lofty stature in the organ-building world and expectation that the lecture would be first-rate. We were not disappointed. Dieck laid the groundwork for his remarks by suggesting that Fisk's work has always been influenced by historic instruments.  He construes such instruments as tools to help us become informed about a particular style. He believes the American approach is to take elements from the past and combine them into something new, aspiring to create instruments that can "do it all." Citing the work of G. Donald Harrison, Holtkamp, and Schlicker, Dieck proposed that his firm and others are continuing the American Classic style, a remark which elicited a noticeable shuffling among the other builders present. Dieck said that working with clients guides eclecticism through discussions about their needs and wants, adding that organbuilders are always learning. Following his studies at DePauw University, Dieck apprenticed with Charles Fisk. He had originally investigated studying in Germany with von Beckerath, but von Beckerath advised him to work with Fisk.

Pointing out the noteworthy features of each project, Dieck focussed his remarks on the innovations and eclectic qualities of the following Fisk instruments, in addition to citing historic influences: Wellesley College, Mount Holyoke College, the University of Michigan, Memorial Church at Stanford University, Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University, House of Hope Presbyterian Church, Meyerson Symphony Center, and Rice University. Interspersed among his slides of facades and keyboards were many photos of the internal details of the instruments. A highlight of the slide presentation was pictures taken during the assembly of the Meyerson organ, including the 32' pipes being hoisted into place. As we viewed those slides, Dieck mentioned that one of the Fisk company's most important contributions has been success in the concert hall market.

Manuel Rosales began his organbuilding career by working at the Schlicker company, later establishing his own company at the prompting of Charles Fisk. He prefers not to focus on just one style, and has yet to build an organ than can "play it all." He believes it's important to build different types of organs, keeping in mind the needs of the client, especially when the client is a church. Although his earlier projects had been more eclectic, Rosales' Opus 14 for Mission San José in Fremont, California was inspired by the organs of Mexico and Spain, tuned in quarter-comma mean tone, which makes early music come alive. The organ for First Presbyterian Church, Oakland is the largest instrument Rosales has built and was inspired by Fisk's House of Hope organ, with an emphasis on early French and French romantic sounds. Here again, the topic of acoustics surfaced. Given a sanctuary with a dry acoustic, as in the case of First Presbyterian Oakland, Rosales said that to give the impression of a better acoustical environment, he gave the organ more strength to surround the listener with sound. Rosales also shared his thoughts about the organ at Rice University, a collaboration with Fisk, noting that it was his dream organ to build since it is very gratifying to build an instrument for a client whose wishes closely match his own ideas.

Of particular interest were Rosales' plans for an organ for the new Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, a performing arts center for the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra. Rosales has proposed an instrument which he describes as French/German/eclectic/ traditional/modern, designed to functional well with an orchestra, respect the music of the past, and stir up controversial ideas for the future. The Llamarada division will feature a battery of southern Californian/Spanish reeds, including a horizontal "Trompeta de Los Angeles." Following the architect's concept for the structure, which is based on curves and a scrupulous avoidance of straight lines, Rosales has explored the possibility of building curved wood pipes which will still be tonally functional.

George Taylor, a native of Virginia, has had a life-long friendship with John Boody, and in his early organ-building days worked with John Brombaugh as well. He spent three and a half years working under von Beckerath in Hamburg, an experience he says taught him the discipline he needed to be a successful organbuilder. Taylor has always been interested in all types of music and has a special fondness for hymn singing.  He was initially interested in more eclectic instruments and studied many American Classic stoplists, but soon became disillusioned with the style. The organs tended to "look great on paper," but he generally found the sounds disappointing and began to search for something musically more rewarding.

His early organbuilding days were characterized by experimentation. Recalling his exploration of the use of short keyboards and bone keys, Taylor recounted a memorable episode in which he ventured to the slaughterhouse to acquire the needed bone. Early projects reflected his experimental bent, and he cited organs built for a church in Vincennes, Indiana, for which he developed what he affectionately calls a "Hoosier flute," and a church in Charlottesville, Virginia which has shutters on the back of the Brustwerk.

Taylor spoke about his landmark instruments for St. Thomas Church in New York City and Holy Cross Chapel in Worcester, Massachusetts, both of whose cases were modeled on those of early Dutch instruments. He was much more animated, however, when he began to talk about a recent project--the restoration of a two-manual Tannenberg organ located at the Museum of Southern Decorative Arts in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Taylor treated the audience to a slide-show, giving us a glimpse into the painstaking work required to decipher the disparate components of the fragile treasure and bring its beautiful sounds to life again.

When the topic of acoustics surfaced once more, Taylor strongly recommended that builders always urge churches to improve their acoustics, even if they are already fairly good.  He believes acoustics are 80 percent of the success of any organ. He feels the biggest challenge for contemporary organbuilding in the United States is the wide variety of settings builders must work in. European builders in the past had much more consistency of venue.

Lunchtime Tours

On Friday, the conference schedule included an extended break in the middle of the day for lunch and visits to organs in Lincoln churches, provided one wasn't bothered by extensive walking in the sun and 90-degree heat. For a community of its size, the list of significant instruments in Lincoln is impressive. Participants could choose from the following array: 1969 4-manual Aeolian-Skinner at First Presbyterian, 1998 4-manual Schoenstein (then under construction) at First-Plymouth Congregational, 1991 3-manual Van Daalen at First Lutheran, an 1875 2-manual Kilgen at First Christian Science, 1984 3-manual Rieger, a 1976 3-manual Casavant at Westminster Presbyterian, and four 2-manual Bedient instruments, among others.

Christie Recital

On Friday evening conference participants were joined by a local audience for a recital played by James David Christie on the Hoesch Memorial Organ at Cornerstone Chapel. The instrument is Gene Bedient's Opus 8, a 20-stop, 2-manual tracker organ of 17th-century design. Not surprisingly, Christie's program featured 16th, 17th, and 18th-century music, including works by Buxtehude, Sweelinck, Scheidemann, Scheidt, Johann Bernard Bach, and Christie's own transcription of a Vivaldi concerto. His playing was rhythmically vibrant: spirited and buoyant in the quick tempos, sensitively nuanced on the slow pieces. The most striking element of his playing was the ornamentation. All too often, ornamentation is appended to early literature and the effect is like that of a stylish but ill-fitting suit which merely draws attention to itself. Christie's ornaments were a natural outgrowth of the music, fully integrated into the texture and rhythm. Located in the gallery of the intimate chapel, the Bedient organ has a commanding presence in the room, but is not piercing or overpowering. The sound has warmth and depth as well as an elegant clarity, enhanced by the organ's elevated position and the high ceiling and peaked roof of the chapel, whose acoustics hinted at ambience.

Panel Discussion

Each year, the conference closes with a panel discussion, allowing participants to interact with the lecturers and performers and formulate conclusions about conference topics. George Ritchie opened this year's discussion by suggesting that 20th-century organbuilding has swung back and forth between the eclecticism of the American Classic style and the purity of historic styles. He asked each of the builders to identify where along that continuum they are most comfortable; they offered a spectrum of responses.

Dieck said that historic builders continually developed their styles, and he feels that American builders should do likewise, continuing to grow as they interact with clients. Rosales said an organ such as the one at House of Hope goes too far, trying to do too many things. Instruments can be built to do one thing really well and other things reasonably well, though every organ should be suitable for playing Bach. Bedient believes the eclectic organ is a product of the need for organs to do many things since the role of the organ is different now than at any other time in history. He strives to build instruments which will be as useful as possible, serving the needs of his clients, although he admitted that hearing literature on the "right" instruments is preferable. Taylor wants to build instruments designed to accompany hymn singing and have a thrilling sound. He questioned whether certain historical sounds are right for American churches, adding that organs for our time need to be built the way we think they should sound. In small instruments, he noted that consistency is very important, but in larger instruments, eclectic questions surface. Small historical instruments have far more flexibility than one might imagine, however, he was quick to add. As he had stated in his lecture, Brombaugh believes that above all the organ must be a musical instrument and expressed dismay at recent developments which have gotten away from that. He sees the need for many different types of instruments, each of which can handle a specific literature.

When the floor was opened for questions from the audience, a participant commented that bringing the best of the past forward is good, but the use of short keyboards and flat pedal boards is a tragedy. Several others chimed in, expressing frustration with flat pedal boards, short-compass keyboards, and non-adjustable benches, viewing them as impediments. The builders were asked why they build short compass keyboards and flat pedal boards. Steve Dieck responded by saying that whatever we build, we're imitating European models, creating instruments like those for which the music was created. He noted that the concave pedal board is actually English. He prefers a flat pedal board because it's more sensitive with tracker action, adding that he sees a new American standard of building flat pedal boards developing. John Brombaugh gave the example of a project for which he provided two pedal boards--one flat, one concave--reporting that the flat pedal board is the one which is used regularly. His rationale for short compass keyboards is putting your energy where the notes are played most since the uppermost notes of the keyboard are used only one percent of the time. All of the builders acknowledged the need for the organist to be comfortable, however.

Another participant raised the subject of digital sounds and the use of MIDI. In response, Rosales queried, "Why have samples when you can have the real thing? Electronic sounds, even for 32' stops, are ghastly." Brombaugh agreed, adding his assertion that if an instrument incorporates electronic sounds then it's not truly a pipe organ. His colleagues nodded their assent.

Wanting to delve further into the American Classic issue, I asked the builders if they agreed with a statement Steve Dieck had made in his lecture proposing that their work is continuing the American Classic style. Bedient answered by saying the American Classic style has come to represent thin, uninteresting sounds, a departure from its early, much more colorful manifestations. Dieck reaffirmed the point he had made in his lecture, but also suggested that perhaps historic influences are handled differently now than they have been in the past. Taylor said it depends what you mean by the American Classic style: Does it refer to a console style? What are the style's characteristics in the minds of organists? Rosales thinks G. Donald Harrison was a great innovator and believes that had he lived longer, Harrison might have been building tracker organs. Tracker action is not tied to a particular sound in Rosales' mind.

One particularly astute participant commented that perhaps organbuilding at the end of the 20th century will ultimately define the American Classic style, rather than what has come before. I was left with the impression that there is much more to be explored on the subject, and made work of speaking with each of the builders one-on-one, in order to illuminate the intertwined paths of the so-called "historically inspired" and "American Classic" styles of organbuilding further. My findings will be presented in a future article.

The conference was excellent throughout. The subject matter was thoughtfully conceived and clearly outlined in the brochure promoting the event, and in fact, is what initially piqued my interest in attending. In just 48 hours, I received a fascinating glimpse into the world of organbuilding and a valuable opportunity to get a personal impression of the builders who are fundamentally shaping the pipe organ scene in this country. The program was ambitious, but the events were sensibly scheduled, allowing adequate time for breaks, meals, a stroll around town, and a peak into the UNL bookstore filled with Cornhusker regalia. The registration fee was an inexpensive $40 ($20 for students) and lodging prices were reasonable. I hadn't previously visited Nebraska and confess to having had stereotypes in my mind, but I was pleasantly surprised when I arrived. The vast flatness of the plains, congestion-free airport, and unpretentious affability of the citizens were refreshing. George Ritchie and his colleagues are providing a great service by offering this high quality educational opportunity each year.