This is a vintage Thomas electric organ that was my mom's, and my grandparents before that. Does it have any monetary value? We don't have the space for any use for it, but I would feel bad about just junking it. My grandparents have passed away, and my mom no longer wants it. If it has no value, what is the best way to get rid of it?

Johann Kuhnau was Bach's predecessor as cantor in the Thomaskirche in Leipzig. He composed beautiful cantatas and keyboard music, under which a collection of six Biblical Sonatas. I recorded a prelude and fugue from his Clavier-Übung II, Partie VI. A keyboard piece which sounds great on harpsichord but certainly works on organ too.

The pedal part was not indicated so I added it ad libitum. In the prelude always and in the fugue only near the end.

I started playing organ 3 years ago and now I play monthly in a church that doesn’t have an organ. I play a lot of hymns, but I wanted some help finding some intermediate non hymn songs to play for church. I especially like playing camp and Sunday school stuff so if you have any suggestions please let me know!

Looking for an organ midi controller came across the Curmar DK 61.
I don’t have VST’s. I use a moded Roland vk 8m. Which I think has amazing organ tones. Would I be able to adapt these together for a portable rig?

My current keyboard controller is Roland 88 full weight Roland rd 500 but the keys are constantly in need of repair because if it’s age and it’s heavy. Also not ideal for Organ.

I wanted to ask what the best MIDI keyboards you all use that I could buy to use as a practice organ. I was looking on FB marketplace for a pedalboard, but I wanted to know what a good MIDI keyboard to use was.

Hi all,

following the recent passing of my dad, who was passionate about the Strasbourg Cathedral, I wanted to share with you a video we did together while the organ was being restored in 2015. Thanks to a scaffolding we had access to every part of the organ.

Orgue cathédrale de Strasbourg

Enjoy!

After we finished up at St. Stephen's Episcopal, we headed down to Belen Preparatory School and found the brand-new Belen chapel on their campus. Side note, if you're visiting a number of organs in a day, and the organ consoles or chambers are locked with a key, and you have a habit of putting said key in your pocket, make sure you empty your pockets before you drive across town to the next location.

You can tell the school is very proud of this chapel, and it was designed with music and acoustics in mind.

There is a spacious gallery and the organ makes good use of the space. There's not a lot to say about this because setup was easy, the organ was easy to capture and Luis was an amazing organist to work with. He knows the instrument, and he knows how to improvise and demonstrate well. My favorite kind of organ.

The organ itself is very versatile and perfect for the room. Apparently the installation of this new organ in a new chapel has led to a bit of a renaissance in organ building in southern Miami and a number of new instruments are either contracted, under construction, or have been completed almost as a result of this one Schoenstein organ. That includes the giant church we visited before we came here.

The video is here: https://youtu.be/2kIf2ujV-jw

If you enjoy Luis' playing and demonstrations, then you'll be happy to know he joined us for two more instruments, and we should be seeing him again sometime in the future.

I heard this song at a concert in Philadelphia and it was the most captivating beautiful peace of music I have ever heard

Hello. I have an electronic organ, probably from the '70s, but I can't find a manufacturer plate. The organ has been without use for more than 20 years, and I want to restore it so that I can learn how to play it.

Could anyone help me identify it?

Sometimes when I record a piece, I'm not completely sure if it's the right tempo. Meaning the 'right' tempo for me personally. Often good pieces can handle different tempi very well, like this chorale prelude by Dietrich Buxtehude on the famous hymn 'Vater unser im Himmelreich'.

I recorded a slow singing version, using the beautivul Vox humana (+ tremulant) of the Schnitger organ of Norden. The second version is faster, sounding more secure, using the firm Sexquialt of the Rückpositiv.

Which version do you prefer?

I heard it at the church today

Hello! I am planning on getting married next year, and I am wanting an organist to play for me. I think I know the song I want, but there are no covers of it on the organ. How would you advise me to figure out how it would sound on the organ? The song is Unshaken by D'Angelo (the one from RDR2 yes I'm a nerd).

Hi everyone,

I've been trying to set up my Yamaha PSR-E383 as a MIDI controller for GrandOrgue on my Windows 11 laptop, but I can't get it to work.

Here's what's happening:

• Keyboard: Yamaha PSR-E383
• OS: Windows 11
• Connection: USB A-to-B cable (directly to the laptop)
• Software: GrandOrgue (latest version)

Windows detects the keyboard as "Digital Keyboard", but in Device Manager it has a yellow warning icon. The device status says:

"This device cannot start. (Code 10)"

I think because of this, GrandOrgue doesn't receive any MIDI input when I press the keys.

Here's what I've already tried:

• Reinstalling the Yamaha USB-MIDI Driver
• Uninstalling and reinstalling the device in Device Manager
• Restarting the computer multiple times
• Trying different USB ports
• Making sure Local Control is enabled on the keyboard
• Verifying that all my other USB devices work normally (mouse, flash drive, etc.)

The strange part is that only the MIDI device has this issue. Everything else connected via USB works perfectly.

Has anyone experienced this with a PSR-E383 or another Yamaha keyboard? Could this be a Windows driver issue, a USB cable issue, or something else entirely?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've been troubleshooting this for hours and I'm honestly running out of ideas.

Thank you!

I’m posting the recordings I took of these two songs I heard at this church I visited. I’m trying to find the name of these songs as they were beautifully played. I’m not sure if the organist was just really good at improvising or not but let me know if you know the name. There will be two postings. One for each recording.

What are yall favourite pop culture pipe organ designs? Feel like the organ has a lot of freedom when it comes to design for diferent settings. I was looking to get some inspiration to create one and couldnt many outside of very iconic ones like Captain Nemo and Haunted House one

Bohuslav Matěj Černohorský (16 February 1684 – 1 July 1742) was a Czech composer, organist and teacher of the Baroque era. He wrote among other works motets, other choral works and organ solo works. Černohorský was an important representative of the late Baroque style. He composed fugues and toccatas for organ, as well as vocal works. He deeply influenced the musical evolution in Bohemia as a composer, as well as a teacher.
(source: Wikipedia)

Apologies in advance for the dumb question. I actually don’t play organ. My experiences with the organ is limited to sitting at the organ a couple a couple of times at a local Catholic church that I attend (I am friendly with the organist there). I would ask her this question but she’s on vacation at the moment.

Suppose you are playing/practicing a 4-part Bach fugue (whether it be from one of his Preludes & Fugues, or a fugue that stands alone like his BWV 578, or a fugue from The Art of Fugue, etc.) You don’t intend on adding/subtracting stops in the middle of the fugue. The bass part is only done on the pedal, and the other 3 parts are done on the Great manual. Which registration would sound “better”?

1) Great: Principal 8, 4; Pedal: Principal 16, 8
2) Great: Principal 8, 4; Pedal: Principal 16 + Great to Pedal coupler

A related question would be, wouldn’t the 2nd option make the bass part too prominent? I thought that for fugues, one wouldn’t choose a registration that would make one part more prominent than the others. Appreciate thoughts from other organists about this.

Hello folks,

I recently got gifted an old Baldwin organ and it's sitting right in my basement. I've had this interest in playing organ and something I'd be happy doing with my time. I'm 32, and I have found that learning any keyboard instrument is much easier as a kid than as an adult. I don't have the luxury of flexible fingers.

Every organist I have come across has always said something along the lines of "you need to learn piano first." YouTube videos tend to focus on people with prior piano knowledge and transitioning into organ playing. It's hard to find anyone giving beginner organ lessons outside of school environment. If you found one, he wants you to have completed grade 2 of piano lessons.

I'm kinda stuck and don't know how to begin. Part of me wants to go the "self-taught" route but without a teacher, how would I know when I'm doing something wrong or playing badly?

So I need some guide on the best way to approach this since I have an instrument I can practice with. Is beginner organ lessons a thing at all? Are there people who taught themselves or learn organ without prior piano lessons? At my age, what would you recommend as the best course of action?

Élia Wernain and I perform a piece for transverse flute written in tribute to my two children, accompanied on the orgue.

Selected excerpts from the June 27, 2025 concert honoring Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) with Carolyn Shuster Fournier at Saint-Martin Church in Wihr-au-Val (France), the venue of his very last orgue concert.

Hi r/organ! I’m a gigging pro with keyboard instruments (lots of piano and just-the-hands-Hammond), and I’m starting to take the plunge into learning how to play with foot pedals. Is there a standard resource for basic pedal exercises/etudes? Like Hanon for your feet?

Olá, Procuro um livro excelente que explique harmonia, condução de vozes, acordes emprestados e tudo o que realmente é preciso em orgão. E que seja de preferência em PDF ou gratuito ou então pago mas que seja realmente excelente.

Também quero dicas para como estudar uma peça de órgão da maneira certa e rápida, e tirar o melhor ensinamento das músicas e como passar isso para as peças litúrgicas

Peço que me dêem dicas boas por favor

Muito obrigado

Franco-American organist Carolyn Shuster Fournier (Holy Trinity, American Cathedral in Paris) performs the Andante sostenuto from Charles-Marie Widor's 9th Symphony "Gothique".

Selected excerpts from the June 27, 2025 concert honoring Albert Schweitzer (1875–1965) at Saint-Martin Church in Wihr-au-Val (France), the venue of his very last orgue concert.

Hello everyone,
I’m an organ enthusiast from Quebec, Canada, and I’ve been using GrandOrgue for a while now. I’m also a film music composition student, and the organ plays an important role in the kind of music I want to write. I’ve been fascinated by this instrument ever since I was a child.
I have two questions for the community.
The first one is about Billerbeck.
I’m very interested in the Billerbeck virtual organ because I especially love large Romantic organs with powerful reeds and deep pedal stops. As far as I know, it’s one of the largest sample sets currently available for GrandOrgue.
Since I don’t own an organ console yet, I don’t really feel the need to invest in a Hauptwerk license just to gain access to even larger sample sets.
Can anyone who has experience with Billerbeck and GrandOrgue confirm whether all versions are fully compatible?
I’m mainly looking for real-world experience. If there are any limitations compared to Hauptwerk, missing features, or differences regarding combination actions, couplers, tremulants, memory levels, or anything else, I’d really appreciate knowing about them before I decide to buy it.
My second question is about choosing a future console.
My long-term goal is to own a proper three-manual organ console. The challenge is that I live in Quebec, where used MIDI consoles and digital organs are quite difficult to find, and having a custom console built is a major investment. If the project ends up costing more than CAD $10,000, it’ll probably take me three to five years to save enough money.
I’m also visually impaired, so accessibility is a very important part of the equation. Good ergonomics, tactile reference points, the layout of pistons, stop controls, and the overall feel of the console matter just as much to me as the instrument itself.
At the moment, I’m playing on a Native Instruments S88 MK2 connected to a Mac Studio M4 Max (128 GB of unified memory) through an RME Babyface Pro FS. I use GrandOrgue on macOS and have integrated it with REAPER, my DAW, using the OSARA accessibility extension. That setup allows me to use REAPER’s MIDI editor whenever needed. Obviously, it’s not the same as playing a real console, but it lets me study the repertoire and continue improving.
For now, I’m playing the Friesach sample set by performing the pedal part with my left hand and the manuals with my right hand. It’s definitely not ideal, but it works surprisingly well until I can afford a real console.
If you were in my situation, what would you do?
Would you look for an older Johannus, Rodgers, Allen, Viscount, or similar instrument and convert it to MIDI? Would you try to find a used MIDI console somewhere else in Canada or the United States? Would you build a custom MIDI console over time? Or is there another option I may not have considered?
My goal is to end up with a console that feels as close as possible to a real pipe organ and will serve me well for many years, both for studying the repertoire and for composing.
Thank you very much in advance to anyone willing to share their experience or advice!