CHANGING PARISH

If organists are not busy playing our instrument, we can be deployed to give a more sensitive musical adjustment to prerecorded music than many sides-people or others. Digital pipe-less organs are commonplace today and while they all try to emulate pipe organs, it is inevitable they achieve differing degrees of success. While some of us might yearn for organs powered only by wind, it isn’t always what we get today. Too many of us are guilty of applying unhelpful labels stolen from kitchen appliances and dismissing them as unworthy facsimiles.

The modern digital organ has a place for home practice and is also the only type many churches will install. It can be challenging when we encounter a church or crematorium with a menu driven style of instrument that was never designed for liturgical accompaniment, even if it offers options of ‘Chapel Organ 1, 2 and 3’, ‘Hymn Organ’ and ‘Grand Organ’. Such ‘organs’ and keyboards do get deployed in churches and can be used to lead worship. Flipping between sounds for different hymn verses requires new skills, and watch out for the ‘Demo’ and ‘Bossa Nova’ buttons!

The watchword for today’s organist has to be versatility, whether it is spotting mischievous players who have left the transpose function activated, facing a different shape or compass of pedal board, or using a trigger swell pedal. Difference is a major reason I enjoy working in different places!