SOPP747: Can digital piano help learn to play the organ?

Welcome to Secrets of Organ Playing Podcast episode 747! Today's question was sent by Guilherme
and he writes:

Hi Vidas,

I probably won't be able to properly answer these questions, so I apologise in advance for a possibly long email which might not have much use. It's also a bit to help me organise my thoughts.

I'm from Portugal (a village close to Porto). I played the organ in church when I was a teenager and into my early 20s. But, like many things I did back then, I wasn't taking it seriously. A few years earlier I started by learning a bit of the piano, and then switched to the organ. But ultimately the only thing I was doing was playing the melody with the right hand and the chords with the left hand, and I never cared at all about the pedals. So I never really evolved from that basic level, until eventually I left the country.

After living in a few countries in Europe, I'm currently living in Kraków, Poland. Perhaps it's the midlife crisis, but I recently became interested in piano and organ again, and eventually bumped into your website and podcast, which I found inspiring.

I live in a small apartment and started looking at the possibilities for an organ setup. There are many examples I could find online, including your previous Hauptwerk setup, which I could realistically use (although the pedals always cause a space problem). However, one of my problems is my interest in too many things. Piano, classic organ, Hammond organ, etc.

As contradictory as it seems, I chose the piano for the moment and got a digital piano. Now, I do understand that there's a world of difference between piano and organ - and even between classic and Hammond organ.

I don't intend to be a virtuoso in any of these instruments, but I still think the piano can help me a bit. In spite of having different technique and a totally different key action, the main thing I want for now is to improve my hand coordination, and I think I can get there with the piano. Also I'll be fine for a while with a single manual.

Another thing that made me go for it is the amount of available learning apps for piano, as opposed to organ. And in this case I'm not talking about courses with videos, but rather an app which I can use to follow along some piece of music, plug my keyboard to the computer/tablet (USB/MIDI) and get immediate feedback on what I'm playing (at least if I'm playing the right keys at the right time). At the beginner level I am right now, I think this is really useful, even though it can be complemented with other courses, and even with face-to-face lessons.

Ultimately I don't know what my dream is yet. I'd like to get to a decent level (I know this is not very precise), but I don't think I'll ever be aiming to be a serious organist, also because of my current lack of interest in religion. This religious part might actually hold me back from playing in a real organ, although it doesn't have to make it impossible.

With the piano I feel that I'm getting motivated and putting in the time and commitment. I intend to spend maybe a year (or more, we'll see) in this and then get back to the organ. Whatever my dream will be then, taking the time to practice might make the most difference - as you say numerous times in your podcast.

Best regards,
Guilherme

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