Richard Pinel and Ann Elise Smoot explain how to create and manage registration schemes on the organ, whether by hand or using divisional pistons, with a focus on choral accompaniment.

Ann Elise Smoot and Matthew Martin discuss improvisation, a skill all organ scholars will have to use at some point.  They suggest how you can develop confidence in two important areas: creating processional music, and hymn extensions.

Organ scholar trials usually include some aural tests, and Anna Lapwood talks through the aural tests for Cambridge organ scholarships, so you can see what type of skills are expected.

Stephen Farr explains how to practice effectively – taking a piece he has not yet studied, and discussing the learning process as he practices it live for the camera.

If you’ve been awarded an organ scholarship, then here’s some advice from Organ Scholars and Directors of Music on how to get the most enjoyment and benefit once you take up your appointment.

Martin How gives a masterclass in hymn accompaniment, recorded on the organ of Croydon Minster. In this video he discusses the choice of hymn speed and registration, use of breathing and pauses, and how to respond as a player to both the tune and the words.

Composer and organist Matthew Martin presents a film on the requirements of improvisation for the FRCO examination, with a discussion of how to approach the four possible options: cantus firmus, romantic prelude, variations and récit en taille.

In this film Matthew Martin discusses how to approach the improvisation tests in the ARCO examination syllabus. He suggests devices, patterns and techniques for the different tests, and demonstrates them on the Kenneth Tickell organ of Keble College, Oxford.

Mark Brafield and Daniel Moult recently gave an RCO workshop on strategies for dealing with performance anxiety, and they’ve made their workshop notes available for download. The notes include a discussion of how performance anxiety arises in the first place, practical techniques to overcome it, and a reading list.