Practising & performing ARCO keyboard skills

Simon Williams provides guidance in this download on how to practice the ARCO keyboard skills, which include transposition, score reading, and harmonisation at sight, as well as improvisation, figured bass and sight-reading tests.  He suggests useful material – music and books – to help take your studies further. Hints on practising & performing ARCO keyboard […]

Hymn playing for organists

Playing hymns is an essential part of the musical lives of most organists, and in this download Ian Curror considers the practical skills required.  It is primarily designed for candidates who are preparing for CRCO, but it is hoped that it may prove valuable to others too. Hymn playing for organists  

Registration – how to teach it

Many student organists panic when asked to choose their own stops, which is a shame when experienced organists know how fascinating the art of registration is.   Teaching registration and console management can be very time-consuming.   This download from the RCO Academy suggests a graded approach to teaching organ management, giving your students, whatever their stage […]

Hymn transposition

Most advanced organists need to transpose at sight, whether it is accompanying soloists, changing the keys of hymns to fit a prelude or postlude, or when improvising on a given theme.  Hymn transposition is part of the keyboard skills tests for both CertRCO and ARCO diplomas.  The typical student approaches transposition with great fear, as […]

Church organists and what to teach them

This download from the RCO Academy suggests ways of preparing a student for a church post, and providing support for the amateur student who is already a church organist.  Even if students think they will never want to play in church, there are still important skills to be acquired in learning to play hymns and […]

Repertoire – introducing a new piece to your students

There is always so much to pack into an organ lesson, and introducing a new piece to a student is often rushed, with the student then using unsuccessful strategies to learn it on their own.  This download from the RCO Academy suggests ways in which you can encourage a student to learn a piece accurately […]

Repertoire – choosing the next piece for your students

Choosing the next piece for the student to learn is arguably the teacher’s most challenging and important task.  This download from the RCO Academy looks at how to choose good teaching pieces and suggests suitable tutor-books and anthologies.  It also includes a chart to assess the standard of your student and typical appropriate pieces. Repertoire […]