New Oxford Organ Method

Chapter 16
215
Similarly, repeated notes on the pedals may need more separation than they do on the manuals because of their
low pitch. Look at this exercise from Lobe den Herren, and notice that the first three notes have tenuto marks:
?# 3
2
Play them like this:
?# 3
2
-˙ -˙ ˙-
˙ ˙ ˙
m ¡ m
m - œ Œ œ - Œ œ - Œ ˙ ˙ ˙
(bb. 14–15)
(bb. 14–15)
for online perusal only
Pivoting in a rest
In Chapter 8, you learned to pivot against a sustained note—a sustained left-foot note to pivot to the right,
and a sustained right-foot note to pivot to the left. But sometimes there is no suitable note available to
support your pivoting. For example, in the exercise below you need to pivot to the right after the fourth
note, ready for the next entry. The fourth note is unsuitable for support because you are playing it with your
right foot. Instead, wait until the rest, hook your right toe against the side of Eb, and pull your lower body
comfortably into home position:
Place feet on
3
m
home position
?#
m ¡ m
2
∑
˙ # ˙ ˙ w
m¡ m ¡
m - ˙ - ˙ - ˙ ˙ ˙ ˙
(bb. 11–15)
Home position is, of course, a navigation point, but you can hook your toe against any navigation point
to pull your lower body into a new position, enabling you to pivot in a rest. From now on, when you are
finding the first pedal notes of a piece, use navigation points to guide your feet to their initial notes.
Combining pedal techniques in quick succession
Play the following exercise, which is the complete pedal part without the dynamic changes. It combines
legato techniques in the pedal, some in quick succession. Apply legato touch except for notes which repeat
or have a tenuto mark. The annotations will help you find the notes, suggest techniques, and prompt you to
pivot. First play with your hands on the key cheeks, and then repeat while adopting the ‘hands up’ position: