Is It Possible That Pianists to Be Automatically Able to Play Organ?

Jon Lord plays piano on Woman from Tokyo, doesn't he?

 

Having gigged and recorded on all of the above instruments other than bass, which I did also play for a coupla months in a rehearsal band when we had a bass but no bass player!, I think we're talking about the difference between mastering the idiomatic elements of each vs. just "playing" each. Like I dunno if Segovia could just pick up an electric and have instant mastery say of idiomatic things about electric guitar tone or effects or whole step rock pitch bends and sustain, etc but he could play both instruments.

And like I said, there are organs and there are organs. Plopping down behind an electric combo organ is one thing, playing 4 part compositions a dual manual pipe organ with foot board in a big catherdral is another.

 

I can play piano OK, but put me in front of a Hammond and I can barely get a tune of it that doesn’t sound like a four-year old banging the keys. The lack of sustain is completely unforgiving, and you need to develop a completely different fingering style, with lots of overlapping notes and little slides between runs of notes. It’s really hard to sound like Billy Preston.

 

probably not...

 

Nope. A bass is tuned differently than a guitar. Big difference.

Whereas the layout of the keys is the same for piano and organ. If you're referring to a church organ than you have the bass pedals which could probably take some time to adapt to. But a good piano player will play passable organ and vice versa.

 

Interesting, I have a much easier time playing chords and the strumming action on acoustic than on electric. I have an easier time playing scales on electric guitar. I have not attempted bass.

I play piano much better than organ as the sound is cleaner. Getting used to the sustain on organ was a transition, but I love the instrument.

The ability using five fingers in different positions and playing with both hands is the key on piano and organ.

 

Tuning not an issue at all switching guitar to bass - it is the bottom 4 strings of a guitar and octave down.

It's a challenge playing idiomatically, locking in with drums as part of rhythm section, and not getting blisterd from bass strings

Much harder switching from bass to guitar at all competently as it requires learning lots of chords and becoming able to switch between them fluently, as well as adding strings, one of which is tunes at a different interval

 

I don't understand why only one person has mentioned YOUR FEET! If you're playing a pipe organ, your feet can be almost as busy as your hands. You have to be able to use all four appendages pretty skillfully if you're on a church organ...

 

This is the answer.

 

Bottom four strings are the same on (4-string) bass and guitar? Not difficult.

 

Piano has weighed keys whereas organs do not. It is a completely different feel and technique to play each instrument properly and well. That is aside from the bass pedals and the multiple levels of keys - playing at various angles is certainly an odd experience for most pianists.

 

I wondered about that. I am a huge fan of the E Street band and they had Federici as the organist and Bittan as the pianist so one couldn’t do both even in the studio.

 

Brian Jones, anyone?

 

That's not universally true of organs. A pipe organ is a wind instrument. A pump organ is a wind instrument. A Hammond organ is an electronic or an electromechanical instrument. A combo organ like a Farfisa or a Vox or something is an electric instrument.

Also, a piano is both a string instrument and a percussion instrument, like a hammered dulcimer, but it's definitely not exclusively a percussion instrument. (According to the Sachs-Hornbostel System it's a "percussive chordophone," putting it in a family with harps, lutes, and zithers -- Classification of Musical Instruments: Sachs-Hornbostel (liveabout.com).)

 

He did on a Speed King outtake where there was no organ. I think it was take 1, released as a bonus track on the 25th anniversary CD if I remember correctly.

 

I say yes. The notes are in the same place, now you just play what comes through your head.

 

Different, but overlapping skill set.

A pianist could play the keyboard well, but all the rest that goes along with organ, they would have to learn.

 

I count five mentions of foot pedals in the thread before this post. Of course, not all organs have a pedalboards, and not only pipe organs in churches either. There were also harpsichords and clavichords with pedalboards too.

 

yes. Also on the outtake song "Freedom".
And a version of Speed King. I'm sure there are others

 

The difference I see is most stringed instruments are tuned to different intervals than guitar. The keys on an organ are typically the same notes as on a piano.

But, yes, I would expect that, while any pianist could probably sit at an organ and play some sort of music, there is more to an organ that makes it not automatic that a pianist will play an organ well.

 

Kind of a weird question, but any piano player of note could certainly play around on a basic organ, or any keyboard based instrument (synths). Playing it proficiently is different, and the older and more complex the organ, the more training they would need.

 

No it isn’t…

 

They also have like five people playing basically the same guitar parts, though…

 

I am glad you mentioned guitars. Bruce and the band have 3 guys holding guitars but where are the guitars in the mix? I hear keyboards and the Big Man over everything else.

 

I'm referring to the fact that you have an entire "keyboard" for your feet to play -- not just a few pedals to enhance the sound, as with a piano. My girlfriend was a church organist -- and a superb one -- so I am quite familiar with how difficult they are to play.