How should a pianist lean to play the pipe organ?

I have played piano for many years and am thinking about learning to play the organ. Any advice on how to proceed with the organ would be most welcome. [1] Is it important to seek out an instructor or can I make the transition myself? [2] I have seen the Harold Gleason method book recommended. Is this a wise choice? [3] What suggestions do you have for making arrangements to use an instrument for practice? What sort of scheduling arrangements are effective for beginning organists? [4] Do most beginners obtain (purchase) published hymn settings or is it more common for organists to improvise or develop their own hymn settings from the hymnal?

entirely different technique (and experience) from anything you would learn as a pianist. Voicing (of stops) is a whole new subject, too, that is best transmitted by a real person with ears.

Good that you have a piano background. The best organists, as far as I`m concerned, have already become proficient on the keyboard before they start organ. Find a good teacher of organ who can teach you proper technique, how to find your way around the pedalboard, how to get your feet working correctly, etc. Good luck. the organ. Any advice on how to proceed with the organ would be most welcome. [1] Is it important to seek out an instructor or can I make the transition myself? [2] I have seen the Harold Gleason method book recommended. Is this a wise choice? [3] What suggestions do you have for making arrangements to use an instrument for practice? What sort of scheduling arrangements are effective for beginning organists? [4] Do most beginners obtain (purchase) published hymn settings or is it more common for organists to improvise or develop their own hymn settings from the hymnal?

stops you use for what), music to study from, accountability, legato hand technique (remember: the organ doesn`t have a damper pedal!), how to play piano-oriented music on the organ, what all the buttons are for, couplers, and so on! offertories, postludes), I think it`s safe to say most beginners AND established organists use printed music. Full-scale improvisation (say, a prelude using improvised material) is a particular talent, though it can be learned, at least to some extent. Many experienced and talented organists just don`t feel comfortable with attempting it, or feel that they can`t do it as well as printed arrangements would sound. It`s well worth working on though, alongside the other things.

Now let the disagreements roll!....
Bernard Hill Braeburn Software Author of Music Publisher system Music Software written by musicians for musicians http://www.braeburn.co.uk Selkirk, Scotland

say at the outset that it`s like representing yourself in court--you have a fool for a client. In this case, if not a fool for a student, at least someone who likely will be very limited.
I`d never claim that an experienced pianist couldn`t learn something via self-teaching/discovery/trial-and-error. That pianist might even be able to play for hymns. Some organs have drawknobs/rocker tabs that double the lowest left-hand note in the pedals (if pedal stops are pulled), so it sounds like the pedals are being played.
If the pianist desires to get beyond utilitarian playing, I doubt very seriously it can be done through self-teaching, at least efficiently. But if "good enough" is good enough, then I suppose that`s, um, that`s good enough.
Other comments: generally be small. General knowledge of stop families IS fully transferrable, as organ registration is a matter not only of ears but of a basic understanding of what is what and how to use it. like that dang sticky little musical term called MARCATO. Hello? What to do...what to do? just how self-evident the buttons (they`re "pistons," of course) and rocker tabs are. What an entertaining experience that would be. (Power switch doesn`t count, by the way.)

You have no way of making an individual note louder - so what to do? You need to make it apparently louder. That could be done a few ways, depending on the music, but a good guess would be something like isolating it, ie a rest before it. And maybe after it. (Actually you can make it louder in certain circumstances if stop changes permit it of course)
It boils down to a simple questions: How do you think most organists learn anyway? Those of use who were forced into it from the piano because our church needed a player did it all that way.
Again - if you want to play to the highest level then by all means hire a teacher if you can find one. But those of us without extra income and without access to teachers other than the occasional mass training day every couple of years learn from books, trial and error, and experiment: there is no alternative.
Bernard Hill Selkirk, Scotland

point, with the possible exception of the truly-motivated who also have an element of giftedness. Beyond that limit, a teacher will be invaluable and an efficient use of your time and can lead one to playing the classics.
As for ptooner who said: different length. If you`re holding dwn a C with the Flute 8` stop pulled and add the Violin 8` stop, you now have two voices playing the same note (same as if an orchestra). If you hold down that same note and pull the Flute 4`, THEN you are playing two notes with one key. And so on....

to work on and lays out some expectations as to what you should be able to accomplish week to week. By making yourself accountable to her, knowing that you`ll face her in, say, a week`s time, you affirm or learn that it generally helps to have someone "pushing" you when it comes to practicing, not to mention benefitting from her objective analysis of what you`ve done, vs. your own.
When you`re accountable only to yourself it can be easy to award yourself all kinds of rationalizations, excuses, etc. for falling behind or failing completely, or to judge your progress too charitably.
Thus, in the teacher-no teacher debate, accountability is one reason to consider using a teacher.