I suspect it's rather individual, but when I first learned pedal coordination I found it very reassuring to play alto with my left thumb and only have to think about the interval down to the tenor.

...or thumbed quartets for that matter. When I played services on the one manual Spanish baroque Brombaugh (with divided registers needing both hands for stop pulling) one variation was playing ATB only on manuals; it was always harder than I thought it really ought to be.

^^^what he said. This was and still is a great help to this pianist-turned-organist who just thinks it feels mighty strange to only play T in the left hand. I'm working on it...

And don't be afraid to use 16' manual stops.
Especially for Anglican or Ordinariate flavoured hymn playing.

We haven't covered those occasional Sundays on which one plays all voices with all thumbs, sometimes referred to as jouer a la toutes les pouces.
Such playing is a rare treat to all and is normally out of the organist's control - indeed it may (and often does) happen even when he or she has practiced with excruciating care.

Major, famous organists in the classical style have said in workshops that they play everything in the hands and play the pedal, too. Sounds like heresy, but makes tremendous sense. Learning a difficult skill like reading the RH SA and the LH T only and then the B only in the pedals drives more people away from the organ then welcomes them.

Really, people - organists have delighted throughout history in creating an aura of elitism due to the difficulty of playing an instrument that IS NOT hard to master and play.

The organ USED TO BE HARD until combination action pistons became available to the common woman and man. They facilitate speeding up the process of mastering the organ, as does leaning to chant in English before learning to pronounce Latin.

I read somewhere (if I can find the original passage, I will include a link to it here later) that the French practice was to have the pedals be part of the chorus and not an addition to it, hence the lack of 16' in the pedals.

A Couperin Organ I just played has a pedal board but the manual stops DO NOT couple to the pedals, so the pedal stops are there when you want to enhance the bass line, while playing the bass also in the manuals.

Apologies to all that I may have inadvertently or advertently offended with this post.

I was always taught to avoid doubling the bass line with manuals and pedals; I have never found it necessary. I either play the bass in the pedals, or occasionally on the manuals for variety, but never both. I'm pretty sure this is standard pedagogical practice in my neck of the woods (NY/NH (CT)/Boston).

In addition, I was taught to play just about everything with S in right hand, A and T in left hand (even if this require a little transposition etc...), and B in pedals, so that the ability to 'solo out' the melody would be second nature. Also, it's just good reading practice! (Headache inducing at first, yes, but so was learning to play independent pedal parts as a 30-year-old accomplished pianist!)

I don't know about worrying about scaring away potential organists by teaching challenging skills. I'm more concerned with developing skilled organists! (With respect to Mr. Jones, with whose comments I am generally in agreement!)

Actually, there was a period of time when I was asked to prepare each hymn four ways:
1) all voices on manuals
2) SAT in manuals, B in pedals
3) S soloed out on one manual, AT on second manual, B in pedals
4) S transposed down an octave and played in tenor on a solo stop (nice fat reed usually, but could work for quieter registration) with SAT on another manual (transposing and adjusting when necessary, but the idea is that the melody is doubled in S and T, with as much of the other two voices as is practical), B in pedal.

All of which is layed out in the hymn-playing chapters of 'Organ Technique Early and Modern' by George Ritchie and George Stauffer (Oxford University Press), which I highly recommend to organists of all abilities

I, too, often invent a bass obligatto fifth voice in the pedals. Too, I often, if the singing is going well, improvise a descanting soprano instead of the actual melody. Too, I often thicken the texture with added inner voices, etc. One shouldn't, though, attempt these sorts of things until one can play hymns conventionally with confidence and is playing for a very responsive congregation. If a congregation are singing really well, they will only sing even better when treated to organ embellishments. This applies equally to choral descants. Only grinches hate descants.
______________________________________________________

Other stuff to do - (if when you have mastered the fundamentals)

On hymns (e.g., Crucifer) which have refrains, play the verses on one sound (or manual) and the refrain on a dfferent manual, or play the refrain as a solo on the trumpet stop. Or, for a tune like Vigiles et Sancti, which suggests echos, alternate the final repeated alleluyas on the trumpet vs another sound.

Avoid playing any two stanzas the same way. Each stanza may have an import which will be brought home to the singers by a different musical treatment of the text.

Some hymns' structures suggest alternating phrases on alternating manuals.

Some hymn structures suggest one phrase on a solo stop and the next phrase not. Or, alternating phrases between two manuals or sounds.

Touch is crucial in conveying the spirit of given hymns. Some should be very legato and grand whilst others (certain spirited or gladsome ones) invite a semi-staccato or detachee approach for the melody. Sometimes a varied touch may be appropriate for the literary content of each of the various stanzas of the same hymn.

Use and develop your imagination. Let it run wild when you practice. Use it judiciously when playing at mass.

Always analyse the musical and literary structure of every hymn you play. Often a unique manner of playing it will suggest itself. Often, even, several different manners may be suggested. In considering the relationship of form to manner of playing keep in mind how your particular congregation may respond and be aedified by your treatment of the hymn.

Remember that by your playing you are potentially (even crucially) instrumental in lifting hearts, engendering prayer, and in conveying to the singers a didactic, even catechetical, understanding of the text which they are singing. The combined result is the glorying of God, which is the purpose of it all.

This is technically cheating, but you can leave out one of the voices if necessary, or judiciously skip a note in a chord. This most often occurs when you are trying to conduct as well as play.

This most often occurs when...

Actually, one can leave out all the notes if the piece is causing grievous spiritual and intellectual discomfort. I did this on the only occasion on which I was aked to play OEW and could not escape. A few notes into it it was so horrible that my hands and mind simply could not continue. After the service, which was a requiem for a deacon who had died, one of his fellow deacons was overheard to say 'whose brilliant idea was it to sing 'Eagle's Wings' a capella?'

or you can stop playing entirely, get up and conduct the choir and cong a cappella (as happened when the electricity failed mid hymn) ... we never lost a beat

Jackson:

"And a resounding final a cappella chorus whilst the organist recovers!"

Oh, I know. The worse it sounds the more they like it.

In my limited experience of organ lessons, I was told that it was good to solo out the melody with the right hand, and so to play the Alto and Tenor in the left hand and Bass on the pedal.

For my lessons, I learned each assigned hymn that way. However, I found that rather complicated, because that necessarily involves (unless one has access to an arrangment other than the usual TB in the left hand, SA in the right hand) three visuals for the mind to process: a) separating the S from the A, b) combining the T and the A across staffs (i.e. combining the top voice in the left hand with the bottom voice in the right hand), and of course c) separating the T from the B. I probably just didn't practice it enough, and I imagine that if that's the only way one ever practiced hymns, then one would get used to it. But in practice, after I left college and was an organist for two years, I never learned hymns in this way; I just did what my mind found easier to process (that is, just one visual to process): SA as written, and thus no separation to process, in the right hand, and T with the left hand/B in the pedal - making that the lone visual thing for my mind to process.

Obviously, the way I was taught (soloing out the right hand) leaves more opportunities with regard to a solo manual, and so if one can learn to do it that way, it seems profitable to do so! I suppose if I ever tried to become an organist at a cathedral or other "big-time" position, I would make more of an effort to do it, so that I could have more "fancy" options. At my previous location, though, I was content to simply have a "progression" of registrations, various ones which could be used for different verses of each hymn.

I was told to can the descants since they throw the congregation off. Soooo, being my devious self, I play the hymns straight and have the choir sing the descants.

An 'advanced' approach would be to spend time on Peters' Pd-Lh duets and work up to trios before trying 4 parts. But as I said above, as a beginner I used to find it easier to coordinate two left hand voices with pedal than tenor alone. Milage may vary.

I found the same. It took a while before I could separate out that tenor voice.

If you have the manual coupled to the pedal, you probably wont hear that bass note when played on the manual. It will blend into the pedal note.

I have played OEW for a few funerals, but would never use it for Sunday masses. Families can ask for some of the weirdest things at funerals. I don't get upset enough to stop playing, but tend to do the opposite. I throw on the tremolo and make it sound as trashy as possible. I wonder if some of them are aware enough to realize I am making fun of them.

Now, that's not only tacky, but cruel.

Yes. Well-Put...It was a fine technique for players whose playing is featured in Protestant services, where everything stops during the service for people to listen to the organ or as a florid way to introduce the tune of a hymn to a congregation who have never sung it before...or to play an alternate verses, ornamenting the melody.

Funny you mention this...because when I was being taught this (soloing out the soprano), for some reason I was thinking, this seems like a protestant idea, and wanting to show off the organ too much. I know, it's not all like that, but it's true that my teacher, who has a doctorate in organ, was/is a Protestant church organist, and is a Protestant himself. I don't know if I was thinking it was 'protestant' just because I knew he is a protestant or what, but in any case, I'm content to focus more on choral singing, and only using the organ as accompaniment, not finding out how many ways I can "spice things up", so to speak. I'm uncomfortable with learning fancy postludes, although I do it for bigger feast days. In times past, people might have been well-disposed to look upon such and to utilize such simply to move their minds ever more toward/in union with our Lord, while they're making their thanksgiving after Mass; but today, when good organists are rather rare in Catholic churches, it is probably more of a distraction than anything else. (Not to mention that pretty much no one stays to make a thanksgiving after Mass anymore anyway. At least in my [very limited] experience.)

I'm not a real organist, anyway, that is why I have my (probably weird) opinions about organ use at Mass. :)

I must admit that I am a littler baffled by some of the above comments.

because when I was being taught this (soloing out the soprano), for some reason I was thinking, this seems like a protestant idea, and wanting to show off the organ too much.

I think this is a Catholic sort of stereotype of Protestant service music. The whole point of varying hymn playing is to encourage and enhance congregational singing, and to underline the text. It is never about 'showing off the organ' (except perhaps at St Sulpice!). It was not how I was taught, and it is not how it is done by the serious musicians I am familiar with who work in good Protestant music programs. To (badly) paraphrase frequent poster francis, 'do everything that enhances singing, do nothing that detracts from it'.

Of course, there is a different aesthetic in Catholic hymn singing; when I play at a Catholic service, I know to play much more quietly, so as not to 'drown out' the (non existent!) congregational singing. But I still use techniques like soloing out the melody, playing the melody in the tenor (maybe just with an 8' principal, accompanied by strings), varying the registrations, and using other allegedly 'Protestant' techniques (they are not) to enhance the hymn-singing experience, and folks who are used to vanilla hymn playing appreciate the difference.

shoddy protestant hymn arrangements

Are we equating 'shoddy' with Protestant? Or are shoddy Catholic hymn arrangements okay? Quite honestly, I hear more shoddy hymn arrangements, and shoddy hymn playing, at my local Catholic churches that I am likely to find in the local Protestant churches.

But, of course, established Protestant churches insist on hiring professionally trained musicians; not so our local Catholic parishes.

I must admit that I am a little baffled by some of the above comments.

Mark, since that first quote of yours was from a comment of mine, I may as well respond. I may have mentioned this elsewhere, but maybe not; if not, here it is: I concede that my opinions could rightly be seen as rather eccentric/outright unpopular, because I tend to have purist and/or idealist opinions. Hence, when it comes to organ, I tend to say things that reflect this. So in this case, with regard to "being fancy" with the organ, I tend to view it as just unnecessary.

My opinions on music have, in a way, changed drastically in the past year, due to spending 11 months at a traditional, contemplative Benedictine monastery, and so my views are also heavily colored by that experience. Maybe I will "lighten up" a bit the further removed I am from that experience. :) though as of now, it's been less than a month. But until then, my current mindset is - chant completely satisfies me (and the more that is unaccompanied, the better); everything else, including (vernacular, non-chant) hymn-singing, organ (whether simply as accompaniment or solo), and everything else (polyphony or other sacred music), no matter how beautiful they may be (and I know there is a wealth of beautiful non-chant sacred music!), is just extra and - again, for me personally - not necessary, and even sometimes distracting.

So anyway, I just wanted to throw that out there, since you found one of my comments baffling. I understand that my opinions/what works for me/sets me up best for prayer and that all-important interior participation in the Liturgy, are not the same as most others, and I wouldn't say they should be imposed on everyone.

As a final comment, in the same vein, what I say about sacred music also tends to reflect a sort of resentment (one that I concede may be incorrect/irrational) on my part, that the development of polyphony, and the birth of the modern tonal system from there on, destroyed (most) peoples' ability to appreciate chant as it is, and indeed, also displaced chant from its rightful place in the Liturgy. So that would explain my not-so-positive comment about organ playing/hymns!