Help helping another religious community
  • monasteryliturgistmonasteryliturgist
    Posts: 306
    A poor clare nun has written our monastery asking for help with her organ accompaniment. She can do it fine but wants to understand the theory behind it better. Basically she sight reads without knowing what she is playing or why....

    The problem is (and its a bless-ed problem) she is not able to receive phone calls or use internet... only hand mail and Im cloistered too so... little I can do.

    Are there any ideas on something very simple I can print for her to help with her music education. Or other ideas?
  • MatthewRoth
    Posts: 2,307
    Do we know what she’s playing? Regardless of style, there are a couple of treatises which could be printed and sent via FedEx. I assume that she has some musical theory knowledge. Otherwise beyond the chords it can be hard to make heads or tails of it (even “why this chord here, but not that one, to be followed by this next chord” is tough to understand in that context even if you can come up with a suitable accompaniment yourself.
  • monasteryliturgistmonasteryliturgist
    Posts: 306
    It seems like she is using the accompaniment for the graduale from the old printer of "Gregorian Institute of America" I think connected with Pius X hymnal- based off of a copy she sent me.

    It seems to me she is playing an electric organ- from what she described, although Im not quite certain. She seems to have learned organ mostly self-taught... does know how to read all the keys, does know how to use pedals.... does not understand how to apply her own harmonization for the different tones, does not understand the difference between tones/ tonality. She said she is the main organist, and the community does not sing well. They use the gradual for the Introit in the mass, and a popular hymn for the rest.

    She said one of the main issues is that she doesnt know how to apply what she reads to real life. She feels stuck in one place, like she has finished teaching herself all she can... doesnt know how to move forward, doesnt know how to help her community.

    I would like to help her, I just dont know the best way to do that.
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