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Pope Saint Paul VI (3 April 1969): “Although the text of the Roman Gradual—at least that which concerns the singing—has not been changed, the Entrance antiphons and Communions antiphons have been revised for Masses without singing.”

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Views from the Choir Loft

Three Ways to Improvise at the Organ

Keven Smith · March 1, 2021

ITH MY CHOIR MOSTLY SHUT DOWN during the COVID pandemic, the organ has kept me busy. My parish now has 32 low Masses per week, which gives us organists many opportunities to serve the Church. For a relatively new organist like me who needs lots of practice, it’s hog heaven.

In my last article, I explained why I’m more comfortable improvising than playing repertoire and gave four reasons why organists shouldn’t hesitate to improvise at Mass. I also promised some practical tips on how to improvise. Here are those tips.

Don’t Just Play the Organ. Pray the Organ. 

Perhaps many organists are intimidated by the idea of improvising for the same reason that most people are intimidated by writing: when there’s a blank page in front of you, what on earth do you say? In writing, it’s helpful to develop a clear topic and then form an outline of how you’ll explain that topic or make your argument. And in improvisation, it’s beneficial to have an idea in mind as you start.

Yes, you’ll want to have a musical idea, but I say it’s even more important to have a spiritual idea. In other words, focus on a sacred text, whether it’s a proper of the Mass, a chant hymn, or a favorite prayer.

Our parish is blessed to have produced a seminarian for the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP), a young man who holds an organ degree from a prestigious conservatory. He is a professional-caliber performer. More importantly, he has a well-grounded sense of the liturgy and how to support it with organ music. When he’s home on breaks, he’s incredibly generous with his time and expertise. I’d say his name, but….did I mention he’s also genuinely humble?

In the course of the lessons and masterclasses I’ve had with my friend, he has taught me the concept of “praying the organ.” It’s just like it sounds: when you sit down to improvise, you keep a sacred text in mind and create music that matches that text. What the congregation then hears is your prayer actualized as sound.

Do this well, and you can’t help but create beautiful music that moves the heart to prayer. I’m not yet an accomplished enough organist to play the most challenging classics. But in my simple improvisations, I’ve had people tell me that my playing was “prayerful” or even “moving.” You can do the same, or better. In fact, if you’re already nailing the great organ works and you add improvisation to your mix, you’ll be unstoppable.

My Top Three Methods of Organ Improvisation

At this point, you may be thinking, “OK, this all sounds good, but….what do I actually play?”

There are many good guides to organ improvisation. Some of them walk you through all the rudiments of harmony and help you become a better overall musician. Others assume you know this stuff already and give you “tricks” to make your improvisations more interesting and less predictable.

I’m still working through these materials myself. In the meantime, I’ve been using three methods to improvise at the organ:

  • Harmonize a chant. I’ll generally use the chant that’s prescribed for each part of the Mass. If it’s a low Mass nobody will be singing them, so the organ can “sing” them instead. As the priest enters, I’ll improvise on the Introit. At the Offertory and Communion, I’ll use those propers. For a recessional, I’ll often use the Alleluia from that Mass, or the Marian antiphon of the season.
  • Use the chant as a starting point. This is similar to the above, except that I’ll let the melody go off in a new direction after playing a certain amount of the chant. Sometimes I’ll return to the chant as written, sometimes not.
  • Make up an original melody. Although I usually use the chant at least as a starting point, I’ll occasionally do something completely different. It could be that the prescribed chant doesn’t inspire me (perhaps it’s in a mode that I’ve seen too much lately). Or maybe I looked at the text and suddenly got a strong melodic idea that goes with it. Either way, I’ll bring the text to life by playing my own composition. I do a lot of this during the Canon of the Mass, especially after the Consecration. I might make up a melody for the Words of Institution, or for the phrase that follows: Hæc quotiescúmque fecéritis, in mei memóriam faciétis.

For each of these three methods, I’ll use one of two approaches: prepare in advance or compose on the spot. For an upcoming Sunday Mass, I’ll typically sit with the propers several times during the week, playing around with harmonic possibilities. Even if I plan on harmonizing a chant without deviating much from the given melody, I like to plan some harmonic “features,” such as unusual chords or a modulation. But if I’m planning on wandering off from the chant melody or even composing something from scratch, then I’ll put in significant practice. In the true spirit of improvisation, the results will be slightly different each time, but it’s a “predictable different,” one that I know will fit the timing of the liturgy (with slight modifications depending on the pacing of each of our parish’s four priests).

Even if I come up with a composition from scratch, I never write down more than a few notes. I find it easier to memorize. For harmonized chants, I’ll sometimes write down the names of the most important chord changes underneath the chant melody. This approach takes the pressure off of me to perform a composition. Still, it gives me a secure enough framework that even if I make a mistake or two, I know where my improvisation is going.

A few other considerations have come to mind in terms of adding color to improvisations. I’ll share those in my next article.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

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Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Improvisation, organ Last Updated: March 1, 2021

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About Keven Smith

Keven Smith, music director at St. Stephen the First Martyr, lives in Sacramento with his wife and five musical children.—(Read full biography).

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Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    Why A “Fugue” Here?
    I believe I know why this plainsong harmonizer created a tiny fugue as the INTRODUCTION to his accompaniment. Take a look (PDF) and tell me your thoughts about what he did on the feast of the Flight of Our Lord Jesus Christ into Egypt (17 February). And now I must go because “tempus fugit” as they say!
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
    My pastor requested that I write short articles each week for our parish bulletin. Those responsible for preparing similar write-ups may find a bit of inspiration in these brief columns. The latest article (dated 12 October 2025) talks about an ‘irony’ or ‘paradox’ regarding the 1960s switch to a wider use (amplior locus) of vernacular in the liturgy.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)
    Those who don’t sign up for our free EMAIL NEWSLETTER miss important notifications. Last week, for example, I sent a message about this job opening for a music director paying $65,000 per year plus benefits (plus weddings & funerals). Notice the job description says: “our vision for sacred music is to move from singing at Mass to truly singing the Mass wherein … especially the propers, ordinaries, and dialogues are given their proper place.” Signing up couldn’t be easier: simply scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    “American Catholic Hymnal” (1991)
    The American Catholic Hymnal, with IMPRIMATUR granted (25 April 1991) by the Archdiocese of Chicago, is like a compendium of every horrible idea from the 1980s. Imagine being forced to stand all through Communion (even afterwards) when those self-same ‘enlightened’ liturgists moved the SEQUENCE before the Alleluia to make sure congregations wouldn’t have to stand during it. (Even worse, everything about the SEQUENCE—including its name—means it should follow the Alleluia.) And imagine endlessly repeating “Alleluia” during Holy Communion at every single Mass. It was all part of an effort to convince people that Holy Communion was historically a procession (which it wasn’t).
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Canonic” • Ralph Vaughan Williams
    Fifty years ago, Dr. Theodore Marier made available this clever arrangement (PDF) of “Come down, O love divine” by P. R. Dietterich. The melody was composed in 1906 by Ralph Vaughan Williams (d. 1958) and named in honor of of his birthplace: DOWN AMPNEY. The arrangement isn’t a strict canon, but it does remind one of a canon since the pipe organ employs “points of imitation.” The melody and text are #709 in the Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Did they simplify these hymn harmonies?
    Choirs love to sing the famous & splendid tune called “INNSBRUCK.” Looking through a (Roman Catholic) German hymnal printed in 1952, I discovered what appears to be a simplified version of that hymn. In other words, their harmonization is much less complex than the version found in the Saint Jean de Brébeuf Hymnal (which is suitable for singing by SATB choir). Please download their 1952 harmonization (PDF) and let me know your thoughts. I really like the groovy Germanic INTRODUCTION they added.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“No living writer possesses a greater command over the English language than Msgr. Knox, but in this instance one cannot help feeling that he has allowed his virtuosity to get the better of him, and, in his anxiety to shield the holy of holies from vulgar intrusion, produced a text that would either pass over the listener’s head as completely as the original Latin, or else leave him groping so long after the meaning that he would be quite unable to keep pace with the officiating priest.”

— Dr. Herbert Patrick Reginald Finberg (University of Leicester)

Recent Posts

  • Why A “Fugue” Here?
  • “Three Reasons To Shun Bad Hymns” • Daniel B. Marshall
  • “Puzzling Comment” • By A Respected FSSP Priest
  • New Bulletin Article • “12 October 2025”
  • “Reminder” — Month of October (2025)

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