• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

Jesus said to them: “I have come into this world so that a sentence may fall upon it, that those who are blind should see, and those who see should become blind. If you were blind, you would not be guilty. It is because you protest, ‘We can see clearly,’ that you cannot be rid of your guilt.”

  • Our Team
    • Our Editorial Policy
    • Who We Are
    • How To Contact Us
  • Pew Resources
    • Brébeuf Catholic Hymnal
    • Jogues Illuminated Missal
    • KYRIALE • Saint Antoine Daniel
    • Campion Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Repository • “Spanish Music”
    • Ordinary Form Feasts (Sainte-Marie)
  • MUSICAL WEBSITES
    • René Goupil Gregorian Chant
    • Noël Chabanel Psalms
    • Nova Organi Harmonia (2,279 pages)
    • Roman Missal, 3rd Edition
    • Father Enemond Massé Manuscripts
    • Lalemant Polyphonic
  • Miscellaneous
    • Site Map
    • Secrets of the Conscientious Choirmaster
    • “Wedding March” for lazy organists
    • Emporium Kevin Allen
    • Saint Jean de Lalande Library
    • Sacred Music Symposium 2023
    • The Eight Gregorian Modes
    • Gradual by Pothier’s Protégé
    • Seven (7) Considerations
  • Donate
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.

Follow the Discussion on Facebook

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

Subscribe

It greatly helps us if you subscribe to our mailing list!

* indicates required

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).

Primary Sidebar

Corpus Christi Watershed

President’s Corner

    “Music List” • 4th Sunday of Easter (Year C)
    Some have expressed interest in perusing the ORDER OF MUSIC I prepared for the 4th Sunday of Easter (11 May 2025). If such a thing interests you, feel free to download it as a PDF file. I don’t know a more gorgeous ENTRANCE CHANT than the one given there: Misericórdia Dómini Plena Est Terra.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    “Entrance Chant” • 4th Sunday of Easter
    You can download the ENTRANCE ANTIPHON in English for the 4th Sunday of Easter (11 May 2025). Corresponding to the vocalist score is this free organ accompaniment. The English adaptation matches the authentic version (Misericórdia Dómini), which is in a somber yet gorgeous mode. If you’re someone who enjoys rehearsal videos, this morning I tried to sing it while simultaneously accompanying my voice on the pipe organ.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Music List • “Repertoire for Weddings”
    Not everyone thinks about sacred music 24/7 like we do. When couples are getting married, they often request “suggestions” or “guidance” or a “template” for their musical selections. I created this music list with repertoire suggestions for Catholic weddings. Please feel free to download it if you believe it might give you some ideas or inspiration.
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Quick Thoughts

    Antiphons Don’t Match?
    A reader wants to know why the Entrance and Communion antiphons in certain publications deviate from what’s prescribed by the GRADUALE ROMANUM published after Vatican II. Click here to read our answer. The short answer is: the Adalbert Propers were never intended to be sung. They were intended for private Masses only (or Masses without music). The “Graduale Parvum,” published by the John Henry Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in 2023, mostly uses the Adalbert Propers—but sometimes uses the GRADUALE text: e.g. Solemnity of Saints Peter and Paul (29 June).
    —Corpus Christi Watershed
    When to Sit, Stand and Kneel like it’s 1962
    There are lots of different guides to postures for Mass, but I couldn’t find one which matched our local Latin Mass, so I made this one: sit-stand-kneel-crop
    —Veronica Brandt
    The Funeral Rites of the Graduale Romanum
    Lately I have been paging through the 1974 Graduale Romanum (see p. 678 ff.) and have been fascinated by the funeral rites found therein, especially the simply-beautiful Psalmody that is appointed for all the different occasions before and after the funeral Mass: at the vigil/wake, at the house of the deceased, processing to the church, at the church, processing to the cemetery, and at the cemetery. Would that this “stational Psalmody” of the Novus Ordo funeral rites saw wider usage! If you or anyone you know have ever used it, please do let me know.
    —Daniel Tucker

Random Quote

“The authority of the Pope is not unlimited. It is at the service of Sacred Tradition. Still less is any kind of general ‘freedom’ of manufacture, degenerating into spontaneous improvisation, compatible with the essence of faith and liturgy. The greatness of the liturgy depends—we shall have to repeat this frequently—on its lack of spontaneity.”

— Josef Cardinal Ratzinger (2000)

Recent Posts

  • “Music List” • 4th Sunday of Easter (Year C)
  • Cardinal Prevost (Pope Leo XIV) “Privately Offered the TLM in His Private Chapel”
  • “Entrance Chant” • 4th Sunday of Easter
  • Reader Feedback • Mendelssohn’s “Wedding March” at a Nuptial Mass?
  • Music List • “Repertoire for Weddings”

Subscribe

Subscribe

* indicates required

Copyright © 2025 Corpus Christi Watershed · Isaac Jogues on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in

Corpus Christi Watershed is a 501(c)3 public charity dedicated to exploring and embodying as our calling the relationship of religion, culture, and the arts. This non-profit organization employs the creative media in service of theology, the Church, and Christian culture for the enrichment and enjoyment of the public.