Guest Interview with Dr. Don Cook
21st Century Organ Instruction
Jeannine: Who are you and what “makes you tick” musically?
Dr. Cook: I might be described as a “niche” musician. Certain forms of music, “niches,” have great power to inspire, motivate, or calm me. Organ music is my first musical love, followed closely by choral, carillon, piano, classical guitar, and even vintage rock.
Outside of music I am a family man. I enjoy spending time with my wife, children, and extended family. We love to get away to the mountains, lakes, and even ocean beaches. Fishing and exploring the outdoors are my first pastime interests.
J: What is your teaching philosophy?
Dr. Cook: The best learning occurs when students teach themselves. My job is to facilitate that process by providing motivation, structure, tools, evaluation, and encouragement. Because each student comes with a unique background and skillset, perhaps my greatest challenge is discovering the optimum plan and rate of progress for each student. I find my greatest rewards in observing the joy in my students as they become increasingly involved as organists.
J: You not only are the organ area coordinator and university carillonneur at Brigham Young University, but you also have to be known as the 21st-century organ instruction guru. How have you changed/updated organ instruction by challenging the long-held norm of one-on-one organ teaching?
Dr. Cook: Organ Tutor 101 - computer-based resource for classical and traditional sacred organinstruction.
From the moment I was invited to the BYU faculty in 1991, I was asked to create a means of computer-assisted instruction for our organ lab. That lab, designed for early-level group instruction, now contains twelve Rodgers organs with a computer at each organ. With the help of a dedicated programmer, I developed OrganTutor Organ 101 with the idea of having the computer take care of the rather repetitive and labor-intensive lecture and demonstration needs. This frees up the instructor to spend more time listening to the individual student and offering customized feedback—a valuable commodity in either group or private instruction.
Some private organ instructors are understandably suspicious of this approach, feeling that the computer might be replacing the human. But once they understand the benefits it offers to both teacher and student, those suspicions are replaced by relief. They, as I, realize that striking a good balance between the use of current technological teaching tools and proven traditional methods is just good common sense!
The New LDS Organist – Podcast episodes
While OrganTutor serves the need of a thorough organ training method, there was also a need for a “quick start” resource for pianists who wish to become oriented at the organ. In the LDS organ world, the call as Ward Organist often comes to pianists who have never played the organ. The New LDS Organist was designed by myself and three graduate students as a set of twelve audio podcasts and a packet, all of which are available free online. The “hands-on” lessons are intended to be downloaded to an iPod or other mp3 player and listened to individually when seated at the organ bench. They have seen widespread use in their four years of existence.
Although these lessons are intended to train LDS organists, some of these lessons can be useful for non-LDS pianists. They also represent a useful model that any teacher can follow to distribute teaching materials.
The New LDS Organist was created as part of a graduate organ pedagogy course. We have created other new teaching materials in these courses, such as the OrganPlayingWiki (an online collection of information on specific organ pieces and composers), Excellent Hymn Playing (a set of podcasts designed for the AGO to help those preparing for the Service Playing Certificate), and many outlines for group organ training courses. Training organists to become teachers has become one of the most rewarding parts of my work at BYU.
J: I had the opportunity several years ago to visit the organ department at BYU including the remarkable organ lab. Would you please describe how is the lab used in your 21st-century teaching model?
Dr. Cook: One-on-one instruction is the widely-accepted industry standard for musical training. Having a single instructor teach as many students as possible, while more efficient and economical, poses many challenges. The organ lab has overcome some of those challenges by providing an organ for each of the twelve students in the group, and by turning the repetitive and time-consuming lecture and demonstration tasks over to the OrganTutor (computer tutorial). This brings together the efficiency of group teaching and the benefits of one-on-one instruction as the instructor uses most of the class time listening to students play their projects and offering feedback. Since OrganTutor was created in 1995 we have trained over 3000 students by using this system.
J: From August 2-5, 2011 you will host an incredible week long Organ Workshop at BYU. What are the highlights of this year’s organ-specific workshop? How can an organist register for this year’s workshop?
Dr. Cook: This year features over 90 classes for beginning through advanced organists. Classes in technique, hymn playing, registration, pedaling, and much more are offered. The entire group will also enjoy a field trip to Salt Lake City to hear a demonstration of the tabernacle organ and a private recital performed by tabernacle organists Clay Christiansen and Linda Margetts. Registration is still open through the website (http://organworkshop.byu.edu) or by calling 1-877-221-6716. The registration fee is $255 through July 15.
21st Century Organ Instruction
Jeannine: Who are you and what “makes you tick” musically?
Dr. Cook: I might be described as a “niche” musician. Certain forms of music, “niches,” have great power to inspire, motivate, or calm me. Organ music is my first musical love, followed closely by choral, carillon, piano, classical guitar, and even vintage rock.
Outside of music I am a family man. I enjoy spending time with my wife, children, and extended family. We love to get away to the mountains, lakes, and even ocean beaches. Fishing and exploring the outdoors are my first pastime interests.
J: What is your teaching philosophy?
Dr. Cook: The best learning occurs when students teach themselves. My job is to facilitate that process by providing motivation, structure, tools, evaluation, and encouragement. Because each student comes with a unique background and skillset, perhaps my greatest challenge is discovering the optimum plan and rate of progress for each student. I find my greatest rewards in observing the joy in my students as they become increasingly involved as organists.
J: You not only are the organ area coordinator and university carillonneur at Brigham Young University, but you also have to be known as the 21st-century organ instruction guru. How have you changed/updated organ instruction by challenging the long-held norm of one-on-one organ teaching?
Dr. Cook: Organ Tutor 101 - computer-based resource for classical and traditional sacred organinstruction.
From the moment I was invited to the BYU faculty in 1991, I was asked to create a means of computer-assisted instruction for our organ lab. That lab, designed for early-level group instruction, now contains twelve Rodgers organs with a computer at each organ. With the help of a dedicated programmer, I developed OrganTutor Organ 101 with the idea of having the computer take care of the rather repetitive and labor-intensive lecture and demonstration needs. This frees up the instructor to spend more time listening to the individual student and offering customized feedback—a valuable commodity in either group or private instruction.
Some private organ instructors are understandably suspicious of this approach, feeling that the computer might be replacing the human. But once they understand the benefits it offers to both teacher and student, those suspicions are replaced by relief. They, as I, realize that striking a good balance between the use of current technological teaching tools and proven traditional methods is just good common sense!
The New LDS Organist – Podcast episodes
While OrganTutor serves the need of a thorough organ training method, there was also a need for a “quick start” resource for pianists who wish to become oriented at the organ. In the LDS organ world, the call as Ward Organist often comes to pianists who have never played the organ. The New LDS Organist was designed by myself and three graduate students as a set of twelve audio podcasts and a packet, all of which are available free online. The “hands-on” lessons are intended to be downloaded to an iPod or other mp3 player and listened to individually when seated at the organ bench. They have seen widespread use in their four years of existence.
Although these lessons are intended to train LDS organists, some of these lessons can be useful for non-LDS pianists. They also represent a useful model that any teacher can follow to distribute teaching materials.
The New LDS Organist was created as part of a graduate organ pedagogy course. We have created other new teaching materials in these courses, such as the OrganPlayingWiki (an online collection of information on specific organ pieces and composers), Excellent Hymn Playing (a set of podcasts designed for the AGO to help those preparing for the Service Playing Certificate), and many outlines for group organ training courses. Training organists to become teachers has become one of the most rewarding parts of my work at BYU.
J: I had the opportunity several years ago to visit the organ department at BYU including the remarkable organ lab. Would you please describe how is the lab used in your 21st-century teaching model?
Dr. Cook: One-on-one instruction is the widely-accepted industry standard for musical training. Having a single instructor teach as many students as possible, while more efficient and economical, poses many challenges. The organ lab has overcome some of those challenges by providing an organ for each of the twelve students in the group, and by turning the repetitive and time-consuming lecture and demonstration tasks over to the OrganTutor (computer tutorial). This brings together the efficiency of group teaching and the benefits of one-on-one instruction as the instructor uses most of the class time listening to students play their projects and offering feedback. Since OrganTutor was created in 1995 we have trained over 3000 students by using this system.
J: From August 2-5, 2011 you will host an incredible week long Organ Workshop at BYU. What are the highlights of this year’s organ-specific workshop? How can an organist register for this year’s workshop?
Dr. Cook: This year features over 90 classes for beginning through advanced organists. Classes in technique, hymn playing, registration, pedaling, and much more are offered. The entire group will also enjoy a field trip to Salt Lake City to hear a demonstration of the tabernacle organ and a private recital performed by tabernacle organists Clay Christiansen and Linda Margetts. Registration is still open through the website (http://organworkshop.byu.edu) or by calling 1-877-221-6716. The registration fee is $255 through July 15.
