October 2008

Some Reading for the Church Organist

Jacqueline Mullen

Everything Else An Organist Should Know, Robert Leach & Barry Williams, Organist Public-ations, Ewell, 2005, ISBN 0-95507-49-0-8

This book deals with law, accounts, difficult situations in relationships, child protection, health and safety, copyright, choirs and a host of other elements that form part of the church musician's life.

While all these topics sound as dull as ditchwater, this book is a very easy read. The layout is superb, short paragraphs, some in note form and the print is very legible. Anecdotes, some of which are hilarious, are scattered throughout the book, which serve to illustrate and to amuse the reader.
Being written for the UK market, some of the legal and taxation topics are likely to be different here. Despite these few differences, this book covers, in a sensible way what the title claims.

Keeping Your Nerve, Kate Jones, Faber Music, 2000, ISBN 0-571-51922-9

This is a small concise book, of 47 pages with the subtitle ‘Confidence-Boosting Strategies for musicians and performers’. The author Kate Jones works as a counsellor for musicians.

Chapters cover topics such as the physiology of anxiety, preparation for performances and easy relaxation techniques.
Interviews with five contemporary performers, including pianists, an organist and a singer form another chapter. Their different strategies for coping with pressure and nervous-ness offer a range of approaches to the reader. The book concludes with a chapter on actually enjoying playing the music despite the misery we may put ourselves through.

It may be ordered from music bookshops or is available from Amazon.co.uk.

I would highly recommend this book to the students undertaking the Archbishop of Dublin and Glendalough's Certificate in Church Music. It was the observation of the levels of nervousness before the organ examinations that prompted me to search for a book that might assist them.

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