Sunday, April 10, 2011

I started learning to play the organ when I was 15 years old. I was already a working church musician, and had the church organ available for practicing. For the past 32 years, I've worked as an organist or pianist at several churches.

In all this time, I've had to practice all my organ pieces at church. This was always a seasonal thing, because churches don't keep their sanctuary heated or cooled all week long. Practice time has been a "get it when I can" thing, before or after church services. During the fall and spring, I've been able to practice a little more often, but never long enough.

Usually, after practicing a couple hours, I wanted to keep going, but the drive there and home added more time to the event. So, I had to stop, turn off the organ, put away all the music, and save my practice time for later.

I've always dreamed of having a real, fullsize organ at home, so I could practice as long as I want. I've watched the auctions on eBay, the listings on Craigslist, and asked around at churches. Usually, I could not afford the instrument, or it just wasn't the right kind. Most of the ones I found didn't have a full 32 pedalboard.

But, now my wait is over. I just won an auction for a Baldwin C630!
My New Organ - Side  (Baldwin C630)