Did you ever hear an organ solo that sounded like haunted house music? It’s not uncommon and there are specific reasons that organ music can sound that way. 

Just in time for Halloween, we have an opportunity to hear a lot of “scary” organ music, learn about what makes it sound scary, and reflect on what we learned and how to continue learning about organ music. 

I will open the class by performing Johann Sebastian Bach’s Toccata in D Minor while the learners get to view the organ console, pipes, my feet playing the pedals (!),  and the instrument’s surroundings. 

Then, we will look at other specific standard organ pieces by Henri Mulet, Olivier Messiaen, Max Reger, and Eugéne Gigout. We will pick out the “scary” sounds and examine why each one sounds scary and some classical music history behind each one. Some of the sounds we will learn about are:

-“Wolf” tones
-tritones
-other specific intervals including minor seconds and major sevenths 
-minor and diminished chords
-different organ registrations (“sounds”)
-modes (i.e., aeolian)
-...and more!

Although this is a flexible course, it is interactive! Students will be sent on a “scavenger hunt” to find other recordings, titles, and composers of scary organ music and will share their findings in the classroom forum. There will be icebreaker questions about prior exposure to organ music as well as other discussions topics for us to explore in our classroom forum community. As a result, students will communicate directly with one another. 

I frequently respond to communications as they are received, but I will be focusing on posting questions and responding to forum posts Monday afternoons. 

Students will have an opportunity to reflect on organ music that they were exposed to prior to taking this course and things that they learned in the course through completing a worksheet that they are welcome to submit and/or save for their own enjoyment. 

There will be suggestions for future listening for learners who would like to pursue hearing more “scary” music. 

There is flexibility with the suggested age range. Prior music knowledge is not required—music students and lovers are both equally welcome!

This course is perfect for learners who prefer an independent and flexible learning journey  while collaborating with classmates.