There really aren’t a lot of church organists out there—but there’s certainly a demand for them! It sometimes takes churches a few months or even years to replace an organist. It’s so difficult that some modern churches aren’t even using organists. If you ask us, a church service isn’t right if there isn’t an organ. Already play the keyboard? Here’s how you can tap the church organist market.
- Practice! This should go without saying. Check out the churches in your area and see who might be in need of an organist. Use a church song book and hymnals to get familiar with the kind of music you’d be playing in a church.
- Attend services and really pay attention to the music. Learn how the service itself is structured. This will include more than just hymns—there are also songs, responses, and other parts to the service music.
- Get used to the flow of the service. You’ll need to learn the cues for organ music. The pastor and organist really need to work together.
- Speak to other organists. You might just be needed as a fill-in. Shadow other organists to get a feel for what they do.
- You need to understand that being a church organist requires a commitment of your time. You could possibly be called on for weddings, funerals, and other services during the week, too.
If you love playing music, there are few better places to do it than in a church. Music started as a form of praise and worship, so church music is truly music in its truest form. You can find electronic keyboards and some music books to practice here at BirdlandMusic.net.
