Pseudo Pipes in a Cathedral and Perfect Practice

I recently attended a concert by a well known organist at Grace Cathedral. Because their pipe organ is undergoing some kind of rejuvenation, a Rodgers electronic organ has been installed in the rear of the cathedral, the console tucked out of sight with huge speakers cleverly camouflaged as...well...er...speakers with cathedral concrete colored speaker cloth. It was interesting to compare the sound of the digital organ with that of my memory of the pipe organ in the same cathedral. I have come to the conclusion that I may not be such a big fan of cathedral acoustics for organ music after all. The primordial mush soup of sound that I had previously attributed to the Aeolian Skinner seemed to also permeate the Rodgers even more so. Perhaps it was my ears that day, but it just didn't seem clear. Moving further away actually made things better, probably a psychological effect as the sound was more consistent with my expectations towards the the center of the cathedral compared to up close to the sound source where it seemed as though it should have been more clear. I even wondered if they were using digital reverb in addition to the amazing natural reverberations of the cathedral.

I've started reading a book by called Practicing by Glenn Kurtz. It has nothing and everything to do with my return to playing the organ. Technically, it is a book about classical guitar. But so far I am fascinated by the author's poetic way of romanticizing the whole process of preparing to practice and the actual practice session as a zen like experience. It reminds me of an only partly forgetten essay I once read entitled "How to Write a Poem". The essay described setting the lighting and candles, even the music perhaps. By the end of the essay I could practically hear the crackling of the fireplace fire and feel the cozy blankets in which the author snuggled while writing poetry. Nothing was said about rhythm and meter, but you just knew that something really remarkable would have to come from such a state of mind induced by an environment so conducive to pleasure and poetry. But I digress.

As I look back on this last year, I've often wondered how to properly practice for maximum effectiveness. What is the most time efficient and enjoyable method to learn a new piece for example? I've gathered tid bits here and there, mainly online. So far here is my how to list. I'd love to hear more ideas:

Practicing at a home organ is best for me for many reasons. I like the comfortable temperature, convenience, lack of undue external pressure or distraction of being at home. But I would settle for a convenient nearby pipe organ if necessary.

If I have to be somewhere afterwards at a certain time, I set an alarm at the beginning of the session so I don't have to continually worry about it or check my watch. About 45-60 minutes works for me, I wish it could be longer many days.

I put on my organ shoes. I've changed from preferring quick slip on jazz shoes to preferring lace up OrganMasters (Capezio's are similar but without the suede soles). I liked the convenience of slip ons, but they began to stretch out a little, or the elastic weakened, and I felt less secure with them, especially with the extra heel height I had added. And I'd like to try some shoes with an even higher heel. But that's a whole nuther topic and not really necessary at this point.

Practice usually feels most comfortable for me when no one else is around because there is less pressure to perform or muddle through instead of stopping short and fixing minor glitches. A casual non-musical listener may not notice when I goof up, but I do, so now is the time to stop and work on it. And I feel more confident to tackle more difficult pieces if no one is listening but me. But I don't avoid practicing just because someone is there. Chances are they are not listening anyway, and with any luck they will enjoy the sound of music under construction.

1) I start out with some exercises - pedaling, finger limbering, perhaps something from a technique book?

2) I then revise a familiar piece, perhaps refresh a memorized piece to build my confidence. I stop, back up, and get a running start at any rough sections and repeat until played as perfectly as I can or at least without major mistakes. I don't go obsess about it, I just try to lay down some good neural pathways and always end a piece on a good note so next session I won't have the same problems.

3) Then I may work on a newer piece. I always try to work from a scanned PDF so my original is not damaged and I can mark fingering and pedaling without guilt:
a) Mark the pedaling
b) Mark the phrasing & workable fingering (I try to do this BEFORE I learn the piece incorrectly - I'm not too good at remembering the phrasing bit)
c) Practice a few measures of the pedals
d) Practice a few measures of the left hand
e) Practice a few measures of the right hand
f) Practice a few measures of Pedal and Left hand
g) Practice a few measures of Pedal and Right hand
h) Practice a few measures of Left and Right hand
i) Practice a few measures of Pedal, Left, and Right hand

Repeat watching for proper phasing (clearly repeated notes vs. legato lines)

Repeat for next few measures, then combine until the practice session has expired or nearly so (probably at least 45-60 minutes is a good stretch - if I have more time I do this I might repeat twice daily with a break, music organ majors & professionals reportedly must put in 4+ hours per day - I can't or at least choose not to do that now). It is amazing how fast the practice session time goes, and how long it takes to learn some new pieces well. At least that is my perception.

If I am trying to memorize something, I prefer to do it before exercising or going to sleep. I believe it helps long term memory storage.

If there is time - I do some simple improvising for pleasure or sight reading some new pieces for inspiration.

That's my ideal session. Doesn't happen every day, and I'm sure it is not the perfect practice method, but it's the best I can come up with on short notice. I always try to keep in mind the goal - musical pleasure before perfection.

Ideas welcome.