Q&A for How to Learn to Play the Organ

Try looking for a used organ through eBay, Craigslist, or local music shops. Also, if there is a church nearby, they might let you practice using their organ.

Any local bookstore might be a good place to start. You could also look into music shops that may carry them. Or, you could search online.

The pedals basically function as another keyboard for the performer. They can be coupled to either of the manuals (keyboards) to play the same register (collection of organ pipes that produce various sounds). The pedals mostly are used to play the lowest notes in the piece of music, allowing more complex music to be played on the manuals.

You can purchase an organ from a music store, or check for organs for sale online via sites like Facebook and Craigslist.

Reward yourself when you practice for a set amount of time.

The best method of learning an instrument is with one-to-one private lessons. This way the teacher is focused entirely on you and will offer training suited to you. If you want to learn to play the organ, you may have a tougher time finding a teacher unless you live in a city or somewhere with a music college or conservatoire, but you should be able to find one online.

You can study the organ online. However, it won't be as effective as learning from a private instructor who would grow accustomed to your techniques and styles and tailor the teaching to your needs.

It's never too late! Talk with your church office about joining your church's music program. In my experience, most churches have a smaller-than-desired music program besides the choir, so I'm sure they would be happy to have you perform.

No, you're not too old. As long as you want to do this, practice often and learn all that you can, then you will be as good as the younger learners. No organ has an age requirement, though you may want to be more careful as to protect your hearing.

Correct - free organs are usually broken. But if not, someone may not have the time to pay for an organ mover and to go through the effort of getting it out of their home, such as if someone no longer plays or has died. Ask before taking the organ.