What You'll Learn

French Organ Improvisation Course & Masterclass on Gregorian Chant (inspired by the Duruflé Tradition)

Elevate your organ playing through sacred improvisation. Inspired by Maurice Duruflé’s profound integration of Gregorian chant and French liturgical tradition, this masterclass guides you from modal chant textures to expressive liturgical improvisations – ideal for advanced organ students.

This organ improvisation course covers core techniques that take a gregorian chant (Ave Maris Stella) and then allow you to improvise Notre Dame style. Your teacher, Frédéric Blanc, was the last pupil of Marie-Madeleine Duruflé and is a top. famous Parisian Cathedral musician who teaches and performs globally.

What you’ll learn: Gregorian Chant | Duruflé‑Style | Liturgical Improvisation

How to create a mysterious introduction
About the Dorian mode
The octatonic scale and patterns
Entries answered at a fifth, dovetailing and stretto
Pivot notes
Harmonies where roots are a 3rd apart
Harmonies where the roots are a step apart
That the RH chords don’t have to match the LH, that they can move “outside” and back in again
“Outside” chords can be approach chords
“Outside” chords can be passing chords between two other relatively consonant sonorities
Once you have a clear idea it should be repeated and developed (say it again) using reharmonisation and modal transposition

Your Maestro Teacher

Who is Frédéric Blanc?

Frédéric is an internationally recognised French organist of significant repute. He was the last pupil of Marie-Madeleine Duruflé.

In 1953, Marie-Madeleine received the Grand Prix International Charles-Marie Widor for organ and improvisation in Lyon. She died in 1978 and the New York Times published: “Mrs Duruflé, a technically formidable organist, was generally considered the last great exponent of the French Romantic school of organ playing, which valued elegant grandeur, textural clarity and rhythmic freedom. She gave incomparable performances of works by the French organ masters, including Charles-Marie Widor, Louis Vierne, Jean Langlais, Marcel Dupré and her husband, who died 13 years ago. She was a tireless champion of his organ works, which were harmonically conservative yet mystical, finely crafted and often brilliant.”

Frédéric talks in his interview of how strict she was with him, expecting him to thoroughly practice and prepare to his absolute best before each lesson. He speaks with extreme admiration of her to this very day. He now lives in their apartment, full of memories of his student days and steeped in the history out of which he has grown to become an international legend and very worthy successor.

Frédéric achieved two internationally significant prizes early in his career: (1) In 1996 he gained 2nd prize for interpretation in the “Grand Prix de Chartres” Competition and (2) In 1997, he won the Grand Prix d’Improvisation in the international organ competition “Concours Internationaux de la Ville de Paris”. Since 1999, he has been titular organist at Notre-Dame d’Auteuil in Paris.

He is sort after all over the world for masterclasses in improvisation and repertoire such as Royal Academy of Music in London and increasingly at U.S. universities, including Valparaiso University, Indiana, Stanford University, California, Hope College in Holland, Michigan, Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, Southern Methodist University in Dallas, the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia, University of Michigan and Arizona State University.

What are Our Music Masterclasses Like?

Our music masterclass courses are self-study digital courses embedded with information, interactive music software (scores), exercises, objectives, tasks, teaching pedagogy and videos of celebrities and international level musicians explaining and demonstrating key skills. Certificates are awarded at the end of each course.

Our Platform: How do we teach and you learn?

🎵 Why Choose Our Music Learning Platform?

Unlock a rich, flexible, and inspiring music education experience designed for musicians of all levels. Whichever area of musical learning inspires you, our world-class performers offer it all.

A Quick Look at a Typical Masterclass Course

Sample Interactive Score

Course Dashboard with Progress and Points

Thorough Musicianship
Creativity, improvisation, and ear training are seamlessly integrated with popular, gospel, classical and jazz melodies to help you achieve true musical freedom.

Unique Learning Journey
Our tailored methodology emphasises improvisation and aural skills first, with notation used to support—not restrict—your creativity.

Certification
Courses include clear objectives, tasks, and fun quizzes that lead to downloadable certificates—perfect for motivation and recognition.

Gamification
Track your progress and climb the league tables by earning certificate points and logging in regularly.

️ Interactive Software
Our custom music software links visual notation with sound to enhance your creativity and understanding.

Celebrity Masterclasses
Learn from internationally acclaimed musicians and award-winning performers through high-quality video lessons and real-world demonstrations.

Expert Pedagogy
Each self-study course is structured with professional teaching principles, goal-setting, progress tracking, and step-by-step tasks.

Flexible Learning
Study from home, at your own pace. Affordable monthly fees and no need to travel—music learning that fits your lifestyle.

Human Touch
Get personalised support from our expert team and request custom courses tailored to your goals.

Personalised Experience
Receive bespoke course recommendations and guided learning plans based on your interests and skill level.

For All Levels
A wide range of self-study courses, celebrity masterclasses, and optional 1-1 lessons designed for adult and teenage musicians, university/conservatoire students, home schoolers, and music therapists.