Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Saturday, November 20, 2010
Bach's Inventions for 2 voicess
My practice time is very limited, what with the work, the family, and the commute. I am always trying to squeeze the most out of my daily 40 minutes. The right balance is not easy to find. If I don't play something fun every day, I lose my motivation fast. If I don't work on technique (i.e. scales/arpeggios = boring shit), I don't get better, so I end up playing the same stuff over and over and lose my motivation slowly. Seems like Catch-22.
I did a few transcriptions this year. It started with Badinerie - I wanted to try it and could not find a trumpet adaptation. Then a few more Bach pieces. Then I read somewhere that Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz played Bach's Inventions for Two Voices as duets for alto/tenor saxes; in fact, No.13 in Am is on their London Concert LP, here is is below.
*
So I tried the Inventions and got hooked. I never thought it possible to pack so much musical education into so few bars of music. Bach himself subtitled his work as follows:
"Honest method, by which the amateurs of the keyboard – especially, however, those desirous of learning – are shown a clear way not only (1) to learn to play cleanly in two parts, but also, after further progress, (2) to handle three obligate parts correctly and well; and along with this not only to obtain good inventions (ideas) but to develop the same well; above all, however, to achieve a cantabile style in playing and at the same time acquire a strong foretaste of composition."
Let me proceed in order:
- "to obtain good inventions [...] to develop the same well" These pieces are based on simple short phrases - bits of scales, arpeggios - that are stretched, compressed, inverted, and finally woven into rich tapestries. Each piece is a lesson on thematic development - something every jazz improviser aspires to learn but so few master. It is amazing how much mileage can Bach get out of an eight-note sequence - see, for instance No.1 in C.
- "acquire a strong foretaste of composition" I would recommend the Buzoni edition of Inventions, available for free at IMSLP. Each one concludes with a discussion of the form. There is also a book called "An Analytical Survey of the Fifteen Two-Part Inventions by J.S.Bach," I actually have it but have not read much of it.
- "to learn to play cleanly in two parts" Of course a monophonic instrument cannot play solo in two parts, but all horns have to be able to play with others - a skill that Arban and other brass instructors address with duets. Bach's Inventions can and should be played as duets. I typed them into Finale and generated audio files every which way - slow, medium, fast; both voices audible or top voice removed - and then used them as a play-along. They are quite challenging to play that way. A lot of Arban duets have voices play similar figures. Here the voices are complementary and opposite: one is fast, the other is slow; one is busy, the other lays out; contrary motion all over the place... I found canons to be the most difficult - when the other voice plays something you played two bars ago, it can really throw you off. These pieces are great for developing the ear and ability to hear counterpoint.
- The brass players may not have the technical challenges that the pianists have, but there are definitely a few of our own. These lines were not written with a horn in mind. Bach loves long, flowing phrases with three, four, five bars of consecutive sixteenths and for me, every time it feels like a drowning accident - by the third bar I would turn blue and dizzy and then gulp air like a fish, trying to steady my breath. It does get better with practice, though.
- There are also range considerations. Fortunately, Bach's keyboard did not go much beyond C above the staff, and most of the time right hand stays within two-and-a-half octaves. In some pieces, top line can be played right off the score; in others, I transposed it a step down. Even the transposed ones have a few high notes in them - A, always; Bb, often; B, sometimes; C, occasionally. Playing the inventions integrates the high-note practice in a very natural way and since last spring my register expanded and got much stronger at the top.
Another aspect is that there are plenty of runs from one extreme to the other and sudden jumps of an octave or even more. These things are avoided in the beginner's studies because they are difficult - not a consideration for Bach, obviously. Here they are naturally integrated into a bigger piece, which makes them easier to practice - at least the point of doing it is obvious; the jumps are there because of the inner logic of the line.
- Another challenge for me is the aural training. I am trying to memorize them and sing them along with the bass line. Of course, this is not specific to Bach. I find the Inventions to be very different in difficulty - some get imprinted in my mind very quickly, others I keep struggling with. Interestingly, the ones I find more attractive - and easier - are the minor inventions: Em, Cm, Am are the ones I learned already. Many of the major ones seem like a jumble of notes; I am now wrestling with No.3 in D.
- Not a challenge, but a side benefit for someone learning the inventions is that, unlike the trumpet etudes etc., these can be heard. There is a multitude of recordings out there that can be played over and over for fine details of interpretation and articulation. I heard several and my favorites are Gould and Peter Serkin.
This all sounds rather difficult, and it is. When I first looked at No.1 in C, or, worse yet, a beautiful but very hard No.13 in Am, I was really intimidated. However, the challenges are varied enough to stay interesting: once I get tired of trying to hit that high C at tempo, I can focus on breathing, or try to sing along with the bass line, or simply listen to Gould ripping through them. And the lines themselves are really beautiful.
A great essay on the Inventions.
I did a few transcriptions this year. It started with Badinerie - I wanted to try it and could not find a trumpet adaptation. Then a few more Bach pieces. Then I read somewhere that Warne Marsh and Lee Konitz played Bach's Inventions for Two Voices as duets for alto/tenor saxes; in fact, No.13 in Am is on their London Concert LP, here is is below.
So I tried the Inventions and got hooked. I never thought it possible to pack so much musical education into so few bars of music. Bach himself subtitled his work as follows:
"Honest method, by which the amateurs of the keyboard – especially, however, those desirous of learning – are shown a clear way not only (1) to learn to play cleanly in two parts, but also, after further progress, (2) to handle three obligate parts correctly and well; and along with this not only to obtain good inventions (ideas) but to develop the same well; above all, however, to achieve a cantabile style in playing and at the same time acquire a strong foretaste of composition."
Let me proceed in order:
- "to obtain good inventions [...] to develop the same well" These pieces are based on simple short phrases - bits of scales, arpeggios - that are stretched, compressed, inverted, and finally woven into rich tapestries. Each piece is a lesson on thematic development - something every jazz improviser aspires to learn but so few master. It is amazing how much mileage can Bach get out of an eight-note sequence - see, for instance No.1 in C.
- "acquire a strong foretaste of composition" I would recommend the Buzoni edition of Inventions, available for free at IMSLP. Each one concludes with a discussion of the form. There is also a book called "An Analytical Survey of the Fifteen Two-Part Inventions by J.S.Bach," I actually have it but have not read much of it.
- "to learn to play cleanly in two parts" Of course a monophonic instrument cannot play solo in two parts, but all horns have to be able to play with others - a skill that Arban and other brass instructors address with duets. Bach's Inventions can and should be played as duets. I typed them into Finale and generated audio files every which way - slow, medium, fast; both voices audible or top voice removed - and then used them as a play-along. They are quite challenging to play that way. A lot of Arban duets have voices play similar figures. Here the voices are complementary and opposite: one is fast, the other is slow; one is busy, the other lays out; contrary motion all over the place... I found canons to be the most difficult - when the other voice plays something you played two bars ago, it can really throw you off. These pieces are great for developing the ear and ability to hear counterpoint.
- The brass players may not have the technical challenges that the pianists have, but there are definitely a few of our own. These lines were not written with a horn in mind. Bach loves long, flowing phrases with three, four, five bars of consecutive sixteenths and for me, every time it feels like a drowning accident - by the third bar I would turn blue and dizzy and then gulp air like a fish, trying to steady my breath. It does get better with practice, though.
- There are also range considerations. Fortunately, Bach's keyboard did not go much beyond C above the staff, and most of the time right hand stays within two-and-a-half octaves. In some pieces, top line can be played right off the score; in others, I transposed it a step down. Even the transposed ones have a few high notes in them - A, always; Bb, often; B, sometimes; C, occasionally. Playing the inventions integrates the high-note practice in a very natural way and since last spring my register expanded and got much stronger at the top.
Another aspect is that there are plenty of runs from one extreme to the other and sudden jumps of an octave or even more. These things are avoided in the beginner's studies because they are difficult - not a consideration for Bach, obviously. Here they are naturally integrated into a bigger piece, which makes them easier to practice - at least the point of doing it is obvious; the jumps are there because of the inner logic of the line.
- Another challenge for me is the aural training. I am trying to memorize them and sing them along with the bass line. Of course, this is not specific to Bach. I find the Inventions to be very different in difficulty - some get imprinted in my mind very quickly, others I keep struggling with. Interestingly, the ones I find more attractive - and easier - are the minor inventions: Em, Cm, Am are the ones I learned already. Many of the major ones seem like a jumble of notes; I am now wrestling with No.3 in D.
- Not a challenge, but a side benefit for someone learning the inventions is that, unlike the trumpet etudes etc., these can be heard. There is a multitude of recordings out there that can be played over and over for fine details of interpretation and articulation. I heard several and my favorites are Gould and Peter Serkin.
This all sounds rather difficult, and it is. When I first looked at No.1 in C, or, worse yet, a beautiful but very hard No.13 in Am, I was really intimidated. However, the challenges are varied enough to stay interesting: once I get tired of trying to hit that high C at tempo, I can focus on breathing, or try to sing along with the bass line, or simply listen to Gould ripping through them. And the lines themselves are really beautiful.
A great essay on the Inventions.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Musician and his instrument, pt.2
Derek Bailey speaking on the same topic as Glenn Gould in Improvisation, Its Nature and Practice in Music - great book, BTW (long quote behind the jump)
There seem to be two main attitudes to the instrument among improvisors. One is that an instrument is man’s best friend, both a tool and a helper; a collaborator. The other attitude is that an instrument is unnecessary, at worst a liability, intruding between the player and his music.
There seem to be two main attitudes to the instrument among improvisors. One is that an instrument is man’s best friend, both a tool and a helper; a collaborator. The other attitude is that an instrument is unnecessary, at worst a liability, intruding between the player and his music.
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