I really appreciate your teaching method. I have just returned to my piano after many years away. I chose to focus on Bach and have learned that I need to study one measure at a time. Your detailed instructions about finding the melody (and decide if you like it!) has really helped me enjoy my learning experience of Bach. Thank you so much!
Great video! You have really shown how learning a fugue is quite different to learning your more typical piano piece with one melody at a time, plus accompaniment, and for effective performance, good habits in terms of analysis and voicing need to start early, since otherwise the result will be a complicated mess without focus! I would love it if you learnt the whole G major fugue and recorded it for RUclips.
This is really excellent. One more thing I do, after identifying all entries of the subject and before trying to combine two or more voices, is to play through each voice from start to finish, just once. At this stage, the fingering and handing don't matter yet. The aim is to spot common ideas and motifs in the counter-subject(s) and episodes. It's part of understanding the piece as music -- technical issues come later.
@@ryanabshier not right now but I'll start learning some three part inventons soon I don't know with which one to start I was thinking about the e minor one, which one do you think is the best to start?
@@DMajor402 I typically think of D minor and F Major as great starting ones. I also really like them, especially D Minor. Hey, there's another tierlist idea, haha.
I’m hoping to progress my playing through Bach pieces. I totally get this is foolish but hey I’m a fool. With that in mind this instructional has helped me more than a whole month blindly practicing. I’ve just got through some two part inventions. Do you have suggestions fora logical/developmental order of pieces for progression
Not foolish at all, it'll just mean so many other composers will feel easier by comparison 🤣 If you're at the level of the inventions I'd recommend playing these before moving on. In rough order F major, D Minor, C Major, Bb Major, A Minot, B Minor (this one is good prep for some minor fugues, though I know it's a weird piece for some people). I'd also consider experimenting with the C minor sinfonia. Again, order isn't as important, but these pieces will give you some experience with many different Bach contrapuntal styles. Once you want to dabble in the WTC I'd probably check out Cm and Gm first. No fugue is easy, but these are decent places to start and the preludes are really cool. I avoid the 1st fugue in C Major for a bit because it's just tricky. Then way way down the road if you've studied 2-4 prelude and fugues then maybe think about a toccata. They are pretty awesome, but all hard.
"Don't sightread the fugues". Years ago, I wrote a three-voice fugue with rhythms on it not particularly easy to play. You can check it here on YT, it's called "Fugue on the name of Phillip Sear". When I got it finished, I showed it to my boss at that time, and she sight-read it on the piano from beginning to end almost without making a mistake!
@@ryanabshier BWV 924 atm, one of the little preludes, but going to move back to an invention soon, either 1 or 8. Looking forward to one day learn a prelude/fugue!
Oh man, I love love love that piece. Played it for a degree recital and yeah, it's was so hard to learn. It'd be a fun one to cover. I actually find that I like the toccatas more on average than the WTC. There are bunches of exceptions, but I enjoy the nature of them more. Again, on average, plenty of exceptions.
@@ryanabshier The fugues from the c minor, F# minor, and g minor toccatas are all so incredibly clever and catchy. I would love to see videos on any of those!
🤣 Oh no, I knew some people would shudder at the mention of fugues. So you played this one, huh? Sounds super cool but also looks on the more complicated side.
@@ryanabshier It was my third prelude and fugue i played . Prelude was ok really solid. But i was struggling so bad with the fugue. Also my teacher gave me this piece. But i want to play no14
That sometimes can be mentally difficult when you have another piece in mind. This seems like a tough fugue, so at least it means your teacher believes in you 😁
Actually, if you make practicing sight reading of contrapuntal pieces part of your regular practice session, you’ll get better and better at it. Fugues are no more an obstacle than anything else.
*Don't sight-read the fugues* Fun fact: Some 10 years ago I met Brad Mehldau, and I asked him what he was currently working on. At that time he told me he was sight-reading Bach fugues upside-down.
I do not want to criticize, I just point out that your way of speaking English is a bit hard to follow for an international audience. Please speak more clearly, so that we can pick up all of the interesting things you have to say.
Thanks for your thoughts. I know I speak quickly. I do have a large non-English speaking audience (well, I actually don't know that. I have many people listening from countries where English isn't the primary language, so I assume many who don't speak English as a first language). But it's also difficult to speak too slowly without sounding boring. It's a tough balance.
“Don’t sightread the fugues”
Look, sometimes I just need to feel alive, ok?
Haha, some people jump out of airplanes, some deep ocean dive, we musicians sightread the fugues.
I really appreciate your teaching method. I have just returned to my piano after many years away. I chose to focus on Bach and have learned that I need to study one measure at a time. Your detailed instructions about finding the melody (and decide if you like it!) has really helped me enjoy my learning experience of Bach. Thank you so much!
Awesome! So glad to hear you've come back to piano and that the video was helpful. Have you picked out a particular piece to start with?
Great video! You have really shown how learning a fugue is quite different to learning your more typical piano piece with one melody at a time, plus accompaniment, and for effective performance, good habits in terms of analysis and voicing need to start early, since otherwise the result will be a complicated mess without focus! I would love it if you learnt the whole G major fugue and recorded it for RUclips.
This is really excellent. One more thing I do, after identifying all entries of the subject and before trying to combine two or more voices, is to play through each voice from start to finish, just once. At this stage, the fingering and handing don't matter yet. The aim is to spot common ideas and motifs in the counter-subject(s) and episodes. It's part of understanding the piece as music -- technical issues come later.
Yes, great idea to add to the list!
5 mins in and I am gonna already say that this is a good resource!
Thanks. Hope I don't disappoint in the next 14 minutes, haha.
oh, soooo good!!! Where was RUclips when I was in college? Great lesson.
Thanks so much! Hope it helps your future fugues. Did you go to college for music?
Early squad! you're channel's awesome and definintly deserves more love
Thanks! I really hope so. Sometimes RUclips is a very up and down thing, but it's super encouraging to hear people are getting a lot out of it.
This is my first time seeing one of your videos. What a wonderful introduction to your musical mind! I look forward to seeing more of your work.
Thanks! Glad you liked it. I see you have organ and Bach in your user name. Are you an organist? Have you played some Bach on the organ?
@@ryanabshier yes! Just today I was working on the St. Anne Fugue, BWV 552b.
If anyone was wondering, I believe the fugue in the thumbnail is the C major fugue from WTC 1
This is a great video! I’ve been looking for this exact type of thing. Thank you!
Awesome, hope it really helps and glad you found it!
Thanks!
Great advice! I’m generally not that interested in Bach but I just might change my mind now
This was very helpful
Awesome, hope it provides a good starting point for these wonderful pieces. Are you working on any baroque music right now?
@@ryanabshier not right now but I'll start learning some three part inventons soon I don't know with which one to start I was thinking about the e minor one, which one do you think is the best to start?
@@DMajor402 I typically think of D minor and F Major as great starting ones. I also really like them, especially D Minor. Hey, there's another tierlist idea, haha.
Bach is my favorite composer, his musics drive me crazy. Thanks Ryan have a wonderful weekend. 💕
Bach is great. I enjoy playing his music even more than listening, however, it is a challenge 🤪
@@ryanabshier l enjoy listening Bach's musics more than playing as well. Glenn Gould is one of my favorite performers.
Buy you a coffee, thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Thanks. My next cup of joe will be thanks to you 😀
I’m hoping to progress my playing through Bach pieces. I totally get this is foolish but hey I’m a fool. With that in mind this instructional has helped me more than a whole month blindly practicing. I’ve just got through some two part inventions. Do you have suggestions fora logical/developmental order of pieces for progression
Not foolish at all, it'll just mean so many other composers will feel easier by comparison 🤣 If you're at the level of the inventions I'd recommend playing these before moving on. In rough order F major, D Minor, C Major, Bb Major, A Minot, B Minor (this one is good prep for some minor fugues, though I know it's a weird piece for some people). I'd also consider experimenting with the C minor sinfonia.
Again, order isn't as important, but these pieces will give you some experience with many different Bach contrapuntal styles.
Once you want to dabble in the WTC I'd probably check out Cm and Gm first. No fugue is easy, but these are decent places to start and the preludes are really cool. I avoid the 1st fugue in C Major for a bit because it's just tricky.
Then way way down the road if you've studied 2-4 prelude and fugues then maybe think about a toccata. They are pretty awesome, but all hard.
"Don't sightread the fugues". Years ago, I wrote a three-voice fugue with rhythms on it not particularly easy to play. You can check it here on YT, it's called "Fugue on the name of Phillip Sear". When I got it finished, I showed it to my boss at that time, and she sight-read it on the piano from beginning to end almost without making a mistake!
great video!
I would love an update video
@@bjarne123123 Thanks! Glad you liked it. Are you working on any Bach at the moment?
@@ryanabshier BWV 924 atm, one of the little preludes, but going to move back to an invention soon, either 1 or 8. Looking forward to one day learn a prelude/fugue!
Great video! Can you do one for the fugue in the toccata in c minor by Bach? I find it particularly more difficult than most of his other fugues.
Oh man, I love love love that piece. Played it for a degree recital and yeah, it's was so hard to learn. It'd be a fun one to cover.
I actually find that I like the toccatas more on average than the WTC. There are bunches of exceptions, but I enjoy the nature of them more. Again, on average, plenty of exceptions.
@@ryanabshier The fugues from the c minor, F# minor, and g minor toccatas are all so incredibly clever and catchy. I would love to see videos on any of those!
I dont want to touch again the no 15 fugue😂😂😂. It melts my brain from learning it
🤣 Oh no, I knew some people would shudder at the mention of fugues. So you played this one, huh? Sounds super cool but also looks on the more complicated side.
@@ryanabshier It was my third prelude and fugue i played . Prelude was ok really solid. But i was struggling so bad with the fugue. Also my teacher gave me this piece. But i want to play no14
That sometimes can be mentally difficult when you have another piece in mind. This seems like a tough fugue, so at least it means your teacher believes in you 😁
Actually, if you make practicing sight reading of contrapuntal pieces part of your regular practice session, you’ll get better and better at it. Fugues are no more an obstacle than anything else.
It’s a superpower.
👏👏👏👏👏
Thanks!
Next: how to learn Sorabji’s fugues.
Step 1: See a counselor to determine if you are mentally fit for the challenge...
@@ryanabshier haha
Then there’s Shostakovich’s wonderful volume of preludes and fugues.
@@StanleyGrill I like those too
Pls do!
I'll try. Love what the theme was doing in this fugue
Boss
😎
*Don't sight-read the fugues*
Fun fact: Some 10 years ago I met Brad Mehldau, and I asked him what he was currently working on. At that time he told me he was sight-reading Bach fugues upside-down.
Haha. As they say these days, man's out here doing side quests. That's impressive.
Always finish on the Bach, never finish on the Debussy
Great Video, but sometime you speak very fast and is difficult to understand words
I do not want to criticize, I just point out that your way of speaking English is a bit hard to follow for an international audience. Please speak more clearly, so that we can pick up all of the interesting things you have to say.
Thanks for your thoughts. I know I speak quickly. I do have a large non-English speaking audience (well, I actually don't know that. I have many people listening from countries where English isn't the primary language, so I assume many who don't speak English as a first language). But it's also difficult to speak too slowly without sounding boring. It's a tough balance.