Check out marc-Andre hamelin’s variations of the Paganini theme, it’s also one of the best variation works in my opinion! It has elements ranging from classical era to jazz and then some, oh, and prokofiev’s epic variation work, the 2nd movement of his 3rd piano concerto, pure brilliance in my opinion!
Fernie Canto actually they are inspired by them not plagiarized. The closest to plagiarizing is the underground theme in super Mario bros. There’s always been a trend in music for there to be unintentional influence, to even use of a musical motif directly for new works. Besides, there is even the reverse that happened. That one guy who accidentally made a section like zelda’s lullaby after links awakening. Nothing exists in a vacuum.
I am under the slight impression that at 10:12 David borrowed the first variaton of Bach‘s goldberg variations and just used the chords of amazing grace......😂
The hardest thing about composition at least for me is actually building a piece around the idea. 90% of work is figuring out the form, arrangement, and orchestrating and I think a lot of people have the wrong idea about composition. I've heard people talk about "inspiration" but I think it's pretty much impossible to write an entire piece with just inspiration (unless it's something really small, or unless you're Mozart).
I feel that, but I disagree that writing an entire piece with just inspiration is as impossible as that. Just like how inspiration can provide you with a motif, or a phrase, or even an entire section, it _can_ give you a full piece. I've had _a few times_ in my life where an entire piece came to me smoothly. My proudest moment on that front was a 3/4 piece that you might hear on a music box. No idea where it came from, but that among other times is how I relate to the ancient Greeks' idea of the Muses. Artful beings striking artists and imbuing them with the schematics for an entire work sounds exactly like what happened to me those times. In my experience, it's often a good idea to start a piece by finagling with everything _besides_ your "main" idea. Drum loops, a repeating 2-chord pattern or rhythm that you can improvise something over, those can be good ways of getting ideas flowing.
That seems to be a general idea in our culture: the genius artist paces in his garret, muttering "Damn it, I need an idea!". Then, "of course!"--inspiration strikes. And making the artwork is just a brief montage.
This video came at exactly the right time for me. I'm quite good at coming up with initial ideas but god awful at expanding upon them, it's really frustrating when I have pages of little melodic fragments and chord ideas without a good sense of what to do with them. Suggestion for a future video along the same lines as this. Strategies to compose convincing and satisfying transitions from one section to another.
Another book that you could get together with the boom from E caplin is the book by Schoenberg called the art of composition. I advice against his book on harmony and structural harmony as I personally belive there is a much better book out there and they are hard to decipher sometimes. But to learn to expand an idea I definitely recommend the art of composing by Schoenberg for some basics and classical form by William E caplin( the classroom edition ) for a more advanced understanding
This happens to me all the time. I just catalogue all the fragments that come quickly, and then slowly work on it like a puzzle, trying to see what ideas can be combined. Instead of having just a starting point idea with no destination, I line up my favorite ideas as pit stops and then figure out how to make the smaller steps between them. I do this mainly so I have a clear direction of expansion. If the ideas don't connect well, I've at least tricked myself into developing a transition that I wouldn't have thought of otherwise, and that transition could be the spark that gives me the vision of the final product.
Another excellent video, David. I think the 'prize' for Most Complicated String Quartet must go to Brian Ferneyhough - whose name we do not speak in my house. Any viewers who don't know the Theme and Variations from Tchaikovsky's 3rd Suite should really take the time to listen... they are such a joyful and immaculately drawn set that it's impossible not to be captivated by them. Again, another informative and user-friendly video, David. You are one of the names which we do speak in our house!
Michael Paul Smith the reasoning behind Johnston 7 being so hard is the third movement (variations) has more than 1200 notes per octave and took 10 years for the quarter to learn. Each measure is a comma pump that modulates by less than 10 cents
I second your recommendation of the Tchaikovsky 3rd Suite. And, like Rachmaninoff and Liszt and Berlioz, includes a short reference to the "Dies Irae" chant!
The first "serious" piece I wrote was variations on a theme. The variations started with taking the harmony, then taking the melodic shape, but by the end of the 9th variation, the only thing that was left was "the spirit" of the theme.
That's why they're called masterpieces... every time you revisit them you learn something new. It's a truly spiritually rewarding feeling to know that you can always seek for comfort and knowledge in some works of art. Thank you for reminding us of that and for all your work and music.
9:18 Wonderful description, made me choke on my coffee. How to "subject a theme to all kinds of abuse" , That should have been the title of this video.
What a detailed lesson! Such a small idea can be played/arranged in so many ways. Really loved this video. Variation is not only a compositional tool but also a way to make people aware of the endless possibilities of developing variations on a small idea. As I am a piano student, I have really learnt something today! Thank you for this video! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I have tried to write a theme and variations on a theme by Mozart, partly because Mozart tends to prefer rote melodic repetition over developing from melodic motives(melodic motives being a prevalent form of development in Beethoven is what makes taking a Beethoven theme and turning it into a Theme and Variations so hard), but after 1 or 2 variations I've been like "How do I go further while still maintaining the Mozart identity of the original theme? I don't feel like doing a major to minor move yet." You have given me more confidence in writing variations. Now to find a Mozart theme I want to vary.
I love that you left the book on the piano that says "BACH" in capital white letters. I'm giggling by myself at the idea that it's Bach himself that is looking at you sternly from the music stand and saying "Is this the best you can do, David?" Seriously, thanks for a non-technical and useful smorgasbord of ideas. I remember taking a few lessons of jazz guitar instruction once, and one of the simplest and most useful ideas was the teacher's challenge to have me play a solo just on a set of two strings. That simple technique actually gave enough ideas for a lifetime of work.
This is fascinating from the perspective of someone who hasn't had formal musical training. I never imagined things like the 'Mordent' and the 'turn' existed, I mean, I have played them for years, but didn't realize there was actually a name for them, it really makes me want to look further into music structure. I think you're doing such a service to music lovers and student musicians especially those of us who come from a self-teaching route. I always get excited about music when watching your videos and never come away without learning something new. Thank you for making the theory so accessible.
I've been diving into a different Bach piece which is another stupendous example of variations: his Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor. Inspiring and humbling. That dude was pretty good at writing variations.
One thing I found quite helpful is not to just take a theme and shift everything up/down keeping the same intervals, but looking at the scale degrees the theme is on, and shifting all of THOSE up. It's very close to modal changes, but maybe for tiny moments, and it's important to keep the same bass/pedal tones or else you'll seem like you've shifted into this new mode instead of having a spicy moment
I looked up 'how to compose music' and was wise enough not to click on videos with over 500k vieuws but on a video with some lesser known guy that actually knows what he's talking about. What a video, there are no better tips.
I did really enjoyed your video! You are a real teacher, and quite a good one. I wish in my conservatory teachers could have your enthusiasm and creativity.
Side thought: listen to a recording of Rzewski's People United Shall Never be Defeated! variations and follow along with the score. It pretty much covers the entire gamut of 20th century variation approaches.
I so appreciate this video! You are covering a topic that, I think for many of us, falls into the category of "everything you wanted to know about but were afraid to ask." I would humbly ask that you make more of these. I appreciate your work and wish I could be among those who support it financially. Your eclecticism, too! You cover so many genres. Sometimes I feel like an oddity, 'cause I listen to and enjoy just about everything. Well done, sir.
I remember going to a caroling party once, and as I recall we sang "Amazing Grace".....but nobody actually sang the melody line! It was all a bunch of harmony around a melody that everyone understood was there. That's something I remember very fondly, but I don't think we could ever repeat it.
That Johnston quartet #4 is remarkable not just in how different each variation ends up being, but how cohesive the thing still is on the whole. Plus, it's just a beautiful score to read. Or a horrifying score to read. I guess it depends on your level of masochism.
some other incredible theme and variation pieces David didn't mention that are also worth a listen: ~Elgar's Enigma Variations (probably one of the strongest orchestral variation sets out there) ~the 2nd movement of Prokofiev's 2nd symphony (vastly underrated) ~Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (an absolutely titanic piece of music, and a master class in modern virtuosic piano writing) ~the 2nd movement of Schubert's Death and the Maiden Quartet, No. 14 (perhaps the best part of definitely the best string quartet ever written, meet me in the yard if you want to fight about it)
Great list! Let me add a few of my favourites: -Rameau's "Gavotte and variations" and "La Forqueray" (the second one is all about playing with a very simple motif) -Godowsky's arrangements of Rameau's pieces in "Rennaisance". -Borodin's 2nd String Quartet, 3rd Movement (Notturno) -Buxtehude's Ciaconna's, in particular BuxWV161 (in particular the passage from minor to the relative major and then back, so simple yet so strong). Hint: Ton Koopman is one of the best organists for this author. -Bach's Prelude and Fuge in C minor (which is based on Buxtehude's piece) -Bach's Sleepers Wake (Cantata BWV140 "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", 2nd chorale) and Sheep May Safely Grace (Cantata BWV208 "Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd!", 2nd soprano aria), specially for the major to minor variation. -Bach's Chorale BWV 368 "In Dulci Jubilo" -Ravel's Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn (for harmonic variation) -Ravel's Pavanne pour une infante difunte, in particular the piano and viola arrangement, in which one of the main motif is played with harmonics. -Frank's Prélude, Fugue et Variation for organ, or Bauer's piano transcription. -Mussorgky's Pictures at an Exhibition (listen to the five Promenades, The Old Castle and the last movement) -Schubert's 2nd Trio, 2nd movement (I guess it's pretty standard for trios and quartets to reuse material in different ways) -Domenico Scarlatti's sonatas, specially the first ones (more than variation, it's more about reusing a main melody in the dominant key, something very common in solo keyboard baroque music [and classical music in general], but more pronounced and easily noticed in this author's style) -Fugues. Any. A good one to start is Glenn Gould's "So you Want to Write a Fugue?" -Sonatas. Most. A nice one is Mendelssohn's 3rd Organ sonata. I'm aware that some of the variations in the above pieces are pretty standard for the styles they belong to, but I find their use of even the simpler kinds of variation to be moving.
In the Enigma Variations, it’s ridiculous how well hidden the theme is throughout the entire piece, we’re playing it now in my college orchestra, and my conductor just goes “wow do you recognize that? the theme again wow who knew” all sarcastic and I’m just in awe LOL
Check out marc-Andre hamelin’s variations of the Paganini theme, it’s also one of the best variation works in my opinion! It has elements ranging from classical era to jazz and then some, oh, and prokofiev’s epic variation work, the 2nd movement of his 3rd piano concerto, pure brilliance in my opinion!
The prominent display of BACH's name paired with the choice to present 14 different ways to vary a theme is no happy accident, and it makes me smile :)
Art of Fugue is another fantastic resource for seeing how much "mileage" you can get from one starting idea. I'm certain most viewers of this channel know the pieces very well, but the principles and techniques are a great style-agnostic compositional tool. It's worth revisiting often. Seems every time I listen or read the score, something new hits me in a fresh way. Truly amazing. Some folks think it's outdated, but only on the surface. Deep down it's timeless.
While we're talking about variations and variation form, I feel like one of the best examples is the 4th movement of Beethoven's 3rd Symphony (Eroica). It is a pure masterclass. In proper Beethoven style he bamboozles us by not even introducing the main theme until the 4th variation. I would also like to mention Immortal Bach by Knut Nystedt, for a wonderful take on Komm Süsser Tod.
IMO Beethoven has many of the best examples of variations. I love 32 variations in c minor very much and there are also Eroica variations and fugue op 35 (shares theme with variations in symphony), second part of 32 sonata, Diabelli variations and many many others.
I drove my mom to my sister's for Christmas and we listened to the Ben Johnston String Quartet. It's beautiful (in my opinion) and I was happy that she felt it was at least listenable even though she doesn't much enjoy contemporary classical music.
The quality of your lessons is unbeatable and stunning in its own way. You have found the fine line between well-expressed explanations and modesty. This channel is great for my composing process, thank you!
I'm new to the world of composing and was already losing some drive because music just wasn't coming together the way I wanted it to and this video really just gave me so many more ways to think about my melodies and what I've written so far.. was just really a nice little push on the back for me so thank you for your help!
Thanks for your videos, David. I'm not a composer or musician, but as a listener to all types of music, I find your insights into composition fascinating!
Great video with the exception of the cartoon characters, not because it takes away from you illustrating your point, but because I can't show my students the dog smoking a blunt....
Number 3, 2:34 I really love this technique, I just have a hard time finding as tasteful chords as you did. Do you use a lot of theory or do you imagine a sound and then find it on the piano, or maybe something entirely else?
The music in this video was the music of yours that I liked the most. At the risk of sounding like your Grandma wondering why you can't write something with a nice tune, you should do more music like this.
Thanks Dave....You helped solve a problem for me (how to take "mobile" form & apply in a conventional form)...Needed that clarification for piece working on.
I'm sure that, as a house musician, I'm not the audience you had in mind, but this is unbelievably helpful for me. House music, particularly progressive house, is commonly monothematic, so variation is key!
This was actually a challenge I presented myself with a song I just finished for Concert Band. I tried to use a single theme and transform it multiple ways so that the song sounded like it was continually evolving and radically different even though it was united through a singular motif. It feels like a confirmation of my thought process to hear these spelled out so beautifully in this video...great video
I'm very fascinated about making as much music as possible with as little as possible. It's so baffling how much music can be done with so little musical material.
A great "Variation" on "Theme and Variations" could be Kreisler's Praeludium & Allegro (Violin/Piano). I think of it as Variations on the Circle of 5ths. The Prelude beautifully lays out the "theme"/chord progression. Then, each period of the Allegro, although they start with the same little two bar melody, quickly becomes an increasingly complex variation on the chord progression. And the piano version by Vanyev/Katsaris takes all of this to ostentatiously stellar levels.
14:44 ummm...ok...but i remembered it differently the whole concept of raaga is there are multiple things into play 1. you have to choose what thaat (mode) you want to use 2. is it gonna be a 5 note system or 6 or 7 not system or whatever 3. there are specific flows that can't be violated or it won't be that specific raaga but a different one for example - you can't go to Fa after Sol while descending you have to go to Mi then return to Fa...but you can go to Sol after Fa while accending...this kinda stuff 4. but ya you are right about the variation part...cause as raaga is an improvisational media...we have to constantly make new variations on live stage...the variations we make are not bound by the script (notation)
Might be my favorite vid of yours. Really useful, practical stuff. BTW, the Goldberg Variations are absolutely mind blowing. Still trying to wrap my head around them.
Wonderful tips! Thank you so much for covering this subject at a more macro view than the usual "just invert, retrograde or both". The compositions you created along the way were great too; the heterophony example was particularly lovely. Now I just need to practice doing all this!
David Bruce: You are an inspiration to me. I found your site a couple years ago, and Your site was the first one I paid to join. As a self-taught player with no formal training, it's easy to stray away from the structure. To anyone who has advice. are there online piano-playing groups to join..?
Amazing video. I've been "struggling" with a theme (from a larger piece I've been writing, which I think pretty good) lately. The theme could be turned into it's own complete composition. You have given me some good ideas to work on. Many, many thanks. Keep up the good work.
"Variation form is predictable and boring."
*Rachmaninoff has entered the chat*
@@o.s.h.4613 Beethoven says hi :)
Godowsky's Passacaglia, the highest achievement of variation form.
Check out marc-Andre hamelin’s variations of the Paganini theme, it’s also one of the best variation works in my opinion! It has elements ranging from classical era to jazz and then some, oh, and prokofiev’s epic variation work, the 2nd movement of his 3rd piano concerto, pure brilliance in my opinion!
not when it comes to the goldburg variations by Bach
rzewski smiles in an american fashion :)
Don’t forget the “Nintendo variation”. This is a note for note replay of the melody but the last note is shifted by an octave, usually up.
I thought the Nintendo variation was to just plagiarise songs from Japanese jazz fusion bands and pretend they created it.
OOOHHHHHH, SNAP!!!
Fernie Canto actually they are inspired by them not plagiarized. The closest to plagiarizing is the underground theme in super Mario bros. There’s always been a trend in music for there to be unintentional influence, to even use of a musical motif directly for new works. Besides, there is even the reverse that happened. That one guy who accidentally made a section like zelda’s lullaby after links awakening. Nothing exists in a vacuum.
@@IsaacMyers1 Even classical composers were inspired by folk song tunes.
www.wqxr.org/story/what-kind-folk-music-pops-classical-music/
Dua Lipa has entered the chat
examples? I'm genuinely wondering here cause I can't think of any off the top of my head.
I'm under the slight impression that David might be a tad self conscious of his piano playing hahaha
fikradas I think you might be on to something here...
I am under the slight impression that at 10:12 David borrowed the first variaton of Bach‘s goldberg variations and just used the chords of amazing grace......😂
Definitely not!
Well, you dont have infinite time to practice pieces for a youtube video...
Then again, alot of these were pretty easy 😂
@@thijmenkrijgsman2417 dude yes 🤣
The hardest thing about composition at least for me is actually building a piece around the idea. 90% of work is figuring out the form, arrangement, and orchestrating and I think a lot of people have the wrong idea about composition. I've heard people talk about "inspiration" but I think it's pretty much impossible to write an entire piece with just inspiration (unless it's something really small, or unless you're Mozart).
I think the inspiration are just good ideas u think may be original, but in effect you re doing a more logical process than a abstract work
it seems that inspiration is for the theme
I feel that, but I disagree that writing an entire piece with just inspiration is as impossible as that. Just like how inspiration can provide you with a motif, or a phrase, or even an entire section, it _can_ give you a full piece. I've had _a few times_ in my life where an entire piece came to me smoothly.
My proudest moment on that front was a 3/4 piece that you might hear on a music box. No idea where it came from, but that among other times is how I relate to the ancient Greeks' idea of the Muses. Artful beings striking artists and imbuing them with the schematics for an entire work sounds exactly like what happened to me those times.
In my experience, it's often a good idea to start a piece by finagling with everything _besides_ your "main" idea. Drum loops, a repeating 2-chord pattern or rhythm that you can improvise something over, those can be good ways of getting ideas flowing.
That seems to be a general idea in our culture: the genius artist paces in his garret, muttering "Damn it, I need an idea!". Then, "of course!"--inspiration strikes. And making the artwork is just a brief montage.
This video came at exactly the right time for me. I'm quite good at coming up with initial ideas but god awful at expanding upon them, it's really frustrating when I have pages of little melodic fragments and chord ideas without a good sense of what to do with them.
Suggestion for a future video along the same lines as this. Strategies to compose convincing and satisfying transitions from one section to another.
same buddeh
I definitely second this! Would love to hear david's transition ideas
If you buy classical form by William E Caplin you might learn a lot (get the classroom edition )
Another book that you could get together with the boom from E caplin is the book by Schoenberg called the art of composition. I advice against his book on harmony and structural harmony as I personally belive there is a much better book out there and they are hard to decipher sometimes. But to learn to expand an idea I definitely recommend the art of composing by Schoenberg for some basics and classical form by William E caplin( the classroom edition ) for a more advanced understanding
This happens to me all the time. I just catalogue all the fragments that come quickly, and then slowly work on it like a puzzle, trying to see what ideas can be combined. Instead of having just a starting point idea with no destination, I line up my favorite ideas as pit stops and then figure out how to make the smaller steps between them. I do this mainly so I have a clear direction of expansion. If the ideas don't connect well, I've at least tricked myself into developing a transition that I wouldn't have thought of otherwise, and that transition could be the spark that gives me the vision of the final product.
Tip: if you add 0:00 Intro to your list of moments in the video, they will show as chapters at the bottom of the video
Another excellent video, David. I think the 'prize' for Most Complicated String Quartet must go to Brian Ferneyhough - whose name we do not speak in my house. Any viewers who don't know the Theme and Variations from Tchaikovsky's 3rd Suite should really take the time to listen... they are such a joyful and immaculately drawn set that it's impossible not to be captivated by them. Again, another informative and user-friendly video, David. You are one of the names which we do speak in our house!
Michael Paul Smith the reasoning behind Johnston 7 being so hard is the third movement (variations) has more than 1200 notes per octave and took 10 years for the quarter to learn. Each measure is a comma pump that modulates by less than 10 cents
@@meruscales Thank you for that information, Paul. I don't know the work so what you said was very helpful.
I second your recommendation of the Tchaikovsky 3rd Suite. And, like Rachmaninoff and Liszt and Berlioz, includes a short reference to the "Dies Irae" chant!
"You can form a new song from even the smallest bits of music just by variation."
Me, looking at the first four notes of Megalovania: :)
The first "serious" piece I wrote was variations on a theme. The variations started with taking the harmony, then taking the melodic shape, but by the end of the 9th variation, the only thing that was left was "the spirit" of the theme.
I don’t skip through your videos.
This is the greatest compliment I can give.
That's why they're called masterpieces... every time you revisit them you learn something new. It's a truly spiritually rewarding feeling to know that you can always seek for comfort and knowledge in some works of art. Thank you for reminding us of that and for all your work and music.
I went from Neely's analysis of Star Spangled Banner to this Amazing Grace dissection. Now RUclips is going to feed me 100% 'murican content...
machinate murican? Or did you meant musician?
@@willstatmen9591 american
hehe I totaly get you :)
8:42 40% piano skills 60% editing skills 👌
1% piano skills 99% editing skills.
@@na-kun2136 That's a little bit extreme, don't you think?
@@pedromax113 It's just a reference to a TwoSet Violin video, he doesn't actually try to roast him don't worry
Mr.DOO twister violins sped up their performances? I thought they were real virtuosos lol
Will Statmen ruclips.net/video/_r6j9rD_j5I/видео.html that’s what they’re talking about
9:18 Wonderful description, made me choke on my coffee.
How to "subject a theme to all kinds of abuse" , That should have been the title of this video.
What a detailed lesson! Such a small idea can be played/arranged in so many ways.
Really loved this video.
Variation is not only a compositional tool but also a way to make people aware of the endless possibilities of developing variations on a small idea.
As I am a piano student, I have really learnt something today!
Thank you for this video! 🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
I have tried to write a theme and variations on a theme by Mozart, partly because Mozart tends to prefer rote melodic repetition over developing from melodic motives(melodic motives being a prevalent form of development in Beethoven is what makes taking a Beethoven theme and turning it into a Theme and Variations so hard), but after 1 or 2 variations I've been like "How do I go further while still maintaining the Mozart identity of the original theme? I don't feel like doing a major to minor move yet." You have given me more confidence in writing variations. Now to find a Mozart theme I want to vary.
I like Mozart as well for adaptation. Here's an example ruclips.net/video/wwEtMbUhicc/видео.html
I love that you left the book on the piano that says "BACH" in capital white letters. I'm giggling by myself at the idea that it's Bach himself that is looking at you sternly from the music stand and saying "Is this the best you can do, David?" Seriously, thanks for a non-technical and useful smorgasbord of ideas. I remember taking a few lessons of jazz guitar instruction once, and one of the simplest and most useful ideas was the teacher's challenge to have me play a solo just on a set of two strings. That simple technique actually gave enough ideas for a lifetime of work.
This is fascinating from the perspective of someone who hasn't had formal musical training. I never imagined things like the 'Mordent' and the 'turn' existed, I mean, I have played them for years, but didn't realize there was actually a name for them, it really makes me want to look further into music structure. I think you're doing such a service to music lovers and student musicians especially those of us who come from a self-teaching route. I always get excited about music when watching your videos and never come away without learning something new. Thank you for making the theory so accessible.
I literally JUST experienced a writers block
Bravo David, you're not only a superb composer, you're a great teacher too!
I love this, I really want to just go and spend all day trying all these things right now and seeing what happens.
I've been diving into a different Bach piece which is another stupendous example of variations: his Passacaglia and Fugue in C Minor. Inspiring and humbling. That dude was pretty good at writing variations.
An absolutely incredible piece!
"Amazing Grace" as a funeral march is something I never knew I needed.
One thing I found quite helpful is not to just take a theme and shift everything up/down keeping the same intervals, but looking at the scale degrees the theme is on, and shifting all of THOSE up. It's very close to modal changes, but maybe for tiny moments, and it's important to keep the same bass/pedal tones or else you'll seem like you've shifted into this new mode instead of having a spicy moment
I looked up 'how to compose music' and was wise enough not to click on videos with over 500k vieuws but on a video with some lesser known guy that actually knows what he's talking about. What a video, there are no better tips.
I did really enjoyed your video! You are a real teacher, and quite a good one. I wish in my conservatory teachers could have your enthusiasm and creativity.
Great ideas! Love the word "twiddles"! Love the background illustrations! Very well done!
Just the lesson I needed as I sift through a pile of sketches. Thank you!
Johnston is my favorite composer! Thanks for giving his music attention
0:00 Intro
0:48 Simple melodic variation (embellishments- mordents, turns, trills)
1:44 Simple rhythmic variation (time signature change, light syncopation)
2:25 Simple harmonic variation
2:50 Modal variation
3:13 Examples
4:14 Variation as a form
5:28 Variation over harmony
8:50 Bach & Beethoven variations (Goldberg Variations, Diabelli Variations)
10:30 Advanced melodic variation
12:45 Timbre variations
14:00 Indian Raga variations
14:51 Heterophony variations
15:30 Ben Johnston variation
16:56 YOUR variation
17:10 Outro
Side thought: listen to a recording of Rzewski's People United Shall Never be Defeated! variations and follow along with the score. It pretty much covers the entire gamut of 20th century variation approaches.
I heard Rzewski play that live last year. It was amazing!
I so appreciate this video! You are covering a topic that, I think for many of us, falls into the category of "everything you wanted to know about but were afraid to ask." I would humbly ask that you make more of these. I appreciate your work and wish I could be among those who support it financially. Your eclecticism, too! You cover so many genres. Sometimes I feel like an oddity, 'cause I listen to and enjoy just about everything. Well done, sir.
I remember going to a caroling party once, and as I recall we sang "Amazing Grace".....but nobody actually sang the melody line! It was all a bunch of harmony around a melody that everyone understood was there. That's something I remember very fondly, but I don't think we could ever repeat it.
Mood of 2020: Goofy smoking the BIGGEST roach and listening to amazing grace done in a really bluesy way
That Johnston quartet #4 is remarkable not just in how different each variation ends up being, but how cohesive the thing still is on the whole. Plus, it's just a beautiful score to read. Or a horrifying score to read. I guess it depends on your level of masochism.
I'm happy Ben Johnston was brought up, he is still one of my favorite composers.
Love his face @ 11:45. The Musician's Frown: The highest of compliments.
That felt quite nice as I'm studying Schoenberg's "Fundamentals of Musical Composition"!
Thank you David!
Wonderful presentation! I'm glad you studied some of Beethoven's compositions, and mentioned him here. He was a profound thinker.
One of the greatest teaching techniques - deadpan British humor :D
some other incredible theme and variation pieces David didn't mention that are also worth a listen:
~Elgar's Enigma Variations (probably one of the strongest orchestral variation sets out there)
~the 2nd movement of Prokofiev's 2nd symphony (vastly underrated)
~Rzewski's The People United Will Never Be Defeated! (an absolutely titanic piece of music, and a master class in modern virtuosic piano writing)
~the 2nd movement of Schubert's Death and the Maiden Quartet, No. 14 (perhaps the best part of definitely the best string quartet ever written, meet me in the yard if you want to fight about it)
Great list! Let me add a few of my favourites:
-Rameau's "Gavotte and variations" and "La Forqueray" (the second one is all about playing with a very simple motif)
-Godowsky's arrangements of Rameau's pieces in "Rennaisance".
-Borodin's 2nd String Quartet, 3rd Movement (Notturno)
-Buxtehude's Ciaconna's, in particular BuxWV161 (in particular the passage from minor to the relative major and then back, so simple yet so strong). Hint: Ton Koopman is one of the best organists for this author.
-Bach's Prelude and Fuge in C minor (which is based on Buxtehude's piece)
-Bach's Sleepers Wake (Cantata BWV140 "Wachet auf, ruft uns die Stimme", 2nd chorale) and Sheep May Safely Grace (Cantata BWV208 "Was mir behagt, ist nur die muntre Jagd!", 2nd soprano aria), specially for the major to minor variation.
-Bach's Chorale BWV 368 "In Dulci Jubilo"
-Ravel's Menuet sur le nom d'Haydn (for harmonic variation)
-Ravel's Pavanne pour une infante difunte, in particular the piano and viola arrangement, in which one of the main motif is played with harmonics.
-Frank's Prélude, Fugue et Variation for organ, or Bauer's piano transcription.
-Mussorgky's Pictures at an Exhibition (listen to the five Promenades, The Old Castle and the last movement)
-Schubert's 2nd Trio, 2nd movement (I guess it's pretty standard for trios and quartets to reuse material in different ways)
-Domenico Scarlatti's sonatas, specially the first ones (more than variation, it's more about reusing a main melody in the dominant key, something very common in solo keyboard baroque music [and classical music in general], but more pronounced and easily noticed in this author's style)
-Fugues. Any. A good one to start is Glenn Gould's "So you Want to Write a Fugue?"
-Sonatas. Most. A nice one is Mendelssohn's 3rd Organ sonata.
I'm aware that some of the variations in the above pieces are pretty standard for the styles they belong to, but I find their use of even the simpler kinds of variation to be moving.
In the Enigma Variations, it’s ridiculous how well hidden the theme is throughout the entire piece, we’re playing it now in my college orchestra, and my conductor just goes “wow do you recognize that? the theme again wow who knew” all sarcastic and I’m just in awe LOL
Don’t forget about Arban’s Carnival of Venice! It might just be because I’m a trumpet player, but it’s an awesome virtuosic variations piece imo.
Check out marc-Andre hamelin’s variations of the Paganini theme, it’s also one of the best variation works in my opinion! It has elements ranging from classical era to jazz and then some, oh, and prokofiev’s epic variation work, the 2nd movement of his 3rd piano concerto, pure brilliance in my opinion!
One of my favorites is Maslanka’s “Morning Star”
The prominent display of BACH's name paired with the choice to present 14 different ways to vary a theme is no happy accident, and it makes me smile :)
As Alan Belkin is fond of saying, the composer's problem is mostly what to write NEXT. Excellent summary of some ways to get unstuck!
Art of Fugue is another fantastic resource for seeing how much "mileage" you can get from one starting idea. I'm certain most viewers of this channel know the pieces very well, but the principles and techniques are a great style-agnostic compositional tool. It's worth revisiting often.
Seems every time I listen or read the score, something new hits me in a fresh way. Truly amazing. Some folks think it's outdated, but only on the surface. Deep down it's timeless.
While we're talking about variations and variation form, I feel like one of the best examples is the 4th movement of Beethoven's 3rd Symphony (Eroica). It is a pure masterclass. In proper Beethoven style he bamboozles us by not even introducing the main theme until the 4th variation.
I would also like to mention Immortal Bach by Knut Nystedt, for a wonderful take on Komm Süsser Tod.
IMO Beethoven has many of the best examples of variations. I love 32 variations in c minor very much and there are also Eroica variations and fugue op 35 (shares theme with variations in symphony), second part of 32 sonata, Diabelli variations and many many others.
I drove my mom to my sister's for Christmas and we listened to the Ben Johnston String Quartet. It's beautiful (in my opinion) and I was happy that she felt it was at least listenable even though she doesn't much enjoy contemporary classical music.
A great educator and musician. How lovely it is to see the Bach at your work desk; goes on to show where he got his inspiration and genius from :)
OMG! What an amazing video. It was really an awesome experience. I'm going to try to do this tomorrow. Now everyone is sleeping.
The quality of your lessons is unbeatable and stunning in its own way. You have found the fine line between well-expressed explanations and modesty. This channel is great for my composing process, thank you!
I'm new to the world of composing and was already losing some drive because music just wasn't coming together the way I wanted it to and this video really just gave me so many more ways to think about my melodies and what I've written so far.. was just really a nice little push on the back for me so thank you for your help!
14 Variations on Variations. We get it, Mr. Bruce. Very meta.
Amazing video, I think this tackles one of the most difficult challenges of composing.
Hahaha the Oooh🥺 at the end was the perfect sfx for my facial reaction to your nice words🌸 Thank you! This is the video that I needed to watch
Thanks for your videos, David. I'm not a composer or musician, but as a listener to all types of music, I find your insights into composition fascinating!
Great video with the exception of the cartoon characters, not because it takes away from you illustrating your point, but because I can't show my students the dog smoking a blunt....
You used the best version of Pachelbel's Cannon in D! I recognised it instantly. Well done those performers.
2:33 I love this ！
Hearing the tune played simultaneously at different speeds was really cool!
"not enough time to go into here" well now you have to do a video about ragas
I currently writing my GCSE composition for a brief, 1700s banquet music. This has helped out a bunch, cheers!
thanks, Brian Eno!
Love the tablas in the background!
Gotta say, dig that tabla in the background.
Thanks for saving my music GCSE
Such a helpful Video! Thank you very much
Number 3, 2:34
I really love this technique, I just have a hard time finding as tasteful chords as you did. Do you use a lot of theory or do you imagine a sound and then find it on the piano, or maybe something entirely else?
Bosso Ostinato
(aka Canon in D)
*cellists have entered the chat*
The music in this video was the music of yours that I liked the most.
At the risk of sounding like your Grandma wondering why you can't write something with a nice tune, you should do more music like this.
That's rough but I feel you
I'd say this video, as well as being wonderfully in depth and researched, featured some of your funniest moments. You make me wish I had four hands
Wow thanks a lot for putting in the time for this video! Very helpful!
Thanks Dave....You helped solve a problem for me (how to take "mobile" form & apply in a conventional form)...Needed that clarification for piece working on.
I'm sure that, as a house musician, I'm not the audience you had in mind, but this is unbelievably helpful for me. House music, particularly progressive house, is commonly monothematic, so variation is key!
This is just what I needed! Merci beaucoup!
Thank you, your wisdom appears to have eased me out of a rather stressful writer's block.
I salute you sir!
Great video! Love the dry, underplayed humour 😂
This was actually a challenge I presented myself with a song I just finished for Concert Band. I tried to use a single theme and transform it multiple ways so that the song sounded like it was continually evolving and radically different even though it was united through a singular motif. It feels like a confirmation of my thought process to hear these spelled out so beautifully in this video...great video
Joel Knecht uwoooooow
It's maybe because i'm not a native english speaker, but i heard "Taco Bell's" Canon, and i laugh. Thanks David Bruce.
Very informative. Thank you!
Than you so much for this.
Classical music can feel so inaccessible sometimes so I really appreciate your friendly style of education
I'm very fascinated about making as much music as possible with as little as possible. It's so baffling how much music can be done with so little musical material.
Remember to
study the harmony in 2:33 - 2:50 !
Fascinating & inspiring all in one hit!
A great "Variation" on "Theme and Variations" could be Kreisler's Praeludium & Allegro (Violin/Piano). I think of it as Variations on the Circle of 5ths. The Prelude beautifully lays out the "theme"/chord progression. Then, each period of the Allegro, although they start with the same little two bar melody, quickly becomes an increasingly complex variation on the chord progression. And the piano version by Vanyev/Katsaris takes all of this to ostentatiously stellar levels.
Very helpful, thank you!!
This game video gave me some good ideas for my next compositions. Really thank you.
14:44 ummm...ok...but i remembered it differently
the whole concept of raaga is there are multiple things into play
1. you have to choose what thaat (mode) you want to use
2. is it gonna be a 5 note system or 6 or 7 not system or whatever
3. there are specific flows that can't be violated or it won't be that specific raaga but a different one
for example - you can't go to Fa after Sol while descending you have to go to Mi then return to Fa...but you can go to Sol after Fa while accending...this kinda stuff
4. but ya you are right about the variation part...cause as raaga is an improvisational media...we have to constantly make new variations on live stage...the variations we make are not bound by the script (notation)
Admittedly, I’m an only-so-so fan of Alfred Brendel’s Beethoven interpretations, but I like that description 9:35!
3:13 you can make a variation by slightly changing the written score (the last chord) 😉
Thanks for your informative illustration.
This is great. Thanks for your easy teaching
Almost thought I was high on something when I saw goofy in the left hand corner at 2:38 😂
Might be my favorite vid of yours. Really useful, practical stuff. BTW, the Goldberg Variations are absolutely mind blowing. Still trying to wrap my head around them.
Lovely Video! I've heard many of these lessons said in different ways, but I feel like I understand much better now after watching this.
Wonderful tips! Thank you so much for covering this subject at a more macro view than the usual "just invert, retrograde or both". The compositions you created along the way were great too; the heterophony example was particularly lovely.
Now I just need to practice doing all this!
Great and important video!!
Real instructional video. Thanks for sharing
You're the man! Thank you again, Bruce.
David Bruce: You are an inspiration to me. I found your site a couple years ago, and Your site was the first one I paid to join. As a self-taught player with no formal training, it's easy to stray away from the structure. To anyone who has advice. are there online piano-playing groups to join..?
Great video! Thanks so much, David. You reminded me of much that I'd forgotten.
Amazing video. I've been "struggling" with a theme (from a larger piece I've been writing, which I think pretty good) lately. The theme could be turned into it's own complete composition. You have given me some good ideas to work on. Many, many thanks. Keep up the good work.