Today I've been sight-reading some two-part counterpoints by Tomas de Santa Maria (1510-1570), a Spanish Renaissance music theorist, organist and composer, author of The Art of Playing Fantasia (1565) which is a comprehensive treatise on playing keyboard instruments and improvisation of polyphonic fantasias.
On these two pages there are 7 two-part counterpoints: 1. Counterpoint in C with half notes against whole notes. 2. Counterpoint in C with quarter notes against whole notes. 3. Counterpoint in d with eighth notes against whole notes. 4. Mixed counterpoint in d with imitations between the voices (quarter notes against half notes). 5. Mixed counterpoint in d with imitations between the voices (eighth notes against half notes). 6. Counterpoint in d with sixteenth notes against half notes. 7. Counterpoint in C with eighth notes against quarter notes. I hope you will enjoy playing these lovely pieces as much as I did. Here is the PDF score. Watch out for No. 6 (fast running notes in the right hand part). Nos. 3, 4, and 5 may also present some difficulties because of imitations and change of faster notes between the hands. Choose articulate legato touch. PS If you want to create such counterpoint yourself, here are some rules: aim for consonant intervals between the two parts: perfect octaves, perfect fifths, major and minor thirds, major and minor sixths. Avoid two consecutive fifths and octaves. Use contrary motion as much as possible.
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How difficult it is to play works that include frequent leaps, syncopations, and hand divisions?
Today I've been sight-reading No. 6 of 8 Fugues Without Pedals, F. 31 by Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1710-1784), the eldest son of Johann Sebastian Bach. This fugue has 3 voices and is written in E minor (6/8 meter). The subject of this fugue is rather long (6 measures). The rhythmical unit is eighth-note and the melody consists of several arpeggio figures. There are total of 6 subject entrances in this fugue: 1. E minor, tonic, the middle voice (1-1-1). Note: since the measures are not numbered in this edition, the first number refers to the page of this fugue, the second - to the system in this page, and the third - to the measure number within this system. 2. B minor, dominant, the top voice (1-2-1). 3. E minor, tonic, the bottom voice (1-3-5). 4. B minor, dominant, the middle voice (1-5-5). 5. A minor, subdominant, the top voice (2-2-3). 6. E minor, tonic, the bottom voice (2-6-5). For me, the main difficulties were: 1. Remembering to prepare for the 3rd subject entrance in the bottom voice in advance. 2. Deciding which hand has to play the middle voice in certain passages. 3. Playing rhythmically the grace note - it should become a sixteenth-note played on the beat (1-2-6, and also in other places). 4. Making sure that syncopations and tied notes in various voices are rhythmically precise. 5. Playing without hesitations the outer voices in places where there are larger leaps at times. If you want to play this fugue, click here (pages 10-11). Before playing, make sure you first locate all 6 subject entrances and understand the keys used (tonal plan). Take a really slow tempo because it will make it easier for you to sight-read fluently and pay attention to the above 5 points because I suspect they might present difficulties to other people as well. Use articulate legato touch except where you see the legato sign. If three-part texture is too difficult for you, play separate voices or two-voice combinations. Share your playing experience of this colorful fugue in the comments. What can we think about during our organ performance in public?
Don't think, "Everybody is looking at me and this performance is so important that I can't mess it up." Don't think, "I'm doing great, I feel rested, well prepared, and I'm going to play without mistakes." Don't think, "I just played this wrong note which made a bad impression in the listener's minds. My performance is ruined." Don't think, "Only one page is left in this piece. So far so good. I will finish strong." Don't think, "My family is listening to me. I wonder what are they thinking now?" Don't think, "My priest didn't show up today to listen to me play. He probably doesn't even care." Don't think, "I can see this more educated and more experienced colleague in the audience who usually is very critical of my playing. Too bad that I announced this performance publicly. Otherwise he couldn't have found out about it." Don't think, "I'm afraid. There are a few difficult spots in my program which I haven't completely mastered. I'm going to be punished for that by making mistakes in these places." Don't think, "Next time I will learn from my mistakes and thoroughly master my pieces so as to be completely secure during my next performance." Don't think, "Am I making progress? Is this performance will be better than the last?" Don't think, "Is this will be better than Olivier Latry's playing?" Don't think, "How am I going to improvise this chorale prelude?" Don't think, "How am I going to improvise non-stop for 60 minutes?" Here are two things to think about during your performance: 1. Elements. 2. Timing. For the elements, notice rhythm, melody, and harmony. For the timing, do this for the current measure you are playing right now. In other words, keep counting the parts of the current measure, sing each line, and notice any syncopations, dissonances, cadences, and modulations. This will also ensure that your breathing is controlled, too. Think about the things you can control (elements and timing). Everything else - your insecurities, results, mistakes, and other people's reactions are not in your power to control. That's what the best musicians, actors, athletes, public speakers and other performers do (in their own way). This is called professional attitude. Some people need a teacher for the security of someone giving them directions. "Do what I say."
Some people need a teacher for the deniability of following instructions. "If you do what I say, you will not get in trouble." Some people need a teacher for the authority of someone giving them orders. "I'm the boss here and you wouldn't survive without me." Some people need a teacher for the comfort of avoiding fear. "You don't have to be afraid - I'll take full responsibility for your actions." Some people need a teacher for someone showing them their mistakes. "You don't have the education and the experience to know what's right or wrong." Some people need a teacher for the pleasure of giving them credit when it's working. "You did a good job today. Try even harder tomorrow." Some people need a teacher for the stability of knowing what to do next. "Here's the manual. Look on page 23 and do step 4." But of course, that's not a teacher, that's a manager. Other people, though, need a teacher who would get out of the way and trust them to have the courage to change everything. "I haven't seen you making enough mistakes lately. I want you to do more of them, please." But of course, that's not only a teacher, that's an artist. My recent post sparked some interesting and thought-provoking questions from Ron:
The issue of promotion of the art of organ playing to other musicians is a quite complex one. Of course, it's a great idea and we should be more active as organ ambassadors and we definitely should take some responsibility of being too passive and too elitists at times.
But I don't think we should be shouting from the rooftops. All of this could very subtle. All we have to do is to let people notice what we do. With the technology of today, it's actually very simple. Look at my activities, for example. This blog, my videos, and frequent organ demonstrations are being followed and noticed through social media by my students at National M.K. Ciurlionis School of Art here in Vilnius where I teach music theory, ear training, piano, and organ. These students are not organists but they know what I do. I don't actively seek out organ students but somehow they find me. Some of them come to my recitals and they are some of the very best listeners of my work. By the way, I had some of my subscribers write to me and say that they earlier used to be piano players but now they want to learn to play the organ. Thanks to this blog and other circumstances they found their passion and training resources. I think every organist should write a blog (even if you don't tell anyone its URL). It's just such a fantastic way to get the ideas out of your head and let them spread far and wide. Of course, organ playing will never be as popular as piano or guitar but that's not the point. It's not why we do our work. We do our work for a few people who care deeply about this instrument. At the bottom of all this is trust. Do they trust you to hear what you have to say? If you earned their trust, then you can be sure the conversation will continue and it might lead to things you never imagined were possible. [Thanks to Ron for inspiration] Here are the 4 categories of organ practice:
1. Practicing incorrect way incorrect things (least ideal) 2. Practicing correct way incorrect things 3. Practicing incorrect way correct things 4. Practicing correct way correct things (ideal) For every person the correct things in organ performance will be somewhat different but here are some general guidelines: 1. Within your technical abilities 2. Variety in historical periods 3. Variety in national schools 4. Variety in genres 5. Variety in character, keys, tempo, registration The correct way of practice might look more similar from person to person: 1. Show up regularly 2. Slow speed 3. Short fragments 4. Reduced texture 5. Multiple repetitions 6. Correct fingering, pedaling, articulation, ornaments, hand and feet position Identifying where you are within the above 4 categories of practice is the first step. (HT to John) ...is not the same as good organ teacher.
A famous organ teacher is like a brand name you see on TV often enough. The fact that you know this teacher doesn't necessarily mean he is good for you (or you are good for him). The best teachers I know let their students figure out the problems for themselves. They show them the way, lead them, inspire them but let them do the work. Many superb organists are mediocre teachers. And the opposite is also true: many excellent teachers are mediocre organists. If you feel discouraged that you can't afford a famous organ teacher, it's not clear to me that this isn't just one of the excuses your Resistance wants you to believe. Remember, all help is self help (except maybe for surgery). Some people get bored easily when they try to exercise. After a few days or weeks this activity doesn't give them as much pleasure as they expect. Then they quit, often feeling bad about their lack of will and determination.
It turns out that the situation in organ playing is quite similar. When the going gets tough or boring, many organists switch to something else. It's human nature. But if you have a friend or a partner who is on the same path you are, exercising together might be very pleasant. You sweat together, you share the same activity, you motivate one another to get out and work out at the same predetermined time. This way your motivation to exercise might last much longer - at least long enough to start seeing real results. How about finding a friend or a family member to practice organ together? You could literally play organ duets or your partner might play another instrument or sing. It could be as simple as singing hymns or as advanced as playing 4 hand piano arrangements of classical symphonies and opera overtures on the organ and anything in between (including classical solo organ music with parts divided between the two people). When we make music together, a real magic happens. When you receive unwanted and annoying commercial email from some marketer (even though you have clearly unsubscribed), you understand that he is acting in the urgency of the short-term results: "Get some easy money fast". He's sacrificing his long-term success, impact, trust and his relationships over a few pennies.
On the other hand, when you follow an organisation or a person who is so insightful and generous, you cannot help but wonder at his long-term commitment to lead, inspire, and change the people around him who want to be changed. All of this is true also in organ practice. There are people who rush through the pieces, rarely stopping to fix mistakes, for whom it's OK to play with accidental fingerings, pedalings, and articulation. If it's not obvious to them how the piece is put together, they will not bother to find out. They are cutting corners, always focusing on short-cuts: "Quick, I have to play something for this wedding tomorrow." But others are patient. They can wait. They can wait for weeks, months, even years for the results of their honest efforts. Unlike the short-sighted greedy marketers or impatient organists, they will still be around years from now, still practicing their art while their competition will be long gone after another magic bullet. Withstand the storms of your mind. One professor of fugue at the Paris Conservatory had this habit: he would write a fugue before breakfast every morning. He did this for 10 or 20 years. During this time he must have written thousands of fugues.
The length of the strict scholastic fugue is about 100 measures. It has all the elements that the fugue is suppose to have (subject, answer, countersubject, exposition, episodes, counterexposition, subject entries in related keys, dominant pedal point, one or more strettos, and tonic pedal point). Of course, it didn't take it very long for this professor to compose a fugue - it was already created in his mind. All he had to do was to follow his mind and write it down. After writing these fugues for more than 10 years, he achieved a real mastery at this. Just imagine - one fugue every day before breakfast for such a long time! Some might say - it was easy for him - he was a pro. Yes, except it's not true - every morning he still had to beat his Resistance. But he was strict with himself. He had discipline. He didn't say, "well, I'll first become a pro and then I'll have the discipline." It doesn't work this way. It works the other way around. In fact, the only thing that differentiates a pro from an amateur is the discipline. Not money, fame, influence, or education. Just strict old school discipline at whatever it is you want to excel. And the most inspiring thing of all is this: all it takes is to choose to have a discipline (not more resources, more money, or more time). This choice is available to everyone who cares to dream. (HT to John). |
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Drs. Vidas Pinkevicius and Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene Organists of Vilnius University , creators of Secrets of Organ Playing. Our Hauptwerk Setup:
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