WEEK 1: Discovering J.S.Bach! 
Welcome to the Main Thread for the first week of the J.S.Bach Challenge! This is the place to post submissions of the first week!
- Make sure you've read the guidelines before replying (<- click)
- Watch the kickoff livestream for help with the first section!
If you want to describe your process (optional), feel free to use the following template.
- Things you found easy:
- Things you found difficult:
- (Optional): a video of you performing it!
- (Optional:) questions
↓ Reply below with your submissions and questions! ↓
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Hello fellow Bach Buddies!
I've chosen to work on the 1st Cello Suite. I've never learned this one before and I really love it so I'm looking forward to the process. I take my time learning new pieces, especially if it's a piece I plan to keep in my permanent repertoire. I don't want to let mistakes creep in so I go slowly. So this will be the only piece I submit over the course of the challenge.
I've been watching the lesson with Sanel Redzic here on Tonebase. He has some great suggestions. I love how he goes into the analysis and approaches it from with the phrasing and bowing of the cello. I've also been looking at the tutorial with Taso Comanescu on Elite Guitarist and he has some nice points as well. His version is the more "guitary" approach, whereas Sanel's is more from the point of view of the original score and the cello. I will take ideas from both of these maestros and try to come up with a version that suits me and my playing.
So basically, these past few days have been studying the piece and working out some fingerings for the first half - up to measure 22. I hope to post a video of my progress by the weekend.
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Debbie That's great, Debbie. I'm looking forward to hearing/seeing your progress.
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Sarabande BWV 997 measures 1-8 Mar 9
So, I've been playing Bach for about a week now, and I think I'm ready to dig into something a little more long-term. Here are just the first eight measures of the Sarabande from the third Lute Suite. I really love Drew Henderson's version, and I'm trying to follow his fingerings from watching his YT video. I'm surprised to see how many open strings he is using.
Does anyone know if this score is available in the guitar version (key of A minor with one treble clef staff), but unfingered? I find it really messy to change the fingerings on a score that already has fingerings.
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Eric Phillips Wow, Eric, this sounds like it's going to be epic. Some of those chords are just gnarly! Very intense. I'm looking forward to see how it comes together!
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Eric Phillips wow you upgraded straight to the hi-level stuff! That's a great sounding start. I don't know Drew's version but I would certainly use a lot of open strings myself. Have you looked on ISMLP?
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Steve Pederson Yes, quite different than Sleepers Awake.
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Blaise Laflamme I looked there and there is only one guitar version and it’s fingered. I got all excited because the prelude was not fingered, but the other movements were.
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Eric Phillips That sounds great, Eric - except you kinda left us hanging there at the end.
With this level of playing you're going to find you like it in the 'deep end'. I am really looking forward to hearing your progress. BTW, I have Musescore and found a version w/o fingering. See if this is comparable to your version. I also like to have a digital version w/o fingering so I can mark it up w/o messing w/ the original.
There is also a score for the full BWV 997 suite w/o fingering. The Sarabande looks less filled out which might be closer to the original (I haven't had time to check.)
Let me know if you are interested in the full suite.
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Eric Phillips bravo Eric! I love this sarabande and played last year maybe....but now I forgot it!...soooo i am very glad to hear YOU play thice beautifull although sad melody....thanks for sharing!
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Jack Stewart Jack, you have made me a VERY happy man! Thank you so much. This is exactly what I was looking for. I also like that it's on one page.
Does this put me in the "deep end"? I don't think so. Maybe if I played the entire suite (which I don't plan to do, at least in this lifetime).
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Nora Torres-Nagel Thank you, Nora. Apparently outside of the world of guitarists and lutenists, these suites are not very well-known. I don't understand why - they are so beautiful.
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Eric Phillips I just reviewed the Sarabande score I sent you and it seems to correspond closely (maybe even exactly) with the Frank Koonce transcription, which is very good.
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Jack Stewart Again, thank you Jack! There is one obvious error on the opening bass note (it should be A not C). In measure 7, the score you sent me has a C# in the last sixteenth note of the second beat. Other scores I see have a C natural. I'm guessing that's just another error. As far as I can tell, Bach wrote it as a C natural (actually Eb, since he wrote in in the key of C minor, not A minor).
I just love that it has no fingerings, so I can add my own more easily and legibly.
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Eric Phillips I checked Koonce's score on those notes you mentioned. Koonce opens w/ A in the bass but the 1st ledger line is missing (it aligns with the following A's in the bass). In measure 7 there is a C# (1st ledger below staff - don't know how it is referred) in the previous beat but no accidental on the last note of beat 3. I would assume the accidentals are pitch specific which would mean the note you referred to should not be altered. So I agree with you on those. This transcription seems to be taken from the Koonce and the transcriber didn't recognize those points.
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Jack Stewart Thank you for your diligence in helping me. I will share all of my royalties 50/50 with you!
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Eric Phillips In that case, I hope you don't go into debt with this!
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Jack Stewart I might. My playing might be so bad that people will charge me for listening to it. So you'd be on the hook for half of that money, now!
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Bach Cello Suite #1 - Prelude, Minuets and Gigue
Okay, These recordings are my starting point - a very humbling documentation as to how I'm starting off. I welcome your suggestions.
Here's where we're at - I've played the first minuet for a long time. (I've also seen them spelled as "menuet".) However, as I've learned with so much other music - I've been playing it "wrong" for a really long time as well.
What I've learned in watching some cello performances of this is that often the two minuets are played back to back with a repeat of the first minuet after the second is finished. I plan to implement this into my final arrangement as well - playing it like a cello piece as opposed to a guitar piece. I have not played the second minuet until now.
For the minuets and gigue I am actually using my own transcription from the original cello score. I am planning to rework the fingering so that I am playing higher up the neck on thicker strings so as to get a more cello-like sound. Fun fact: I actually used to play the cello for a couple years!
For the Prelude I will be learning a guitar transcription by John W. Duarte. This one is brand new to me.
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Steve Pederson I practiced Bach Cello Suite #1 - Prelude many many years ago (maybe 17 years ago), my teacher at that time, was a big fan of Bach and hated any additional notes added in the guitar version (except the last chord). He insisted that I had to compare the guitar version with the Cello score and deleted all the additional notes.
After deleting all the additional notes, it became more digestible, and I think it still sounded great. Allow me to share the old recording (recorded by a cheap computer mic though) of the younger Wai
, you could hear how it sounded after deleting all the additional notes in the guitar version. -
Wai Thanks Wai, and thanks for sharing that recording. It's little garbled, of course, but it sounds like some really nice playing. Sounds like you really had a handle on it!
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Steve Pederson That's an ambitious project Steve. Go for it! I have never played the 1st Cello Suite (perhaps the minuets.)
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Steve Pederson wowww you have done your own transcriptions Steve...chapeau! I will be following you during the next weeks...this is a big project for only one month!
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Together with Steve and Derek and maybe more of you, I am going to dance these weeks this beautifull bourrée...BWV 996. I need to improve this and additionally also some ornaments for the repetition...let's see....
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Nora Torres-Nagel Way to go Nora! Nice job. This really is a fun piece, isn't it?
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Nora Torres-Nagel Wow, nicely done Nora. BTW Sharon Isben has a transcription of the BWV 996 suite that is really good. She worked with Rosalyn Tureck (a noted harpsichordist and Bach scholar) and is very detailed with trills.
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Nora Torres-Nagel Great work, Nora! This is such excellent counterpoint.
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End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
