Learning Bach on the Guitar (Mar 5th) Questions / Suggestions
Alright, everyone! By popular demand, here is our very first ever livestream on Bach's music! 
It's happening! 
Using very specific examples from Prelude, Fugue and Allegro (BWV 998), the first Lute Suite (BWV 996), the first Violin Sonata (BWV 1001), and more, this is going to act as a high-level overview of the steps required to learn a piece by JS Bach.
So excited about this one! Join me and please feel free to ask questions about any Bach piece, not just the three mentioned above.
Find the start time in your time zone by clicking the photo or following this event link:
https://app.tonebase.co/guitar/live/player/learning-bach
We are going to be using this thread to gather suggestions and questions!
- What questions do you have on this topic?
- Any particular area you would like us to focus on?
Learning the music of Johann Sebastian Bach, arguably the most influential classical composer of all time, can be a daunting task. How do you pick the best version to study? What key and tuning should you use? How do you craft convincing and expressive articulation? Where do you add ornaments? Should you treat Bach as highly formulaic or unique and full of surprising exceptions?
In this livestream, tonebase instructor Mircea Gogoncea will be providing some tips for learning Bach's music using examples from his Prelude, Fugue and Allegro (BWV 998), the first Lute Suite (BWV 996), the first Violin Sonata (BWV 1001), and more!
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Hi Mircea nice initiative, I wanted to propose Fuga 1000 in A minor edizione Delcamp, already in the first 15 measures I went into crisis with the fingering, to keep the polyphony Thanks
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Giuseppe Gasparini Hi Giuseppe! As I was saying to Igor above, I apologize for not getting to your question today. So many general topics to cover first! I will organize a second Bach livestream very soon and will dive into concrete fingerings there. Thank you so much for the question though!!!
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Mircea Hi Mircea, even though I understand 10 percent it was fabulous Thanks
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Hi, Mircea. I can´t join today. Sorry, I´m at work. I´ll see you tomorrow. Last week I took Fugue 998, just to review it. I´ve already fingered it and this is my question: when there is more than one interesting voice, do you have a "pecking order" of the voices you want to hilight? I know some guitarists prefer to sing the higher voice, others look for the main theme whichever voice it is in, etc. The fact that this fugue has a Da Capo gives us a chance to seek for variation, I think. Thank you very much. HAVE FUN.
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Igor Hi Igor! Thank you so much for sending this in! As you can see, although I read it out at the very beginning of the stream, I didn't get to your question today, because there were so many birds-eye, complex topics about the general historic period and German Baroque context that had to be tackled first.
As I promised however, I will announce a second livestream on this topic soon, and we will go into more specific questions of fingering and specific polyphonic examples. In that, I will make sure we stop and discuss your super interesting "pecking order" question! Sorry for the delay - just wanted to give it the attention it deserves.
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Mircea Hi, Maestro! No worries, man. When I ask you a question I´m in no hurrry at all for the answer. I am very interested in your opinion, but in the end I keep my own pace, so feel free to answer whenever suits you best. Furthermore, other people´s questions (and your answers to them) give me new food for thought and free me from the traps of my own brain, which is refreshing. Apart from this, I know you always do your best to provide US ALL with the best information and training possible, so your decisions on when to answer any given question is always ok for me. As always, THANK YOU!
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Hi Mircea ! Is it a general rule about Bach that the notes should be held half as long as their written value? I've just seen that in a YouTube video.
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Gokce Turkmendag Hi Gokce! Hope you liked my answer in today's stream. Basically, it's not true, but this is a very commonly circulated myth that I was taught, myself, as a child. There are situations in which shorter notes are advised, but these are not the standard by any means.
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Mircea thank you for your answer, it makes sense. I wasn't convinced enough about that rule so that I asked you. The session was very useful, thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. Looking forward to your upcoming events.
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The guitar has limited possibilities to sustained polyphony. Which Bach pieces are good for beginners to learn how to manage this?
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joosje Hi Joosje, I suggested a couple in-stream - like I was saying though, not all of Bach's music is polyphonic. Many of the solo instrumental pieces contain plenty of non-polyphonic movements. That could be a place to start!
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@Mircea thanks, t but non polyphonic pieces are not a preparation for polyphonic music. As I mentioned, polyphony is really challenging for guitarists. Your suggestion to start with the 2part inventions is really good. Especially playing as a duo, so you actually feel both parts as independent voices. Thank you, Mircea.
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I do not play Bach because I am agnostic and the music of Bach has a spirituality that I have tried but I cannot reach.
much is speculated about playing Bach but I think everything is speculation after all there is someone alive who has heard (recorded live or in audio) genuinely interpreting bach
I hope that we can discuss this in this master-
ajcraimundo Hi Raimundo! Very interesting question - hope you liked my long answer in today's livestream!
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Alright everyone! Because of the incredible volume of fascinating questions you all asked in today's livestream, there were plenty of ones I didn't get to before we had to stop (even though we went over for half an hour!)
I've decided to save them and will comment on them in our next livestream. These are the ones we had left over in the Q&A section. Some are a bit off-topic, but we'll give them some love too. Based on my analysis of the chat, I think we did a pretty good job of going through those.
In addition, I am attaching here the Doctrine of the Affections that I used and promised during the stream. Hope you enjoy and use it well!
Thank you so much for tuning in today!
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What do we know about the Chaconne masterpiece? I had read a opinion that 4th movement was written over a period of mourning when his wife died.
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Brooke Hi Brooke! I've addressed this briefly in the livestream, but this is a very fascinating topic that I barely scratched the surface of! I've gone over the theory that the Chaconne was partly based on a mourning hymn, "Christ lag in Todes Banden", originally written by Martin Luther and subsequently adapted by Bach. There are definitely some good arguments pointing towards this movement alluding to the concept of death, grief, loss, and mourning. How much this is true might never be known - however, I personally find this an incredibly interesting topic to look into.
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Fascinating livestream - looking forward to the next instalments! Regards Dennis
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Dennis Greensmith Thank you so much, Dennis! The next Bach stream, focused on fingerings and practical solutions, rather than general concepts, is actually taking place tomorrow (today for you, if you are in the UK) - here is the link to it: https://guitar-community.tonebase.co/t/p8hljak
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Hi, Mircea could you please provide the names of those performers/teachers you mentioned in the livestream who were more specialised performers of Baroque. I have listed to some Bream and Russell performances of the pieces so it would be good to hear these people as well. Kind Regards. Dennis
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Dennis Greensmith Hi Dennis! A number of people were mentioned: the conductor Niklaus Harnoncourt, founder of the Concentus Musicus Wien. The harpsichord player Gustav Leonhardt was also mentioned. When it comes to guitar and guitar-like instrument performers, the only two I mentioned by name were Paul O'Dette and Nigel North, both incredible lutenists. Among classical guitarists, I gave a particular shoutout to Ricardo Gallen, and someone from the chat reminded me to mention Tilmann Hoppstock, the great German guitarist and musicologist. There are so many other inspiring musicians in the world, however!
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Mircea,
A great discussion on learning/interpreting Bach. Thanks for sharing your very deep knowledge and perspective with us. It is very insightful information for the dedicated player.
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Brooke Thank you so much, Brooke!! Happy to hear you enjoyed it. The next installment will actually take place tomorrow! This one will focus more on fingerings and practical solutions rather than general concepts. Here is the link to the corresponding forum thread: https://guitar-community.tonebase.co/t/p8hljak
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