Bach: How to Add Ornaments with Bach expert Dr Stanley Yates

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

My two teachers Dr Douglas James and Stanley Yates both play a vital role in my life as friends and mentors. Stanley is a master guitar virtuoso and scholar who is famous for his arrangements of the complete Bach Cello Suites for guitar. His latest technique books are without peer in classical guitar pedagogy. Stanley was featured on cover of the most recent Fingerstyle Guitar Journal.

[@adambozentko5877]

Great to see a guy break this down in LA Men's Terms.. 🍻

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

😂

[@miprofe1063]

However good the teacher (and Stanley Yates is a very good teacher), it may take a long time for a student of Alan Mearns' calibre to arrive. In a sense, an excellent teacher is completed by an excellent student. A very fine video.

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

❤️🙏

[@coffeemachtspass]

Amazing content, Alan. I read an enormous, thick book on Baroque ornamentation (back when I was young and had aspirations). What I wouldn’t have given to have had access to a wise teacher to sit with me and go through it all. Thanks for this video.

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

Thanks 🙏

[@guitarsinternational369]

Many thanks to both of you for sharing with us this WONDERFUL discussion!!!

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

❤️🙏

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

You’re very welcome

[@ClassicalGuitar1111]

Thanks so much for this hands on demonstration

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

You’re very welcome!

[@mags102755]

This was fascinating to me, because when I was young and learning the piano, ornaments were often a discussion between me and my teacher. Sadly, quite often, many publications had "suggested ornaments" which prevented me from learning them intrinsically. However, much of what Dr. Yates is demonstrating here makes perfect sense to me.

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

Excellent!

[@musological]

Internal consistency seems the only barrier to adding ornaments (or even greatly shifting the style or syncopation) to Bach's pieces. There's a kind of supersymmetry that makes Bach's pieces work from any angle of approach.

[@karlwguitar]

I love that an investigation of the underlying structural aspects is the point of departure for this exploration! Thanks for sharing.

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

Cheers Karl 🙏

[@dylankopff1935]

Two true musicians thanks for doing this and looking forward to the future of the channel

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

Thanks 🙏 Dylan!

[@rdctd8690]

Oh yes! Saving this for later, cheers Alan 🍻

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

🙏

[@matsklingstrom221]

Thanks again for another interesting, enlightening and opening conversation Alan! Such a nice energi between the two of you!🙏🎶🎶🎶

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

❤️🙏

[@erajad]

So _very_ very good! *Many thanks* for sharing this discussion with us (and for the effort expended on the video editing, subtitling, and audio quality - all super!). My aspirations as a guitar player don't extend this far (much more modest and modern aims), but I do love listening to Bach, and this has richly enhanced my capacity to *listen.* Will be returning to this for repeats often, I'm sure! Also - the "improv" at around 23:00 was gorgeous. (Some of your subtitling reminded me of a moment or two in Annie Hall. LOL.)

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

😂 Annie Hall ❤️

[@DaveCorsello]

"It's not that we're suggesting we can match Bach or write Bach. Obviously he would have come up with always a better thing than I can come up with. But I can do exactly the kind of thing he would have done without any fear at all that I'm doing something inappropriate." Beautifully stated. While I'm not sure that I've done exactly the kinds of things Bach would have done, I wrote an organ piece by stringing together motifs that sound Bach-like to me. Would it be okay to use this quote of Dr. Yates in the description of that piece? The fluency with Bach's vocabulary that Dr. Yates and you demonstrate is very inspiring. And I very much appreciate his ability to make sophisticated concepts accessible. However the biggest take-away for me from this video is, "You can dance if you want to." Brilliant!!! Thanks for making music that continues to blow me away, for being so accessible and for keeping the dialog going with really wonderful content.

[@jghillstudio1857]

Mentors for writing music here! Take what you have, where you are and expand on it. This just shows me that not all great music has been written or recorded. Great music never ends. By the way not all know how hard it is to record and edit video with two camera angle. Thanks for doing this Alan makes for better viewing. You the man! Keep pounding!

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

👍🏻🙏

[@Larry30102]

Super video. Big thanks you for the upload. Learned a great deal.

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

Excellent 👍🏻

[@leforain]

What a treat! I would love to see more of this kind of informative and thought provoking discussion with Stanley Yates. Thanks for posting!

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

Thanks 🙏

[@scottkidwellmusic9175]

Thank you, Alan, for bringing this Master Class to the masses. Also, I was about 10 minutes in before I realized what t-shirt you were wearing 😂😂😂 Thank you, Dr. Yates for the insights and pearls of wisdom regarding Back. Beautifully played examples, too! Be good to you 🤍💛

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

Thanks Scott 🙏 For your health

[@pedrosanchez-og1xs]

Fascinante, gracias!

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

❤️🙏

[@1959banjo]

brilliant!

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

❤️🙏

[@edwardmorton6691]

It is a privelege to sit and listen to you both and I learn a lot into the bargain. Had to laugh at your little aside about the crazy driller next door. The look on yer bake was priceless.

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

😂

[@edwardmorton6691]

Doner guitar pedal

[@markbrown2888]

Love the insight! Inspiring!

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

❤️🙏

[@BestBassTabs]

Thank you for sharing this! 🙏

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

You’re very welcome!

[@jazzizm]

What is the rationale behind capo-ing at the 2nd fret? I noticed Alan also does this most of the time with his (beautiful!) Bach arrangements. I‘m curious, is it playing comfort (shorter scale, looser strings)? Different sound (tuning down and then capo-ing up)?

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

It excites the overtones a little. Sounds more like a baroque instrument.

[@jazzizm]

Thank you! So all in the name of tone even if you’re losing real estate up there. That is next level for me.

[@splashesin8]

😄Thanks!

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

❤️🙏

[@limpindug]

I enjoyed the video guys, even though it's way above my paygrade 👍🥃Respect to you fellas.

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

Cheers!

[@sammcconkey8768]

Thanks for this Alan. Very interesting content as I'm working on a Bach cello Sarabande at the minute. I was wondering what your thoughts are on mixing cross string trills with regular trills for a piece written for a string instrument?

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

As long as it sounds good is the only rule 👍🏻

[@jonashamre9738]

OK, I have to ask… What are the three tuning pegs at the top used for? 😊

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

It’s was a special reentrant guitar he had built but it sounded so amazing he uses it for concerts. kzbin.info/www/bejne/o52rY6KupZahhqs

[@joelfildes5544]

Saraban Topic ? (Sorry can’t work out the pronunciation) Anyways,it reminds me of QUEEN rhythms/Structures.

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

The idea of what a Sarabande dance is. Topic theory is a branch of music theory that uncovers underlying meanings in musical motifs and gestures that audiences of the time would understand and take for granted.

[@joelfildes5544]

@@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven I’m all for nuance…not sure what’s happened these days though…?..ha,ha,cheers.

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

@@joelfildes5544 😂 I wrote out googleable notes and words on the video for the curious 👍🏻

[@edwardmorton6691]

Quick questions. When you dont have your guitar in your arms do you feel something is missing ? Do you ever have days when you think everything you're doing sounds crap?

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

I do, can’t speak for Stanley. Yes some days are frustrating.

[@edwardmorton6691]

@@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven That's encouraging and comforting. I just thought it was me and that I was slowly loosing my mind. Thanks

[@grel1604]

Trills vs drills

[@jimdandy7083]

Young guys like to show off their flashy skills with excessive ornamentation whereas a mature player understands that less is more.

[@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven]

Nonsense

[@jimdandy7083]

@@AlanMearns-YesTheRaven When a performer decides that it sounds nifty to ornament, say, the second, fifth, and seventh notes of the bwv998 fugue statement, shouldn't he stick to the pattern throughout? Try it, you'll find that it's physically impossible. Too much? You decide.

[@bazeye]

There is a repetative noise in the background, very annoyimg.