Baroque improvisation: on some cadences + practice concepts

Conception, musical examples and piano playing by Michael Koch
Materials to the video are available on my PATREON:
www.patreon.com/posts/basic-b...
I do private lessons in GERMAN and ENGLISH in time zones all over the world. I provide a professional training based on up-to-date-scholarship, inovative methodolgy and reflected, sensitive pedagogical considerations. My teaching includes a constant supply of instructive materials, exercises and Partimenti that fit the current state of the student’s development, skill and individual needs to ensure an off-lesson support.
You can reach me out on:
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
My Page on Academia.edu
folkwang-hochschule.academia....
Music for the disclaimer: little prelude assembled from a mash up of the shown patterns.
2:14 “What? You didn’t know that?”-quote by Teddy taken from Pete and Pete Episode “The trouble with Teddy” (1990's TV Show on Nickelodeon)
00:01 - Introduction
CADENCES WITH DIMINUTIONS
00:41 - Example 1: suspension archetype
* 1:35 - diminution 1
* 1:46 - diminution 2
* 2:18 - invertibility of upper voices
02:51 - Example 2: 3-4-5-1 bass with compound melody
* 3:45 - version with longer dominant bass note
* 4:23 - version with sustained resolution at tonic
04:46 - Example 3: descending scales
* 5:20 - examples with 3-4-5-1 bass line
* 5:47 - version in minor
* 6:19 - examples with 4-2-5-1 bass line
EXERCISES
06:49 - Exercise concept 1: add cadences to sequences to make complete musical phrases
* 07:12 - example 1: fauxbourdon + 3-4-5-1 cadence
* 07:37 - example 2: third down/second up sequence + suspension archetype
* 08:00 - Transposing via modulation
10:21 - Exercise concept 2: building sequences from cadential modules
* 11:07 - example 1: cadential bass diminution used in Romanesca/"Pachelbel" sequence
* 12:17 - example 2: cadential bass diminution used in ascending fifths sequence
* 13:42 - example 2a: starting on the fourth degree

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Hey people, if you're interested in a PDF bundle of the materials + some more exercises on basic baroque cadences you can follow me on Patreon and download it: www.patreon.com/posts/basic-baroque-77308692?Link&

[@timgriffiths7701]

Amazing! This is one of the best videos I've ever seen for explaining diminution exercises. Greatly appreciate this sort of content. Thank you!

[@phillipbrandel7932]

I’d be willing to pay for content this good. So happy that I found your channel

[@uhoh007]

A practical tutorial/entre to Gjerdingen and Sanguinetti's revival. Exactly what I need at this moment. SIncere thanks.

[@HathaYodel]

We all much appreciate how you organize these edifying discourses!

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Thanks you, I'm doing my very best! :D

[@AlessandroSistiMusic]

00:01 - Introduction CADENCES WITH DIMINUTIONS 00:41 - Example 1: suspension archetype * 1:35 - diminution 1 * 1:46 - diminution 2 * 2:18 - invertibility of upper voices 02:51 - Example 2: 3-4-5-1 bass with compound melody * 3:45 - version with longer dominant bass note * 4:23 - version with sustained resolution at tonic 04:46 - Example 3: descending scales * 5:20 - examples with 3-4-5-1 bass line * 5:47 - version in minor * 6:19 - examples with 4-2-5-1 bass line EXERCISES 06:49 - Exercise concept 1: add cadences to sequences to make complete musical phrases * 07:12 - example 1: fauxbourdon + 3-4-5-1 cadence * 07:37 - example 2: third down/second up sequence + suspension archetype * 08:00 - Transposing via modulation 10:21 - Exercise concept 2: building sequences _from_ cadential modules * 11:07 - example 1: cadential bass diminution used in Romanesca/"Pachelbel" sequence * 12:17 - example 2: cadential bass diminution used in ascending fifths sequence * 13:42 - example 2a: starting on the fourth degree I added timestamps in an edit to this comment. My original comment is below! ====== Extremely useful video, and terrifically explained, as always! I may return to this comment to add timestamps to it later. As for "Brechung", our translation of that may be "compound melody". Not sure if it's the same idea, but that seems plausible.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Wow, thank you very much for the timestamps! Maybe I should add this regularly to the vids, I find that very practical! Thx for appreciation as well, I'm happy when people find the tutorials helpful...

[@AlessandroSistiMusic]

@@en-blanc-et-noir No problem! Yeah, it might be helpful to have timestamps on the videos at least for the main sections.

[@AlessandroSistiMusic]

@@en-blanc-et-noir I can also mention, if you'd like you can copy my timestamps, or some of them, into the video description. KZbin will automatically show little segments corresponding to the timestamps. If you're curious about what I mean, you can look at the latest video on my channel.

[@RaptorT1V]

As soon as I saw your channel... I automatically subscribed, clicked the bell and went to "Like" every one of your videos Your channel is probably the most useful of all the music channels I've subscribed to.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Thanks again, Mr.!

[@AJBlueJay]

The intro sounds like a German Baroque Allemande 😊

[@Miguel-zp9yp]

Excellent! Thanks for sharing!

[@andreschoenfeld]

Wonderful! Thank you 🙏🏻

[@bornaerceg9984]

Really amazing video, thank you!

[@gabrielakochmusic]

Thank you for your fantastic work 🥳, Michael!

[@Melopoeta]

Great video! Love the funny animations

[@ClaireODonnell]

Amazing video, thank you. I look forward to seeing more!

[@nicoletaparaschivescu7373]

Bravissimo, Michael! Very nice!

[@ZapataCarratala]

Fantastic work, cannot wait to incorporate some of thesein my harpsichord routine!

[@nazimvenutti]

Brilliant, thank you, this is indeed very valuable.

[@iCamEntertainment]

This is amazing!!! Please make more videos! I will support you on patroon so you can do this full time!!

[@RackGearAddict]

I appreciate very much all the work you put into these videos! 😊

[@ili626]

Love this channel

[@dariuszradej1077]

This is something wonderful! This was what I needed to start learning how to improvise on my own. Thank you very much :-)

[@pondreezy]

Thank you so much!

[@MaxYamabikko]

Thanks so much for doing this. Wonderful stuff! Please do more!

[@AlessandroSistiMusic]

If you haven't seen it already, you might also like the video on this channel called "Partimento: F. Durante, G MAJOR Gj 2 (introduction, implied theory and realization)"!

[@Arclocki]

I love you man, you showed me what I was lacking !!

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

LOVE!°

[@barakarbel6424]

Thank you for the great videos! I am a big fan of your page

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Thanks for your support, Barak! :D

[@iloverumi]

this is excellent. very helpful. i'm going to try this.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Thx! I'm happy :D

[@jean-yvesPrax]

Excellent ! Thank you for this very clear and useful video, I'll work on it to improve my figured basses realizations - although harmonization on a theorbo is far more complex than on a keyboard - at the opposite, diminutions come quite natural.

[@samuelsalami4023]

Great

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

I just started doing Kellner exercises this week, so I understood about the first 7 seconds of this video. But I wasn't lost, only excited for the future. Merci.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Your welcome...lol Lawrence! Alright, I know Kellner but I dunno Kellner exercises... where can I see those?

[@harmonicminor5869]

I have no idea what you're talking about but I love the circle of fifths and Vivaldi.

[@DizzyKrissi]

Wow, da hast Du Dir sehr viel Mühe gegeben - vielen Dank.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Danke, Mr. Dizzy... ich wundere mich immer darüber, dass hier so viele Gitarristen unterwegs sind. Wie bist du hier gelandet?

[@DizzyKrissi]

@@en-blanc-et-noir : ziemlich abenteuerlich. Ich habe nach dem chromatischen Scale-Concept von Barry Harris gesucht und bin in einem Video auf den Begriff "Partimento" gestoßen. Ich hatte mir ähnlich formelhafte einfache Beschreibungen barocker Stimmführung und Akkordprogressionen erhofft und bin dann auf Deinem Video gelandet. 😀

[@murraywilloughby7116]

Very cool! I hit pause at the first example to play through and just almost automatically went into the Romanesca. Thanks!

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

probably a good sign :DD

[@murraywilloughby7116]

@@en-blanc-et-noir It was short lived! Lol, I couldn't get it to work ascending or descending with either of the 3rd examples. I guess I had the same problem with Mortensen's book.

[@johnrothfield6126]

Scarlatti, CPE Bach, predilection for harmonic minor

[@TinyFloyd]

What a lovely intro

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Well thanks a lot Mr. Floyd! :D If you wanna get a glimpse on how this kind of improvisations are organized watch my video on "improvising preludes" (with Stewie Griffin on the thumbnail)

[@georgepavlov3350]

Fantastic stuff and I don’t play piano but I do write lyrics and songs I’m a rhythm guitar player for own accompaniment…yes kinda country blues but do love Strauss,Chopin,Shubert

[@lesliesanford1113]

Your videos are inspirational. When I see a new video from you, I know I'm going to learn something new as well as be inspired to apply what I've learned. May I offer one small suggestion? You voice and piano are a bit quiet in this video while the sound effects are loud. This makes the sound effects a bit startling as I have to turn up the volume to hear you clearly.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Hey Leslie, thx for commenting... you're right with the sound, it's a bit hard to get everything balanced whilst having no idea with all the technical stuff... I'm especially dissatisfied with the piano sound of the videos but can't do any better at the moment... I'm trying to improve it!

[@Kelliancamus]

Waaaoouuh Amazing Content just Amazing i would like to pay for that i swear ! Looking for more thank you for this !

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

haha thank you so much, I'm sooo glad!

[@herrickinman9303]

As Spock would say, "Fascinating."

[@OdinComposer]

Dude that stuff you played at the start of the video was awesome! Can you make a breakdown of that?

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

hey thanks man! hm breakdown... like what? I can say that there's a succession of common baroque building blocks e.g. a pedalpoint opener including a digression to the IV, a Romanesca including a very standard bass diminution and embellished cacences/deceptive cadences. That's more or less it... That's probably not very helpful, right? :DD

[@effiefs9561]

The exact resources ive been looking for are in this video, and always with a quick demonstration, notation and ideas on application. Great work, underappreciated! I guess it is a niche subject. May i ask, where in germany are you from? Greetings from cologne. :)

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Hey Ben! Schön, dass du die Sachen hilfreich findest. Falls du eine PDF von den Materialien möchtest kannst mir eine Mail schreiben auf der Kanalhauptseite findest du einen Link. Ich wohne in Detmold :DDD

[@samuelsalami4023]

@@en-blanc-et-noir good evening from side. Please En blanc can I get the resources too🙏

[@johnrothfield6126]

Thanks!! You show the use of the harmonic minor (Aug 2nd) at 6:13 and say it is common in Domenico Scarlatti's music. Could you discuss (perhaps in a future episode) how the various "Harmonic" modes were used throughout the centuries? In particular I'm puzzled by statements like "Don't use augmented intervals in a (sung or played) voice. PS I love the "harmonic (non-diatonic)" modes that are common in ("ethnic"), Greek, Arabic, and Indian music. Also, how do the various pentatonic modes fit (or don't fit) in the theory and practice of Baroque music.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Mr. Rothfield :D I actually don't know exactly what you mean by ""harmonic modes throughout the centuries" you mean the keys of the modal age? What's pentatonic modes? I'd say european baroque music marks the beginning of the era of major/minor tonality - around 1700 - of course still with residual modal spellings of some keys, e.g. "dorian" notation of minor. The emergence of the rule of the octave eventually defines the material in a somewhat affixed constellation on the basis of major and minor scales - and by that I mean exclusively that. No modes, no other stuff.

[@jaymberman]

What is that document that you are showing at 6:50?

[@Nooticus]

Excellent video. I understood pretty much all of it even though I do not know much about partimenti!

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Great! Thank you! :D

[@caleb-hines]

I can think of at least one period example that modulates up stepwise twice, from a major key to the mediant minor key -- very similar to what you played at 12:32, but using the altizans in the bass. In the first movement of Handel's Concerto Grosso in C Minor (Op 6, No 8), after the expected modulation to the relative major of Eb, he approaches what seems to be a cadence in that key, but then surprisingly evades it by reinterpreting the bass degree (5) as degree (4) in F minor with a 6/4+/2 chord. Then, as he's about to cadence in that key, he repeats the gesture, ending up in G minor (dominant of the original key) to close out the A section.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Hey Caleb :D I find sequences, I find evasions, I find what your describing but - at least to me - it doesn't resemble the procedure that I was aiming at... There are examples that use this sequence to modulate: for example WTC I C Major fugue (first sequencial episode), but the relation is never ever I-III. There's even periodical sources that advice not to do so (Heinichen) and there's some reasons for that... THX anyway for the great example!!! :))) Somehow interesting to see how he re-uses subjects (I think there's a g Minor Suite movement using this subject as well) and I think the Concerto Grosso movement is interesting for its evasions!

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

And I think it's worth to check out the B minor prelude of WTC I: ascending 5ths sequence from D major to f-sharp, it's fairly quite what I'm talking about, but it actually is a modulation targeting the V. of a B minor piece, isn't it? As I said: so strange that one never get's to see the "open" I-III... This whole thing is quite a nerdy topic though :DD

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

Hah, it’s taken me a year to realise that but about the 6 5 chord and the 4 3 is what Barry Harris told me all those years ago. He was into Bach and Chopin too. This is an important lesson for jazz improvisers; we play cadences too and they don’t bloody teach it because everyone is locked into functional bass.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

So that's what Barry Harris said?... :DD "locked into functional bass": I think it's not about the "system" but rather more about the quality of the actual teaching - Partimento-methods don't necessarily lead to good lessons let a lone good music and I recognize that more and more.

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

@@en-blanc-et-noir well the understanding that the ii7 is a IV6 chord (6 5 in figured bass) and that that’s also a suspension of the V7. So that’s obviously very much a functional understanding (Riemann would understand this obviously and I am using Roman numerals), but it is a contrapuntal understanding of what going on in terms of what notes are moving where within the key. I suppose that’s the synthesis … In mainstream jazz education it’s all constructed from the root of each chord. If you do that the notes have a different name each time. ‘Playing the 13th on ii Dorian gives away the dominant’ ‘the 11th is an avoid note on V mixolydian.’ it seems incredibly convoluted compared to yours/Barry’s understanding. (Functional harmony tells you ii is a predominant chord but I didn’t know what that actually meant.) So from a jazz perspective the contrapuntal understanding really streamlines changes playing (and jazz we often playing ii V I obviously). Barry also said that we should all study figured bass (half jokingly), although he didn’t understand that language he understood the principles very well. So many jazz lines can be understood as diminutions of contrapuntal schemata. It’s pretty crazy.

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

@@en-blanc-et-noir in the same way, the cycle of fifths stuff using the thirds and sevenths we understand as ‘guide tones’ in jazz, and we are trained to use them as the basis of lines on these progressions using, well, basically diminutions. I appreciate your working towards a synthesis of functional and contrapuntal approaches and it makes sense to me…

[@JazzGuitarScrapbook]

Anyway, sorry for going on, always get a bit excited when I see a connection.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

@@JazzGuitarScrapbook Mr. Scrapbook: never hesitate to comment :DD I totally agree with everything and I think it's just fine. Horizontal perspective is obligatory. That term "predominant" I actually find quite helpful as it covers I relatively wide field of possible options and events in one technical term and sometimes you need a term for such things. I cannot judge on jazz education / theory as I don't have a bloody clue :DD but I can imagine that they're suffering comparable issues by lacking a valid horizontal perspective.

[@supermaqp]

Awesome video!!! Very helpful!!! Out of curiosity what is your academic background?

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Hello Miguel, I'm glad that its helpful! By academic background you probably mean my studies/work..? I received my masters degree in music theory in 2015 and since then I'm teaching the subjects theory and listening / ear training at different conservatories in Germany.

[@supermaqp]

@@en-blanc-et-noir yes thats what I mean't, it is nice to know. Congrats for your studies and keep the videos coming because they are very valuable. I have been sharing them to various schools and friends over in Venezuela.

[@tuyetmuahe]

Wish I knew this 20 years ago.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Quite what I said when I learned about this approach :DDD

[@tuyetmuahe]

@@en-blanc-et-noir and how long ago did you learn about it?

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

around 2007

[@robertocornacchionialegre]

Hi Michael. I have a question concerning ascending fifths sequences. I definitely have to check more sources, but I have in mind now Furno and Martini. Furno says that every forth in the sequence must be solved in a minor third, except the last one (to make a cadence and go out of the sequence i suppose). Also Martini in the Libro per Accompagnare writes figures in his long ascending fifths scale and explicitly marks flats third even in the "first major module". So I'm asking myself if the idea of 2 modules (major and minor) really works in the repertorie. The major third doesn't sounds bad for me, but also always doing the minor sounds great. Have you noted in the repertoire if the major third happens or actually the minor is more common?

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Heyho Robert. Phew, ha! I actually can't give you a solid answer on that and it's a good idea to look more carefully at such details in the sources. - If Furno says so then there will be a certain reason for that. Is it in that video that I claim it's always major-major-minor? - Then that's obviously not up to date anymore. I noticed as well a prevalent version of that schema where there's already a minor alteration in the first module and I actually had a talk on that with a colleague just recently :DD If you wanna see some original examples of this sequence then you could take a look at my video on Scarlatti (I think with AND without alteration!) And if you wanna know for sure: ask Nicola Canzano as I happen to know it's one of his favourite sequences and he's definetely seen a lot of reperoire. There's a video on sequences on his channel, just hit ya question in the comments and you'll get an answer for sure! Cheers!

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

And if Furno says so, then there's examples that oppose this argument. E.g. WTC 1 the B minor prelude (from bar 7 on) shows a "diatonic" version of it modulating from D to F# minor with the necessary standard alterations of the dominant in the 3rd module. I dunno how I came to the idea that it always should be major-major-minor, that's under all circumstances: wrong.

[@robertocornacchionialegre]

@@en-blanc-et-noir thank you for the answers! I will check Nicola’s video and maybe ask him. And yes, I have been thinking about Bach’s b minor prelude too! I actually ever though Furno statement was not precise, and maybe a mistake, although it sounds good too play minor. However when I find Martini’s scale I started to think it was not a random choice.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

@@robertocornacchionialegre As always I'd stay pragmatic. Let's say: diatonic scaffolding with optional possibilities for alteration. Another example without minor alteration: C major Prelude BWV 924. I remember there's an article by John Rice on the model ("climbing the monte-romanesca"), you can find it for free on Academia.edu... maybe there's more solid information.

[@robertocornacchionialegre]

@@en-blanc-et-noir That's a good answer. Bach seems to like the diatonic version. I'm not aware of the preferences in Italy, but I remember a beautiful passage in Chopin's student Carl Filtsch Concertino with the alteration (at least it seems to my ear).

[@renematei708]

Very nice... BUT: it is tenorizanS... tenorizare- PPA Tenorizans, Tenorizantis.... Greetings from the Mozarteum in Salzburg.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

René thx for visiting... I don't get it :DD... and what did I write? TenorizanZ or what??? think I'm just gonna call it tenor clause in the future - less delicate! Greetings!

[@renematei708]

@@en-blanc-et-noir ja, genau. Das wäre eine Lösung.

[@handavid6421]

what materials would you recommend to a complete beginner to this type of partimento exercises who has an intermediate understanding of music theory ?

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

I'd say there is no linear path through this. I'm not a fan of textbook-musictheory but there is a book that's quite solid: Job Ijzerman's "Harmony, Counterpoint and Partimento" that contains a lot of instructive exercises. If you browse a bit through different materials that are available online, e.g. on Partimenti.org you'll find stuff that's helpful.

[@handavid6421]

@@en-blanc-et-noir Thank you, your videos are awesome.

[@svenrohark4003]

❤👍❤️🙏

[@prevatican2catholicshow]

1:57 You upset Riemann!

[@ylevision7088]

7:23. Did this inspire Chopin's op 10 no 4 etude?

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

haha, well probably not :D This is a typicall standard pattern that is common in the north German baroque scene, you can see it in Buxtehude's pieces, the Langloz Manuscript and other sources

[@ylevision7088]

​@@en-blanc-et-noir Yeah. I too figured that might be the case :D I had never heard it before other than in said piece. On top of that, it stood out to me as quite strange and it felt slightly out of place. I guess there's lots of other cool things outside of Bach's WTC lol

[@ivarasplund4265]

Ya

[@wandamusictube]

Is "brechung" same as "style brise"? The way you mentioned it made me guess you didn't know that French term? Or maybe it is something altogether.

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

Hello Wanda :D, "Brechung" is just the German term for breaking up a simultaneous chordal structure into figuration/diminution. Though "style brisé" is sometimes following this exact strategy it is actually more than this. If you wanna get a clearer picture about it, check out a encyclopedia article (maybe "New Grove") OR study french Clavecin music: good starting points would be Couperin's first Prelude (C major) from "L'Art de Toucher le Clavecin" or his infamous "Barricades mysteriéuses" - these are in my opionion textbook examples of this style. - and you'll see: it's not entirely about breaking chords.

[@SachinShukla]

2:05 😂😂😂

[@ClaireODonnell]

Hi Michael, I wanted to tell you that I directly implemented some of your ideas in my video last week: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rKHNoJV4drylqsk. Namely, your Fauxbourdon with 7-6 suspensions (around 7:18 of your video) and lots of 3-4-5-1 cadences. This tutorial was truly fantastic, and I'll definitely be re-watching it for more ideas :)

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

I'm so amazed that people find this tutorial useful! so glad... HA! I already watched it and recognized that 7-6-chain! But it's not actually mine haha, I think I found this particular diminution somewhere in the Langloz-ms.

[@ClaireODonnell]

@@en-blanc-et-noir your knowledge is impressive in any case. You seem so well read. Your piano skills as well. The Fauxbourdon sequence was really well chosen, even if you didn't write it. It has a kind of divine sound to it. Anyway, I definitely hope to see more tutorials and thanks again!

[@en-blanc-et-noir]

@@ClaireODonnell Thx Claire... :D Divine sound haha, I like that! I think it is some kind of "diminution standard" of this sequence, I think I've seen it elsewhere in "real" compositions as well, I bet one could find exactly this kind in Buxtehude or Pachelbel, probably elsewhere.

[@ClaireODonnell]

@@en-blanc-et-noir Just came back to this video today to refresh my memory. Even a year later, I'm still learning things from it (noticing new details!)