Ep5. Basic Improvisation Structures in Baroque Style

Lesson Applications, Inquiries, Comments for Nicola: [e-mail]; [e-mail]
Some basic structures for improvising without partimenti or a figured bass to guide you. The "TSCr" formalism is introduced as a way to analyze the structure of Italian and German Baroque music, and as a way to create your own sensible structures at the keyboard. We comb through the opening of a Bach English Suite this way, and then four separate improvisations are given as exemplars with subtitles describing the structure.
00:00 - Introduction
02:13 - Beginning, middle, end
* 4:42 - Why it's uncommon to end the middle section in the dominant key
06:18 - Two reminders (tempo; brevity)
08:34 - TSCR formalism: what? what for?
10:54 - T: Themes
14:04 - S: Sequences
15:10 - C: Cadences
16:53 - R: Transitions
18:10 - Example: Prelude from English Suite 4 in F major
21:53 - Common constructions from TSCR pieces
* 24:29 - Beginnings: common elaborations of TSC
26:09 - Demo 1 in C major:
TTSC SC r
TTSC SSC S
SC
27:28 - Demo 2 in G minor
TTSC SC
TTSC SSC
TTC
28:40 - Demo 3 in F major
TTrS TC r
TTSC TrC
TTC
30:02 - Demo 4 in D minor
TTSC TC r
SC TTC r
TSC
31:33 - Outro

[@taylordiclemente5163]

This is excellent, and I especially appreciate the captioned performances. Thank you!

[@parallelfifths2824]

Thanks for watching, Taylor, I really appreciate the specific feedback!

[@manolitosanchez]

How wonderful!!

[@Dichotomos]

thank you for this video and subject!

[@andreschoenfeld]

Wonderful- Thank you 🙏🏻

[@parallelfifths2824]

So glad you found something helpful in the video. :)

[@ArturoVengassi]

I have been studying the French Suites Cm and Eb, looking at the Allemandes only, for almost three years now. Playing this and Scarlatti (F# Major). I am finally taking your advice to play Scarlatti, it has only been 15 years.

[@lesliesanford1113]

I find the subject fascinating and greatly appreciate this video. I especially enjoyed the comment about Bach overshooting the tonic and going to the subdominant. I'd never noticed that before. Very useful to know.

[@parallelfifths2824]

Of course there are times when it is more common to find yourself in the dominant before a return, e.g. at the end of an exposition that is repeated. Often times, in my opinion, the dominant sounds better as a pre-return key area when the music ends and then transitions back to the tonic, as opposed to building up to it. Even then, a return without interruption from dominant to tonic can be successful if the music "falls" back into the tonic. Not literally upward or downward here, but rather the general effect. Everything has caveats and exceptions...all that said I'm glad you're able to notice this little trick about overshooting the tonic now!

[@pietronickl8779]

I'm only halfway through and already learned so much :o been getting into historical improv during covid, and so much is coming together in my head (though not so much in my hands yet) Thanks so much for sharing!

[@parallelfifths2824]

Thanks, Pietro! My next video will elaborate on some of the principles introduced in this one, I hope you'll look out for it in the coming week(s)!

[@AlessandroSistiMusic]

00:00 - Introduction 02:13 - Beginning, middle, end * 4:42 - It's not great to end the middle section in the dominant key 06:18 - Two reminders (tempo; brevity) 08:34 - TSCR formalism: what? what for? 10:54 - T: Themes 14:04 - S: Sequences 15:10 - C: Cadences 16:53 - R: Transitions 18:10 - Example: Prelude from English Suite 4 in F major 21:53 - Common constructions from TSCR pieces * 24:29 - Beginnings: common elaborations of TSC 26:09 - Demo 1 in C major 27:28 - Demo 2 in G minor 28:40 - Demo 3 in F major 30:02 - Demo 4 in D minor 31:33 - Outro Thanks so much for this wonderful video, Nicola! If you like, you can copy and paste the timestamps above into the video description (anywhere is fine-even at the bottom), and KZbin will show dividing markers in the video. This is one of the most useful things on 18th-century improvisation I've ever seen, and I'm going to make lots of use of it. You're doing us a huge service by sharing your knowledge in this way.

[@parallelfifths2824]

Wow, thanks so much for doing this for me Alessandro! What a nice favor! I will certainly put a table of contents like this from now on. Thanks also for your kind words about the video! We haven't even really started yet!

[@AlessandroSistiMusic]

@@parallelfifths2824 No problem at all! Just a quick note-this will only work if the first timestamp is 00:00. I'm really looking forward to seeing where your lessons go next!

[@ADarkandStormyNight]

The captioned performances are a great idea. I hope you find the time to make some videos breaking down examples of some ways to approach some of these transitions and sequences in the future.

[@parallelfifths2824]

Hey Doug, thanks for watching. Can you be more specific about what you want to know about he transitions and sequences?

[@ADarkandStormyNight]

@@parallelfifths2824 well it is not likely this is possible as they were improvisations but several of your sequences sounded really great but the only way to figure them out is to slow down the video and try and figure them out which is tough.

[@ADarkandStormyNight]

Notation would be HUGE!

[@parallelfifths2824]

@@ADarkandStormyNight So, basically, you want some material you can work with. Maybe I can make a video that can be all about where to get material and what to do with it.

[@ADarkandStormyNight]

Well yes this was an extremely helpful video but hard to keep up with visually so a break down of the ideas you are basing your TSCR sections on would be a god send.

[@timbruer7318]

Really good stuff, and it's great to see classical musicians improvising. Obviously to do it as well as yourself you need to have a pretty thorough knowledge of the melodic language you're working with before you embark on the creation of these structures :)

[@parallelfifths2824]

Thanks for watching, Tim; so glad you found it helpful. Needless to say, you do need to have a familiarity with the “soundworld” that you’re trying to improvise in, as you say. But usually I find that those interested in learning to do the things I gush about on my channel really love the style, and so usually are very familiar with it!

[@timbruer7318]

@@parallelfifths2824 Yes, I hear you, I suppose I was just thinking that when you did the demos the fluency of the melodic language was obviously already taken care of, but you may well have done other videos on that aspect of things, as of course you're not going to be able to do the whole thing convincingly unless you have that hands on familiarity. I'm a jazz pianist by the way, and find this area really fascinating, so much so that I interviewed Robert Levin about it. It's under "Robert Levin - On Improvisation" on here if you're interested.

[@parallelfifths2824]

Can you get me a link? I’ve had the pleasure of meeting and playing for Mr. Levin a number of times. He is the real deal, that’s for sure.

[@timbruer7318]

@@parallelfifths2824 yes, here you go kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3SxXnWNg8qXnJo

[@svenrohark4003]

❤👍❤️

[@selfreferentialhumor]

I think I know where this is "fleshed out" - a PhD dissertation "Fortspinnungstypus Revisited" by Riitta Rautio. Gjerdingen was one of the reviewers.

[@parallelfifths2824]

Thanks for the reference!