How to Listen to Classical Music: Fugues

[@InsidetheScore]

Discover more music with Apple Music Classical, the streaming service for classical music. apple.co/InsideTheScore For more on Fugues, you can search for Bach, or my secret favourite fugue: Holst's Fugal Overture. (Not to be confused with his fugal concerto). Enjoy!

[@bilbobaggins5704]

Introducing the Fugue as a musical form with a Toccata in the background is simply priceless.

[@soleildj1572]

lol

[@etiennedelaunois1737]

So the part that is played on the background is a fugue... toccata and FUGUE in D minor

[@bilbobaggins5704]

@@etiennedelaunois1737 At the very beginning of this video you can hear J.S. Bach's toccata from BWV 565. It is a separate compositional form and is not a fugue. Typically, when the entire BWV 565 is performed, the toccata which is about 133 measures long is followed after about two minutes and forty seconds by the fugal part of the piece. So, what you first hear at the beginning is a toccata.

[@thomasgaldieri369]

It was definitely not the fugue part of toccata and fugue in D minor

[@alhfgsp]

J.S. Bach could literally improvise fugues on subjects given to him on the spot then write it down later from memory. There is a reason why composers after him idolized his music.

[@jasonmurray4714]

So he was like Jay-Z or Black Thought.

[@johnperez822]

@@jasonmurray4714 not really the same thing honesty

[@carteralita5377]

@@jasonmurray4714 the difference between bach's and jayz's brain is like comparing human's brain to an ant's. i know u were just joking and i get it i dont take it serious but still this was the worst metaphor dude :D you disrespect Bach

[@Ayo.Ajisafe]

@@carteralita5377 What exactly do you know about Jay-z's brain? Or anybody's brain? Furthermore, the type of elitism you display here is probably why classical music is selling so little and not as some of you would think because the masses are "too dim". Bach was one of the greatest minds of his time when it came to music (I'm unaware of him excelling in other fields) and he wrote music popular in the style of his day. Jay-z is also one of the greatest minds of his time when it comes to music and he writes music in the style of his day. Bach according to sources could improvise a fugue which is a complex musical form usually written with much premeditation. Both Jay-Z and Black Thought can improvise rap verses which are often both lyrically and rhythmically complex musical forms usually written with much premeditation. The presupposition that one is inherently better than the other is merely down to Eurocentric cultural domination in the Western world which values things of European descent above things that are not. In reality, better is of course subjective. The saddest thing is when someone tries to put classical music in terms that could be more digestible to the average person living today, you shut this down with prejudice. You speak about "disrespect Bach" while disrespecting Jay-z who has made incredible contributions to music and has managed to build an extremely diverse fanbase. And speaking of intelligence, this is a man that went from a poor housing project to becoming one of a handful of musical Billionaires surpassing such figures as Paul Mcartney and Julio Iglesias. Not bad for someone with an ant sized brain.

[@nachfullbarertrank5230]

i think fugue improvisation was standard in the baroque era

[@InsidetheScore]

Response to "You started with a Toccata" --- before another person comments the same observation: I'm glad so many are enjoying the video! Thanks for watching and I hope you learned something Lots of people have asked about the Toccata at the beginning of the piece - Yes, I know it's not a fugue! I knew it wasn't when I put it on. I just wanted something striking to start the video - you'll notice just about all my videos start with something like that. The toccata at the beginning is not a fugue - literally everything else in this video is about fugue. It just seemed to be a nice piece to start the video with, where I'd struggled to find a fugue which sounded striking enough in its first few notes. So no need to message me about that anymore - thanks

[@jaikee9477]

Just ignore those nit-pickers. You did a fantastic job!

[@InsidetheScore]

@@jaikee9477 Haha I didn't mind until the 15th comment saying the same thing, then I thought I would address it; I know it would've been better starting with a fugue, but I've made it now and I hope people can look past the first piece I chose to the rest of the video - thanks for your kind words!

[@Pstephen]

The Fugue of BWV 542 wouldn't have been bad. It's not as arresting as that Toccata, but it's no slouch. Thanks for this though: I know now, but it tool me ages to work out what a fugue is - all the descriptions talked about voices, but there were no voices! It was seeing my mother pick her way through the start of - I think - a reduction of a Beethoven quartet that showed me, and then I realised that I'd really known all along. You can't beat a good fugue though.

[@paladinmixer6735]

Little fugue in g minor is pretty decent striking wise if you're ever in need again :P

[@InsidetheScore]

@@paladinmixer6735 Listen to the Stokowski orchestration of that - Part epic part hilarious

[@HumbleNewMusic]

Fugues are such a natural musical expression to me; they're supposedly constructed under strict rules but always sound so natural... I guess when done well everything is...

[@FrostDirt]

I think it's because it's "simple", as in the theme doesn't vary much. Especially true in Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier.

[@HumbleNewMusic]

@@FrostDirt Yes & very concise & unified... 🎶

[@Hailstormand]

Bach's Little Fugue is the go-to fugue for me. It has a simple subject but as the piece moves along, it becomes a show stopper that doesn't let up until the end. It also makes the brain hurt a little bit, looking for the fugal patterns.

[@GaryVanderPloeg]

Perhaps @insidethescore can do a analysis of the Little Fugue (G minor). Shows Bach's genius and is one of the more well known keyboard/organ fugues.

[@pineapple_1066]

I don't care about whether this video is too hard for beginners or not, I feel like my music A-level result has been saved by your video, that it rly rly made what my teacher didn't explain clear much clearer. Thank you a lot!!!

[@rustygear447]

Not sure why i'm here. Know nothing about music theory, but i'm glad to find out it's not pronounced "fug-you"

[@soupgirl1864]

I thought it was "foog-way"

[@1620rx]

Same

[@NoctumusTV]

I've always thought it was "f**k-you" ... nah, not really :P

[@jon8706]

I passed music theory and know nothing about music theory

[@basedbattledroid3507]

Because my dad was kind of drunk when I was born and my mum was angry at him: "Fug" ended up being my legal first name. And coincidentally, my surname is "Allman", like the country singer brothers. So every time I fill out a form people are always asking "Jeez why are you so angry at all men?" I just prefer to add the initial call myself Fug J. Allman. The process to change my legal name is way too expensive and long here, so I just add the initial of my middle name, Jezebel.

[@adonisadmirer2752]

One of the most complex forms of composition, succinctly explained in such short time. You are impressive, sir.

[@Theraldave]

I'm starting to think this clasical music stuff is deep

[@p-y8210]

well it is

[@HaveYouTriedGuillotines]

Classical and Jazz are about as deep into music as you can get. Almost any music you're writing can be improved by adding a touch of theory from either. ...The problem of course being, that's it's... Difficult. I think I finally understand how to compose some fugue, which just leaves the question of how to compose *good* fugue. Managing three or more different harmonically interdependent but rhythmically disparate lines is like writing three different pieces of music atop each other.

[@p-y8210]

@@HaveYouTriedGuillotines yeah that's why bach is insane

[@ZacharyBittner]

Nah, it's not just classical music. This can apply to all genres

[@yousnoozeyouloze]

fuguettaboutit!

[@candlebaby3172]

thank you! I am currently studying music and got really stuck on my lesson on fugues. My theory book makes it sound very overwhelming and confusing. You explained it really simply and thoroughly and I'm really glad that I get it now!! Thank you so much! Now I think I may be able to pass my CM test..

[@Renee2004lr]

A friend of mine in college composed his own conclusion to Bach's "Art of the Fugue" and had a profound influence on my own composition(s). I even wrote a brief double fugue in the 3rd mm of my 1st wind quintet!!

[@joaolucasgaldino9872]

I've fell in love with classical music and opera about two years ago. I have always analysed the emotion it gives, but thanks to you I can have a deeper look at the work that has been put into a piece. Thanks!

[@GogiRegion]

Damn. I was writing a fugue this whole time without even knowing what it was called! This video probably is going to help me quite a bit with writing the composition.

[@MP-cv6if]

How did it go?

[@wheresmahat345]

We may never know how it went...

[@mazeppa1231]

Same, haha!! I was writing a fugue way back, and never knew it was this. I kind of stopped before, since it became so complex that my brain hurt, but it was really fun to make!

[@chetandhavse1581]

Listing to Little Fugue in G minor.. Carefully listen to the 4 voices when they enter. You will understand what a Fugue Is..

[@annawood5725]

The most amazing fugues of Bach I ever came across are in his organ repertoire - wonderful stuff!

[@allanreiter4088]

What a lucid explanation of the fugal form of writing! I am a retired amateur pianist who decided to relearn Bach's Capriccio after seeing the recent prize-winning movie that uses the fugue's countersubject (I guess) to tease his new (acquaintance according to the novelist). But after studying the three recent issues of the Pianist Magazine, which devoted an extended article on the fugue, I felt I needed help from my teacher. But with this video I can now look forward to analyzing that fugue ("imitating the cornet of the postillion") which captured my imagination as a youngster in '58 with Landowska's recording.

[@southernyankee5259]

I came for a fudge and you started with a ricotta

[@Strombowli]

I came for a Fugue and you start off with a stromata

[@PetCactusA_HarmlessLittlePrick]

Are we having lasagna?

[@Hecatonicosachoron]

A ricercar?

[@profd65]

So hilarious. Really.

[@nowananda]

I listened to Classical music on and off throughout my life and played the piano for 6 years when I was young, then stopped because i was a teeneger and thought i knew better. I'm so happy to understand classical music a bit deeper - thank you

[@DavidSdeLis]

Very interesting video. Now, as a complementary, may I suggest a second one with a different approach? Instead of explaining the Fugues from all the variety, just explain the Fugue in C minor for four voices, but explain how the voices interact, how they expose the theme and then how they interact with each other. I learned to love the Little fugue in G minor that way, and it's amazing how easy is to understand the 4 voices now, either at organ or piano (playing the damn thing is a different kind of beast altogether)! So, you get to the general through the specific: instead of studying all Fugues to understand what's a Fugue, just study one of them and extrapolate: dissect it for us to enjoy and understand in all its glory... Bach, as you very well said, was a pure genius, and the Fugue is like the top of the complication in composition. Thanks and cheers!

[@InsidetheScore]

This is a very good idea and I'm planning on using this kind of educational method in future videos

[@DavidSdeLis]

@@InsidetheScore Great! We'll be waiting eagerly! :-)

[@lesliesterling826]

everyone uses the Little Fugue in G minor. I liked that this video used other examples.

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

I've been playing the piano for over a year after a lifetime of joking that I was born with two left ears. The turning point for me was learning the Rule of the Octave last month. Since then I've discovered musica, which is big since I probably suffer from Aural Aphantasia. These videos are gold for their quality and content. Merci.

[@libatonvhs]

That is such an amazing channel, I'm desperately waiting for more!

[@InsidetheScore]

Thank you - makes it all worthwhile

[@MiaFeigelsonGallery]

So am I, thank you so very much @Inside the Score !!!!

[@trumpetchannelGR]

Ι agree !!!!

[@mingyan2988]

@@trumpetchannelGR you suck at th eory

[@segmentsAndCurves]

@@mingyan2988 funny joke!

[@robbes7rh]

Well done! A nicely compact and elucidating look at the apotheosis of Fugue writing that emanated from J.S. Bach. The way you employ musical examples is very effective. Nary a boring or repetitive moment.

[@GururajBN]

Oh! I am overwhelmed. So much in so little time. But then, I am not acquainted with western classical music. Hope to know more through these videos.

[@Petra1001uk]

This is BRILLIANT! My musical brain completely got it! It's like an embroidery, or collage. Stitching different patterns, threads, materials onto a canvas which look nothing by themselves, but in composition make the complete image... and images within the image. I came to here after just discovering that humans can also have a mental state called 'fugue' too. I'd heard of musical fugue - but not what it meant - so looked up both, and yeah, I can see how the brain (also the organ which creates musical fugue) can be affected by the condition, and in short - I think the genius composers were creating in music what was happening in their brain! It's only my spontaneous thought, so please don't anyone slap my wrist. :-)

[@oakstrong1]

Thank you for this video, it lets me understand and appreciate more what I am listening as an uneducated consumer. (Bach is one of my favourite composers.) I wish there was Internet and KZbin when I was young, decades wasted in ignorance.

[@NelsonMontana1234]

There's Bach -- and there's everybody else.

[@MatthewHolevinski]

mic drop

[@MrTiti]

that is true

[@jarjuicemachine]

Very underrated

[@jarjuicemachine]

@deafghost52 yes

[@giuseppegaleotti9149]

Mozart better

[@PhillipYewTree]

Thanks for sharing this. I appreciated the quality of the graphics, the clarity of expressing the idea, and the pace of development. I love music - and of course Bach - but my knowledge about it is limited. This has extended my understanding and I look forward to more of your presentations. Thanks again.

[@carlorachel]

As a composer, I have to share that the writing of fugues is more mathematics turning into art than art morphing into mathematics. What I've found essential to fugue composition is extremely careful creation of the subject. If you dare try to be "out there" with your subject and get too creative, you quickly will find that even taking latitude with tonal answers simply does not foster "acceptable" fugal harmonies, rhythms, or margins for telescoping the original subject. While a level of atonality is interesting, in my opinion, a fugue should have a distinctive and memorable theme that blossoms in harmonic expansion and exploration. An example of a fugue that truly works is the Kyrie from Mozart's Requiem. Brilliantly stated, answered, developed, and resolved. Thank you for an excellent look into fugues. Look forward to your future work.

[@InsidetheScore]

And that Kyrie uses the Christe (Christe e-le-e-e-e-e) as it's countersubject in Double Fugue, right? The only Kyrie I know of which does that

[@roberta4266]

The Holy Grail of fugue: Tocatta and Fugue. Thanks, Bach, you are a musical genius who gave us so much. Truly a Divine Inspiration.

[@VexaS1n]

Funny you say it. Toccata & Fugue is thought to not have been composed by Bach. The fugue particularly is very unusual for Bach: It has a real answer at the sub-dominant (which as far as I know, Bach never did, he followed the rule of the dominant religiously). And, after the exposition, the fugal texture dissolves into simple sequences that J.S. doesn't usually employ.

[@roberta4266]

Ooooooo kkkkkk …. Then whoever wrote it, it was a masterpiece and still used to this day. And if it really was Bach who wrote it, good show.

[@darealbeesechurger]

A year later, here we are with blue lobster as its representative

[@LisaB_12204]

Thank you. Brilliant use of highlighting colors to help us see the music your speaking of.

[@trojanette8345]

WOW this is eye opening for someone who never 'read' music. Now I feel a little smarter. :)

[@巧-x4p]

Absolutely,hehe~~

[@johnclayden1670]

Fascinating, truly fascinating. I've always enjoyed fugues ever since a 70's cassette of mine 'Der kunst der fugue'. Aptly named.

[@carlosfogginmusic]

For an introductory video, there's a lot of material that's covered very quickly, a plethora of new terminology, with no opportunity for the listener to hear examples. As a organist who understands the subject material, the pace was quite fast, and those animated writing pencils drove me crazy...and again, no opportunity to hear the examples and digest the information.

[@sigfridoiglesiasgonzalez4107]

agree, completely

[@alyfarahat1227]

I would agree if it is a televised tutorial. However, this is a KZbin video. You can always pause, rewind, and spend time digesting the material on your own. What I like about this video is that it is compact, and provides much of the necessary knowledge for me to dig further later.

[@DavidValle]

@@alyfarahat1227 Exactly. You should get use to it, this is KZbin my friend. I don' t want a 40min video. If I need to double-check I have 4x less length where to look for.

[@vaughanmacegan4012]

@@DavidValle I'll take the 40 min video thanks.

[@jacobwright4653]

@Vaughan MacEgan you’re better off taking classical lessons

[@alexlin7279]

I have an exam coming up for Quantified Logic. I never thought of using musicality to help my brain exercise for the test. This video is truly a gem!

[@KhomotsoLeshaba]

This video makes my preparation for Theory of Music Grade 7 an absolute breeze at the University of South Africa... your lessons are amazing. Thank you so so much

[@theresechristiansen9769]

By now you would've completed this but I would suggest skipping it, going straight to Associate Level. Congratulations -because it's darn hard.

[@Tubewatchinggal]

Well we spent 8 years in music school studying nothing but that , or harmony. Around year 4-5 you typically “explode” and begin harmonising like crazy.

[@mememanfresh]

@BVale who asked

[@mememanfresh]

@Mat Stan make me

[@mememanfresh]

@Mat Stan win what? where was the argument? you make no sense 😂

[@mirandamanga9083]

@@mememanfresh ???

[@mememanfresh]

@@mirandamanga9083 i dont even remember what happened

[@subtus]

I don't know anything about music theory but I liked your explanation. I think I understood the essence of it. Thanks.

[@nyanates]

Tnx for the breakdown. In my early years studying the classical guitar no other musical form invoked such awe and trepidation as being able to play these transcriptions "correctly." And for good reason.

[@chriskeeim]

I'm Confugued...It is a Great Video! I'm just not studied in composition, so this was a little over my head.

[@PeaceNinja007]

Get the fugue out of here!

[@Ciesiam]

What a delightful video you created. At the beginning when you were explaining before a counterpoint, I was instantly reminded of madrigals. It’s fitting because the style of music was right before Bach. Such a wonderful video, thank you.

[@galaxylucia1898]

This was incredible helpful video lesson as many have previously pointed out!! I really appreciated that you provided the score AND accompanying music for your examples because that’s the best way to teach musical concepts by hearing the examples and seeing the score. (A couple other videos only woke out concepts which made it more abstract.) Thanks for the video!!

[@mary-annholowachuk6023]

À

[@Hs3u39]

I’ve also heard what you’ve here called inversion described as mirroring. I learned that invertible counterpoint was switching voices registrally,say the subject and countersubject, to get a new relationship between the voices while still maintaining “good” counterpoint. Bach uses invertible counterpoint at the octave, tenth and twelfth in places throughout his fugal writing. Check out the g minor fugue from WTC, bk. 2.

[@marcoevans2155]

Who's still confused? I mean confugued

[@rahmoore7682]

😂❤

[@slwankaedbey775]

Great info... I'd love to hear about modulation in depth, how each composer approach this, and I mean specially the melody not the chords because harmony will follow the melody

[@sandroh7573]

Imagine how advanced Bach’s brain was to develop all of the fugues. Absolutely godly.

[@segmentsAndCurves]

It's all about environment and learning.

[@dr.fabriciogerardoacevespl5390]

I think that in practice they followed the dynamics of painting a picture: they decided the subject, then the background colors, then they went adding layers or veils, they decided which parts were light and which were dark, The answer went up or down an octave, staying on the scale, and making agreement at the counterpoint to avoid outbursts, and to preserve emotional and ideological congruence. In Painting the "fuga" ergo "vanishing point" is a concept that alludes to depthness, to the inertia of contemplation.

[@buddhasattva]

Inside the Score. Well- presented and explained. Voice, no pun intended, was clear and succinct. But I wish I was musically-trained to appreciate and understand it well!

[@PartScavenger]

Been a pop musician for 20 years. This video was mindblowing

[@SYWPiano]

Question: what's the difference between a canon and a stretto? The spacing of the subject and answer?

[@parniyankarimi9952]

the work u are doing is just amazing... thanks for this brilliant enlightening explanation! lots of love from Iran

[@4034miguel]

One double fugue that always touches me every time I hear, it is in the 5th Symphony of Anton Bruckner, on the development of the 4th movement. It is a an extraordinary, beautiful and spectacular example of counterpoint mastery.

[@jkryanspark]

You stole my thunder, but it's always great to come across another fan of the great and overlooked composer.

[@AntPDC]

I'd add "emotion" to that list at 9:05. Well executed fugues nourish my brain; make me burst into tears - in a brilliant way.

[@carolineandtigger]

I learned a lot today. Thank you for sharing this video.

[@ianwattsOfficial]

This video should be shown in all school's and universities around the world.... GREAT JOB....:::))) Cheer's from Australia

[@citlalicervantes6498]

Loved it!!! Also, I liked how you didn't just analysed Little fugue in G minor like most videos on fugues. :)

[@InsidetheScore]

Thanks - Haha the only version of that I will listen to is the Stokowski transcription. Because of the final minute in his arrangement. So ridiculous

[@jl9205]

You are a one-man music appreciation class!

[@ilkeraltinbas8846]

Well after watching this video, I just downloaded a klavie app to start my composer career.

[@erpollock]

Now I see why Mendelssohn sat surrounded by Bach scores and studied them, fascinated. Only a mind like Mendelssohn's could understand the underpinning of Bach.

[@Puzzles32]

When you said combinations my mind was blown...Thank You for breaking this subject down!

[@InsidetheScore]

Haha you're welcome, glad you enjoyed!

[@msatad]

just to say thanks for this video, and its examples, and its strange and interesting dynamics, all of which shared in the stimulating effect.

[@zGabaz]

Thank you very much for this series! I'm a big fan of Classical Music and Video Games Soundtracks ( if you don't know any, I would reccomend the compositions made by Nobuo Uematsu, for Final Fantasy. I think that Dancing Mad or One Winged Angel are some of the best pieces from him). I'm studying music by myself, so it's quite hard to grasp concepts from music theory. This series has helped me a lot in this regard, and made me appreciate classical music even more. This video was specially helpful, since I'm trying to learn a piece in Goldberg Variations. I hope you keep making videos for youtube, your work is amazing, my friend :)

[@holysmokes4493]

Much respect for the self study. All the best.

[@albertparish1729]

thanks, i was watching this for gcse revision and not only was it really useful but i was surprised to find it very interesting and quite enjoyed watching! thank you very, very much mate.

[@markgearing]

Whooosh. That was the sound of most of what you said going over my head. My understanding, based on this video, is that a fugue is: 1: Jargon, 2: Some more jargon, 3: A bit more jargon, 4: Things I'd understand with a deeper understanding of music, and 5: Jargon. I love classical music, I'd love to understand the mechanics of it better and I really hoped to come out of this video experience knowing more about a term I've heard often. But I didn't. (I enjoyed the music, though. Thank you).

[@logangreen697]

You made a video on fugues without making fugue in g minor an example you deserve a like

[@michaelfitzurka5659]

short crisp and impactful. ty

[@dojokonojo]

Music with dense textures and multiple independent melodic lines that harmonize with each other is music that makes me o-

[@mbrigi91]

I must admit, as someone who has not much knowledge in the classical field, nor very good musical hearing, I foud this video too complex. Maybe a video named "how to listen to classical music:fugues for dummies? " would help :D My brain can't identify and compare the the similarities and differences of a melody consciously his fast, and on top of that you expect to remember all these new terms. :D

[@holliefitzzz]

if you wanna feel reaaaaally stupid check out jacob collier talking about negative harmony

[@deliseovpstudio2978]

mbrigi91 - You needn't feel so downtrodden! In this technological age there's this thing called "the rewind/reverse button"

[@Doubleranged1]

@@deliseovpstudio2978 even with rewind i can't follow the language of the speaker. He speaks in musical terms that are unknown if you are not a musician or study of music yourself. To claim that this video is a good starting point if you want to get into classical music is bs.

[@thebones]

@@Doubleranged1 put some effort in yourself and you will be rewarded ten times over.

[@thebones]

@@deliseovpstudio2978 what he said!

[@AshleyHKim-se6tf]

came here from fugue-you, but incredibly educational video! thx

[@GyromiteROB]

Considering you played Toccata&fugue at the beginning, I'm surprised you didn't mention it uses a plagal answer.

[@paddysmusic3503]

Ok this video is 5 years old so idk if you'll see this but I recently wrote my undergrad dissertation on fugal analysis and I have a few thoughts. First of all, that Fugue in C minor from book 2 is incredibly good(!!!) There's a particularly good performance by Glenn Gould which brings out its brief but inventive character which I love and it's also the first keyboard fugue I ever learned so it has a bit of a special place to me. I don't know if its the fugue I'd go to for to introduce fugal principles though. First of all, as I'm sure you know there's the funny first entry of the fourth voice which occurs beyond halfway through the piece, in augmentation. The use of augmentation and inversion about halfway through in combination with the subject is incredibly clever, but the example implies that it happens in combination with the subject or inversions which is actually not that common from what I've seen. The more common case is that the changed subject is treated on its own, as seen later in the same fugue. Also, even before the nineteenth century, the answer does not need to be "in the dominant", the most famous example of this is the famous Toccata and Fugue in D minor. Finally, I disagree with your characterisation that fugues are "exercises". The point of fugues is seeking out the contrapuntal potentialities of the subject(s). This is, in some sense, the form-generating principle of fugues and characterising them as exercises with strict theoretical requirements misses the point. Consider the Art of the Fugue as one big fugue and you'll see what I mean.

[@Sigmaairav]

Well this is fascinating. This has revealed to me that I have been unwittingly composing some songs in fugue. Even more fascinating is that I was named after Bach, ended up a musician, and have been composing songs in similar ways to Bach without even realizing it

[@classicaldeb]

Wow!

[@pianoforte17xx48]

Well no one can reach Bach's level. But it's also undeniably magnificent to compose fugues, they ain't easy!

[@kariebeez]

A mathematical music score? It's fascinating; listening to J.S. Bach's Little Fugue in G-minor BWV 578 and as a non-musician, I never fail to marvel at the beauty of the composition. It seems as if musicians layer their instruments over and below the other ones.

[@biffii5568]

Love this type of video. Can you do more on other classical archetypes? Nocturnes, scherzos, ballades etc.

[@skyblazeeterno]

great explanation. If youre using a sequencer its basically repeating loops time stretching , transposing etc

[@HeavymetalHylian]

What the fugue?

[@XsmaelTheBest7]

xD HAHAHA

[@derik2nicolai584]

HoneyedHylian Fugue is a love story movie 🎥

[@silverfoot6079]

Get the fugato here

[@MitchBoucherComposer]

@@silverfoot6079 I'll fughetta-bout it a day from now

[@CharlesKingSound]

Very well done. Thank you for taking the time to explain this.

[@OldSchoolVisions]

Mind blown. love your channel

[@richardmcleod5967]

I found out what a Fugue is by listening to them on a Columbia 33 1/3 Record with no interruptions. The performance was by Glenn Gould and the recording was from the old Columbia Record Cub.

[@BluSprinks]

I came for fugues and you start off with a toccata

[@HUnatuurkunde]

the fugue succeeds the toccata prelude. What we hear in this vid is the introduction of the fugue's subject (@0.46)

[@pasijutaulietuviuesas9174]

@@HUnatuurkunde I'm pretty sure we're all aware. There are these things called jokes. You might have heard of them.

[@thomaspick4123]

Toccata is a sweet dessert. A fugue is a fudgie.

[@nextlifeonearth]

@@pasijutaulietuviuesas9174 The best jokes are based on truth.

[@pasijutaulietuviuesas9174]

@@nextlifeonearth That is true, and the original poster's joke was indeed based on truth. What ruins jokes, however, is unnecessary information regardless of whether it's true or not.

[@NadyaPena-01]

this is so interesting and well-explained. Thank you. I need to watch this several times so the info can sink in. I might try out a Bach fugue after this video.

[@horationelson57]

In heaven, when the angels are playing music for each other, they play Mozart....but when the angels play for God, it is always the music of Bach!

[@classicaldeb]

Oh yeah! Spot on.

[@thebones]

what are you smokin'?

[@benhoughton8]

@@thebones I am smoking the best shit, Bach grew it 😂

[@tseries6622]

I’m in the wind ensemble at my high school and we’re playing toccata and fugue in d minor for UIL and I thought I should educate myself.

[@ryangiraldi5722]

Explains fugue while playing a toccata in the background.

[@HighWideandHandsome]

I stopped the video immediately once I heard that to look for this comment.

[@veggieburger2793]

@@HighWideandHandsome lol same

[@garbiiiiij]

Pinned comment bud

[@mikehamm7256]

dolofonos lmao get wrek’d

[@plekkchand]

What on earth is wrong with that? Or even significant?

[@quailstudios]

How come you didn’t mention the sequence? Sequences are found in fugues all the time.

[@krissa9664]

when i play fugues i play the with 2 hands to voices for right 1 for left

[@darashayda1]

excellent exposition and thank you ,more of these will be greatly appreciated

[@marizacabral5141]

The so-called "rules" are after-the-fact descriptions, they are not prescriptive a-priori rules. Also, creating great music, fugue or not, is mostly the work of the subconscious, whose workings are orders of magnitude more complex (not to mention also more meaningful) than our conscious rational minds. If composing a fugue was like solving a sudoku, as this video claims, then all fugues would have to be very simple and short. A sudoku that would yield a complex fugue would be too difficult to be solved by human pondering. The fact that we cannot name the rules enough to program them into a computer and rival e.g. JS Bach is proof that writing fugues is not about applying rules. The video says "logic", "thought" and "development" but if we were to use just those mental skills we would be like the proverbial monkeys typing at random into infinite time to produce the works of Shakespeare (or the great fugues of Bach).

[@pianoforte17xx48]

Subconsciousness does indeed interfere with composition, otherwise ideas won't proliferate using only the consciousness which is surrounded by rules and boundaries

[@aizatnazeri3863]

I was doing fine with the previous video thinking yeah listening classical music is much simpler than I imagined but this is a huge fugue you moment to me.

[@Problembeing]

Would love to hear your thoughts on Thomas Tallis

[@CrownedWithLaurels]

Enthusiastically seconded!

[@FarisAbdulal]

LITERALLY THE BEST EXPLANATION EVER!! Thank you!

[@caterscarrots3407]

What does stretto mean when it is outside of a fugue? For example in Chopin's nocturne op 9 no 2, there is a spot in the sheet music that says stretto. Clearly a nocturne does not have fugal elements. So does it just mean something along the lines of stressed when it isn't in a fugue?

[@michaelorgill4130]

Outside the context of a fugue it means to play that passage faster

[@pianodudeler]

stretto in Italian means narrow and connects with the rare (except in geography)nowadays English word 'strait' and in fugue refers to the time interval between entries which may come to overlap, and the time interval between notes in a stretto passage in other music hence a quickening.

[@bruceweaver1518]

EXCELLENT! PLEASE HAVE MORE. This is helping me write a fugue in my Mass in C-Minor!

[@TheLivingHeiromartyr]

Love how the opening music isn't a fugue.

[@williamfourmy8363]

You are so so clever!!!! It really helps me to understand musical language, and it’s so interesting finding this in well known pieces! If you started to look at pieces that A-Level music students study, that would be the best thing ever!

[@ccrpalex2456]

Title is misleading, nowhere does it show how put on headphones or plug speaker and press play. That's How I normally listen to classical music.

[@mauricioszwerdszarf1455]

Love your videos.

[@phizzelout]

I completely lost and don't know what the fugue you're talking about

[@glennso47]

phizzelout Is it a profanity? As in “fugue you?”

[@Zimzamzoom95]

Glenn Lego what the fugue?

[@paulbloemen7256]

I happen to like fugues and other types of music written by a Bach admirer: Max Reger, who added some "new music sound" of his time, quite unique to Reger, making them sound spectacularly complex, with hidden beauty, making them a true adventure to listen to.

[@aditya007rockstar]

I will never fuget this..