How to Play the Piano MORE EXPRESSIVELY [Feat. Bach Invention No. 1]

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Watch next: How to Play Two Against Three Rhythms: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n32kmZqJgZunqJo

[@lizweekes8076]

Thanks Kate 🎉

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

You're welcome!

[@JuliaPikalova]

I'd like to add a point I consider very important for expressiveness. Often the expressiveness comes when we "emphasize" not the beats that are "expected", but vice versa. Sometimes the composers help us and accentuate it. Example: the many ">" above the "weak" notes in the Mozart's Fantasy in re minore, or the multiple sforzando at the weak beats and many "subito piano" at the first beats dopo "forte" in the Beethoven's 6th sonata for piano and violin. (There are obviously many more examples, especially in romantic music.) So, if I may say, what you have displayed is a necessary foundation, but the direct following of the beat pattern is not always applicable, sometimes even detrimental, and often a mix is required. Thank you for your work and hello to all piano lovers!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thanks for your comment! I agree with you 💯. This video is to lay the foundation for beat pattern fundamentals; I'm planning on making a video to talk about "exceptions" to beat pattern - to address this very thing. What I've noticed is that without an understanding of the "expected" strong beats, students have difficulty sensing the significance of an accent, syncopation, sf, or other type of accentuation on a "weak" beat, meant for expressive purposes by a composer. Hope this helps clarify. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!

[@JuliaPikalova]

@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd Thank you very much, looking forward to the next video 🌷

[@yesimbasaran4972]

I've finally had an 'aha' moment about why I can't play with musicality. This video shed light on at least one aspect of it. Thank you so much!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

So glad to hear this!!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

I'm so glad it was useful to you! Hope this helps your future practicing as you aim to integrate expression in your playing! Happy practicing! 😊

[@lynnanderson1326]

Just got my “new” piano tuned! So nice!!!!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Yay - enjoy!! 🎹🥳

[@TheTmackey]

Dear Prof, I’ve been working on this piece forever and it has always sounded flat. Now I know why. Tomorrow morning I will bring this lesson to Mr. Bach. Thanks! Tom

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Great! I hope this works for you!

[@PsychHacks]

Excellent explanation!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thank you. Hope it helps you in your own journey!

[@leileonardo6158]

Thank you so much! This is very helpful!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Glad to hear it!

[@lawrencetaylor4101]

A well-timed video, pun intended. My musicality was very weak, and this week I've worked on this aspect and this helps bigly. Merci.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Glad it helped! 🥳

[@elizabethswiftpiano]

You are so succinct, you manage to place a gem in every point you make. Another great video!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thanks so much - I really appreciate it!

[@s.n.b5511]

Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge. I have a teacher and I’m assigned to advanced pieces. But I don’t have solid knowledge base. In my piano lesson I don’t have time for digging into theoretical part, and how it should be expressed on piano. Appreciation ❤ How fortunate to have this opportunity to learn from you 😊

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

You're very welcome! Thank you so much for your comment, and I'm glad you find the videos helpful.

[@Gill3D]

Excellent video and very timely as my piano teacher has just started me on Bach's Invention No 8!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Great! Good luck with it - I love that one!

[@chriscatapano1788]

What a fantastic tutorial. Thank you so much.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

You're welcome!

[@modernmusicstudio303]

This is such a great tutorial!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thank you so much! Cheers!

[@russian-canadianfamily6895]

Thank you your are very helpful

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

You're welcome! 😊

[@pc2nite]

Thanks for this excellent and convincing explanation and demonstration of the method Professor. Slightly troublesome for me is that keyboards from the time of the music's composition were surely at odds with an expression of beat hierarchy favouring the contemporary instrument's sensitivity to key velocity: Are we fortunate and/or ignorant?

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

This is such a good question, and one that many musicologists and performers have explored and continue to explore in depth. The topic of performance practice is a large field of inquiry and more extensive than I can cover in this reply. As you point out, the modern piano did not exist at the time of the Bach inventions. The piano we play today works so very differently than the keyboard instruments of the time that, in a way, we can think about playing Baroque music on the piano almost in terms of it being a "transcription." A very good book about this topic is by David Breitman: Piano-Playing Revisited. He talks about how to use information we know about performance practice on period instruments from the Baroque, Classical and Romantic eras to interpret music on a modern piano. One way I think about this issue is to recall Baroque-era instruments that *could* and were *expected to* play different dynamics - string and wind instruments, plus vocalists for example - and then to notice that Bach wrote similar melodic and harmonic material for the keyboard that he did for these other instruments. Also, there are treatises of the time that explicitly talk about playing strong and weak beats and emphasizing some notes over others in specific cases. I think these factors are a good justification for shaping and dynamics when playing Baroque music on a modern piano.

[@pc2nite]

@@ThePianoProfKateBoyd Once again, thank you Professor. I will follow up on your suggestion. I hope I have not diverted anyone from the basic principle demonstrated.

[@0516bfgb-x9o]

Can this rule apply to guitar, bass and vocal lines? other types of music like pop, rock...etc? how did you use the fourth beat the lead? I don't get this one.

[@markahearn1]

Thank you for this posting, it is nice to be reminded. But taking this beat hierarchy concept a step further, How do you shape 16th notes? Can you please do a follow up video with this in mind? Thanks again.

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Great idea - I believe what you're asking about is the question of "phrasing" and it's something that goes hand in hand with this video topic. Thanks for the suggestion!

[@iandodds693]

Brilliant insights there Kate, thanks. Shout out to brain scientists!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it! 🧠😊

[@cassiusrwebangira2021]

Thank you prof for your videos. How can I book a private class with you?

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

I'm not taking long-term students but if you're interested in a consultation or one-off, here's my contact form to sent an email. thepianoprof.com/contact/

[@lynnanderson1326]

Should the first beat be strong for both treble and bass clef if the melody is in the treble clef? Or only the melody line. Thank you so much. I have learned very much!

[@ThePianoProfKateBoyd]

Both hands - but the melody should be louder than the accompaniment.

[@CaptainCaveman782]

My teacher tells me this a million times and I still get it wrong. I think iI would be helpful if you play the correct and incorrect way without speaking as for those of us with poor aural skills, its hard to make out the difference. Maybe have the score highlight each beat.