Is BACH The Most DANGEROUS Composer? | Q&A

[@Luboman411]

J.S. Bach also taught teenagers for a living and had 7+ children in his household for an unbroken stretch of roughly three decades. If you have children and have ever taught teenagers, you know what I am talking about--IT IS EXHAUSTING! Every single day is exhausting! How Bach then had enough energy and mental capacity to become the "Mt. Everest of Classical Music" on top of just trying to make a living like a normal Joe Schmoe with a family in some provincial backwater is astoundingly impressive to me. He is not of this world. He is truly the first and only alien to live among us.

[@spletski8057]

among us

[@J.A.Seyforth]

He worked in the Church as an organist, composer, vocalist, teacher, performer of music ... He lived and breathed music for almost 50 years and believed he could communicate with God, divining music from the heavens. That's how! And bear in mind that his children were part of his inspiration as well as (as someone already mentioned) that there were lots of people helping out with the looking after of children, as well as he himself teaching them etc. Plus clearly he has a lot of other types of energy, he fathered a total of around 20 children, and many of them died at an early age. Watching Elliot Gardner's documentary on him (that is on KZbin for free) is very helpful for understanding the exceptional nature of Bach.

[@thepotatoportal69]

An alien? Like an imposter to our species? Among us?

[@DavidBennettPiano]

Thanks for the brilliant insights once again! 🙂

[@iambic-kilometer]

Did Bach wield a well-tempered cleaver?

[@aspidoscelis]

No.

[@granttherock9121]

This is officially my favorite comment on this website.

[@juanthegood]

He did! Two of them 🤣

[@Bati_]

I can't even express my gratitude towards all these invaluable insights and resources your provided David! As always thank you so much for everything!

[@JaySuryavanshiMusic]

Batı You too, Amazing!

[@Bati_]

Jay Suryavanshi Hi Jay! Hope you’re having a great day! Happy exploring!

[@JaySuryavanshiMusic]

Batı Thanks! You too!

[@clavichord]

I didn't realise how dangerous Bach was until I got my fingers permanetly in a twist while playing one of his keyboard fugues at too high a speed!

[@benjaminmarks8765]

I still cant untangle my legs 😔

[@Me-uv6kc]

Get on the glenn gould program

[@karlrovey]

One of Bach's trumpeters allegedly died due to the effects of a hernia caused by playing Bach's music.

[@francobonanni3499]

@@karlrovey his music needs hard work plenty of diligences...it is heavy type of music that is style...thank you.

[@lizziesmusicmaking]

Bach's opinion on woodwinds seems to be that our need to breathe is our problem, and not his. So his compositions are often a lesson in endurance, breath control and trying to find somewhere, anywhere to breathe.

[@jojojorisjhjosef]

took me 7 minutes of not paying attention that you got meme t-shirt.

[@passage2enBleu]

The creatives in the class are not listening to the teacher.

[@jojojorisjhjosef]

@@passage2enBleu They are listening to t-shits.

[@kvnjng]

One could almost say that Wintergatan will be marblelous

[@lsbrother]

One could actually say 'balls' hopefully without being offensive

[@TotalDESSSS]

What a beautiful and heart-warming argument for disposing of the evil that is glamour. True passion comes from within, not without. Thank you for the great Q&A, and all hail BACH!

[@DirkRadloff]

And thought Bach's technique seems strict he manages it to create so much emotion in his music

[@mtv565]

Such is the beauty of Bach! Technical, mathematical, theoretical yet still so emotional!

[@francobonanni3499]

@@mtv565 when I started playing Bach many things struck me. One the grandeur of his music Majestic and profound. The complexity of his music weaved like a rug. His capacity to link each bar one to another with elegance... nothing seems to be out of place. Thank you....

[@seustia]

A question for your next Q&A: How do you “practice” composing? I’m a music college students myself and I constantly felt “stuck” and can’t improve my composing. I’ve never experienced the feeling of being improved and such. It’s very depressing and caused me unable to compose anything for quite some time now. Hope you see this!

[@samwhite7693]

I hope he sees your comment! If I could give a tip, try studying scores and applying techniques from them into your own style. You can study many scores on imslp. Each composer and student is a product of the people that came before them; no one is an exception to this.

[@Noctovus]

Here's a few suggestions -The most important thing is to keep doing it. Write something everyday even if it's just a single bar or a quick recording of some inspiration you've had, your phone probably has a default voice memo app. -Next most important I'd say for a student is to transcribe your favorite songs (very difficult at first if you've never done it before, use a tool like tune transcriber so you can slow down and loop bits of a song, start very small with just isolating the melody and the bass) I'd argue that this is infinitely more valuable than just studying scores as you end up producing the score yourself. And it forces you to use and understand every theoretical and compositional concept you've learned to help you transcribe the score. Not to mention the ear training and notation practice you'll get out of it. -Try short little challenges, pick a melody and make 2 different harmonizations of it or the reverse, write multiple melodies over the same harmony. -And also if you get stuck, that's fine, move on to something new. There's nothing that says you have to finish every piece you start. I like to imagine it like it was visual art, you're going to have to make 100s of sketches as you learn. Hope this helps

[@BibleStorm]

-If you're glued to Sibelius/Finale/MuseScore all day and nothing is "working", turn the computer off and play an instrument. -If you're doing slow thoughtful composition, taking 8 hours to write 2 seconds of music, give up on that and improvise. -Writing an opera and wanting to "commence not living"? Give that a rest and write a melody over a 12 bar blues instead. If you're stuck with a particular approach, try a different one. A different approach might not be what you have in mind for whatever piece you're "stuck" with, but it could give you a clue or some inspiration as to what you're looking for.

[@lolzlarkin3059]

The usual writers block solution of write some crap songs. Don't try and write great or even good music. Just write a song. Don't waste time on the decisions, just bash it out quickly. Then keep going. If it take 10000 hours to get good. You need to accumulate 10000 hours of not good stuff first. If it goes straight in the bin, who cares. You will be better after doing it.

[@jameseverett9037]

@@lolzlarkin3059 - that's a good way to approach it for several reasons: 1st, it detaches you, which is probably the best tool or influence you can get. 2nd [these are related] it makes it not personal, so you have lots of space to play in, especially unconventional space. Just an observation I've made over a lifetime of noticing things about famous musicians; They write some really great stuff, and then can't seem to do it anymore, at least not at the level they were at before. The Beatles are a typical example. Why can't Paul write a tune anymore [personal opinion of course]? And Elton John? Oh, a mediocre nice tune here and there, but nothing like before [IMO] So I'm not sure if you ever get better at it, because that isn't the pattern I see in the real world, from real musicians. But I have a few theories about that, which I won't try to get into here [and I don't think anyone will agree with me anyway]. In the end, it's whatever works for you of course. But the value of a great song is at least partly because they are so hit & miss, and there is no real formula, otherwise someone would just crank them out, and even people who teach songwriting are usually not known for any really great hits, especially not a consistent sequence of them. That's one of the most telling things to me: that the ones teaching courses in it - who ought to know, since they've studied it probably more than anyone - still cannot reliably turn out hits themselves. Hence the axiom: If you can't do it, then teach it.

[@MNolanMillar]

Making music (composing, improvising, or playing) is discovery. It's an exploration, a game, an adventure. But you can end up in dark places. My composition professor locked himself away to finish a commissioned piece, and the isolation and pressure ended in suicide. I still haven't finished the duet I was working on for my class, but also with the hope for us to play it together. That was 20 years ago. I played a little of my part, the other day. Still makes me sad. A duet for guitar and viola. "Melancholy Palindrome" was the title.

[@dutchpropaganda558]

1:06 Tchaikovski: Ooh, my mistake.

[@JaySuryavanshiMusic]

That licc shirt is so cool! So "Meme-y"

[@mjears]

Yes, but I notice there's a gap (like a quarter-rest) before the last 2 notes!

[@hanslevin]

Where can I get that t shirt? It's cooler than the sheet music version, I'm afraid! IMHO.

[@mariacopley2128]

My dad got me to start playing through 371 Bach chorales to get more familiar with the language of harmony, and the most annoying thing is that he constantly breaks all of the rules! It's really interesting though :) also I appreciate the use of Jacob in this discussion

[@Geopholus]

Maria Copely... EXACTLY... He breaks all the rules ....Matt Baife... mastery yes, but STRICT no,... I would say very cleverly, elegantly and robustly, aware of the internal workings of the tension builds and releases, but he can work himself into very strictly intractable blind alley's, and find the path out, that manages to break rules, and still sound transcendently perfect.

[@colbysavary]

Insight from a percussionist/composer about planned movement: It is VERY important to think about set-up and how far a percussionist might need to run across a stage for an instrument change; we really appreciate it when it seems like the composer thought of us. ❤

[@jeroenl8352]

4:46 In Dutch we hve two different names for 'classical'. The word for classical music as a genre is 'klassieke muziek'. The name for the classical period within classical music is 'het classicisme'.

[@spxyx]

The mental health issue is a very real one, especially when trying to get a career going in composing. I spent several years in my 20's composing solo piano music (because I just love the sound of piano), many pieces in all, only to wonder if any of it was any good. I settled on the thought that I was really just writing it for myself and if anyone else liked it great. But that is not a career so I never perused it as a career only a hobby.

[@brauliodiaz3925]

I've written about 30 or so pieces and I've had this problem, but the best solution is composing because you want to. In my case is exploring my potential as a composer, and also seeing how your music grows and matures overtime.

[@joycesanders4898]

..right, I played at guitar for twenty years..sometimes getting so despondent that I didn't touch the instrument for years...I started back about 2 years ago with a new perspective...am f'ing it up now, legit..thinking about teaching (maybe even trying one of these tube channels)...also happen be shit house rat crazy...jus relax some..shit ain't that serious after all.👍🎶

[@yanair2091]

@@joycesanders4898 What does anything you guys write about have to do with mental health issue?

[@francobonanni3499]

@@brauliodiaz3925 many times I write my composition only to see where my creativity ends up. It is a competition with myself. Thank you

[@danielrmusic5935]

I love how you had Vltava playing while showing the image of the river

[@JaySuryavanshiMusic]

David Bruce is Bach! Nice Q+A! Bach can't like this video so he will give a 🎼CONTRAPUNTAL PUNCH📯smacking us all Amazing! Loved it! Regards from India🇮🇳

[@nameless5646]

I loved the way you described Bach!

[@Sk0lzky]

20:00 I was born to a family of musicians, naturally entered this world when I was really young. When I was like 16 my own father told me I'm fucked in the head which is not surprising at all. Fast forward a couple of years, music school dropout (literally during the last year with my grad concert prepared in 100%, environment there was really toxic and couldn't handle it, told the headmaster what I thought and left), finally decide to go to a psychiatrist. I'm on an insane med cocktail and therapy, apparently parts of my brain haven't developed properly while others are overactive. 10/10 would try again.

[@barrypeterson6725]

I am really sad to hear what your Dad said to you. God bless you and your future. I have a blessing for you…Romans 15:13. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

[@Zavendea]

Gesualdo be like “Oh, you weren’t being literal about dangerous composers?”

[@InXLsisDeo]

Now you have to develop for those who don't know about his life.

[@ilikeplayingffftonecluster851]

To sum up, he murdered his wife and the guy she was cheating on him with. Then he feels guilty about it for the rest of his life even though he later ends up cheating himself. His music contains some spicy chords that are way ahead of his time(check out opening of his seventeenth madrigal).

[@kweicee]

@@ilikeplayingffftonecluster851 you forgot that he murdered his wife and her lover with an axe.

[@howard5992]

@@kweicee and that it occurred when they were in bed together

[@wilh3lmmusic]

@@ilikeplayingffftonecluster851 this makes tausig (killed a cat in an oven) seem tame

[@dabeamer42]

Thanks so much for the river analogy. I am a sometime classical music appreciation teacher, and I think that idea will really help get some of the grand scheme across.

[@DavidBadilloMusic]

I love your MIDI-esque T-shirt... oh, wait, is that "the lick"!? That's so awesome!

[@geoffbakerhytch5623]

terrific work, David; thanks so much for your honesty and clarity about all things related to composing music. Also - and this is really rather rare - your videos are so easy to listen to, being free of the irritating habits and mannerisms that spoil so much otherwise good content.

[@TaylorMorgeson]

The midi lick lol:)

[@thomasstanford8456]

Clever use of the Moldau at 7:57

[@albertloan396]

Your commentary on glamour was very wise. Thank you for your transparency and genuineness.

[@Kitties_are_pretty]

7:58 I just want you to know that I got the visual/musical pun here. Your videos are a sea of detail with infinite depth.

[@Ana_crusis]

Hi One of the great things you do for me is introduce me to loads of modern composers I've never heard of. I've just listened to Partita for 8 voices. It's dead good !

[@Pokechon]

Hi David! I just discovered this video, Thank you so much for answering my tweets about mental health!

[@pauldavisthefirst]

David, I liked your river analogy for "classical music", particularly because it connects quite strongly with a way that quite a few folks have suggested thinking about "what is jazz?". There isn't a fixed definition of "jazz", just like there's no fixed definition of "classical", but there is a community of performers and listeners and writers and particular pieces and styles "flow into the river" - the set of music considered at any given point in time to "be jazz". In the 1940s there is no way that Miles' electric period would ever have been considered jazz, but then probably neither would be-bop. In the 2020's both of these forms are widely accepted to be a part of the jazz canon. In the end, "jazz" seems to be about attitude more than the actual music (unless your last name is Marsalis), and to some extent this seems true of "classical" also.

[@reevecoble1812]

Hehe watching this to procrastinate my melodic realization assignment for Theory and then you started talking about it. Maybe this is a sign that I should get started on it.

[@marklondon2008]

JS Bach's music is 'perfect' and therefore there's no point trying to replicate. Just listen to the great man and compose your own stuff.

[@pepocallaghan3014]

I love your videos! Your sense of what we, here in Spain (or shall i say Catalonia for what it matters...) say "didàtica", is enormous. Your musical expertise, your clarity, your deepness, the amount of research, the way you explain things, the way you present material... All of it, and certainly more, it's quite impressive. Cheeeers!! and my gratitude (I shaw some of your videos in my classes, hope you don't mind...)

[@kyle-silver]

I've heard Thomas Goss use the term "Concert Music" because of the context in which we now listen to it -- in a concert hall

[@eggy_tran589]

Kyle Silver I don’t like that definition because it just too broad. Any and all kinds of music are played in a concert hall (jazz, ethnic, folk, even pop) and just doesn’t capture what we mean by “classical music”. Now granted, classical music is preformed, for the most part, in a concert hall; so I see why people would like this term, but I wouldn’t use it. Also, when I think of “Concert Music” I get a different idea of the kind of music that would be played, one which isn’t specifically “classical”. To me it’s music that’s meant to be appreciated on its own and not in the background, but many pieces of classical music was initially used as incidental music and then happened to be put into the classical canon. I don’t know of any different term for Classical music that I would like to use and I don’t think that there can be one for a while; “Classical music” is just too broad to pin down.

[@lsbrother]

Surely the term 'classical' is used to somehow distinguish the type of music - not the venue where it is often played. And anyway, classical music isn't always in a concert hall; much smaller venues can be used, my living room for example!

[@wiesorix]

Interesting as always, mixing the short and longer answers works quite well. I particularly liked the Bach corale answer: I was watching Adam Neely on the Bach harmonizer doodle and it all makes much more sense now! (Also, thanks for answering my question!)

[@alexcannon-microdot]

Thanks for the brilliant answer to my question!

[@jonathankrieger9121]

Hey Bruce! Do you sometimes have the feeling of "I-don't-get-it" while listening to modern classical music? In some cases - especially when the piece is not intended to be aesthetically valuable to a "normal" listener - I just feel like I don't understand what the artist/composer is trying to express with his music.

[@markharder3676]

A known composer in the '60s wrote a piece titled "Who cares if you Listen?" To which my inner voice answers "Who cares if you compose, besides you?" To me classical music is about beauty, not just theory. If it doesn't grab me in the gut, it's not worth it.

[@dolomuse]

It seems that the difficulty in defining “Classical Music” comes from using several different meanings of the word ‘classical’. “Classical” is a relative term whose meaning comes from the perspective of the looking back from the present time. From today’s vantage point, music can be generally divided into: Classical (past) - Contemporary (present) - Avant Garde (future). ‘Classic’ generally infers an enduring quality; an exemplary work from the past that remains exemplary in the present. This can be established only from a timeframe subsequent to the work. On the other hand, “popular” describes a transient quality which is generally characteristic of a short timeframe. Add to this the fact that “classical” also describes the use of past forms (sonata, fugue, concerto, etc) and earlier patterns of instrumentation (orchestra, string quartet, etc). Finally, “classical” can also be used as a value judgement, implying the top of a musical hierarchy in terms of complexity, quality and sophistication. Thanks so much for all your brilliant work, David!

[@WhimsyHeath]

Regarding what you were saying about 'glamour', I realised something quite recently. I have struggled with the same thoughts of 'are all my creative impulses genuine or do I just want to be famous?' for a long time, especially because unlike you and many others, I really struggle to actually do any of the things I say I want to do, like music, composition, and art. I realised one way of phrasing this anxiety which really worked for me, which was the question "am I just seeking validation from others?". this doesn't sound much different at first to what you've said, but it did make me realise that I don't need validation through creative recognition to still be a *valid person*. While that's important for self-esteem and all is that even when I take away the idea of that kind of validation, I still enjoy these things and kind of want to explore them, and do them, even if I'm still working on getting myself to do them at the moment. It is important to say that I may not be talking about it in terms of a full career, but in terms of just something of even just interest.

[@CrazyArcher2160]

I have to say that Wintergatan is not just the marble machine (not taking from its awesomeness, I'm sure the new one is going to turn out great). I have to say that overall the composition in their previous releases is superb. It conveys a unique feel that feels like a mixture of tranquility, optimism, dreaminess and maybe some other secret ingredients. I'm very much looking forward to hearing more music by Wintergatan, whether with the new MMX or without.

[@gruforevs]

freaking piano roll licc, it took me a minute to catch it

[@VodkaSelekta]

Another good point is most musicians tend to be empaths/highly sensitive and often introverted people by nature, which only makes us more susceptible to any mental health issues.

[@ImpliedMusic]

another super video. your personal insights about your process are so valuable. and hell yesss to the licc shirt.

[@Perfectinio]

Oh that makes Bach so much easier to get. Thank you.

[@rayancharafeddine4982]

He really summed it up well. If I am to summarize Bach I'd say its Chorales (who are everywhere in his works even when not homophonically harmonised), counterpoint and dance.

[@seanbeadles7421]

2:30 I don’t know, I feel like The Chairman Dances or Short Ride are pretty close to canon at this point.

[@mattbalfe2983]

I think the key ingredient with Bach ( and really many other great composers) is his mastery of strict counterpoint which really allows him to maximize the development of a single theme while maintaining a rich polyphonic like texture. For instance we've found 14 canons he wrote on the Goldberg theme and while they don't come up explicitly in the Goldberg variations themselves, I think they hold clues to Bach's compositional techniques.

[@InventorZahran]

In Star Trek (set in the 23rd century), they often call 50's rock and pop "classical music" simply because it's very old, but still regularly played.

[@cernoso]

I cannot express how grateful I am for being introduced to Roomful Of Teeth, Parita and Caroline Shaw. Thanks so much!

[@willcwhite]

Really loved your answer to the question about Bach

[@webbophone3377]

Very, very insightful and relatable, thank you :)

[@jeffreycumber4432]

The chorale "Ach Gott, vom Himmel sieh' darein" now has my full attention. If the register is reliably chronological, it was one of his earliest works: BWV 2

[@danielfeygin1216]

Sadly It isn't. If I don't remember bad, his bwv 1 is a cantata written when he was 40

[@vladinosky]

Thanks David for making me discover Caroline Shaw and her partita... it's absolutely wonderful!

[@shosho_hrubblefongers9311]

I have mental health issues as a composer student

[@kernelx4868]

Are you alright?

[@shosho_hrubblefongers9311]

Thank you for checking up on me. I am fine atm but I struggle to do simple tasks sometimes. I’ve refrained from listening or creating music for a while but I’m recently practicing my classical guitar and writing a piece. The reason for my depression is because of childhood trauma related to events at school, and also another reason is because I feel disappointed at my music university for not having the education system I was looking forward to. I am currently taking a year off of uni. Thanks again for checking up on me.

[@shosho_hrubblefongers9311]

Thanks m8. Since the reply, I’ve been working on classical guitar composition. :)

[@kernelx4868]

@@shosho_hrubblefongers9311 Yeah, I was just really surprised that no-one asked (one never really knows whether a comment is a joke or a cry for help). Hope everything goes well for you. If you wanna talk about stuff, feel free to contact me.

[@benthepen3336]

Keep fighting! Make us musicians proud and show everyone who you can be, good luck!!!

[@christianefleurant7089]

Incontestablement internet permet la démocratisation du savoir et cela est extraordinaire! Cependant il demeure essentiel qu'il y est des personnes savantes comme vous David capable de synthèse et d'analyse pour transmettre les connaissances. De plus vous maîtriser merveilleusement la réalisation de vos vidéos qui sont dynamiques, intéressantes et rafraîchissantes. Merci infiniment.

[@francisgaliegue6645]

When talking about "classical" music, there is one domain which I hope will make it because right now it is overlooked: video game music. And this dates back to the early 90s, where composers only had limited means to work with. Listen to the OST of Final Fantasy VI or Chrono Trigger, for instance. Musically, I find those much more endearing than any film music. More recently, orchestral compositions have started to enter the fray (see the works of, for instance, Austin Wintory), but again, those early 90s/00s composers with their limited means have produced music which is far better than one would give it credit for just "because it's a game".

[@ccselementarymusic3968]

True. My 22-year-old son played some music from a now older video game series that was quite good and I would have never known (he is at work now, I need to ask him what it was...feel bad I can't remember the name). But my students love the music from the Zelda series, we perform things like Gerudo Valley, yeah not genius stuff, but it captures their imagination and gets them singing and playing.

[@joycesanders4898]

..great point..Chrono Trigger fantastic. 👍🎶

[@yanair2091]

Hmm, interesting. Does the music which has value mainly because it evokes pleasant memories of carefree times we spent playing video games can be considered classic?

[@francisgaliegue6645]

@@yanair2091 I haven't even played the games, I just happened to have stumbled upon the music and since then I can't help but come back to it and be amazed at what these composers could do with such a restricted toolbox. To the extent that I prefer listening to their music than what is considered canon today. Omen from Final Fantasy VI in particular is still a masterpiece to my ears, and so it Wind Scene from Chrono Trigger. I can mention many others.

[@deinauge7894]

i quite like the music in heroes of might and magic 3. you can find compilations in youtube...

[@emilynightingale7758]

your shirt is the lick, I respect that...

[@faucetrememberly2399]

I think that pieces with chance or openness to interpretation can still be described as "exact music" because that chance and stuff is part of the intention of the piece! And if you are going to follow a piece with chance as a component, you will play it with the randomness included.

[@stuartdryer1352]

These are great questions.

[@massimozanetti8871]

Adam Neely's lick on the t-shirt :D

[@carnivaltym]

Always on point.

[@aaronmarko]

John Williams in your tweets asking how he can get the Star Wars music inducted into the canon of classical music

[@psychtank8681]

thanks for the insights!!

[@Softdattel]

This is a wonderful example of the pitfalls of human behaviour trying to put everything into a category and in boxes. Thank you for your great videos.

[@arcana830]

I found this very interesting thanks David

[@mathieulamaure1487]

Martin if you are listening....

[@joesandy1999]

Honestly I would love to write for the MMX as well. Perhaps he could set up a computer program with all the channels and pegholes so we could digitally write music for the MMX and he could pick a few to plug in and play.

[@Rocksssfull]

Hi David! I NEED you to make a video about "How to improve (A LOT) in harmonic analysis" By the way, I think you and your videos are great! Greetings from Argentina!

[@欺软怕硬]

Bach's music is just satisfying for me to listen to because I pay attention to the structure of the entire piece. I do wish he composed more improv pieces like the chromatic fantasy and his harpsichord toccatas. Bach is getting a lot of publicity because of his exposure. This is strictly a personal preference. There is nothing objective about liking him, some objectivity in his accomplishments, but dude was mostly doing boring commissioned works his entire life. He's definitely not explored the full possibility of sound and music, not even close. For him, it's mostly about the depth of his own style and developing that throughout his life. Not sure how he would've approached music if he's born these days, especially if his family isn't too confined to a specific profession. He probably would've been pretty experimental consider how experimental he was during his period.

[@deinauge7894]

concerning 15:56: i remember singing "the book with seven seals" by Franz Schmidt. After opening the seventh seal the archangel (strings) and the devil (brass) fight. the string players looked like sword fighters cutting in unison with their bows, while the brass section breathed and blew together as if being one beast :-) i'm sure the composer didn't do that by accident

[@klaasbil8459]

15:51 is an interesting question, but I'm not sure your answer satisfied the individual who asked it. I, for one, understood the question to be not about prescribed movements per se, such as standing or sitting, or moving around the stage, but about movements that followed from the music itself, such as the bow movements for violins, the height to which timpani mallets are lifted while playing a crescendo etc. As a listener/spectator to music performances, I do pay attention to such aspects - it is almost like an unintentional/subconscious yet interesting dance. So, are such 'natural' movements an object when you compose?

[@DBruce]

Yes the only extra thing I might have said about that is some composers seem to write big gestures with physical movements in mind, but I usually find it a bit cheesy when that happens. Do you know any examples where it's interesting?

[@LittleBlueWorm]

Thanks for elaborating on this. I had the exact same thing in mind when the question came ... and I think it's an interesting one. I know that myself I'm sort of drawn to that. An example to me would be some Steve Reich pieces, most famously "Music for eight musicians" where the movements of the musicians (especially the mallet players, but also the vocalists as they move the mic in and out) is like a choregraphy and there's something fascinating about this, not unlike some African music is performed - though I can't say it is intentional from Reich. Seeing the performance on video has been revelating to me. I never saw it performed for real and I wish I could one day.

[@amartyamukherjee1995]

Hi! What's the music playing in the background between 8:00 and 8:30?

[@ronaldramos8873]

My favorite alternative to "classical music" to describe the whole genre is "orchestral music"

[@mtv565]

@13:05 - Yes! Bach's music is the one to be followed! He's the no.1 supreme composer! If any composer disagree to think his/her own ways, he/she is an inferior composer! Cannot match the superior, that's why called Bach "dangerous"? What a shame!

[@Hecatonicosachoron]

It’s a shame that polyphony seems so unpopular now. But I think it’s time will come again, it’s the best texture there is and fugal writing is the best... style? Texture? Composition? (all the aforementioned) of them all. Polyphony will have its day once again.

[@spiritualneutralist2597]

As a composer I'm working towards this. Polyphony is hands down my favorite compositional texture and I'm working on bringing it back to the postmodern era.

[@taxtengo7427]

How do you like Renaissance vocal polyphony? I'm a huge fan of the harmonic richness in Bach's counterpoint, its sense of direction and movement. But on the other hand, there's something in the subtle gracefulness in Palestrina's vocal polyphony that seems to remain unrivaled to this day.

[@Hecatonicosachoron]

Rapea Sammakko Oh I adore it. What David said in the vid about Bach I'd say about Palestrina... perfectly melds counterpoint and harmony along with the independence of the voices. At the same time there are few composers that sound more devastated than Gesualdo, Lassus on the other hand is an inexhaustible well of musicality and few compositions have the freshness of Monteverdi. Bach is great due to his innovative harmony and chromaticism, together with his discipline in ornamentation... he's something of a colorist. But in general I can feel that imitative counterpoint will have a comeback. I mean, if a motif is nice then repeating it again, transposing it and playing all its permutations, inversion, retrograde, augmentation, diminution and extension, both in fugue and in stretto just intensifies the pleasure it creates.

[@karlrovey]

Good polyphony is truly satisfying. I wonder what the next iteration will be. The polyphony of the Romantic Era is different than the polyphony of the baroque era. The polyphony of the neobaroque (largely part of the post-modern era) is different than the polyphony of Romantic and baroque polyphony. Then there's Renaissance polyphony. So many options to choose from.

[@AnaleenAelwyn]

Great video! Love your insights. For myself though, I have to disagree with your comment about memorizing, that it "allows more freedom". I personally have great difficulty memorizing flute music, and I have a master's in flute performance from an excellent teacher. When I attempt to memorize long works on flute, I find myself much more stressed about the notes than if I had the music in front of me. I feel more free knowing I don't have to remember the details of notes and dynamics, etc. I do understand your dislike for the musician using the stand as a "shield" though. I usually have my stand several feet away from my body and turned a little more flat than is usual. This also has the added benefit of helping to direct my sound toward the audience. (I always play inside the bow of the piano with the lid all the way open for this reason as well. But as I say, this is for me personally. There are others who feel as you do. I just dislike the idea of discouraging those who don't like or have difficulty with memorizing and implying that they are lesser musicians because they don't. #my2cents :-)

[@bradencutright-head6629]

I agree with you about how Bach can be dangerous. Even though my initials spell Bach, and this, have a certain affinity for his music, I tend to disregard some of those rules in the name of emotional music.

[@paulflute]

for me one of the main distinction when I think of classical as compared to other genres is to do with the degree of performer autonomy and choice.. Classical music has a sense of the composer are the artist and the performer as a vessel who is there to realise the vision of the composer.. Jazz has it’s rules, its hooks and composed melodies and strict complex harmonic movement but a jazz piece is not really a piece if the performer is not putting some kind of personal stamp on it.. and as a folk player mostly I’ve always felt like a melody is a gift from an ancestor or friend.. It’s there - its nice and rich but I can essentially do whatever I want with it.. rearrange , rewrite, chop change as i feel.. the tradition is there as a spring board not as a goal or destination..

[@欺软怕硬]

13:24 Honestly Bach's music is where I feel most emotions from. 2nd is Jazz. Most modern classical music, I have no fucking idea how to feel when I listen to them. I'm a simple man. When I hear Bach's harmonic progressions, I feel full of joy or sadness. When I hear Schoenberg, I feel a sense of agony and confusion, not very enjoyable honestly. I've even written music that I don't enjoy listening to and parts I skip every time, like my ironman piece from a couple of years ago. The harmonically complex music with a lot of dissonances and new compositions tricks have very little affect on me. I simply do not know how to feel when I listen to those music. Maybe the closest I'll feel is indifference to the sound.

[@JJJRRRJJJ]

Truth is, you’re not alone. There’s a reason contemporary “classical” music is dead. It’s become merely an academic pursuit - designed not to be widely performed for public appeal, but to impress fellow members of their professional clique. Modern classical music isn’t meant to be enjoyed; it’s meant to provoke - to impress the composer’s peers. It claims to achieve profundity by flaunting its unapologetic ugliness. But uninterested in the profound, I’m left only with the ugly.

[@owlcowl]

@@JJJRRRJJJ You are some 40 years behind the times with this comment. The situation in the 1950s-1970s, the high tide of late modernism, could fairly be described this way, with only slight exaggeration. But in the post-modern era (from the advent of minimalism onward), most professional composers are keenly interested in communicating to an audience in more accessible expressive styles; not necessarily to a mass audience (thats what pop music is for), but to the broader concert-going public which loves the "classical" canon David Bruce speaks of. There is no longer any prestige attached to writing only esoteric compositional exercises for academic colleagues. The hegemony of post-Webern serialism, thankfully, proved to be just a quarter-century interlude (and actually produced a few genuine masterpieces along the way).

[@欺软怕硬]

I have to admit that I try to use cool tricks more than I should, which more often than not ends up making the music sound worse than if I didn't use them. As with any skill, you get better at it with practice, so that doesn't stop me from trying to learn new tricks.

[@XPimKossibleX]

Maybe classical music is music that we listen to as if it was timeless. By that I mean, we don't try to contextualise it within its own genre associations, we just to to listen to it 'as it is'. This necessarily takes anything that we see genre within, and fits dynamically into our lives, is a different genre and not classical. Some places it would break down is that other cultures have a different cultural tradition... Culture isn't linear. Then also some music tried contenxtualising itself genre-wise within what we see as classical music. And lastly listening 'as it is' is a particular cultural expression - in that big halls and live performances are just one way the music exists, and CDs too fit into various different places.

[@RhapsodyOfJoy]

May I know the name of the piece starting at around 7:57, please ? I feel I've heard it before! Also, tge one at the very end, around 24:04

[@NoraKischerBrowne]

Holy crap I forgot I asked that! Just watched this in June 2021 o_o;; Thanks for the answer!

[@tfpp1]

In regards to the first question, for me -- the true sign that a piece of music or composer has "entered the canon" is whether or not they have a substantial section in the music history textbooks. So yeah, people like John Adams or the first gen minimalists have already been in the textbooks for some time now. My guess is that they'll still be there in 100 years (unless things change). Caroline Shaw? Not sure yet. It's possible down the road, but as of right now, she's not "in the club" as it were.

[@Daniel_Zalman]

I love these videos.

[@pattthepriest]

8:10 Clockwork Orange comes to mind.

[@joycesanders4898]

..making me want to peet moloko spiked with synthemec and get with a little of the ultraviolence...the red, red kroovy..

[@i_am_a_music_maker5212]

4:22 not only modernist composers but composers like Bach and Mendelssohn left out specific dynamic, articulate, and other expressive instructions, leaving it up to the performer’s interpretation

[@peternagy7366]

To continue with your Bach on the mountain peak analogy... Instead of saying that other composers are further down the mountain, it's more that they are on different mountains. Maybe Chopin is on the peak of melody with accompaniment (with Mendelssohn standing next to him), Beethoven on top of motivic development, etc.

[@Ana_crusis]

I've put the Partita in a folder I made and called "modern composed music" You can't call it 'classical' music can you?

[@ivyssauro123]

Ten pieces? I know absolute geniuses, with hundreds of marvelous, and sometimes incredibly original unplayed pieces dating back to the 90's who can't get their music performed or name made(even with the internet)...and it's really sad.

[@johanh9637]

Why not name some for us?

[@Lynkevmusic]

Hi David, Excellent video, transparent and genuine. Bach is certainly the Everest but for mere mortals like myself, I'd like to be a small tributary that gives back to the river. I'm a beginner composer and learning from the greats, I've studied Bach, Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin. If you had one word or series of words that you find most important in the creative process, what would they be?

[@russell_szabados]

I’m going to predict Terry Riley’s In C will be firmly established in the greater classical canon by 2050. I would love to see Glenn Branca’s work recognized on that scale, but that ain’t gonna happen.

[@byronp2311]

This is pretty off-topic, but here goes. Back in 1981 or so, on Memorial Day (THAT I can remember) I lived on West St in Austin right next to Shoal Creek, a mostly bone dry idea of a creek that had carved rather deeply into the ground at some point. I was at a double feature when a really loud storm broke out. Too busy watching films to think about it. The storm was pretty much spent when I got home, but bone dry Shoal Creek had turned into a mighty river. A small park was simply gone. In its path was Strait Music and an auto dealership so I got to watch trucks and, yes, pianos merrily making there way down to the Colorado River (which, for some reason, we abolutely insist on calling a 'lake'). Sorry. That little graphic triggered that memory because that was exactly what was happening.

[@ByteMe619]

Has gumboots entered the canon yet?

[@InventorZahran]

If it does, I hope no one gets the idea to omit the clarinet and give its part to one of the violins!

[@joycesanders4898]

..got to be a joker cause he so hard to see...

[@windmillwilly]

I would argue yes, actually

[@sdm151]

Thank you for this. I'm studying classical piano in service of learning composition and it's a struggle to not feel like my 'chords in left hand and melody in right hand' compositions are all crap.

[@joabblues]

The great beethoven piano concertos were finger exercises that the master wrote to train his students how to improvise against the orchestra like he did said Wanda Landowska. BAch said tune your clavichords like this and I'll write some very nice stuff for you and then he did.

[@neilwalsh3977]

Just keep composing! No performers without compositions

[@LaserGryph]

Not to mention that improvisation was a skill of classical music until it was abandoned at the end of the 19th century. I've always hoped it could come back at some point. I would not use the term 'exact music' either.

[@delyar]

I feel the most significant thing a contemporary musician should be aware of about Bach chorales and are not often is that his chorales stand out ENORMOUSLY compared to his contemporaries. they are very well written but they have an artistry and depth that no one else from them rose to. Handel, he could barely bother, Telemann, workmanship but without interest. Others, even less strong. Bach should be eternally known for making these gems not only a tool to learn from but a significant form of European poetic endeavor

[@karlrovey]

Another thing to consider is that they were written to fulfill a purpose (and not necessarily to gain a wide audience). In other words, write for your situation. If that means you're writing pieces for choirs at a church, write for their abilities and the occasion that the piece will be used. Then give it a revision or two and move on. Then evaluate whether or not you want to submit it for publication.

[@delyar]

@@karlrovey Bach published only one (chorale=less) cantata

[@karlrovey]

@@delyar Exactly, Bach largely wasn't concerned about getting his music published. He did get the Schubler Chorales published, but most of his compositions weren't widely available until well after his death.

[@FrankTaylorLieder]

Rockin’ the Neely!