What is a Fugue?

[@Ch9-7708]

Thank you for being so straightforward. You didn’t confuse me with too much info. You just kept it to what was important-the subject.

[@rubyltodd]

This was so helpful and clear. Thank you :)

[@hisroom77]

Wow, this is amazingly easy and clear! Thank you so much! (from Korea)

[@frided67]

Very informative, awesome presentation. I love Internet teachers, really.

[@tSerapht]

Thanks for the video. as someone who has no technical knowledge of music, i love your explanations. easy to follow. i was really able to appreciate this piece after your explanation of how it was put together around the subject matter.

[@UnseenGlasses]

It's so wonderful to have new content from you! And the site is lookin' snazzy, these days! :D

[@CBS.0]

Thanks for the video. I was going to play a fugue for my grade 8 piano, but I actually didn't like it and found it hard to understand and get through. This was very helpful in understanding what I was attempting to play.

[@cetterus]

Great stuff, nicely explained. Except one bit (which makes you explain more in lower comments): counterpoint doesn't need to contain same material. There is a subject. And there is a counterpoint below/ around/ above. They even might be of the opposite character. Using canon technique to explain might be confusing.

[@neonpalms]

Thanks! A very good addition.

[@TheArrangment]

Great video! Also, I have been curious about a few things, so it'd be great if you can do another lesson about how to create variation from a phrase and explain what motive development is.

[@BrotherDantePlays]

Thank you good sir. This will help me in my classes indeed.

[@julliuss7]

Good Exlplained 👍. Thank you Dave

[@daveconservatoire]

You're welcome!

[@juancamacholeon9444]

Excellent

[@1분프랑스어]

Thank you a lot~ I learned alot here~ have a good day!

[@WinWindowS.K.Julian]

well done

[@Kimiko-piano]

I still love this video, and am always happy that Dave used my performance to be the example. If you'd like to download a whole bunch of fugues, free, my Bach recordings are available here: music.kimiko-piano.com

[@borovinkovna3499]

You're an awesome pianist and an awesome person. Just so you know : )

[@Kimiko-piano]

@@borovinkovna3499 wow, thank you!

[@duolingoowl7043]

I read about you on wikipedia, and I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw you were an Olympic weightlifter! Your recordings are superb!

[@PasinduWijesena1]

Thanks!!! Really helped me a lot :D

[@PasinduWijesena1]

Fugues

[@1bol1]

Thilina Udayaratne What are you talking about?

[@abuzreq]

great video really. to make sure I got the definitions right could you please correct me . isn't counterpoint the same as 'canon' and imitation the same as 'variations'?

[@aa-vo3wq]

Nein.

[@wrait9]

Thanks!

[@davilho]

Wonderful! Can I add portugueses subtitles in your video?

[@peaveawwii1]

thanks. this is great.

[@terryss95]

Thanks.

[@LazlosPlane]

Nice analysis but incomplete without mentioning the function and Bach's use of the COUNTE-SUBJECT!

[@johnman750]

Hi, I have a question. Since this piece has three voices, how could it possible be played by single person in piano?

[@EdvardBach]

Hi, when playing on a keyboard, you're able to play more than one voice with one hand, but as he was saying, you must have good control of this to make each voice sound independent and distinguishable to the listener,apart from that, there are times when not all of the voices are playing, you could say they take a break. I think watching someone performing it would helpful, /watch?v=szzsK_BeJGQ There is even a fugue with 5 voices!it's in the first book, fuge 4, C-sharp minor,check it out :)

[@johnman750]

Eduardo Palacios I see, so as long there are no more than 10 notes in a column, it's still possible to do this alone (human only has 10 fingers). I'm thinking if there are 11 notes in a column, we can use the help of tongue for extra note :D As a mundane people that never learn to play keyboard instrument in proper way, I find it's very marvelous to do this feat. Such a musical genius for people that can create and play this kind of score.

[@daveconservatoire]

You don't need to be a genius! Most compositions that seem very complicated on the surface are much easier to understand if we break them down into smaller voices. When learning a fugue like this it is good to study each of the voices individually first and then start building them back together to make the finished piece.

sdiwu2046 Most keyboard fugues have 2 to 4 parts. Keyboard fugues in 5 parts are less common. 6-part keyboard fugues are quite rare. E.g., Bach's 6-part keyboard fugue from his Musical Offering, BWV 1079.

[@Qee7en]

Uh, since you have ten fingers you can easily play that? I couldn't name a real piece (for piano) that just has one voice...

[@jeffclaussen3188]

I would like someone's opinion of a Fugue I wrote and posted on KZbin. It's called "Ms Pac-Man Fugue and Allegro". I used the format for this very fugue, and just inserted the Ms Pac-Man song everywhere that the subject was... Only I had two voices to start, then two more voices, then two more for a total of six voices. Also, I noticed that in the Bach C minor Fugue portrayed here, the Alto part does a downward scale leading into a set second melody to accompany the subject by the soprano... And then every time the subject is played throughout, one of the voices does that same downward scale and second Melody. (I only just now noticed it because I saw another KZbin video where the guy said fugues use a second subject). Do all fugues have a second Melody like that? Or is it just optional for the sake of cleverness?

[@citrus8788]

Good observation! That is called a counter-subject. It is generally a part of fugues as well as quite some more stuff that wasn't mentioned here. I guess it was left out for the sake of simplicity, since this video is meant to be an introduction to what fugues are.

[@michaelocenar6140]

Can someone please tell me the name of the fugue in the example?

[@leonhardeuler6811]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rJSmZYeeqsxgnpo Skip to the Fugue part.

[@pauljohnson7186]

what is a fyeeg?

[@huneauvincent1435]

hi there, a fugue is a french word that means an escape

[@StewartMNash]

Wrong! The word "fugue" is from Latin and means 'flight' or 'escape'. It probably originates from (Latin through) the Italian word "fuga" which means 'escape' or 'flight'. There is a similar word "fuir" which means 'to flee' in French. This video is somewhat simplistic, but I guess it is appropriate as the commenters don't seem to easily grasp the most basic concepts of a fugue given in a long-winded, rambling way. I recommend Wikipedia's entry on the fugue, which is more insightful and has more information.

[@ahtartersauce101]

Stewart Nash Calm down. Yes it came from Latin. Both French and Italian are both LATIN languages. We get it. "escape" "flight" flee." Got it. "Moving away from something or someplace really fast."

[@TimGallois]

Stewart Nash French uses the word "fugue" in its vocab'.

[@epagalis]

+Michael Carrillo My friend the greek word "φυγή" (fiγι') is the origin of all this, even though it is not used as a musical term, and describes the situation when something/one can't be caught and stoped...just like the subject of a fugue.

[@m3l3ca]

so, if I play the first in the ket of D, the second melody will be played in the key of D?!?! because, playing in another key wont sounds dissonant ?

[@m3l3ca]

***** Wow, that you very much for the explanation ! =] =] =]

***** When the melodic intervals of the subject are answered as you propose, the answer is said to be a "real." But when the answer alters the intervals, the answer is said to be "tonal." In this fugue, the subject's C down to G (a 4th) up to Ab (a minor 2nd) is answered by G down to C (a 5th) up to Eb (minor 3rd). This is the typical tonal answer: 4ths answered by 5ths; minor 2nds by minor 3rds. This prevents the modulations in the first exposition from getting to far from the key of the piece. Subsequent expositions may be more harmonically daring. The form of the answer depends on harmonic considerations. It could have been answered as you propose, esp. if the composer had wanted the 3rd voice to answer in D, moving even farther from the tonal center of the piece. In fact, some fugal expositions do proceed that way. Listen to the 5-part "et in terra pax" fugue from the Gloria in Bach's B-minor Mass.

***** As I said, the form of the answer is dictated by harmonic considerations, which are left to composer's discretion. But if you are trying to compose of fugue in a certain style, then you obviously can't stray too far from the conventions of that style. Keep in mind that the fugue is not so much a musical form as it is a procedure for handling musical ideas in a contrapuntal style. There is considerable variety among fugues. Bach keyboard fugues, for example, often have an improvisational character. All one can really say about the fugal form is that it consists of more-or-less strict expositions separated by episodes which typically develop motives or countersubjects from the exposition, or may introduce completely different material, which may or may not combine contrapuntally with the subject(s). Read this: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue

[@mtv565]

In the exposition, the alto voice plays a tonal answer. You left out this!

[@toni8675]

It's a simple explanation meant for non-musicians to easily understand. I'm sure he knows this. After all, he did mention one time that the answer is a bit modified, without getting into more detail. By saying what you did, you're probably trying to boast your musical education. Don't... I am a professional composer, but I don't brag about it every time I get a chance.

[@mtv565]

toni8675 After the exposition, the soprano and alto did exchanges of a fragment of the subject in the cycle of fifths. This, he also left out!

[@mtv565]

Alexander Black If mentioning tonal answer is "too much information", then you shouldn't be bothered with complex compositions like fugues. Stick to old mcdonalds had a farm.

[@mtv565]

Alexander Black It's more of a common sense issue than attitude. For example, if you're afraid of water, then you shouldn't choose swimming.

[@VypaUK]

+mmm They're learning, don't be so arrogant, it's incredibly unpleasant.

[@triconcert]

very wordy presentation. needs editing

[@SoundSurferukII]

One thing you did not say when creating a Fugue it advised that the root or tonic of the scale in use has to come first in your melody to reduce the chance of a horrid dischord being created when the instrumental sections overlap.

[@mtv565]

@9:37 - "each of the voice have their moment to shine". Not true, the bass only plays the subject 2 times.

[@santoshgujar5237]

🙏🌺😇

[@PenguinPrince34]

Very difficult to see a round on your own…

[@mtv565]

That's not a tenor, it's a bass!

[@daveconservatoire]

Yes . . . you're right again. Unfortunately as hard as I try some mistakes do slip in. This was probably my third attempt at doing this video and couldn't face another attempt!

[@mtv565]

It's not Tenor, it's Bass.