More on Alfred and Bach

I've worked through two more Alfred pieces, a somber piece in A-Minor called Jericho and and one called Strangers, also in A-Minor. A-Minor is a a cool key in which to play, it has a somber, melancholy sound.

I'm also studiously memorizing the last half of the Minuet in G by Bach. I pretty much have the first half committed to memory, both right and left hand parts, and am working on dynamics now. Dynamics are things like staccato and legato. Staccato is when you hit the keys sharply to produce rat-ta-tat-ta-tat sounds, while legato is smoothly-connected, flowing notes, like a stringed instrument might play. There are also variations, such as accents, which means you play the indicated note or chord strongly, but not quite staccato. Also, the notation P means piano, which means play it softly, while f means forte--loudly. An ff is fortissimo--very loudly. Wagner used a lot of those. See, isn't this stuff cool?

My teacher strongly suggests I memorize each hand's part of the music before combining them, and sometimes I listen to her. I find with the Bach piece, this is essential. Now memorizing a melody is fairly easy--we all know how it sounds. But Bach composed in the Baroque style utilizing what is sometimes called a "figured bass," that is, an archaic style called Basso Continuo, so the bassline itself plays out its own melody of sorts. It's not just a series of chords and notes but a type of notation which is a whole 'nother story. Bach's basslines are full of little melodies, counterpoints and all kinds of things which you have to play for yourself to really catch. So imagine trying to play two melodies at the same time, one with each hand. It's really like that, I think. But terrific. There's no better way to get into a piece of music than to live with it in this manner. You delve into the mind and intentions of the composer.