Bach, Toccata and Fugue in D minor, organ

Bach's most famous organ piece, with a bar-graph score.

FAQ

Q: Why are comments disabled?
A: Because this is a re-make; if you want to post comments, go to the original:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipzR9bhei_o

Q: Can I download a version to play on my computer/iPod/iPad/iPhone/etc.?
A: Yes, you can get that here:
http://musanim.cerizmo.com/items/6950-bach-toccata-and-fugue-in-d-minor

Q: Where can I get free sheet music for this piece?
A: Sheet music for this can be found here:
http://tinyurl.com/243oyo

Q: Who wrote Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor?
Q: Isn't that like asking who's buried in Grant's Tomb?
A: Heh-heh. A theory has recently (1981) been put forth that J. S. Bach did not write this piece. A brief summary of the supporting evidence for this theory can be read here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toccata_and_Fugue_in_D_minor#Attribution

Q: Where can I get the mp3 of this?
A: You can download it here:
http://www.musanim.com/mp3/BachToccataAndFugueInDMinorMalinowski.mp3

Q: What does the piece look like as a whole?
A: There are versions you can print out here
http://www.musanim.com/printouts
The 'scroll' version is for cutting out and taping together to form a long strip.

Q: Where can I get the MIDI file that this was made from?
A: I'm not sure it's exactly the same, but the closest I could find was this:
http://www.musanim.com/mid/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor.mid

Q: How did you make this video?
A: You can read about it here:
http://www.musanim.com/ProductionNotes/ToccataAndFugueInDMinor.html

Q: How can I make videos like this (or at least see MIDI files this way)?
A: Check out this:
http://www.musanim.com/player/

Q: What is the BWV number for this?
A: BWV 565

Q: Where does the toccata end and the fugue begin?
A: The fugue starts at 2:51 and the toccata returns at 7:12, but between these two points, parts which are strictly fugal alternate with episodes that are more toccata-like, so it's not 100% clear-cut (like in some other toccata/fugue pairs he wrote).

Q: What do the colors mean?
A: Each "stop" on the organ was played on a separate MIDI channel, and each MIDI channel was assigned a color.

Q: What is a fugue?
A: Here is a good introduction:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fugue

Q: Can I get a DVD with this video (or others like it)?
A: Yes:
http://www.musanim.com/mam/video.html

Q: Could you do a MAM video of _________?
A: Please read this:
http://www.musanim.com/all/MAMRequests.html

Q: Where can I read more about this piece?
A: Here are a couple of places:
http://www.musanim.com/pdf/ViewersGuideMAM1996.pdf
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toccata_and_Fugue_in_D_minor%2c_BWV_565

Q: Why does this piece of music remind me of horror movies?
A: Because it was used in the 1962 version of The Phantom of the Opera. Before that, it did not have that connotation. When Walt Disney and Leopold Stokowski used it in the 1940 film Fantasia, they considered it to be a purely abstract piece --- "absolute music" --- which brought to mind expressionistic forms and lines.
.

Category:

Music

Tags:

• music
• animation
• visualization
• classical
• bach
• organ
• toccata
• fugue
• sheet
• score
• baroque

[norcalmommy07]

Kids LOVED This! It was wonderful to see the notes by note as they're played. Very cool! Thank you,.

[musanim]

@norcalmommy07  Children are my primary intended audience, so I'm pleased to hear that.

[ilovestareon]

@musanim What age of children are you aiming this at?

[musanim]

@ilovestareon As young as possible. I've gotten reports of infants as young as nine months responding to the videos in a way that demonstrated that they understood them (that is, understood that there was a correspondence between the music and what they were seeing, and that the right-hand side of the screen showed music they were about to hear).

[uzbek2]

and this was Bachs "warm up" piece.. Amazing!

[DemonRacerNFMETX]

PHOENIX WRIGHT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!!

[urubuzadaBR]

Vry good

[MrAndyFB]

Love the visualisation. It's like Organ Hero!

[eddie100]

Excellent putting music into a visual and quantitive format. Bach is my favourite when it comes to organ music. An instrumental amplified rock band, I played drums in, had a go at Toccata and Fugue. I will find the old cassettes. This is great. Do you remember learning maths using different colours and different lengths blocks of wood? It worked for me. Depending on the child, it could scare them. Some kid's will play with snakes and spiders, others will freak. This piece was for church after al

[mircoles]

It's sooooo looong, my goodness.

[manuel8887]

Holy shit! That is so awesome!!!!

[EvaSlash]

@musanim this is excellent. this is an excellent help ! thanks! what would be even better is if the squares had the note names in it! maybe some theory too or something cleverly added in?