Bach: Sinfonias in D minor and E minor - Bradley Lehman

Good analysis. It's gotten me thinking as to how to incorporate chromatisim into my compositions and improvisations.

I just starting learning piano and I'm trying to do a D minor Melodic.. can someone please help me out. I think I'm not raising the 6th and 7th notes properly. Should I be hitting 2 white keys at the end of it?

You have a terrible habit in the D-minor Sinfonia of hesitating slightly before each beat (after the last 16th note of each beat). This becomes a real annoyance because it makes what what should be a calm piece sound nervous. Do you notice this? Do you wish it to sound nervous and excited?

That deliberate rubato is a way to create the effect of accented notes, selectively, on the harpsichord. It was not motivated or caused by "nervousness" in the performance. I am sorry that this technique comes across to you as a "terrible habit" and "real annoyance".

And, I happen to disagree that this piece "should be" only calm. I see the opening as firm and vigorous, with lively dialogue among the three melodic voices. At bars 8-10 I let it relax to contrast that F major against D minor.

is this song right for level 7 players?

what level is the bach invention in e minor?

I'm not sure I understand the "what level" question. All of the inventions and sinfonias were for Bach's (teenaged) students at Leipzig, and for his own children. For finger independence, and for simultaneous melody in two or three voices, these pieces are brilliant.

The sinfonias are usually gr 9 level on the RCM exams in canada. I"m sure some teachers use them earlier to teach finger independence and musical expression as well.

Good point (and a modern one) about harmonic minor, melodic minor, and chromatically-altered chords. However, my analytical approach is oriented toward practicality in tuning, and toward the perception of "foreign" tones injected into a prevailing diatonic scale. Anything unexpected within a passage will alert the ear that some new scale is coming (or already arrived), incorporating the surprising new note(s).

Please see also the remarks in my other new videos: "Bach: WTC book 1, 24 scales".

Thanks for taking the time to answer.