Bach - French Suite #1

I play all of it but the Gigue - that's too hard. I've never had a formal lesson in my life, just some pointers from a piano-playing friend long ago. So please make your critiques in the form of suggestions, not ridicule.

Category:

Entertainment

Tags:

• Bach
• French
• Suites
• Baroque
• Piano
• classical
• music
• keyboard
• pretty
• pictures

[Timrath]

OK, here's what I have to say, as a piano teacher:

1. Most urgent of all: keep your foot away from the pedal. It only blurs everything while adding nothing positive. There are many who say that one should never use the pedal when playing baroque music, but I won't go so far. I'll just say that while it sometimes doesn't hurt, it never is necessary.

2. When recording yourself, place the microphone very far away from the piano, to avoid distortions.

(continued in next message)

[RafiSimcha]

Thanks so much for your thoughtful comments. I only wish I had more time to devote to practice, so that I could put your suggestions into action... Obviously, as you discern, I slow down when it gets more difficult, which I know is a problem - I feel such beauty in the chords and cadences that I lose track of technique -- I've been playing again lately, so maybe I'll try recording some more after warming up - thanks for the advice about the mic, too.

[hughaanderson]

I admire your effort. Years ago I played the violin but had always wanted to play the piano. In my spare time I therefore started trying to play pieces like this French Suite without formal training. I agree with you that some of the chords and cadences are so beautiful that you savour them and it's like chewing some delicious food. Keep up the good work.

[Corrupt5358]

I've not heard worse lol!

1 star for this bullshit.

[morekew]

Sorry, maar dat kan veel beter, begin eerst eens met die piano te stemmen, dat scheelt al enorm.

[meehooj]

terrible...

[Timrath]

7. You apparently have good personal discipline, or you wouldn't have come this far without a teacher. You don't play many wrong notes, and when you do, it doesn't escape you. You're good at reading music; I assume you also play another instrument?

Direct that discipline of yours towards keeping a solid tempo. Agocic (playing faster and slower within a piece) did exist in the baroque era, but one shouldn't use it in a suite. Do you own a metronome? You will hate it, but it's good for you.

[Timrath]

5. If you're not comfortable with trills, better omit them. A well-executed trill can add to the beauty of a piece, but an omitted trill doesn't do any damage. However, a wrong or badly-played trill can ruin a piece.

I'd suggest to only consider playing the trills after you're satisfied with all the other aspects of the music.

6. The courante: at 4:06-4:09 and then again at 4:58-5:02, and 5:40-5:42, and 6:34-6:40 there are some notes that you play too short. It makes the whole rhythm go awry.

[Timrath]

3. The allemande: Before beginning to play, you should decide how fast you want to play it. You start off with a pretty fast tempo, which becomes progressively slower as the notes become more difficult. Take the most difficult passage in the piece, and see how fast youcan play it while still feeling confident. Then apply that to the beginning and keep it until the end.

4. Don't end the first part with a ritardando. The flow shouldn't stop there, or else it sounds like two separate pieces.