Playing Bach on classical guitar is one of the most rewarding and most difficult things you can possibly play on the instrument and this combination of difficulty and beauty keep a steady stream of young guitarists striving to make their mark by playing Bach on guitar.
If you have ever spent any amount of time listening to some of the greatest classical guitar players in the world you have most certainly heard them play some Bach.
Andres Segovia is credited with bringing Bach on the guitar to the masses and there are a great deal of guitarists that have followed in his tradition.
Segovia himself was criticized in later years by players who claimed that he took too romantic of an approach and not staying true to the historical ideals and performance practices of Bach's era.
However you choose to look at it, the beauty of Bach's music cannot be denied no matter how historically accurate it is played and it is my opinion that his music is so well constructed that it allows for an endless possibility of interpretations which make it among some of the best this world has ever seen.
When playing Bach on the classical guitar the first thing you should realize is that the music he wrote was in a style called 'counterpoint'.
This means that instead of a melody with accompaniment as most guitarists are used to in playing typical Spanish romantic music such as Tarrega or Sor, Bach's music is composed completely of separate melodies that are harmonious when played together.
This is ground zero for interpreting Bach's music.
In order to interpret the music meaningfully you must first interpret each melody or voice.
Do this by using the score and playing each separate voice on your instrument and also follow along with a good recording to get a feel of where each of the voices is.
You should be able to sing along with each of the voices either using a neutral syllable such as 'la la la' or using Solfege.
This should always be the first step when learning a new piece of Bach on classical guitar.
Once you are aware of where each of the melodies falls within the music, you should go through and separate each of the phrases.
A musical phrase is usually outlined with a cadential figure at the end and usually has a beginning a rising middle to a cadence at the end.
Bach is also very fond of using sequences in his music so make sure you are able to recognize a sequence when you see it (do a Google on 'musical sequence' and you should find some good information).
With your phrases notated on the score, it's time to start to figure out how to play the multi-voiced music on the guitar.
Start very slowly! You should take two or three bars at a time and figure out a single fingering that will allow you to play all three bars, now play the three bars and listen to the melodic lines, do you like what you hear? Most guitarists assume the best fingering is the 'easiest' fingering and this couldn't be further from the truth.
Take the original fingering you came up with for the three bars and begin to alter it so that you can phrase a melody line all on one string, or across two strings, or using all open strings.
By doing this you will be opening up your ears to each melody inside the music and making sure that you have picked the "best sounding" fingerings, not the easiest.
Obviously you will have to make some sacrifices for tone if a fingering is too complicated and the best combination of good sound and ease of fingering is what you are after.
This is the goal that separates the 'good' bach classical guitar players from the 'great' ones! Always be sure to go VERY slow with your practicing and try and sing each individual melody as you are playing the piece, once you can do all this you should have a very nice start on an intelligent and meaningful interpretation of Bach's music.
Have fun, stay patient and enjoy Bach classical guitar!
If you have ever spent any amount of time listening to some of the greatest classical guitar players in the world you have most certainly heard them play some Bach.
Andres Segovia is credited with bringing Bach on the guitar to the masses and there are a great deal of guitarists that have followed in his tradition.
Segovia himself was criticized in later years by players who claimed that he took too romantic of an approach and not staying true to the historical ideals and performance practices of Bach's era.
However you choose to look at it, the beauty of Bach's music cannot be denied no matter how historically accurate it is played and it is my opinion that his music is so well constructed that it allows for an endless possibility of interpretations which make it among some of the best this world has ever seen.
When playing Bach on the classical guitar the first thing you should realize is that the music he wrote was in a style called 'counterpoint'.
This means that instead of a melody with accompaniment as most guitarists are used to in playing typical Spanish romantic music such as Tarrega or Sor, Bach's music is composed completely of separate melodies that are harmonious when played together.
This is ground zero for interpreting Bach's music.
In order to interpret the music meaningfully you must first interpret each melody or voice.
Do this by using the score and playing each separate voice on your instrument and also follow along with a good recording to get a feel of where each of the voices is.
You should be able to sing along with each of the voices either using a neutral syllable such as 'la la la' or using Solfege.
This should always be the first step when learning a new piece of Bach on classical guitar.
Once you are aware of where each of the melodies falls within the music, you should go through and separate each of the phrases.
A musical phrase is usually outlined with a cadential figure at the end and usually has a beginning a rising middle to a cadence at the end.
Bach is also very fond of using sequences in his music so make sure you are able to recognize a sequence when you see it (do a Google on 'musical sequence' and you should find some good information).
With your phrases notated on the score, it's time to start to figure out how to play the multi-voiced music on the guitar.
Start very slowly! You should take two or three bars at a time and figure out a single fingering that will allow you to play all three bars, now play the three bars and listen to the melodic lines, do you like what you hear? Most guitarists assume the best fingering is the 'easiest' fingering and this couldn't be further from the truth.
Take the original fingering you came up with for the three bars and begin to alter it so that you can phrase a melody line all on one string, or across two strings, or using all open strings.
By doing this you will be opening up your ears to each melody inside the music and making sure that you have picked the "best sounding" fingerings, not the easiest.
Obviously you will have to make some sacrifices for tone if a fingering is too complicated and the best combination of good sound and ease of fingering is what you are after.
This is the goal that separates the 'good' bach classical guitar players from the 'great' ones! Always be sure to go VERY slow with your practicing and try and sing each individual melody as you are playing the piece, once you can do all this you should have a very nice start on an intelligent and meaningful interpretation of Bach's music.
Have fun, stay patient and enjoy Bach classical guitar!
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