Ep5. Basic Improvisation Structures in Baroque Style

Lesson Applications, Inquiries, Comments for Nicola: [email protected]; [email protected]

Some basic structures for improvising without partimenti or a figured bass to guide you. The "TSCr" formalism is introduced as a way to analyze the structure of Italian and German Baroque music, and as a way to create your own sensible structures at the keyboard. We comb through the opening of a Bach English Suite this way, and then four separate improvisations are given as exemplars with subtitles describing the structure.

00:00 - Introduction
02:13 - Beginning, middle, end
* 4:42 - Why it's uncommon to end the middle section in the dominant key
06:18 - Two reminders (tempo; brevity)
08:34 - TSCR formalism: what? what for?
10:54 - T: Themes
14:04 - S: Sequences
15:10 - C: Cadences
16:53 - R: Transitions
18:10 - Example: Prelude from English Suite 4 in F major
21:53 - Common constructions from TSCR pieces
* 24:29 - Beginnings: common elaborations of TSC
26:09 - Demo 1 in C major:

TTSC SC r
TTSC SSC S
SC

27:28 - Demo 2 in G minor

TTSC SC
TTSC SSC
TTC

28:40 - Demo 3 in F major

TTrS TC r
TTSC TrC
TTC

30:02 - Demo 4 in D minor

TTSC TC r
SC TTC r
TSC

31:33 - Outro