Download J.S. Bach`s Influence on Piano Pedagogy

Braden Tierney
11-12-2012
J.S. Bach’s Influence on Piano Pedagogy
Johann Sebastian Bach’s name and music have exceptional presences in the world today.
Almost anyone can hum the opening melody from his cello suite #1 in G major, and Haussman’s
portrait of the composer in his powdered wig clutching a single sheet of music has become the
icon of the baroque musician. The composer’s work permeates movies, radio, and television. “As
a testament to humanity’s greatest achievements”1, Bach’s works were recently sent into space
on the voyager space crafts. These extraordinary accomplishments paint the picture of a man
who has left a mark on humanity, yet there is a difference between being known and respected in
the world and truly influencing the lives of those who inhabit it. Just because people can
recognize an artist’s name does not mean it he or she has changed where they live in any way.
Bach transcends far beyond this boundary of simple fame, though. His writings changed
music, and more importantly than that, his work as a teacher and as a composer revolutionized
piano pedagogy. Piano pedagogy is the study of teaching the piano forte, and without Bach, it
would be lacking a great deal of what it has today. As Brahms said, “study Bach, for there you
will find everything”2. Bach’s music allows teachers to mold brilliant pianists due to its quantity,
complexity, and creativity. An analysis of his pedagogical influence first must include a
discussion of the general effects of the enormous amount of music he wrote, followed an
examination of pieces with particular pedagogical value.
1
Clint,
Johnson.
University
of
Victoria,
"A
Biography
of
Johann
Sebastian
Bach."
Last
modified
2006.
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://web.uvic.ca/~tonicxt/assign_1/index.html.
2
ibid
The numbers surrounding Bach’s writings are truly extraordinary. He wrote over elevenhundred individual works.3 They ranged from chorales, to orchestral pieces, to chamber pieces,
to concertos, to solo string pieces, to keyboard pieces. The piano forte had not yet been invented,
so all of his music that is now played on the keyboard was originally written for the harpsichord
or organ. But even this transition between instruments does not diminish its value as a set of
teaching tools.
What makes Bach’s huge musical library so influential on piano pedagogy is the diversity
and quality of keyboard music within it. Any composer can write a lot for people to play, but if it
is all of the same style, he or she might as well have just written one long piece. Yet Bach
covered a great variety of styles. His music ranged from energy filled and fast moving pieces,
such as his Concerto No. 2 in d Minor, to slow and deeply introspective music such as parts of
the Goldberg variations.
The Goldberg variations in and of themselves are ideal examples of the diversity of
interpretations that go hand in hand with Bach’s music. Not only did he write an enormous
amount of broadly varied music, but most, if not all, of what he did can be interpreted in any
number of ways. The most famous example of this is Glenn Gould’s recordings of the aria from
the Goldberg variations. He made a recording in 1955 and another in 19814. The early one is a
beautiful version of the piece, played with the steady confidence of a young pianist.
The second recording, though, could almost be mistaken for a different piece entirely.
Gould approaches the music cautiously. The tempo is slowed dramatically from the 1955
recording, and it feels at times as if not even he knows exactly where the piece will take him
3
WordPress,
"Get
Into
Classical."
Last
modified
2011.
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://www.getintoclassical.com/composers/bach/.
4
Erik,
Tarloff.
Slate,
"There
and
Bach
Again."
Last
modified
2002.
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
WordPress,
"Get
Into
Classical."
Last
modified
2011.
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://www.getintoclassical.com/composers/bach/..
next. Whether the later recording is better or worse is entirely a matter of opinion. But a person
could listen to either version for the first time and not find anything wrong with it. No one can
really say that Gould’s playing in one scenario or the other is the incorrect in any way.
This is another point that distinguishes Bach’s music from that of other composers; with
Chopin or Rachmaninov or even Beethoven, there are clearly proper and improper ways to
interpret the notes. The composers are generally quite clear in their notation of what they would
like a pianist to play. People with no musical training can tell when someone is over-emoting in a
Chopin scherzo, or rushing it, or using too much pedal. Yet Bach, whether it was his intention or
not, offers a wider range of interpretation, as seen with the example of the Aria. Of course, there
are limits to what liberties a performer can take with his music, and not all of his pieces offer
such breadth of interpretation, but whether it be simply because he put less guidance in the
music, or because the harpsichord and organ did not have the great variation in dynamics that the
piano forte has today, Bach’s pieces have the capacity to teach a young pianist more about
interpretation than those of other composers.
These other composers that came after Bach were all greatly influenced by him in how
they approached writing their own music, meaning Bach gave even more playable material
aspiring pianists than he even wrote. In the words of one author, “Bach’s music has been a source of
inspiration for all kinds of new developments and for countless individual works”.5 Two
of the
composers who are best known for being affected by Bach are Mozart and Beethoven.
Beethoven is cited as having enthusiastically said, “not Bach, but Meer should be his name!”6 In
German, Bach means brook, and meer means ocean, so by saying this Beethoven is referencing
the vast diversity and depth of Bach’s music. Various comparisons have been shown between
5
Malcolm
Boyd,
Bach,
(Oxford
University
Press,
2006),
accessed
November
13,
2012
Timothy,
Smith.
Sojurn,
"Not
Bach
but
Meer."
Last
modified
1996.
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/tas3/meer.html)
.
6
Beethoven’s writings and Bach’s, particularly “in Beethoven’s predilection for working with a
limited amount of musical material often stated at the very opening of a movement”7 This was a
technique developed by Bach, so it is logical to assume that, while writing his music, Beethoven
had looked to his predecessor for inspiration.
Both Beethoven’s and Mozart’s music have an extremely clear connection to Bach’s
through the use of counterpoint. Both of the composers, as well as others, used this technique in
many of their writings. For example, it is present in Beethoven’s Great Fugue op. 133, and many
have claimed that Bach “influenced Mozart to…incorporate more contrapuntal complexities”
into his music. The result of this was that counterpoint can now be found in almost any of
Mozart’s piano pieces.
Counterpoint is the “compositional technique involved in the handling of…melodic
lines”,8 where one or more melodies are superimposed upon each other. It requires both a
harmonic relationship between the lines as well as a meaningful melody9, making it quite
difficult to successfully work into music. By attempting counterpoint, composers risk overdoing
it or losing the theme of a piece amidst a deluge of notes.
Bach, though, was a true master of this technique. It can be found through all of his
pieces, particularly in his fugues. He used it in ways composers had never dreamed of
beforehand. Thus, it can be said with certainty that any composer who came after him and used
counterpoint as well, whether it be Mozart, Beethoven, Haydn, or anyone else, was influenced
heavily by Bach.
7
Reed
,
Hoyt.
SUNY
Albany,
"The
Legacy
of
Bach."
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://www.ithaca.edu/music/mtsnys/2006mtg/abstracts/bach.html
8
Roland,
Jackson,
ed.
Britannica.
Encyclopedia
Britannica
Inc.,
2012.
s.v.
"Counterpoint."
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/140313/counterpoint
(accessed
November
13,
2012).
9
ibid
10
Sample of counterpoint from one of Bach’s fugues,
No 17 in Ab Major, WTC Book 1. Note the four
simultaneous melodies, one in each voice, played
on top of each other.
While it is informative to show just how much music Bach wrote, and how that music
affected the people who came after him, it is not enough to truly explore the vast amount of
influence J.S. Bach has had. Examining why his music is such so utile for teaching is a necessity.
Piano pedagogy would not be affected if Bach had written only high level pieces that required
virtuosic playing. Likewise, if all of his music was all too simple, then it would be equally
useless in terms of pedagogical value. Somehow, Bach found a middle way between these two
extremes that has allowed his writings to be some of the best ever created for a student of the
piano.
All of his music has a few common themes. The first is that if one were to pick a
keyboard piece at random that Bach had written, it can be said for certain that it would have a
unique part of it that makes it interesting to play and interpret. This is crucial, even for beginner
level piano music. If a piece is boring it will not hold the attention of any pianist or any audience
member. Interesting pieces, though, grip keyboardists and give them a certain feeling of
10
Wikipedia,
"Counterpoint."
Last
modified
2008.
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BachFugueBar.png.
accomplishment when they are played, no matter how simple. In no way does it make sense to
give beginning pianists dull music. It gives them no reason to want to continue studying.
For example, Bach’s prelude number 1 in C major from the Well-Tempered Clavier Book
1 is a very simple piece, and it is often one of the first preludes learned by a student. It consists
only of three note arpeggios played at slow pace.11 Yet there have been countless professional
recordings of this simple piece and others like it by artists such as Gould and Pollini. This is
common with Bach’s ostensibly basic music; people want to hear it played. Its musical value so
far surpasses its simplicity that no anyone can see it holds a certain intrinsic musical value.
The next theme in Bach’s music has to do once more with counterpoint. Counterpoint has
much more of a greater purpose than simply acting as a marker for where Bach’s influence
appears. It also teaches one of the most crucial parts of the piano; hand and finger independence.
One of the qualities of the piano that makes it so unique is the fact that it requires a pianist to be
able to do entirely different tasks with each hand, and with each finger on each hand.
Counterpoint is an ideal way to teach this. By forcing a keyboardist to follow different melodies
with different parts of the hands, it causes rapid learning and development in this area.
Bach’s music also universally shows students how to follow melodies while focusing also
on harmony. Many of his writings, again due to counterpoint, seems to have many different
melodies moving at once. Yet there are always one or two voices that should guide the motion of
the piece. Many pianists fall into the trap of only reading vertically (focusing on the harmonies)
or only reading horizontally (focusing on the melodies). Bach’s music does not allow this,
though. It forces someone to interpret all parts of a piece.
11
J.S.
Bach
"Prelude
C
Major."
WTC
Book
1.
Sheet
music,
http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0071375&ref=google.
Another thread that makes Bach’s pieces excellent for teaching pertains to fingering.
Fingering refers to which finger a pianist uses to play a certain note. It becomes extremely
important in high level piano when pieces call for virtuosic playing that requires a very particular
pattern of fingers. This pattern could vary from person to person, though, as no two pianists have
identical hands.
Teaching fingering could possibly be skated over when a person is just starting to learn
the piano. Some easy pieces can be played with a number of arbitrary fingerings, and scales are
taught to pianists generally with the same universal fingerings. But playing Bach requires
students to determine what pattern of fingers works best for them, as “his…works regularly
require fingers to move in ways contrary to the patterns appropriate in simple scales”.12 By
teaching a student how to decide the best fingering early on, it prevents trouble later on when
that same student attempts to play highly complex pieces using poorly planned fingerings.
Some of the most famous teaching pieces that embody these four principles of Bach’s
music (interesting pieces, hand work, complex melodies, fingerings) are the inventions and
sinfonias. These pieces were composed in 1723 by Bach specifically for teaching his students.
There are fifteen inventions, and 15 sinfonias.13 Each invention/sinfonia set is composed in a
different key. It is important to note that only fifteen of the twenty four keys are used. Bach
picked out the ones that he believed were the most useful for students to study, so he ended up
12
David
,
Schulenburg.
"Fugues
and
Fingering:
Scales
and
Other
Technical
Devices
in
Bach's
Contrapuntal
Works."
Last
modified
2006.
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://www.wagner.edu/faculty/dschulenberg/sites/wagner.edu.faculty.dschulenberg/files/download/fuguefings
_with_images.pdf.
13
Yo,
Tomita.
"The
Inventions
and
Sinfonias."
Last
modified
1999.
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://www.music.qub.ac.uk/tomita/essay/inventions.html.
eliminating nine.14 This means that these pieces are examples of how Bach approached his work
as both a teacher and as a composer.
These pieces are filled with counterpoint, which, as shown before, is an incredibly
powerful teaching tool. Each of the inventions is in two parts, whereas the sinfonias are in three
parts. The word ‘part’ refers to the number of contrapuntal lines in each piece. In addition to the
benefit of counterpoint, these pieces also contain some “brilliant hand-crossing techniques”15 and
other important technical skills that students must learn in order to be proficient at the keyboard.
But Bach did not write the inventions and sinfonias only to improve his students’ technical
ability. It has been said that his goal in writing them was to “develop each motif [in the pieces]
both freely and logically”.16 This represents one of Bach’s insights makes these pieces superior
to so many others that could be used for teaching. It connects to how each of Bach’s pieces
contain an inherent uniqueness that makes them interesting to play. The inventions and sinfonias
would not be anywhere as effective if they were only composed to show students new types of
technique. This was actually shown, when “Hanon, Czerny, etc., tried to achieve the same ends
using what they thought were simpler, more systematic approaches but they failed because they
tried to simplify something that is infinitely complex”.17 They give pupils a degree of
interpretation, allowing them to move beyond the surface of just playing notes in a difficult way,
and move into actually playing music.
Another famous set of works, now used as a teaching tool, created by Bach is the
Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach. J.S. Bach and Anna Magdalena were married in 1721 and
14
ibid
ibid
16
ibid
17
""Normal"
Practice
Routines
and
Bach's
Teachings."
Last
modified
2006.
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.III.19.3.
15
together they had thirteen children.18 Bach wrote two of these notebooks for his wife, one in
1722 and one in 1725.19 They both contain a number of pieces from a variety of composers,
many of which are used in piano pedagogy today.
One of the most famous of these pieces is the Minuet No. 3 in G Major. This piece is
similar to the C Major prelude in that it is often shown to young piano students when they first
start playing, and that a number of famous artists have made recordings of it. An important fact
about the piece, though, is that it in fact may not have been written by Bach himself. Some have
named Christian Petzold, another baroque composer, as the true creator of the minuet. The
composer does not matter, though; Bach is the person who brought the music to fame. Without
Bach publishing it, the simple piece may have never risen to the prominence it has achieved
today.
20
The first line of Christian Petzold’s/J.S. Bach’s famous Minuet in G Major. Note the very simple counterpoint in the last two
measures, a quality that makes it ideal for a new pianist.
Due to the fact it can be hummed by almost any pianist, saying Bach made the minuet
known shows pedalogical influence enough, yet the value he saw in the music is also quite
apparent. Once again, the piece stands quite well on its own and also is very easy to play, making
18
Robert,
Edwards.
Bach
Cantatas
Website,
"Anna
Magdalena
Bach."
Last
modified
2007.
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://www.bach‐cantatas.com/Lib/Bach‐Anna‐Magdalena.htm.
19
ibid
20
Christian,
Petzold.
"WTC
Book
1."
Menuet.
sheet
music,
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q5HPIwhDssw/TKVfBWq1SuI/AAAAAAAAHFk/IFx9x1Ag3nE/s1600/Bach‐minuet‐G.jpg.
it fantastic for a novice pianist. It is divided into two short parts, each with an easy to follow
melody that is played in the right hand. The left hand complements this melody, often by only
playing one note per measure. It is very simple, but not at all dull to listen to, and it is a fantastic
introduction to playing where both hands have distinct yet equally important jobs.
One of the most influential sets of music of all time that is well known for containing
pieces that make the hands do multiple jobs at once is the two books of the Well Tempered
Clavier. Each book has twenty four preludes and twenty four corresponding fugues (2 sets in
each key). Part 1 was completed and published in 1722, and Part 2 was completed and published
in 1740.21 Book 1 was developed by Bach more as a set of teaching pieces,22 yet they are both
used for it today.
The preludes and fugues in these books cannot really be characterized in one universal
manner due to their incredible variance in style. Sometimes the prelude is more of an
introduction to the key the fugue is in, and sometimes it is the more grandiose piece of the two.
They only generalization that can be made is that they tend to share themes and complement
each other in terms of sound and emotion. For example, Prelude No. 4 in C# Minor (WTC Book
1) is a gorgeous melodic piece, whereas the fugue feels more rigid and authoritarian, and cannot
really be described as beautiful but rather atonal.
The pedagogical influence of the Well Tempered Clavier is almost too broad to describe.
In any combination of preludes and fugues, you can find the four principles (interesting pieces,
hand work, complex melodies, fingerings) that makes Bach’s music so influential on piano
pedagogy. Yet these pieces’ singularity goes beyond that. They teach a student how to analyze
music. For example, the Fugue No. 4 in C# Minor has five different voices. A pianist has to
21
"A
Johannn
Sebastian
Bach
MIDI
Page."
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://bachcentral.com/wtc.html.
ibid
22
spend time away from the keyboard, with just the music, to determine exactly where the one five
note theme at the beginning of the piece appears (it comes up over thirty times)23 to then
determine which voice should be brought out at which point. Also, music this complex aids a
young pianist to work on his or her musical memory. Having to learn all five voices of a five
voice fugue and then play them without music greatly expands a pupil’s ability to learn music
quickly.
24
The opening theme to Bach’s fugue No. 4 C# minor
25
The same theme restated in the tenor line amidst
counterpoint at a later part in the piece
One of the key points about all of these pieces and sets of pieces listed is that they all
contain music that can be played by musicians of all levels. As mentioned before, a composer
23
JS,
Bach.
"http://erato.uvt.nl."
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://erato.uvt.nl/files/imglnks/usimg/c/cf/IMSLP02209‐BWV0849.pdf.
24
JS,
Bach.
pianostreet,
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://www.pianostreet.com/search/images_tn/png600px/bach_dwk1_no4.png.
25
JS,
Bach.
musicaneo,
"25479_the_well‐
tempered_clavier_book_i_prelude_and_fugue_no_4_in_c_sharp_minor_ed_czer."
Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://library.musicaneo.com/files/sheetmusic/preview/25479_the_well‐
tempered_clavier_book_i_prelude_and_fugue_no_4_in_c_sharp_minor_ed_czer.pdf.
that leaves a mark in piano pedagogy has to write for all levels of pianists. Bach far surpasses
this requirement. From the prelude in C major to the fugue in C# minor, his music spans the gap
from extraordinarily difficult to very simple. A pianist could in essence only study Bach and still
have a wholesome musical education. He was aware that learning does not stop once a person
passes beyond the level of simple pieces onto more challenging material. A composer has to
make music that challenges a pupil in more diverse ways as his or her study of piano progresses.
Thinking about Bach’s influence in terms of diversity and types of music is extraordinary
enough, yet a discussion of his effect on piano pedagogy would not be complete without looking
at sight reading. Bach’s pieces, particularly his chorales, are excellent teachers of sight reading.
They “have a steady pulse”26 that allow students to worry less about unusual rhythms and more
about following the chord progression. Sight reading is where a musician plays music that he or
she has never seen before. In the words of one teacher, “Sight reading ability is a great indicator
of the student's overall understanding of music”.27 It requires the ability to read ahead while
playing, a well-trained musical ear, and a comprehension of music theory. Due to Bach’s work,
students today have plenty of material to develop these abilities.
The best way to summarize Bach’s influence on piano pedagogy is with the words of
Mozart. He said that “now there is a music from which a man can learn something”.28 Due to
their diversity, quantity, and effect on future composers, Bach’s keyboard works have the power
to teach students of the piano in a seemingly uncountable number of ways. Whether it be
perfecting hand technique, music theory, or just the appreciation of a moving melody, his pieces
26
WordPress,
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2012.
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27
Jenny,
Bay.
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28
Timothy,
Smith.
Sojurn,
"Not
Bach
but
Meer."
Last
modified
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Accessed
November
13,
2012.
http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/tas3/meer.html)
.
have enough lessons stored in them to teach even the most weathered performer. It cannot be
said for sure whether Bach intended for his music to have such far reaching effects on the
training of future musicians, but regardless of his intent, thanks to J.S. Bach, the world of piano
pedagogy is broad and rich.
List of Works Cited:
1. Clint, Johnson. University of Victoria, "A Biography of Johann Sebastian Bach." Last
modified 2006. Accessed November 13, 2012.
http://web.uvic.ca/~tonicxt/assign_1/index.html.
2. Christian, Petzold. "WTC Book 1." Menuet. sheet music,
http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_Q5HPIwhDssw/TKVfBWq1SuI/AAAAAAAAHFk/IFx9x1Ag
3nE/s1600/Bach-minuet-G.jpg.
3. David , Schulenburg. "Fugues and Fingering: Scales and Other Technical Devices in
Bach's Contrapuntal Works." Last modified 2006. Accessed November 13, 2012.
http://www.wagner.edu/faculty/dschulenberg/sites/wagner.edu.faculty.dschulenberg/files/
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2010. Accessed November 13, 2012. http://theteachingstudio.blogspot.com/2010/06/whysight-reading-is-important.html.
6. "A Johannn Sebastian Bach MIDI Page." Accessed November 13, 2012.
http://bachcentral.com/wtc.html.
7. J.S. Bach. "http://erato.uvt.nl." Accessed November 13, 2012.
http://erato.uvt.nl/files/imglnks/usimg/c/cf/IMSLP02209-BWV0849.pdf.
8. J.S. Bach. musicaneo, "25479_the_welltempered_clavier_book_i_prelude_and_fugue_no_4_in_c_sharp_minor_ed_czer."
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9. J.S. Bach. pianostreet, Accessed November 13, 2012.
http://www.pianostreet.com/search/images_tn/png600px/bach_dwk1_no4.png.
10. J.S. Bach "Prelude C Major." WTC Book 1. compact disc,
http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtdFPE.asp?ppn=MN0071375&ref=google.
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12. Malcolm Boyd, Bach, (Oxford University Press, 2006), accessed November 13, 2012
13. ""Normal" Practice Routines and Bach's Teachings." Last modified 2006. Accessed
November 13, 2012. http://www.pianofundamentals.com/book/en/1.III.19.3.
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http://www.ithaca.edu/music/mtsnys/2006mtg/abstracts/bach.html
15. Robert, Edwards. Bach Cantatas Website, "Anna Magdalena Bach." Last modified 2007.
Accessed November 13, 2012. http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Lib/Bach-AnnaMagdalena.htm.
16. Roland, Jackson, ed. Britannica. Encyclopedia Britannica Inc., 2012. s.v. "Counterpoint."
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/140313/counterpoint (accessed November
13, 2012).
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13, 2012. http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/tas3/meer.html) .
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:BachFugueBar.png.
19. WordPress, "How to Improve Your Sight Reading." Last modified 2011. Accessed
November 13, 2012. http://gretchenspianos.wordpress.com/2011/01/18/how-to-improveyour-sight-reading/.
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21. Yo, Tomita. "The Inventions and Sinfonias." Last modified 1999. Accessed November
13, 2012. http://www.music.qub.ac.uk/tomita/essay/inventions.html.