The Grand Piano: Playing Bach

Thursday, January 31, 2019

Playing Bach

We were going to have an entertainment night here locally and Meagan J. said she was going to play a Bach Fugue. I responded by telling her "What, I don't even like to play Bach when I have to!" Her dad, the great pianist Mark J. immediately said, "That's a terrible attitude! He then told my little 4 year old niece in whom Mark is about to begin teaching piano to probably next year not to listen to me. I responded to him by saying, "I just don't like Bach, I'm a Mozart fan. Mozart has happy music." If you take piano, you'll know that no piano teacher wants to hear a student say they don't like Bach. Playing Bach is essential to becoming a good pianist. Fugues are difficult because one hand is always mirroring the other hand in the opposite direction so to speak. It is like rubbing your hand on your tummy while you pat your head. :-)!!! I told a former piano teacher of mine that I didn't like Bach one time because it made me feel like I was in a box, pun intended, and ended up having to play only and all Bach for one month straight as punishment! All in piano fun!

No comments:

Post a Comment

Piano is Exercise

Why piano is so hard: You are reading both treble and bass clef at the same time verses most other instruments where you read only one clef at a time. Yes, that is why I always did better on the flute. Then, your right foot is pumping the damper pedal, and your left foot is pumping the soft petal, and the poor middle and often forgotten sostenuto pedal, usually the quiet more balanced one, but when you get into more advanced lessons you sometimes have to pump the middle sustenuto pedal too but you only have two legs so OH NO....that means you have to move one of the legs that you have over to pump that one! :-) Also, if you use fitness apps, you can see that you burn a lot of calories playing the piano. Both hands/arms are constantly moving, your eyes are keeping up with the music which means your brain is constantly active; and if you're playing from memory you are totally depending on brain power as well as muscle memory. Also, your feet/legs are constantly moving in pumping the pedals. Who needs the gym if you play piano! :-)