MONDAY, August 9, 2021 – 8:44 AM

A guiding motif:

A Leitmotiv (German for “guiding motif”) is a theme that announces characters. Wagner was famous for using this idea, although he did not use the word “Leitmotiv”, but perhaps the most famous use of the Leitmotiv is by John Williams in Star Wars.

Here are just a few of the iconic themes that were all used and well-known by the time the first three films were completed. Using the idea of “famous old popular music”, which in this case is more like “slightly older popular music”, we now come to something a bit different, since John Williams is still composing more music for Star Wars movies, some of which have not yet been released. How he writes these themes that we all know and can’t forget remains a mystery that I absolutely do not understand.

Darth Vader’s Theme

By the way, Darth Vader’s Theme uses only minor chords, moving from key to key.

Luke Skywalker’s Theme

Princess Leia’s Theme

Jedi Theme or Force Theme

This is also used for both Luke Skywalker and Obi Wan Kenobi, so for this reason it is linked to “The Force”.

Yoda’s Theme

Yoda’s Theme is linked to Yoda from the first time he is introduced and appears again and again in the eight of the nine films in all three trilogies.

FRIDAY, August 6, 2021 – 12:42 AM

1712: Vivaldi: Concerto “Grosso Mogul” in D major, RV 208

My friend Louie sent me this link, and hearing this was a totally new experience. I really don’t know what to make if it, except that it’s fascinating. Would something this wild have been done in Vivaldi’s time? I doubt it. Would Vivaldi like this? I think very much.

FRIDAY, August 6, 2021 – 1:09 AM

Bach: Violin Concerto in A minor (BWV 1041) – Sato, Netherlands Bach Society

The Violin Concerto in A minor, BWV 1041,may have been composed at Köthen in 1717–23, but the only autograph source to survive are parts Bach copied out in Leipzig around 1730 from a now lost score or draft. So any date given is at best a guess.

This performance just appeared about a day ago although apparently it was made in May of 2019, almost two years ago. This group, with Sato, seems to have both an old sound and a very new one. Obviously the music is from almost 300 years ago, but the way these people play is anything but ancient sounding. It is so vital and alive. During the pandemic any recorded music is a gift in a time when so many performers are still wearing masks.

1st movement: Allegro, in A minor

The opening movement is in ritornello form. This means that there is a main section that comes back in fragments in both the solo violin and orchestral parts.

2nd movement: Andante, in C major

In the Andante second movement, Bach uses an insistent pattern in the ostinato bass part that is repeated constantly in the movement.

3rd movement:. Allegro assai, in A minor

In the final movement Bach relies on bariolage figures for striking acoustic effects. The meter and rhythm are those of a gigue.

But what in heaven’s names is a “bariolage figure”?

Bariolage (Fr., “odd mixture of colours”) is a technique performed by stringed instruments whereby there is a rapid alternation in the playing of open and stopped strings. Usually the figure involves a static note (the open string) and a changing note on a separate, almost always adjacent string

As always there is a question of when Bach first wrote things, and for what instrument or instruments. He frequently transcribed his own music many ways, and we don’t know which of many versions came first. His Clavier Concerto in G minor, BWV 1058 is an arrangement of this concerto with harpsichord and in a different key.

FRIDAY, August 6, 2021 – 1:20 AM

Concerto in D Minor, age 53

You will see this called a concerto for piano and for harpsichord, but it is highly unlikely that Bach intended it for piano. That does not keep it from sounding great on piano. But more important, we now think that he wrote it for violin and changed his mind because it was too hard. It’s no longer too hard today, so here you have not two but three choices.

Shunske Sato, violin, Netherlands Bach Society

This is not in D minor, and it’s not even in C# minor, which is what we usually hear today for this music when it’s pitched lower for older instruments. It’s in C minor, but now quite, and I can’t explain that. If you want to know why perfect pitch is destructive, this is a perfect example.

First of, check this out HERE, because this a man who is extremely gifted and also incredibly articulate. Because he is so musical I would listen to anything he says about anything he’s playing, and he is one of a group of musicians who is so young and so original that I think he is helping change everything. He was already famous and doing great things while still in his 20s. My first thought was: Why is a violinist trying to make us re-imagine something for harpsichord for violin? But after hearing this, I’m convinced. Yes, this could very well have been written for violin, then later give to other instruments because there was no one around at that time who could do it justice. Where this especially shines is in the 2nd, slow movement, where for me harpsichord doe not work at all, and even piano is less effective. Note that pitch is low, but not a complete 1/2 step, and this is part of the mystery of how people today are now tuning. No one agrees on standard music for music of this period, and with good reason. It did not exist.

Glenn Gould

This is in D minor, which we expect today. He plays slower, with incredible articulation. There is nothing to see, and the sound is not at spacious as later recordings, But I always come back to this as the model of what I think this piece should sound like on piano, or at least very close to the best it can sound.

Polina Osetinskaya, Anton Gakkel

This for me rivals Gould, and the recording is excellent. It’s also in D minor.

I like everything about this performance. Note the pianist is using music. There is never a reason to play without music except to impress non-musicians – except to play things without music that you can’t play with it, and for this piece that’s not a factor. So if you are less impressed because she is using music, rethink how you are listening to music and make sure you are not listening with your eyes. She’s a pure musician. No throwing the hands around, no constipated facial expressions, just pure quality playing. It’s a joy to both see and hear.

Jean Rondeau

I’m not a big fan of harpsichord, but I do very much like this performer. He looks sort of like hippie, someone transported out of the 60s. If you like harpsichord, check this out. It has a very different feel. And it’s in C# minor. You will see him playing in D minor because the harpsichord is tuned down 1/2 step.

Not what we expect today…

Concertos by the time of Beethoven and later composers were usually written for big groups and many instruments to back them up. There is no question about what instrument – or instruments – concertos were written for. But here there are only strings, and no one knows for sure what solo Bach would have preferred if he could have heard what modern performers are able to do today.

FRIDAY, November 27, 2020 – 10:59 AM

(Go to SPOTLIGHT posts by composers…)

(Go to SPOTLIGHT posts by year of composition…)

(Go to SPOTLIGHT posts by Star Wars Themes…)

List of all SPOTLIGHT posts by date…

FRIDAY, August 6, 2021 – 1:02 AM

I started this idea more than a year ago. My idea was to present whatever I was listening to at the moment. But late in 2020 I got so busy recording that I stopped listening for awhile. I was too exhausted. Just recently I started to get my curiosity back.

I almost gave up on this project, and I’ve been running into memory problems. But for the time being I’ll continue it for a bit more, then I’ll judge whether or not the project is worth the time based on feedback.

Click on the hyperlinks below for PDF files.

• Guide to Universal Interval Names
• Line and Space Drills

This is about scales, chords, how to read lines and spaces – and a lot more. Anything about patterns, structures and systems is part of theory. It can be deadly boring or fascinating, depending on how you view it. For any successful musician a thorough knowledge of theory is a must.

THURSDAY, August 5, 2021 – 10:06 AM

• Unison – “zero distance”
• 1/2 Tone – nothing is skipped
• Tone – skip one key
• Fat (tone) – one and 1/2 tones: It’s wider than a tone, thus “fat”. Skip two keys
• Bitone – two tones: Skip three keys
• 4th – Two and 1/2 tones. Skip four keys
• Tritone – Three tones. Two fats
• 5th – One half tone bigger than a tritone, hand-sized.
• 4-tone – fits Xaug
• Triple fat flip – fits Xdim
• Two short or 5 tones- shrink an octave by two keys: fits X7
• One short: shrink an octave by two keys: fits Xmaj7
• Octave – two notes with the same name that is not a unison

Each day I am adding more resources here, so please keep checking back to see what is new. Online teaching is international. If you have a computer and want my help, we can do this from anywhere in the world. My teaching is not local, and that’s a very good thing.

With online teaching you are no longer limited to teachers in your area, and for many people that is key when they are trying to find the best fit for a teacher.

This for students of all ages and their parents. In the beginning most people have no idea what happens in lessons, or what music reading is, or anything else related to what we as music teachers do. For the average non-musicians, trained musicians somehow seem like wizards right out of Harry Potter, while the rest of the world is divided into muggles and squibs. Here are some things you should read about:

• Download and assemble my keyboard chart
• Why the parent is the most important person in the room
•  A diagram for lines and spaces
• There are no squibs in music
• All about fusion
• When is a child ready to take lessons?
• Setting up for an online lesson
• To Memorize or Not To Memorize
• What is musical illiteracy?
• Note names are a trap
• Two systems for naming notes
• My online method book, and why I did it
• So, you are new and want to buy a digital piano
• How do we read piano music?
• Acoustic or Digital?
• What is wrong with reading?
•  When did language and musical literacy peak?
•  Memorization