How illuminating to set the Arietta from Op. 111 in Sibelius! I used three staves. Talk about semplice!
2
comments:
Mike Strand
said...
Extremely cool! Probably better than trying to layer it on two staves. And it was fun listening to the entire movement. This particular music suffers little, and may even improve, with this way of presenting it. Thanks to Carl for doing the work and bringing it to his web site!
Yes, true, computer software plays the music. But a few observations about this:
1. It gives you a direct idea of the composer's conception of the piece as a collection of timed notes and sounds.
2. It allows the mediocre player to slow things down, maybe play along for practice.
3. By copying the original into music software, you can learn a lot about the music itself, and the pros and cons of the software you're using.
4. The composer can easily share music with potential performers and get immediate feedback, without having to mount a rehearsal.
Finally, a point I'll try to make separately, using Op. 111-2, with all its trills, as an example. I think Beethoven may have used the trills to stand in for sustained notes. Or he may have considered carving out a new role for trills in piano music. In any case, in performances I've heard of this work, human finger mechanics aren't up to it. These passages demand stamina and skill that is rare.
I've complained about the trills in this piece, but in this computer sound rendition, the trills sound good and seem to fit with the rest of the piece. Maybe that's what Beethoven had in mind. Due to his deafness, he couldn't hear it played when he wrote it, even by the best of performers. If he could have heard Carl's rendition here, I would enjoy hearing his reaction.
In a way, it's a golden age for the composer, in terms of resources, if not livelihood. The composer can write stuff that can't be performed in practice, but nevertheless may be good music. I wonder what Beethoven, Chopin, Bach, or Brubeck would do with the music software we have available to us.
You've motivated me to set the gnarly Bach G-sharp minor Fugue XVIII from Book 1 of the WTC, into Finale PrintMusic using four staves, since it's a 4-voice fugue. I've studied this weirdly beautiful piece for a number of years, and I think I can learn more about it using a stave for each voice.
As with much of Bach's music, a lot happens harmonically in this fugue within short spans . For example, within the first two measures, the fugue starts with the tonal G#m, then to D#, G#m, G#dim, D#m, G#m6, A#. These harmonies are strongly suggested by the individual notes of the opening subject. In another place, bars 32-33, the subject repeats, slightly altered, with the other voices sounding at the same time, and the opening harmonies are almost repeated but not quite: G#m, D#, Fm, F#aug, G#dim, D#m, G#m6, A#.
Planning to get it done today or tomorrow. Then I have another project -- to study what I call "dramatic transitions" in a couple of Beethoven symphonies, using Schirmer's piano reductions. These relatively short passages of music, like the opening to the Brahms 1st Symphony, are on my favorites list. And my new mode of study is to set them into music software!
2 comments:
Extremely cool! Probably better than trying to layer it on two staves. And it was fun listening to the entire movement. This particular music suffers little, and may even improve, with this way of presenting it. Thanks to Carl for doing the work and bringing it to his web site!
Yes, true, computer software plays the music. But a few observations about this:
1. It gives you a direct idea of the composer's conception of the piece as a collection of timed notes and sounds.
2. It allows the mediocre player to slow things down, maybe play along for practice.
3. By copying the original into music software, you can learn a lot about the music itself, and the pros and cons of the software you're using.
4. The composer can easily share music with potential performers and get immediate feedback, without having to mount a rehearsal.
Finally, a point I'll try to make separately, using Op. 111-2, with all its trills, as an example. I think Beethoven may have used the trills to stand in for sustained notes. Or he may have considered carving out a new role for trills in piano music. In any case, in performances I've heard of this work, human finger mechanics aren't up to it. These passages demand stamina and skill that is rare.
I've complained about the trills in this piece, but in this computer sound rendition, the trills sound good and seem to fit with the rest of the piece. Maybe that's what Beethoven had in mind. Due to his deafness, he couldn't hear it played when he wrote it, even by the best of performers. If he could have heard Carl's rendition here, I would enjoy hearing his reaction.
In a way, it's a golden age for the composer, in terms of resources, if not livelihood. The composer can write stuff that can't be performed in practice, but nevertheless may be good music. I wonder what Beethoven, Chopin, Bach, or Brubeck would do with the music software we have available to us.
You've motivated me to set the gnarly Bach G-sharp minor Fugue XVIII from Book 1 of the WTC, into Finale PrintMusic using four staves, since it's a 4-voice fugue. I've studied this weirdly beautiful piece for a number of years, and I think I can learn more about it using a stave for each voice.
As with much of Bach's music, a lot happens harmonically in this fugue within short spans . For example, within the first two measures, the fugue starts with the tonal G#m, then to D#, G#m, G#dim, D#m, G#m6, A#. These harmonies are strongly suggested by the individual notes of the opening subject. In another place, bars 32-33, the subject repeats, slightly altered, with the other voices sounding at the same time, and the opening harmonies are almost repeated but not quite: G#m, D#, Fm, F#aug, G#dim, D#m, G#m6, A#.
Planning to get it done today or tomorrow. Then I have another project -- to study what I call "dramatic transitions" in a couple of Beethoven symphonies, using Schirmer's piano reductions. These relatively short passages of music, like the opening to the Brahms 1st Symphony, are on my favorites list. And my new mode of study is to set them into music software!
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