J.S. Bach - Sinfonia #10 (G Major) - Three-Part Invention

Here is J.S. Bach's Sinfonia #10 in G Major.  I wasn't quite able to get it up to the Glenn Gould tempo. In the end I decided I'd rather sacrifice clarity for speed.  I've been working on speed again lately so it is possible I will revisit this composition in the future.

To check out my complete playlist of Bach recordings click here:
J.S. Bach Three-Part Sinfonias Playlist
J.S. Bach Two-Part Inventions Playlist

J.S. Bach - Sinfonia #8 in F Major - Three Part Invention

I've been using Bach Inventions and Sinfonias for the past year or so as a daily technical exercise.  I spend about an hour each morning working slowly through challenging sections of the music.  After about two weeks I record a performance and post it to my YouTube channel.  The goal of these videos is to track my progress and growth over the course of studying J.S. Bach's counterpoint.  I do not consider myself a professional classical pianist but I still hope you enjoy my best (albeit amateurish  efforts at performing Baroque music.

J.S. Bach - Sinfonia #7 in E minor - Three Part Invention (BWV 793)

My first "real" piano lesson in college was a jarring experience.  In high school I coasted through through piano lessons, mostly getting by playing by ear and the pressure of playing in the moment.  All I needed to do was learn or write one challenging song a year and everyone would assume I was an accomplished player.  I always got "1" ratings at state piano competitions and easily impressed at all my recitals.  Problem was, I never really learned the basic necessities of playing music.   I didn't know my scales, I didn't have much technique and worst of all, I could only barely read music.

Our master college piano professor, like most others, assumed I could play.   I auditioned with striking performances of my "go to" pieces, the Gershwin Preludes and also played some random Major Scales.    That's why I'm sure it came as quite a shock to the professor when I couldn't get through sight reading the first page of a simple Beethoven Sonata on our first lesson.  "What exactly did you want to Major in here?"  The lesson had shattered my fragile ego but also reinvigorated my passion for wanting to become a better pianist.

I spent the next 4 years working through Hanon books, technical exercises and etudes.  After graduation, I felt like my sight reading and fundamentals had greatly improved.  Still, I was a long way from becoming a master of the instrument.  I spent 2 years after graduating going through a series of rhythmic scale exercises written by Lennie Tristano.  Much improved, but bored of my six year adventure in technique, I decided to start actually making music out of my daily technical practice.  

I selected Bach's three easiest contrapuntal works, the Inventions, Sinfonias and Well Tempered Clavier as my goal pieces.  After a little over a year, I have completed recording all the inventions and half of the sinfonias.  The pieces have increased my technique and musicality much more than any technical exercise ever has.  

I hope you enjoy my musical journey through J.S. Bach's music.  More importantly, I hope you can see improvement through the course of this series.  Please feel free to send any performance suggestions, leave a comment below or on the video.  Thanks for watching!

Bach - Invention #14

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a series of compositional studies and exercises in technique for his students between 1685-1750.  15 of them are 2-part contrapuntal pieces and the other 15 are 3-part contrapuntal pieces.  Counterpoint (contrapuntal) is a style of writing where two or more rhythmically varied yet harmonically symbiotic voices interact to form the composition. 

J.S. Bach's Inventions and Sinfonias (BVW 772-801) are often the early pivotal points for young budding classical pianists.  Unfortunately for me, I had neither the focus or dedication to adequately take them on in my youth.  Now, I have returned to Bach's music as an exercise in pianist fluidity and tone control.  I hope you enjoy my novice attempt at performing his music.  I do not claim to be an expert on the music.  Although, it appears to be helping my improvising significantly and I feel more confident in my classical technique after each piece I perform. 

I hope you enjoy this performance.  Please feel free to leave a comment below or send me a message!