Securing a Fast Passage The other day I was practising Chopin’s 3rd Scherzo, a piece I have played regularly over the years. Because I haven’t touched it in a while, I found it needed a bit of dusting off and soe cobwebs reoving before I could get it bac! into shape and find the spar!le and security it needs for perforance. The obvious thing was to go bac! to soe slow practice, and this is great of course. But because slow practice is only part of the story, I decided to wor! on the coda "froTe po # below$ by i%ing up slo w practice with up&to& speed playing. I’ll e%plain in a oent how this wor!s. 'ith e%tended fast passages such as this coda, it’s not (ust finger control we need but of also control of rhythm. It’s so iportant to !now, and to feel, where the first beats of each bar coe ) even if we don’t want to end up ephasising or accenting theas such. In usic in fast triple tie, we often feel each bar as one beat of a larger*&bar unit. 'e can of course count it + 13, 13, 13, 13-, etc. "fine at slower tepos$ but at speed it is ore natural to feel +1"3$, 2"3$,3"3$,4"3$or "ore siply$ + 1 2 3 4+.
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The whole point of this is to ai to send each !ey down e%treely fast, with a range of otion deliberately in
e%cess of what we are going to use. The tepo is very slow, yet the speed "of finger, of !ey, of ind$ very fast.
'e need to content ourselves with doing this for a while, over the course of a few days.
@e%t coes the process not of doing this increentally faster as coon sense ight dictate "although this is a
ploy open to us also$, but of grouping the notes fro atos to olecules to cells. /ere is where the traditional
approach to practising in rhyths coes in. Thin! about it ) a dotted rhyth e2uates to two notes played fast,
each pair separated by a long note. If, during this long note, we can consciously coand the effort:release
principle our results will be infinitely greater than if we had anaged a perfunctory and echanical +dah de&dah
de&dah, etc., with the ind soewhere else. Thus the +effort part of the e2uation coprises two notes, but y
gripe is that people ignore the +release, probably because seeingly nothing happens on it. 7o not assue that
pausing on a note and lu%uriating in the sensations of uscular and ental looseness e2uates to sloth. Instead
of the usual dotted 2uaver&sei2uaver dotted rhyth, I prefer to start this ball rolling with double dotted crotchet&
sei2uaver0
5ro a cell of two 2uic! notes, you can progress to three 2uic! notes, one paused note and so on. 1s I outlined in
y previous post on this "related$ sub(ect, thin! of a note with a fermata prefaced by an acciaccatura "then with
two acciaccaturas, then three, etc.$0
Accents
1nother way of practising is to play evenly in tie, but placing accents on the ain beats. Thus, in a passage in
sei2uavers in coon tie, we can firstly accent every other note, then the first note of every beat, then everyhalf bar, then every bar, etc., gradually filleting these out until we play with none.
Finger Staccato
It is great practice to ta!e each note of the passage and play it as staccato as possible, fro the fingertip with no
involveent of the ar "this is a pulling or flic!ing otion of the finger towards the pal of the hand$. The tepo
can be very slow, but the !ey speed will be e%treely fast. I recoend this wholeheartedly as a suppleent to
Soewhat reluctantly, I have (ust sold on y Firgil 6ractice Clavier , having watched it gather dust and ta!e up
space for the past few years. 5or those of you too young to reeber Goseph Cooper’s duy !eyboard on the
BBC panel show +5ace The ?usic, a Firgil is a practice piano with ad(ustable sprung and weighted !eys, and
the only sounds it is capable of producing are clic!s as the !eys go down, and:or clic!s as the !eys coe up "you
can select the up&clic!, the down&clic!, both clic!s or neither$. If you turn the spring to its a%iu, you get a !ey
resistance that would challenge even 6opeye on spinach day, or you can set it to an effortless +light "and with all
degrees in between$. The clic!s are supposed to indicate rhythic accuracy, or "if you have both up and down
clic!s switched on$ how precise your legato is "if the up&clic! and the ne%t down&clic! coincide, then you will have
ade a te%tboo! !ey connection$. 6anelists on the show would have to guess what piece was being played (ust
fro the rhyth of the clic!s "the audience at hoe helped along by a soundtrac! that would fade in after a
while$.
SI>@T 681CTIC> @4. #
7ue to force of circustance, I once had to learn a substantial recital prograe of usic for cello and piano"including the Chopin Sonata$ on one of these devices. I was staying soewhere with no piano, and this portable
contraption could be oved into y roo easily by two people. To y surprise, I found the wor! very congenialD I
was able to hear in y head the sounds y fingers would have been a!ing, and in soe ways this ade e
listen ore. I was never troubled by hearing any wrong notes, and I wasn’t preoccupied with tone, balance and
sound in the way that ost of us pianists are ost of the tie. I could iagine the perfect sound in y inner ear
and never have this disturbed. I had the odd oent on an anti2ue and uch&battered Broadwood in the local
church once or twice a wee! so I could actually hear the fruits of y labour, then it was off to 5rance to rehearse
and play the concerts. >verything cae out better than I anticipated, and I a convinced the Firgil helped a!e a
virtue of a necessity.
SI>@T 681CTIC> @4.
Soe years later, on y onthly trips to @ew Hor!, I would get up soe tie before y host and because it was
too early to a!e any noise, I discovered I could put in a couple of hours of 8>1H profitable practice on the
surface of the !eyboard. I didn’t realise how useful this was until it was 4= to a!e sounds and I discovered y
hands were incredibly loose and well wared up, and y fingers very uch in control. ?ore so, actually, than if I
had spent those two hours practising norally. In y post on practising softly, I discuss the greater control
needed to send the !ey down slowly fro the surface to the !ey bed, observing that it is uch ore s!illful to
play pianissimo than fortissimo. To cause a !ey not to spea! at all is actually 2uite difficult, because you have to
Polyphonic procedure inoling a speci!ed num"er of oices in which a
motie #su"$ect% is e&posed' in each oice' in an initial tonic/dominant
relationship' then deeloped "y contrapuntal means.
II. "Form" of a Fugue
# fugue generall! consists of a series of e$positions and developments with no fi$ed num%er of
either" #t its simplest, a fugue might consist of one e$position followed %! optional development"
# more comple$ fugue might follow the e$position with a series of developments, or another
e$position followed %! one or more developments" Fugues that are tonall! centered will e$pose
the su%&ect without venturing out of an initial tonic'dominant constellation" ecause its outline is
so varia%le, it is prefera%le to speak of the fugue as a process rather than form per se"
III. The fugal purpose, method, character, and essenceefore form, the fugue is metaphorical* its purpose is to reveal connections %etween seemingl!
unlike things" +ts method is to develop an idea in never precisel! the same wa!" +ts character is
to demonstrate relationships, unveiled %oth in terms of new ideas %orn of old, %ut also in
counterpoint with the old" The fugal essence is e$perienced in discover! of the new to %e of the
stame stuff as the old"
IV. Parts of a Fugue
A. Main Idea of the Fugue and o! It Is tated
(. u#$ect% )elody that comprises the primary melodic/rhythmic materialof the fugue. *u"$ects typically hae two parts: the +head+ is calculatedto attract attention either "y unusual rhythmic or interallic emphasis'while the +tail+ is typically more con$unct' rhythmically uniform' andsometimes modulatory. ,he head and/or tail itself may employ ariationof one or two smaller moties or !gures...each comprised of acharacteristic rhythm and/or interal.
2. Ans!er% *u"$ect imitation which immediately follows the !rststatement of the su"$ect: in a di-erent oice and usually !fth higher.Answers are a su"class of su"$ects which "ear certain interalcharacteristics in relationship to the su"$ect as it was originally stated.
o Tonal Ans!er% An answer that typically #though not always% stays
in the same ey as the su"$ect. ,o do this it is necessary for theinterals of the su"$ect to change somewhat. n a tonal answer+do+ and +sol+ switch places: ,he position occupied "y +do'+ in thesu"$ect' "ecomes +sol+ in the answer and ice ersa. Analytical
technique: Subjects having many skips (disjunct) that focus uponthe tonic and dominant scale degrees lend themselves to a tonalanswer.
o &eal Ans!er% An answer that is a transposition of the su"$ect to
another ey' usually the dominant. Analytical technique: Subjectshaving mostly steps (conjunct) that dont focus upon !do! and!sol! lend themselves to a real answer.
3. 'ountersu#$ect% *u"stantie !gure that sometimes recurs
immediately following the su"$ect or answer #in the same oice%.0ountersu"$ects sere as counterpoint to su"$ects #or answers%sounding simultaneously in a di-erent oice. 1ot eery fugue will haea countersu"$ect. *ome fugues may hae more than onecountersu"$ect.
. False u#$ect% *ome people use the term +false su"$ect+ to descri"ean entry of the su"$ect #or answer% that "egins "ut neer !nishes. ,histerm should "e resered for instances where the su"$ect appears to
enter' "reas o-' then follows immediately with a complete statement.)ost other instances of incomplete su"$ects are deelopmental andshould "e termed +imitation.+
(. Main ections of the Fugue
(. )*position% Portion#s% of the fugue consisting of su"$ect#s% with at leastone answer' and possi"ly countersu"$ect#s%. ,o ualify as an e&position'the su"$ect #or answer% must appear in all oices and answers must "ein the proper relationship #tonal or real% to su"$ects. ,he e&position
normally concludes immediately after the su"$ect #or answer% appearsin the last oice. E&positions may defer the cadence until aftera codetta. 4i-erentiation "etween e&position su"types is "ased uponthe order in which oices enter #as compared to the !rst e&position% andwhether or not the su"$ect has changed.
o &e+)*position% An e&position' following the initial e&position' in
which the oices enter in the same order as the !rst e&position.
o
'ountere*position% An e&position following the initial e&positionin which the oices enter in a di-erent order than they did in the!rst e&position' or the su"$ect of the new e&position is acontrapuntal ariation of the original.
o Dou#le )*position% E&position utili5ing a "rand new su"$ect #i.e.
not contrapuntally deried from the !rst%. f the new su"$ect isuniue' then the fugue is a dou"le fugue #or' in the case of threesu"$ects' triple fugue%.
2. Deelopmental )pisode% *ection in which moties from thee&position are treated in seuence' modulation' contrarymotion' dou"le counterpoint' stretto'augmentation/diminution' pedal'
etc. Episodes are generally terminated "y a cadence and may followone after the other. 4eelopmental episodes characteristically "egin "ydeparting from the su"$ect' to fragment or ary it in some way' "utgradually "uilding up to a restatement of the su"$ect in at least oneoice. ,hese statements of the su"$ect are typically not in thetonic/dominant relationship of the e&position and are called +middle
entries+ #or in German "urchf#hrung%. Episodes typically do notenunciate the su"$ect in all oices.
3. 'oda or 'odetta% 0oncluding segment of a section #codetta% or of theentire fugue #coda%. 0odas and codettas often sound as if they aresomething added after the structural end of the section or wor. ,hefunction of codettas is often modulatory #to return the tonality to theey of the su"$ect after an answer at the dominant%. 1ot all fugues haethese.
V. 'ompositional Techni-ues of the Fugue
A. Tonal Variation
(. Modulation% 6epetition of a motie in another ey. 7ach typicallyarranges his fugues around closely related eys #ma$or and minor eysimmediately ad$acent to each other on the circle of !fths%.
2. Mutation also called "change of mode"/% *tatement of the su"$ector answer #or any other primary material% in the opposing mode. A
su"$ect !rst stated in minor and later stated in ma$or is said to hae+mutated.+
(. 'ontrapuntal Variation
(. tretto% Entry of a motie in a second oice "efore the !rst oice has!nished its statement. )otie canmean su"$ect' answer' countersu"$ect' or any other su"stantiemelodic/rhythmic entity in imitation.
2. Augmentation0Diminution% *tatement of a motie in rhythmicdurations that are proportionately dou"led or haled.
3. Pedal Point% *uspension of one pitch' often the "ass' in such a mannerthat it is alternately consonant then dissonant with the chordprogression. Fugues often conclude with episodes of pedal point.
. &etrograde% #rare% *tatement of the motie8s pitches in reerse order.
9. Melodic Inersion% #0ontrary )otion% *tatement of a motie whereinteral directions hae "een made to moe in the opposite direction of
the original motie. f the uality of the interals is presered themotion is said to "e the +mirror inersion.+
. e-uence% 6epetition of a motie at another pitch leel' usually up ordown a step. Each repetition is called a +leg.+ *euences in which eachleg itself contains a seuential pattern are said to "e nested. 7ach8s
seuences tend to "e of this latter ariety' with the oerall seuencecomprised of two or three legs' each leg comprised of two su"sidiaryunits. For e&le: study the seuences in the mirror fugues of Art of$ugue. *euential episodes seldom appear in fugal e&positions "ut arefreuent accouterments to deelopments.
;. 'ontrapuntal Inersion% #4ou"le/,riple 0ounterpoint% 6eappearanceof a pair of oices #dou"le ctpt.% or trio of oices #triple ctpt.% in whichregisters hae "een reassigned in such a way that the oices hae
crossed and the interal relationship "etween oices is fundamentallyaltered.
a. Types of 'ontrapuntal Inersions%
o At the 1ctae% Fourths "ecome !fths' unisons "ecome octaes'
etc. <hile parallel ths sound !ne' they do not inertcontrapuntally' and dou"le ctpt. at the octae aoids them. *eethe %anon per Augmentationem in contrario &otu from the Art of$ugue for an e&le of dou"le counterpoint at the octae.
o At the Tenth 2a34rd/% Parallel motion tends to "e aoided
altogether. ,his is "ecause interals that parallel accepta"ly in onete&ture #e.g. 3rds = ths% "ecome unaccepta"le when inerted#>as = 9ths%. *tudy the %anon alla "ecima of the Art of $ugue.
o At the T!elfth 2a35th/% <ith the e&ception of 3rds #which
remain 3rds%' accepta"le parallels "ecome unaccepta"le wheninerted at the (2th. ,hus' in the %anon alla "uodecima of the Art
of $ugue #which features this type of dou"le ctpt.% the composeruses many parallel thirds.
#. o! to 'alculate Type of 'ontrapuntal Inersion%
o 4etermine interal that the lower oice has "een moed UP
o 4etermine interal that the higher oice has "een moed 4?<1.
1ote: if the oices hae not e&changed registers' the higher oice"ecoming the lower and ice ersa' then contrapuntal inersion
o f steps ( and 2 are each octaes' then the dou"le counterpoint is
at the octae. ?therwise' add the results of steps ( and 2' thensu"tract (.
c. o! to 'alculate 6hat Interals (ecome After Inersion%
o 4ou"le counterpoint @>a: *u"tract the interal #"efore inersion%
from to get the interal after inersion. For e&le: a th"efore inersion will "ecome a 9th after inersion.
o 4ou"le counterpoint @(Bth: *u"tract the interal #"efore
inersion% from (( to get the interal after inersion. For e&le:a th "efore inersion will "ecome a ;th after inersion.
o 4ou"le counterpoint @(2th: *u"tract the interal #"eforeinersion% from (3 to get the interal after inersion. For e&le:a th "efore inersion will "ecome a th after inersion.
For Practice% &ecogni7ing 'ontrapuntal Inersions
,he following e&les of contrapuntal inersion are designed to "e played
from the )usica Antiua Coln #Archi 3( ;BD2% recording of the +Art of
Fugue+ 7< (B>B. ,he !rst system' in each e&le' is paired with the
analogous measures' in dou"le counterpoint' seeral "ars later. Answer the
following uestions:
(. n what direction and how far is each part moed in analogous sections
2. <hat happens to ertical interals "etween analogous sections
3. <hat is the "asic interal of contrapuntal inersion
. <hat types of motion #parallel' contrary' o"liue% characteri5e eache&le
o! to Analy7e a Fuguehttp://www2.nau.edu/tas3/analy5efugue.html
7efore creating a timeDline you will need to analy7e your fugue. ,he
following uestions and techniues are intended to facilitate such an
analysis. A thorough and accurate analysis will sae time and e-ort when
you come to the timeDline phase of the 04 0ounterpoint 0ompanion. ,his
document contains many lins to the Anatomy of a Fugue that you might !nd
helpful to hae read !rst.
• o! many sections are there and in !hich measures do these
sections #egin and end8 Analytical 'echnique: look for cadences.
(. 1ot eery cadence represents the end of a section' "ut eerysection ends in a cadence.
2. *ections typically cadence in eys that are closely related to thehome ey. 0loselyDrelated eys di-er "y no more than one sharp orat.
3. n the conte&t of the (>th century fugue' authentic cadences #D%predominate' half #D% and deceptie #Di% cadences appear lessoften' and plagal cadences #D% appear seldom.
. Fugal cadences are diHcult to recogni5e "ecause the composerdoes not pause on the cadence chordI contrapuntal and harmonicmotion normally continues directly into the ne&t section. 0adencesare often elided #the cadence chord seres dual function ofconcluding one section and "eginning the ne&t%.
• 6hat is the function of each section8 Analytical 'echnique:
determine if the section eposes develops or concludes material.
(. )*position: Analytical 'echnique: mark all instances where the
main idea is stated or answered.
7ecause the e&position +e&poses+ new material' all fugues
"egin with an e&position. n the sense that it consists of thesu"$ect stated and answered in all oices' the e&position isthe most predicta"le and formDde!ning section of the fugue.
,he su"$ect #or answer% may appear in any order' "ut in7ach8s fugues the "ass oice will often tae the last entry.
<hen the su"$ect is answered in a second oice' the !rst
oice may continue with a countersu"$ect. 1ote all instancesof countersu"$ect.
Fugues may hae more than one e&position. ,o ualify as an
e&position the su"$ect must appear in all oices and in theprescri"ed su"$ect/answer relationship #tonal orreal%. n a reDe&position' the prior su"$ect is oiced in the same orderI ina countere&position' the prior su"$ect is oiced in a di-erentorder. A +dou"le e&position+ consists of the e&position of asecond su"$ect #tripleDe&position J third su"$ect' etc.%
2. Deelopmental )pisode: Analytical 'echnique: note allinstances of contrapuntal elaboration.
*ections that ela"orate upon the su"$ect "y contrapuntal
means are called +deelopmental episodes.+ <hile the
primary function of a deelopment is to ela"orate uponthe su"$ect' deelopments often contain statements of thefugue8s su"$ect outright' and these su"$ects areoften answered.
Possi"le contrapuntal ela"orations
include: augmentation/diminution' melodicinersion #contrary motion%' contrapuntal inersion #dou"lecounterpoint%' pedalpoint'modulation' seuence' stretto' canon' simple imitation'rhythmic and melodic permutation' fragmentation#separation of the su"$ect8s head from its tail' etc%' truncationof the su"$ect' anticipatory statements of the su"$ect8s head#false su"$ect%.
3. 'oncluding ections: Analytical 'echnique: listen for sectionsthat sound as if they are bringing things to a close.
A section that concludes an interior e&position or
deelopment is called a +codetta.+ 0odettas sound as if theyare appended after the structural close of a main section.0odettas seldom last more than two or three "ars.
)ore common is the +coda'+ which designates the conclusion
of the entire fugue. 0odas often modulate to the ey of thesu"dominant. 0odas often contain stretti' often isit thesu"$ect one last time #usually in the "ass oice%' and oftenemploy pedal point.
1ote: ,his page refers to o"solete software' ,he 0ounterpoint 0ompanion' a Kypercard stac
that allows you to create animated timelines of fugues' chorale preludes' and inentions. t is
retained here amidst continued rumors' as late as 2BB' that Apple is going to create an onlineplayer for Kypercard applications. <hile completed timelines will run on Kypercard Player' the
full programmer8s ersion of Kypercard is reuired to create new timelines. ,he 0ompanion
creates timelines "y prompting the user to enter information' such as how many parts' how
many measures' etc. Animated timelines are cali"rated to the 04 of your choice and "egin
playing in the measure you clic. ,he timeline animates the repositioning of oices that are
contrapuntally' or melodically' inerted. Lou can do!nload the 'ompanion from my
homepage. 7efore creating a timeline you will need to hae analy5ed your fugue or chorale
prelude. f you hae not done this' study the following page: Analy7ing a Fugue.
0KE0CM*,: 7asically you will "e looing for the following structures which
the computer will as you to identify in the following order. 6emem"er that
not eery piece of music contains eery one of theseI if yours doesn8t $ust
clic +none+ when gien the option:
(. Kow many oices are there
2. Kow many measures are there in each section
3. Kow would you descri"e each section: e&position deelopment orconcluding passage #coda or codetta% 6emem"er that a coda ends theentire worI if you choose to call a section a +coda+ the computer willterminate the creation of new sections after it.
. Kow many entries of the su"$ect and comprising what measures ninentions' how many entries of the +motie+ n chorale preludes' in
what measure and oices does the cantus !rmus appear
9. n fugues' how many entries of the countersu"$ect #if any%' and in whatmeasures
. n what measures does primary material appear in contrary motion#melodic inersion%
;. n what measures do seuences appear *euences are of two inds:ascending #sym"oli5ed "y ///% or descending #NNN%
. <hat measures contain primary material in augmentation
(B. <hat measures contain primary material in diminution
((. <hat measures contain pedal point
(2. <hat measures are empty
(3. <hat measures contain contrapuntal inersion ,his is tricyO Loumay not want to try this.
(. ,he computer will allow you at this point to nudge measuresforward or "acward slightly. would adise that you sip this feature asit sometimes maes the measure collapse' neer to "e seen againO
7e adised that most of the steps within each section of the instructions #A'
7' 0' etc.% are e&ecuta"le only one time. f you mae a mistae in the
creation of your timeline #section A%' for e&le' it is not possi"le to
continue the process. Lou will hae to start oer from a fresh copy of the 04D
companion. *ection 7 is the most forgiingI it allows u""ed cali"rations to
"e reDdone. t also allows for the cali"ration of timelines to three di-erent
performances.
#fter !ou have created !our timeline, save a cop!" When !ou are read! to cali%rate !our timeline
to a compact disk recording (section ++), %e sure to work from that cop! and not the original" This
wa!, if !ou encounter a s!stem crash while cali%rating, !ou can return to the timeline and startover"
+t is !our responsi%ilit! to e$ecute the following instructions properl!" +n view of the fact that
there are ./ students in the class, !our instructor will not have time to de%ug or custom-make
!our program"
To 'reate the Time+:ine%
(. ?pen the 0ounterpoint 0ompanion "y dou"le clicing on it.
2. Pull down the +Edit+ menu to +1ew 0ard+
3. Pull down the +4esign+ menu to +0reate time line+
. ,he computer will wal you through from there. Lou must hae analy5edthe fugue in order to respond to the computer8s uestions.
To 'ali#rate the Timeline to a 'ompact Dis;%
(. Pull down the +4esign+ menu to +0ali"rate to compact dis.+ 7efore youdo this' study the 04 $acet to estimate #in minutes and seconds% the
elapsed time from the "eginning of the dis to the "eginning of yourfugue. Enter that elapsed time as a whole num"er representing theminutes separated from another whole num"er #representing seconds%separated "y a comma: e.g. +2'(9+ means you would estimate thefugue to "egin 2 minutes and (9 seconds into the dis.
2. ,he computer will step you through the cali"ration process. At theconclusion of the cali"ration the computer will as if you want to insertthe "eginning and ending timings for a related moement. f you areanaly5ing a fugue from the *ell 'empered %lavier for e&le' it would"e nice to hear the accompanying prelude. As in step (' study the 04
$acet to estimate #in minutes and seconds% the elapsed time from the"eginning of the dis to the "eginning of the prelude. Follow thecomputer8s instructions from there.
To Add an Annotation% optional step for Mus 4<4 pro$ect/
(. Pull down the +*tudy+ menu to +*how annotation.+ ,he !rst time youshow this !eld it will "e unloced so that you can type in yourannotation. ,hereafter the !eld will "e loced. ,o edit a loced !eld'clic in it with the shift ey depressed.
To Add a =raphic of the Fugue>s )*position% optional/
(. 0reate a Prose or Finale rendition of the fugue8s e&position
2. ,ae a picture of the e&position "y depressing apple/shift/3
3. ?pen superpaint. f your computer has the +simple te&t+ application itshould "e possi"le to dou"le clic on the +Picture+ icon #destop% andsip steps 3D.
. Use the +open+ menu in *uperpaint and naigate to the last Picture onthe destop.
9. 0opy the picture
. f you wish to add la"els or other items' paste the picture into*uperpaint then edit it.
;. 0opy the picture one more time then uit *uperpaint
>. ?pen 6esEdit and naigate to your 0ounterpoint 0ompanion. #)aesure' at this point' that you are woring from a copy of your 0ompanion.A mistae at this point could spell disasterO
. 4ou"le clic on the 0ounterpoint 0ompanion icon and paste in thepicture.