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Bach Cello Suite #1 Prelude In G Major who can play it?

#41
Here's my crack at it. http://www.zshare.net/audio/50581418b7b1a675/
I haven't played the piece for a while and I just recorded it straight into my jamman loop pedal so I admit it sounds a bit rushed. I find that if you try to use as many open strings as possible this will open up new fingering patterns and phrasing to the piece that you can also incorporate into your own stuff. By sounding rushed, I don't mean to say that I was playing to fast either, I usually can take this piece quite fast, but I am not warmed up and its cold in the basement here so I was trying to give you an idea on what can be attained. I stopped the piece about 8 bars before the ending but can play it completely. I also haven't played it finger style in years as I have come up with a thumped version (a la the much hated V. Wooten) however I will disgrace Bach's piece on a later date. I usually use it for a thumping exercise on accuracy and hammer-ons as well as triplets study.
 
#42
All of you guys are posting examples of you playing this and you seem to be focused on tempo and "all the right notes", but IMO that is not what Bach is about.

BassSlave's example above this is at faster tempo that I would typically approach it, and he seems to be able to play the right notes all of the time but all of those notes are détaché, unconnected.

If you listen to the previous posted examples (like Rostropovich), notice how he connects the notes. Partially it is his bow, partially it is his portomento, but the notes are connected. That's what the Cello Suites are about. It's not an exercise in speed but rather a smooth, flowing line with direction and finality.

Also, in the Mutopia link where you can download a pdf file of the part, disregard the phrasing markings. In Bach's time those were only written by the composer with the tag "Fur Idioti" (for the idiots) and most of the time were not written at all. Check out several recordings by Yo-Yo Ma, Janos Starker, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gary Karr and Edgar Meyer and see how their phrasing differs. It gives valuable insight into their interpretation of the piece.

Just because you can play this piece with all of the right notes at a pretty good tempo doesn't mean you can play it. I have a midi file that does that. It's the space between the notes, if you will, that makes it musical.
 
#44
I agree with you that the notes are detached from the essence of the piece as I have not played this piece fingerstyle in years until today. I can bring more breath and depth to the piece as I never apporach any piece of music as mere notes on a page but a piece of life and was simply showing the original poster what it sounds like from someone who used to play the piece over 20 years ago and one day will post my interpretation along with feeling and connecting, flowing lines with expression and conviction. For that matter you really don't want to hear my thumped version and my tapped version of Beethovan's prelude in C minor will have you cussing me out as it sounds totally metal when I am done with that piece. However, I have studied these pieces early enough in my development to know how they "should" be played and have achieved those results as well. At this stage I am going for much more than speed too, and the tempo at which I was striving for was about where Rostropovich has it and I have always felt that is the correct tempo without ever hearing it played as such before today. Wish I had more time to practice this, but the bills are crying out and I have to fit in where I can get in...so to speak.

onlyclave said:
All of you guys are posting examples of you playing this and you seem to be focused on tempo and "all the right notes", but IMO that is not what Bach is about.

BassSlave's example above this is at faster tempo that I would typically approach it, and he seems to be able to play the right notes all of the time but all of those notes are détaché, unconnected.

If you listen to the previous posted examples (like Rostropovich), notice how he connects the notes. Partially it is his bow, partially it is his portomento, but the notes are connected. That's what the Cello Suites are about. It's not an exercise in speed but rather a smooth, flowing line with direction and finality.

Also, in the Mutopia link where you can download a pdf file of the part, disregard the phrasing markings. In Bach's time those were only written by the composer with the tag "Fur Idioti" (for the idiots) and most of the time were not written at all. Check out several recordings by Yo-Yo Ma, Janos Starker, Mstislav Rostropovich, Gary Karr and Edgar Meyer and see how their phrasing differs. It gives valuable insight into their interpretation of the piece.

Just because you can play this piece with all of the right notes at a pretty good tempo doesn't mean you can play it. I have a midi file that does that. It's the space between the notes, if you will, that makes it musical.
Click to expand...
 
#45
AlphaMale said:
Piece honestly seems pretty easy to me, but I guess its not if I can't always do it on queue without messing up as I'd like. I really try too figure out why not. There are no individual parts that are hard for me at all. And speed isn't a problem either. Hopefully when I get better I'll be able to do it. I'll have it up by tomorrow.
Click to expand...


If you just want to get the notes right, sure, but that's maybe a third of interpreting a piece well.
 
#47
ibanezcollector said:
Little update to my progress of trying to get more feel into it and not so sterile.. Which is very hard to do I found out. I think its flowing a little better?

Missed a few notes, and these new roundwounds are so NOISY hahah..

Link Removed
Click to expand...

You want to work out on Bach? Try slowing it down to half that tempo and them mess with with articulations. Play the entire piece Slur 2 - Staccato 2 8th notes, then Staccato 1 - Slur 2 staccato 1, and finally Staccato 2 - Slur 2.

The cello suites are not about playing the notes as fast as you can.
 
#48
ibanezcollector said:
Little update to my progress of trying to get more feel into it and not so sterile.. Which is very hard to do I found out. I think its flowing a little better?

Missed a few notes, and these new roundwounds are so NOISY hahah..

Link Removed
Click to expand...

Practice it for another two months putting the same amount of time into each day as you do now and then post a clip.
 
#49
Phrasing, how you shape the line. What notes you lean on, what notes you skip over quick, how the tempo moves, where you pause to breathe.

All that stuff and more is the important stuff. Real deal classical types agonize over every tiny decision as to phrasing, really trying to get inside the piece.

Here are three performances, all wonderful. Notice how very different they are:

Pablo Cassals

Yo Yo Ma

Mstislav Rostropovich
 
#50
What would be the "correct" octave to play it in? I find it easier to play it with the first note on the open G.
I can play most of the piece now, it's just a few of the ascending runs that I'm yet to learn. I've found a nice way to interpret the first few bars of the piece is to play the first half of every phrase normally, and then the second part with a combination of natural and artificial harmonics. It isn't a strict interpretation, but it does sound really dreamy.
Would this be a technical and expressive enough piece to play as one of my final HSC pieces? It's beautiful, certainly, but it doesn't exactly show off ones technical ability (at least not in the positions I play it).
Another good piece by Bach is prelude #1 in C Major, it works really well as an 8 finger tapping workout. I'll upload a video of both within the next few weeks.
 
#51
Well the correct octave on a cello equates to the first note being the second octave G (on a 4 banger you want to start on the G on the 15th fret of the E string).

But many people here have pointed out that it can be transposed anywhere to help you play it if thats what you want to do. I deliberately avoided open strings when I learnt it in that octave since I found the timbre so different from the closed notes that it disturbed the flow.

Really should get this down again, work is totally mental at the moment so just have got the time. When I first learnt it (1996!) I spent over 6 months getting the phrasing 'right' to me. Anyone believing they can get this piece down in a couple of weeks is tripping!
 
#52
Ok, Here's another recording I just did http://www.zshare.net/audio/507081649f309676/ and I've included a couple of rhythm variations....please don't trip it's basically an exercise for accuracy and speed is not the issue as I am just demonstrating how I use the piece as a warm-up. Of course when I play it on my Citron AE fretless bass I then practice it slower and with much more concentration on dynamics, control, note quality, slurs, pitch, emotion, feel, timing, etc. Also I use as many open strings in the first variation playing in the lowest octave, even on my 35" scale basses. The second or thumped variations uses the same octave, except all open strings from the first variation have to be transposed to the fret that corresponds to the note since I am using an open-hammer technique on all notes and the final variation I am using and open-hammer-upstroke on the thumb (no plucks!) for each note. Again please be nice with comments as it is early in the morning for me and I was not focused so much on execution and cleanliness, however throughout the day, I sometimes slow it down and try to wreak emotion and strive for more connection with the notes, but this is only part of what can be done with a piece like this.
 
#54
I have practiced this on and off for about a year, and I keep finding it gets deeper the more you practice it.

First, I just tried to hit all the notes...It's still tricky to do at speed!

Second, I altered some of the articulations/slurs/crescendos/decrescendoes/etc. This gave me a different feel for some of the phrases and the feel of the piece, and I am still trying to figure out what way sounds the best to me.

Now I'm experimenting with making some parts more rubato.

Also, lately I've been trying to play it an octave up - keeping as much as possible above the 12th fret. It really sings in that range.

It's a piece which I find just gets deeper and deeper the more I play it, and I doubt I'll ever be completely happy with it. Heck, I'm not even at a stage where I want to perform it in front of others!

One day, I will perform this and be happy with it. But I view it as an exploration in and of itself, for the moment.

Pete
 
#58
I used to play the Allemande from Suite #1 -- that was one of my bass proficiency exam pieces as an undergrad -- but I've never taken a crack at the Prelude.

However, for the past 6 years I've been working as the recording engineer for 'cellist Nicholas Anderson's upcoming CD of all six Bach Unaccompanied 'Cello Suites, and just this past weekend we were holed up in the studio recording the 1st Suite.

Suffice to say there is a lot more music in those pieces than is evident from the written page!
 

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