You have probably heard this piece and you may have played it yourself at some point. Musette comes from a group of pieces dedicated to Bach’s second wife Anna Magdalena and they offer a great selection of music accessible to pianists on almost all levels. This is a great piece for students as it allows them to showcase their skills in very colorful and fun music without taking a long time to learn and master.
It is important to note that Bach did not write any phrasing or dynamics into these pieces, so nearly every copy you will come across will be slightly different. For this lesson, I will be using Bach’s Musette from Virtual Sheet Music.
Personally, I like to emulate the sound of a Harpsichord (which is one instrument Bach would possibly have played the piece on) by emphasizing the fortes and the pianos going from louder sounds to quieter sounds abruptly. The harpsichord could not go from loud to soft with touch alone, so you would have to alternate the keyboards or adjust stops like on an organ in order to adjust volume. Interestingly, you can reverse the dynamics and discover other satisfying performance possibilities!
There really are countless ways you can approach this music and that’s why they are such great pieces for students. It allows them to see dynamics and experiment on their own to produce a great performance. You have a lot of creative license on what you can do with this piece.
Before you can experiment with phrasing however you really should be able to play this piece cleanly and precisely. The very beginning features two completely different techniques in each hand: the left hand has staccatos which should be played with the wrist and the right hand has legato notes which are played with a steady hand. It is vital that the hands are played precisely together which can be challenging with the sixteenth notes. I recommend breaking down these sixteenth notes and getting your hand and fingers over exactly the right keys in advance of playing them. You can start and stop methodically in your practice making sure the hands play exactly together. It should sound very clean and precise. Without precision, the music can end up sounding sloppy and lose the sparkle of the sound.
It can be very challenging to jump from one section to another. So practicing getting over the exact positions will help you achieve a satisfying performance. Practice playing the first section and then placing your hands over the next section without playing it. Instead, just place your hands in the next position and get ready to play the notes. When your hands are in the exact position, play the next small section. Take your time and keep going back and forth shortening the break you take between sections. Keep going until you can play in a fluid manner. It’s good to imagine a break between sections even when there is no rhythmically perceptible space allowing you to prepare for each section in advance of playing them. Even if they are incredibly small pauses, they allow you to mentally and physically prepare yourself for each section.
Thanks again for joining me and if you have any questions about this piece or any others please contact me directly: Robert Estrin Robert@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729