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Bach’s Fugues and Concertos Explained: The Complete Practice Blueprint

Johann Sebastian Bach is the grandmaster of counterpoint and arguably the most influential figure in Western music history. But for many pianists, approaching his works can be intimidating. From the intricacies of the fugue to the controversy of using the sustain pedal, understanding the logic behind the notes is the key to mastery.

In this video compilation, we explore the history, theory, and practice techniques required to bring Bach’s music to life, culminating in a full performance of his Toccata in E Minor.

The Well-Tempered Clavier: A Tuning Revolution 00:21

To understand Bach’s 48 Preludes and Fugues, you must first understand the term “Well-Tempered.” In the early 18th century, keyboard instruments used specific tuning systems that sounded pure in some keys (like C or G major) but sounded horrendous in distant keys (like F# or C#).

Technicians eventually developed a “well-tempered” tuning—a compromise that allowed all keys to be playable without re-tuning the instrument. To celebrate this technological breakthrough, Bach wrote a prelude and fugue in every single major and minor key—twice.

The Chorale Connection 04:14

While Bach’s preludes and fugues can sound incredibly complex, they share a DNA with the simple four-part chorale. Whether it is a dense fugue or a rapid prelude, the music is fundamentally built on the voice leading of Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass.

When you strip away the ornamentation of a prelude, you often find the same harmonic structure used in hymn writing. This structure didn’t just stop with Bach; it forms the foundation for Beethoven, Brahms, and almost all Western music that followed.

The Great Debate: Should You Use Pedal in Bach? 11:31

Bach never wrote for the modern piano; he wrote for the organ and other keyboard instruments (clavier) that did not have sustain pedals. This leads to a debate: Purists say “no pedal,” while modernists argue Bach would have loved the color it adds.

** The Verdict:** You can use the pedal, but not the way you use it in Chopin.

Chopin: You use the pedal to connect notes that your hand cannot physically reach.

Bach: There are no notes written that the fingers cannot hold. Therefore, pedal should be used only for color, not for legato.

Practice Tip: Practice all Bach pieces without any pedal first. Once your fingering and connections are secure, add small touches of pedal for warmth.

The Secret Power of “Extreme Slow Practice” 17:38

If you have a piece that is feeling rusty, or one you can’t quite get to a professional level, extreme slow practice is the solution. When you play fast, imperfections blur by. When you play extremely slowly, it is like putting your playing under a microscope.

This technique forces you to be deliberate. It moves you off “autopilot” and forces your brain to re-engage with the score, solidifying your memory and security.

Why is the “Italian Concerto” a Concerto? 22:09

A concerto is defined as a soloist (or group) playing with an orchestra. Yet, Bach’s Italian Concerto is for solo keyboard. How does that work?

Bach utilized the “Italian Style” of the Concerto Grosso by writing specific dynamics into the score. He created the illusion of an orchestra by juxtaposing loud (forte) sections representing the full orchestra (tutti) against soft (piano) sections representing the soloist.

Anatomy of a Fugue 25:35

A fugue is a composition based on counterpoint—the interweaving of independent melodic lines. It is similar to a “round” (like Row, Row, Row Your Boat), but far more complex.

The Subject: The main musical theme.

The Answer: The subject repeated in a different key (usually a 5th higher).

The Counter-Subject: The melody played simultaneously with the answer.

Bach manipulates these themes using mathematical precision—playing them upside down (inversion), backwards (retrograde), or at different speeds.

Performance: Toccata in E Minor (38:02)

To truly understand the emotional power of a fugue, you must hear it in context. We end this video with a performance of Bach’s Toccata in E Minor. It is an emotionally charged work that concludes with a brilliant three-voice fugue.

While the analysis is fascinating, remember the most important rule: Listen to enjoy. You don’t need to analyze every measure to feel the awe of how these separate lines weave together to form a magnificent whole.

The Dangers of Cold Drafts for Pianos and Pianists

Here is a fascinating topic that brings together physics, instrument health, and human physiology. A viewer named Jon, from Houston, wrote a great question about wintry weather and its effects on both pianos and pianists. Having moved from Southern California to Cleveland myself, I can tell you the adjustment to cold climates is significant. Jon asked what happens when a piano sits near a big glass window where a cold air downdraft pours down. How does this affect tuning, the soundboard, the action, and even our ability to listen and play when we’re cold?

The Science Behind Downdrafts

Jon used a keyword: downdraft. Many people love the look of a grand piano in a bay window, but there is real science that explains why this is dangerous. It all comes down to convection. Glass becomes cold during winter. When warm air hits that cold surface, it instantly cools. Cool air is heavier, so it sinks. This creates a continuous convection current, a literal waterfall of cold air cascading over your piano at all hours!

Why Cold Air Damages Pianos

It isn’t just the temperature that does the damage. The real culprit is humidity, or more accurately, the lack of humidity. Cold air cannot hold moisture, so that invisible waterfall is actually a steady stream of extremely dry air. When it hits the soundboard, the wood shrinks. The crown, that subtle arch responsible for projection and tone, begins to flatten. The result is loss of sustain, loss of power, and a deadened tone.

Worse yet, the two sides of the piano experience different environments. The window side becomes cold and dry, while the room side stays warmer and more humid. This uneven exposure can cause the soundboard to warp, throwing the tuning not just flat but chaotically out of alignment.

Effects on the Piano Action

The thousands of moving parts inside a piano are made of wood, felt, and metal. Felt bushings create controlled friction at pivot points, but in the cold they stiffen and harden. This results in sluggish action. You may notice in winter that keys don’t return as quickly and the whole instrument feels resistant. That’s the felt reacting to dry, cold air.

Can Pianists Play Well When They’re Cold?

Cold hands are more than just uncomfortable. When we’re cold, our bodies conserve heat by sending blood to the core, leaving our hands with reduced circulation. The small interosseous muscles between the fingers stiffen, and the synovial fluid that lubricates the joints becomes thicker. This increases internal friction in the knuckles, making fast or intricate playing physically impossible. And if you’re shivering, your concentration and critical listening ability suffer too.

Protecting Your Piano and Your Hands

Heavy drapes or thermal curtains can help reduce cold drafts, but the best solution is to move the piano away from the window. Don’t let a beautiful view compromise the health and tone of your instrument!

For your hands, a simple and effective strategy is to run them under warm water before practicing. Not hot, just warm enough to promote circulation and help the synovial fluid flow freely. This small step can make a tremendous difference.

Thanks for the great question, Jon! Keep your pianos warm and properly humidified, and keep yourselves warm as well. Your piano and your playing will both benefit.

I hope this is helpful for you! Share your thoughts in the comments here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource and on YouTube.

What if Beethoven had YouTube?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Today, we’re exploring the question: What if Beethoven had YouTube? At first it might seem like a frivolous idea, but there are profound implications here. Beethoven would have had exposure to music from all over the world. What would that have done for his compositions? Composers were so isolated in those days. Sure, they made every effort to learn the great works of others, but with YouTube, we literally have the world’s music in our pockets at the click of our fingers.

Global Access and Musical Innovation

Think about all the other composers around the globe who might have created far greater works if they had been able to hear the masterpieces clustered in Austria and Germany—Mozart, Haydn, Beethoven, and Schubert. Access to all those works could have dramatically reshaped music history. Bach is a key example. He didn’t travel much, but he made an effort to attend concerts by any musicians who came to his home in Leipzig, Germany. Through that effort, he was able to compose in the Italian, English, and French styles, creating phenomenal music.

If you know a lot of Bach’s works, you realize just how unique his Italian concerto is. He also embraced the English and French styles, as you can hear in his Suites. These styles are dramatically different from one another. Imagine the exposure he could have had to Spanish music or the music of the Americas. Even so, he produced fantastic compositions simply by attending concerts and learning from others.

Beethoven and the World of Music

Now imagine Beethoven with access to all the musical styles and cultures around the world. The possibilities are staggering. Composers of his time lived in relative isolation. Franz Schubert was obscure to the world until after his death! You can see a parallel in the early 20th century. Listen to recordings of pre-World War II artists like Rachmaninoff, Hofmann, Paderewski, Levine and other pianists from that age. They all had dramatically different styles from one another. With recordings, musicians could hear each other, and today, everyone can hear everyone, and performances have become more homogenous. Listening to those old recordings, even with the scratchy sound, you can hear individuality that far surpasses the variety of performances today.

More Creativity or More of the Same?

Would the presence of YouTube in Beethoven’s time have created more homogeneity, or would it have inspired the same kind of individuality and variety we hear in Bach? In the 20th century, the Beatles provided a great example of global musical influence. George Harrison studied with Ravi Shankar, the great Indian musician, and you can hear that influence in songs like Within You, Without You. Their music reflects a fusion of styles from around the world.

Creativity or Distraction?

So here is the question I leave you with. If YouTube had existed in Beethoven’s time, would it have sparked more creativity through exposure to new sounds and styles, or would it have led composers to sound more like each other? The answer is unknown, and it is fascinating to ponder. One last thought: if YouTube had been around, would Beethoven have spent too much time doom scrolling and not enough time composing these great works? These are the kinds of questions I think about when imagining this alternate history. Let me know your thoughts about this in the comments here at LivingPianos.com and on YouTube!

Beatles: Within You Without You

Ignacy Paderewski plays “Menuet” in G

Josef Hofmann

Sergei Rachmaninoff

Josef Lhevinne

Why You Must Practice Your Scales and Arpeggios in 4 Octaves

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Today we’re talking about why it’s so important to practice your scales and arpeggios in four octaves. You might think playing scales is just the same thing over and over again. If you can play them in one octave, can’t you just repeat that pattern in another register? It might seem that way, but the reality is more nuanced.

The Angle of the Hands Matters

When you play in the lower or higher registers of the piano, the angle of your hands changes. This shift impacts your technique. If you only practice in one part of the keyboard, you’re not fully developing the flexibility and control needed to navigate the entire instrument. Practicing across all four octaves helps you gain fluency moving up and down the keyboard smoothly and confidently.

Posture and Bench Positioning Are Key

To practice four-octave scales and arpeggios effectively, make sure you’re sitting properly. If you’re too close to the piano, your arms and wrists are forced into awkward angles, making it difficult to play evenly across the keyboard. Sit back far enough so your arms can extend comfortably in front of you. This posture allows for better movement from one end of the piano to the other. Many students make the mistake of sliding side to side on the bench as they play. While this might help you reach the keys temporarily, it’s not a sustainable solution. Instead, find a central position on the bench with the correct height and distance so you can access the full keyboard without shifting your body constantly.

Use the Metronome and Take Your Time

When you’re ready to begin, start slowly with the metronome. Work through your scales and arpeggios at a comfortable tempo. Focus on accuracy and evenness. Gradually, you’ll build speed and confidence. Practicing all major and minor scales and arpeggios over four octaves might seem overwhelming at first, but it doesn’t have to be. Take one scale per week. If you stick with it, you’ll eventually cover them all. There’s no rush. You have your entire life to enjoy playing the piano! And the benefits of mastering these foundational exercises are enormous.

The Long-Term Rewards

If you’ve already gone through the process of learning all your scales and arpeggios, you know how transformative it can be. It dramatically improves your technique, your sight-reading, and your overall ease at the keyboard. Share your experience in the comments on LivingPianos.com and YouTube. Your journey can help encourage others who are still working toward this goal. For those of you still in the process, be inspired by those who have completed it.

A Solid Foundation for Musical Freedom

Learning all your scales and arpeggios is a game changer. When you’ve already mastered them, you don’t have to relearn them every time they appear in your pieces. And practicing in all octaves gives you a solid technical foundation. You’ll be amazed at how much easier music becomes when the patterns are already second nature. The time you invest in this kind of practice pays off many times over, giving you a sense of fluency and freedom at the keyboard that far exceeds the effort you put in.

Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

How to Change Your Piano Playing and Your Life

Welcome to LivingPianos.com. I’m Robert Estrin. Today, I’m going to show you how you can change your piano playing and your life. You may have heard the old saying: “One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” There’s real truth to that. In piano playing, just like in life, it’s the daily habits that make all the difference.

Choose Realistic Repertoire

A key element to meaningful progress is selecting music that’s within your reach. It’s tempting to latch onto that one dream piece, but you may struggle for months or even years without ever getting it to the level you want. There’s nothing wrong with having long-term goals, but if you’re dedicating most of your practice time to a piece that’s beyond your current capabilities, it can be discouraging. Instead, focus on building a repertoire of pieces you can master. As you play more music successfully, you’ll grow technically and musically, eventually reaching that dream piece much sooner than if you tried to tackle it prematurely. Take it step by step with progressively more challenging repertoire.

Focused Practice Yields Greater Results

Another important concept is how you structure your practice. Trying to cover as much music as possible in one sitting can be counterproductive. By working on smaller sections, you give yourself the chance to really concentrate and improve. It’s much easier to focus your ears and your mind on manageable chunks of music rather than on an entire movement or long section.

Practice Consistently

This is one of the most critical aspects of piano playing: consistency. People often ask how much time they should spend practicing. The truth is, it’s not about how much time, but how often. Practicing every day, even if only for short periods, can make a huge difference. In fact, breaking up your practice into multiple short sessions can be even more effective.

Take breaks. Go for a walk. Let your mind process what you’ve worked on. You’ll find that the music continues to sink in even when you’re not at the keyboard. Cramming hours of practice into one day and skipping several days afterward not only leads to forgetting what you’ve learned, but it can also kill your motivation.

Don’t Abandon Old Pieces

Here’s another trap to avoid: learning a piece and immediately moving on to something new. If you never revisit what you’ve already learned, you’ll end up with a bunch of pieces that are half-baked and nothing you can play confidently. You should aim to maintain pieces you can play well at any time. How do you keep them fresh? By playing them every day and occasionally practicing them just like new pieces. Take out the score, play slowly without the pedal, and use a metronome. This kind of maintenance can really solidify your repertoire.

Daily Choices Shape Your Progress

Everything you do at the piano—what you practice, how you practice, how often you practice—adds up over time. So choose wisely each day. Work on the right pieces, focus your efforts, keep your older pieces alive, and above all, be consistent. And it’s not just true for piano. Regular exercise will make you feel better and keep you in shape. Contrarily, if you eat donuts every night, you are likely to put on a few pounds. It’s the things you do every day that make the difference, both in your piano playing and in your life.

I hope this is helpful for you! Share your thoughts in the comments here at LivingPianos.com and on YouTube.

What is the Best Piano at the 2025 Chopin International Piano Competition?

A Bit of History

Let’s first take a look back at how the competition has evolved in terms of the pianos used. Before 1980, Steinway dominated the competition, along with some appearances from Bösendorfer. That was about the extent of the choices. Then in 1985, the landscape changed dramatically. Contestants were offered a selection of Steinway, Yamaha, Kawai, and Bösendorfer pianos. This marked a new era in the competition, giving pianists the freedom to choose the instrument that best suited their individual style.

By 2010, Fazioli made its debut as one of the official choices. And in the 2021 competition, there were even two different Steinways available, alongside Yamaha, Kawai, and Fazioli.

The 2025 Lineup

That brings us to this year’s competition. Although only about half of the contestants have chosen their pianos so far, we already have a good sense of how preferences are shaping up. This year, the available instruments include:

Steinway
Shigeru Kawai
Fazioli
Yamaha
Bechstein

Contestants are given time to try each piano and select the one they feel most comfortable with. And that decision can have a huge impact on their performance.

How Did the Choices Break Down?

Here’s a look at how the selections stand so far:

Steinway was the most popular choice, selected by about 25 pianists.
Shigeru Kawai came in second, chosen by roughly 12 pianists.
Fazioli was picked by 7 contestants.
Yamaha was selected by 3 pianists.
Bechstein was chosen by just 2 pianists.

It’s worth noting that Bechstein is still relatively new to the competition. In fact, they weren’t even present in the 2021 edition. So it’s not entirely surprising that only a couple of pianists chose Bechstein this year.

What Can You Learn From This?

If you’re passionate about the piano, I highly encourage you to watch the performances yourself. One of the best parts of this competition is that many of the pianists play the same repertoire. That gives you a rare opportunity to hear how different pianos respond to the same music, as well as how each pianist brings their own interpretation.

And beyond the technical aspects, it offers a glimpse into how piano manufacturing has diversified and how performers today have more choices than ever before to express their musical vision.

So, what do you think? What’s your favorite piano from this year’s competition? Join the conversation right here at LivingPianos.com and on YouTube. I’d love to hear your thoughts.