Week 1: Vertical Voicing

Week 1: Vertical Voicing

Choose one piece of Bach, with suggested repertoire below. Use the daily practice activities to begin practicing exclusively the chords in your chosen piece. Listen along with a good recording. Track your progress daily and upload a videos of your work and feel free to ask questions about voicing, technique, or texture.

https://youtu.be/lEeEzy0yQuU

Week 1 Suggested Repertoire

Well-Tempered Clavier Book 1

• Prelude in E-flat minor
• Prelude in B-flat minor

Well-Tempered Clavier Book 2

• Prelude in F minor
• Prelude in A-Flat Major

English Suites

• English Suite 1 – Sarabande
• English Suite 2 – Sarabande
• English Suite 3 – Prelude

Partitas

• Partita 1
• Partita 4
• Partita 5
  • Minuet 2
  • Overture
  • Sarabande

French Overture

• Passepied I
• Passepied II
• Sarabande

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Practice Habits

Five basic voicing habits for this week to be mastered first:

1. Numbers game: identify number of voices per chord. Assign a percentage of sound per note/voice (10% + 20% + 10% + 60%).
2. Transpose the chord up or down an octave. Check clarity is consistent in any octave.
3. Arpeggiate downward and upward. Alternate between playing higher % notes and lower % notes (intervals).
4. Observe obliques and listen carefully when one voice moves. Practice in two hands (eg. RH plays Tenor, LH plays Bass) in exaggerated percentages.
5. Sink/slide into chord loosely (no tension), see what your hand naturally does. Adjust angle of arm toward the finger playing highest % note.

Five intermediate voicing habits after the above five are mastered:

1. Play long tones as if they repeat (half note = 4 eighths cresc/dim).
2. Textural thinking (eg, wool, velvet, cotton, cashmere, linen). Use your imagination to envision sophisticated effects for each sound in a chord.
3. Hold highest % note(s), repeat the lower/lowest % note(s) and vice-versa.
4. Key depth and reaction thinking (sinking slowing into keys with full arm weight, glancing the key at the halfway point, bouncing off the point of sound, etc).
5. Playing an entire passage/chord progression with all chords voiced clearly.

Ultimate Goal

Your sound should convey the character of the piece / passage conveyed as soon as the chord sounds. There is absolute clarity of the leading voice which develops harmonic tension and phrasing.