- Lisa Ruping Cheng
- Sep 18, 2020
Updated: May 5, 2021
When I was young I never questioned about why I had to play Bach's two part inventions, or Hanon technical exercises, or Czerny's studies. I did what I was instructed to do. To me Bach was not much difference from Mozart. It was when I was in my twenties did I first realize that playing Bach had the power to quickly calm me down whenever I felt anxious. This sets Bach apart from other composers' work.
In my teaching practice I often heard comments about "Bach is so hard and boring." For some students, Bach is impossible to play. This is still a mystery. The principles of approaching a piece of new music are the same, relardless Chopin, Beethoven, Bach, or Mozar, We need to read the notes, figure out fingerings, understand music ideas, do hand-separate and hand-together exercises. In theory there should not be a piece that is impossible to play unless it is not written for human hands.
The reason why Bach is being criticized as being very hard, I believe is because of a few elements: scarce articulation marking, zero dynamics marking, awkward fingerings and confusing contrapuntal style. Compared to Mozart it does take more time to figure out in the early stage. Surely, there is a lot more homework to do. However, as long as we diligently do the homework, the result is predictable. The pleasure comes just a bit later. It takes patience.
I did not understand contrapuntal style at all when I was young. Sometimes the best way to learn is to do without questioning why. Similarly, most of the time we do need to practice with no emotions just to get technical skills in place.
Bach is the kind of music that is demanding. I get it. It is not easy.
The good news is: playing Bach is rewarding. Here is why. Practicing Bach is very smart because it will equip you with all the fundamental skills you need - the independence between fingers, the voicing, the articulations, the phrasing, the sightreading, the memorization skills, and so on. It really is a short cut!
To have a mental readiness is critial when approaching a major Bach work. Once you have built the awareness and readiness to learn something substential and persevere, the gain is unmeasurable.
In regard to how to practice Bach, one can write a dozen of books. As a teacher and a pianist who is passionate about Bach's work, I would love to share a few tips specifically in the how In my following posts.
