I don't know about you, but my ears just seem to have a certain affinity for
Bach pieces. Every now and then I come across a piece that resonates with me
at which point I have to stop what I am doing and learn the piece! I discovered
this piece on Rhapsody,
when I came across a CD titled Guitar Transcriptions.
Bach's Partita in Am BWV 1013 Allemande certainly had that effect on me. It's
been a while since I did a guitar lesson on a Bach piece and so here we are
back to Bach!
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After you listen to enough Bach pieces, you start to notice trends and patterns. Bach has an affinity for cycling through a variety chords, around which he builds constantly shifting melodies, often with bass melody notes that accompany a higher register melody. In doing so, he often makes use of repeating patterns/motivs. Often these patterns build or ease tension resulting in dramatic sounding pieces. In Partita in Am (BWV 1013 Allemande), we see much of these Bach trademarks.
Above is the tab for measures 1-6. This is just one possible arrangement based
on sheet music I found here.
You should feel free to modify so it suits your own personal taste. Ok, let me
provide some tips:
Let notes ring to the maximum extent possible. My chosen fingerings have
this in mind.
At first, practice at an even tempo. Once you get familiar with the piece,
let it breathe. Add pauses and tempo changes as you see fit.
Focus on phrasing. There are some key parts in these measures that require
attention to phrasing.
2-3: Note the bass melody pattern (measure 3 is simply
a repeat of measure 2). Be sure to make those bass notes stand out!
4: Again we have a bass melody line that needs to stand
out. Also note the recurring pattern (the repeating of the G# and A). I
am sure there is a technical term for such movements...
5-6: Here we have some typical Bach arpeggio lines. Measure
5 starts with an E Maj arpeggio and ends with an E Dom 7. In measure 6,
there is a switch to A Min and it ends with C Dom 7. Try to hold the chords
and let the notes ring as you arpeggiate. You may wonder at my choice of
fingering at the end of measure 6. In the next part of this lesson you will
see how that particular fingering sets us up nicely for the next section.
As usual, I recommend listening to other musicians' renditions of this piece.
It might give you ideas you wouldn't have otherwise thought of. Rhapsody is
a great way to explore music. Click
here to get a free 14-day trial of Rhapsody
I hope you enjoy this piece. Persevere and really focus on letting the notes
ring!
Lessons
