Baroque music often features the use of counterpoint, or the interplay of more than one melody at a time. This can be tricky since not only do you need independence between the left and right hands on the piano, but you need independence between more than one voice in a hand. You also need some independence of mind so that you can leave one voice to do what it's doing while you focus on another voice. Lots of practice is needed in order to gain a basic level of proficiency.
There are different types of counterpoint, all of which are described in detail on other websites by those who are far better at describing them than I am. Even though I personally don't refer to them during improvisations, I encourage you to familiarize yourself with them to help you build your improvisational arsenal.
Practice
Using what you learned so far in the previous blog posts, it wouldn't hurt to dip your toe into improvising with counterpoint, if only to get the ball rolling on perfecting this skill. For this blog post, we'll focus on using counterpoint with three voices. It's best to practice slowly and only build speed as you gain proficiency.
Start by improvising a melody with only one voice. Since the example in the video uses the right hand, let's do the same. Don't focus too much on trying to build a form or structure around the melody right now. Rather, let your melody take you wherever it wants to go. You can spend as much time improvising with one voice as you want. After a while, give your right hand a break by migrating the melodic line to the left hand. Once your left hand is accustomed to playing a melody with comfort and without much thought, migrate the melodic line back to the right hand.
The next step is to add a second voice. Let's use the left hand to do this. The melody you play in the second voice (left hand) should harmonize well with the melody in the first voice (right hand). If you feel the level of complexity getting too high, simply back off and return to one voice before trying two voices again.
Once you're improvising in two parts with comfort and ease, try combining the two voices together into one hand. In the video, the voice in the left hand is moved to join the other voice in the right hand, so let's try that. Improvising two voices in one hand can be a bit of a workout, so if you get tired, simply split the two voices into separate hands again. Maybe try moving the voice in the right hand to join the voice in the left hand. With two voices in one hand, one technique you might consider giving a try is improvising a question and answer type of scenario. For example, play a phrase with one voice and have the other voice respond with a phrase of its own. This question and answer can jump back and forth between the two voices as many times as you want. In the following example, the answer matches the rhythm and subject of the question.
In the next example, the answer doesn't match the rhythm or subject of the question.
The next step is to add a third voice. With two voices in the right hand, add a third voice to the left hand like demonstrated in the video. The melody you choose to play in the third voice should harmonize well with the melodies of the other two voices. If adding a third voice adds too much complexity, simply back off and return to two voices before trying three voices again.
Throughout your counterpoint practice, try your best to maintain the sound of the Baroque style.
Summary
Improvising using counterpoint is easier said than done. However, like with anything, lots of practice will help you gain proficiency. Practice slowly and deliberately. There's no need to rush and no need to add additional voices too quickly if you're not ready to.
Mountain Symphony is dedicated to the LGBTQ+ community, a vibrant and diverse community of wonderful people that I feel so fortunate and privileged to be a part of.
I. Largo
The first movement of Mountain Symphony was composed over the course of a few months using whatever little bits of free time I could find. It was resurrected from an incomplete piece originally intended for strings that I abandoned many months prior. I rediscovered it and decided to expand upon the idea and turn it into the first movement of a symphony. It represents struggle, perseverance, beauty, and euphoria.
I can't say I'm a fan of posting orchestral MIDI recordings due to the unrealistic sound compared to a real orchestra. But since I don't have a personal orchestra at my disposal, it'll have to do.
The instrumentation is violin 1&2, viola, cello, bass, flute 1&2, oboe 1&2, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, horn, and tuba.
II. Moderato
The second movement of Mountain Symphony represents progress, beauty, and joy. The instrumentation is violin 1&2, viola, cello, bass, flute 1&2, oboe 1&2, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, french horn, tuba, timpani, and gong.
III. Allegro
The third and final movement represents joy and triumph. The instrumentation is violin 1&2, viola, cello, bass, flute, oboe, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, french horn, tuba, timpani, and crash cymbal.
This piece was improvised and recorded on August 22, 2022. I named the piece "ramble" because it sounds to me like the musical equivalent of rambling, for lack of a better name.
If you'd like to play this piece for yourself, please feel free to download the sheet music below.
This piece was improvised and recorded on June 20, 2022. It should be played with some expression, but not too much. Let the melody come out. The link to download the sheet music is below.
For the past six months, I've stuck to a personal schedule I made for myself and published one post per week. Going forward, however, I'm instead going to post when I have something I want to post.
This piece was improvised and recorded on May 31, 2022. It should be played expressively with use of the sustain pedal. There's a mistake in the 4th beat of measure 58 whereby the G is tripled resulting in an emptiness to the sound. It makes me cringe when I hear it, but I kept it in-place for improvisational authenticity. I think a better alternative would have been to replace the quarter note G with two eight notes (an E walking down to a D). Perhaps also changing the G in the bass on the third beat to two eighth notes walking down from G to F# followed by the E to D in the 4th beat would have been even better.
The link to download the sheet music can be found below.
The improvisation in this video was recorded on May 31, 2022. This piece should be played expressively and the sustain pedal should be used. The link to download the sheet music is below.
Improvised and recorded on May 31, 2022, this piece should be played with lots of expression and emotion. The sustain pedal should be used. The "andante" tempo should be interpreted loosely. This piece is not strictly andante from beginning to end, but is dynamic and will change according to your expressiveness, interpretation, and emotion.
The link to download the sheet music can be found below.
My experience with Baroque style improvisations over the years has unwittingly instilled within me some unwritten "ground rules" that have been internalized through lots of practice. I'm in the process of trying to extract them to share with you. So what I outline here is by no means comprehensive. None of these rules are hard rules that must strictly be adhered to. My hope is that you'll be able to apply this information to your improvisations where needed to help you keep your Baroque improvisations sounding Baroque.
It's important for me to emphasize that what I outline in this blog post is strictly based on my personal perspective, not the perspective of a composer from the Baroque period. If you want to learn about improvisational or compositional rules followed by Baroque composers, you're in the wrong place.
1-3-5: Levels of Importance
The 1st, 3rd, and 5th of a chord have varying levels of importance that should be taken into account when it comes to choosing which notes of a chord to play during an improvisation. The 1st, or tonic, contains information about the key, which gives it a very high level of importance. The 3rd, or mediant, contains information about whether the key is major or minor and, as a result, has a high level of importance. The 5th, or dominant, doesn't provide the level of information that the 1st and 3rd does, but it helps to reinforce and fill-out a chord. This gives it a lower level of importance than the 1st and 3rd in terms of the amount of information it conveys. That being said, it's safer to remove the 5th from a chord you're playing than to remove the 1st or 3rd. You'll lose more musical context by removing the 1st or 3rd than you would by removing the 5th resulting in more of a hollow, unresolved, or unsatisfying sound. Likewise, it's safer to remove the 3rd from a chord than to remove the 1st.
In the first measure, the full triad is represented. In the second measure, the fifth has been dropped but information is still conveyed about the chord. In the third measure, the third and fifth have been dropped. This rule is not violated in any of the three measures. To bring it all together, the 1st is the most important, followed by the 3rd, then the 5th.
Note Representation: Spread the Love
A chord can be fully represented, partially represented, or inadequately represented by the notes that comprise it. The primary goal of this rule is to encourage full representation, urge caution when utilizing partial representation, and minimize inadequate representation. Be conscious of the notes you're choosing, choosing to double, or discarding within chord progressions throughout your improvisations to avoid a potentially hollow, unsupported, or unsatisfying sound. Let's illustrate with a three voice phrase. Let's say, for example, that the chord progression you're improvising is G, G 6-3, Dsus4, D, G and the bass notes are G-B-D-D-G. How would you go about filling-in each of the chords?
Well, one option could be the following.
Why? The notes of each chord are fully represented across all three voices. The 1-3-5 rule isn't violated in any of the chords either. What if I changed the last chord by doubling the tonic and representing the 3rd, but discarding the 5th?
The lack of the 5th results in a partially represented chord. This might not necessarily be a bad thing depending on what you're after in your improvisation. It simply means that the partially represented chord being projected might not be as full sounding to the listener. A more comprehensive test would be to also see how it stacks-up against the 1-3-5 rule. The doubling of the tonic paired with the 3rd doesn't violate the 1-3-5 rule, because greater emphasis is placed on the more important tonic and both the 1st and 3rd are more important than the missing 5th. So this partially represented last chord should work out just fine since the most important parts of the triad are covered.
I'd be hesitant about using the following option. Can you figure out why?
Many chords are inadequately represented by their notes. Let's examine each chord.
The first chord has the 1st and 5th represented, but the 3rd has been discarded. It also violates the 1-3-5 rule because the 5th was used instead of the 3rd even though the 3rd has a higher level of precedence.
In the second chord, the 1st is represented once, the 3rd is represented twice, and the 5th has been discarded. As far as the 1-3-5 rule is concerned, the doubling of the third instead of the tonic puts a higher level of importance on the 3rd instead of the tonic. This is a violation of the 1-3-5 rule. The doubled 3rd in this chord can potentially be perceived as an overemphasis on the third resulting in a less fulfilling and more hollow sound.
In the third chord, the 1st is represented twice, the suspended 3rd (G) is also represented, but the 5th has been discarded. Since this is a 4-3 suspension, the suspended 3rd is required in order to convey the context of a suspension, and its associated dissonance, to the listener. Has the 1-3-5 rule been violated? No, because the 1st and suspended 3rd are more important than the missing 5th, and the doubled 1st is more important than a doubled suspended 3rd. Therefore this chord could potentially work. However, since the 5th isn't represented, this chord might not project as full a sound, especially if it's sandwiched between fuller chords. Don't forget that the 5th helps to reinforce and fill-out a chord. So for the purpose of this example, my preference would be to replace the doubled tonic in the upper voice with a 5th by lowering the D five half steps to an A. That would convey a fuller, more representative sound to the listener.
In the fourth chord, the 1st is represented twice, the 3rd is represented once, and the 5th is not represented. Does it violate the 1-3-5 rule? No, because the 1st and 3rd have a higher level of importance than the missing 5th. Just like with the previous chord, if you're okay with this chord not projecting as full a sound, this chord could work fine. To fill out the chord, my preference would be to drop the D in the upper voice five half steps down to an A (the 5th).
The final chord has a doubled tonic and a 5th represented, but the 3rd is not represented. So let's investigate further. Has the 1-3-5 rule been violated? Yes, because it stipulates that the 3rd has a higher level of importance than the 5th and should, therefore, take precedence over the 5th. Without the 3rd, there's no way for the listener to know if it's a major or minor chord. Despite this rule violation, there are some Baroque pieces that end this way. So it all comes down to the information you want to convey to the listener. To fix the 1-3-5 rule violation and fill-out the chord a bit, dropping the D in the upper voice three half steps down to a B (the 5th) should do the trick.
Indulge in 3rds/6ths/10ths
An inverted 3rd is a 6th and an inverted 6th is a 3rd. A 10th is similar to a 3rd, but with the addition of an octave between the interval. Don't be afraid to incorporate these intervals, both major and minor, into your Baroque improvisations. They're pleasing to the ear and they're used often throughout Baroque music.
Practice
Try to improvise a short phrase in the Baroque style and capture it either via software or by recording and transcribing it by hand. Check to see whether its chord progressions pass the above rules. If not, determine how the chords can be modified so that they pass the rules.
Summary
I hope my explanation of these few rules is clear, even if a bit verbose. Do I think about these rules when I improvise? Not at all. It's muscle memory. With practice, it'll eventually become muscle memory for you and you won't even have to give it a second thought.
Like I said in my opening statement, these rules are not comprehensive. I suspect over time I'll uncover more rules, or have to amend the existing rules, at which point I'll update this blog post. Also remember that these rules aren't meant to be strictly implemented. It all depends on where you want to take your improvisations. Whatever your improvisational goals, I hope these rules come in handy.
Bonus Points
Can you identify any of the following in the closing improvisation? If you find rule violations, how can the violating chord(s) be changed to address the violation?
1-3-5 rule violations
fully represented chords
partially represented chords
inadequately represented or inadequately supported chords
The improvisation in this video was recorded on March 20, 2022. This piece should be played expressively with use of the sustain pedal, but not so much sustain that unrelated chords mush together. The ritardando in measure 20 should be a slow and gradual one through the end of the piece.
The improvisation in this video was recorded on March 20, 2022. If you want to play this piece yourself, the link to download the sheet music is below. This piece should be played slowly and expressively.
The improvisation in this video was recorded on March 20, 2022. I was hesitant to put too many marking in the sheet music, because I like to leave it open to some interpretation. Like I said before, the piano professionals out there can play it much better than I can. The markings that are in the music are to be used as a general guide for learning the piece. I'm open to other interpretations as long as too much liberty isn't taken.
If you want to play this piece yourself, the link to download the sheet music is below.
The improvisation in this video was recorded on March 20, 2022. It should be played expressively, but not so much so that the original character, intent, and feel of the piece is lost.
If you want to play this piece yourself, the link to download the sheet music is below.
An important component of learning to improvise in a particular musical style is having a strong ear that can not only identify the intervals, chords, and rhythms associated with the style, but can also help with the rapid decision making process of choosing what to play next during an improvisation and how to get there.
A good ear can help you maintain musical context if your goal is to improvise in a particular style. Deviating from the context of a musical style will make your improvisation sound less like the style you intended. An example of this would be improvising with chords, intervals, and rhythms that are not characteristic of the style.
How do you develop a strong ear? In addition to the act of improvising itself and experimenting with intervals and chords, transcribing music by ear can go a long way toward helping you improve your musical ear. This process involves identifying intervals between notes, note durations, chords, and rhythms. For example, are you able to identify what a perfect fifth sounds like? What about a minor third or a tritone? Can you identify a triad in second inversion by ear? A 4-3 suspension in first inversion? Can you transcribe rhythms? Can you figure out the melody of the theme song to your favorite movie or TV show by ear on the piano (or your preferred instrument)?
Practice
Finding music online to transcribe is easy and your options are limitless. So give it a try. Find a piece of music you enjoy and start transcribing it by ear. If you're intimidated by the thought of transcribing by ear, try focusing on one voice at a time and breaking down the piece into a simpler form. Work phrase by phrase, voice by voice.
For example, for your first transcription, focus only on writing down the notes themselves. Ignore the rhythms by making all the notes you hear quarter notes regardless of their actual duration. You don't necessarily have to transcribe in the exact same key as what you're hearing either. Put your transcription in the key of C if you want. The goal here is to get the intervals between the notes correct.
For your second transcription, focus only on writing down the note durations. Ignore the note values by making all notes an A, for example. The goal here is to get the rhythm correct.
For your third transcription, bring it all to together by transcribing the proper note intervals and proper note durations. Once you gain more experience transcribing music, you won't need to rely as much on the steps outlined above for your first and second transcriptions.
If you want to practice transcribing the actual notes of a piece in the proper key, determine the first note of the melody (ie: using a piano, musical instrument, or your ear). Then use that first note as a reference for figuring out subsequent notes.
When you feel comfortable transcribing more than one voice, try your hand at two, three, or four voices. Work on improving your identification of various types of chords, including major, minor, diminished, and augmented chords for example. See if you can identify chord inversions, suspensions, and retardations.
For fun, I've put together a short video with an ear training quiz to help get you started on your journey toward improving your musical ear. The first and second parts of the quiz ask you to identify note intervals with notes being played both together and separately.
Minor 2nd (m2)
Major 2nd (M2)
Minor 3rd (m3)
Major 3rd (M3)
Perfect 4th (P4)
Augmented 4th/Diminshed 5th (tritone)
Perfect 5th (P5)
Minor 6th (m6)
Major 6th (M6)
Minor 7th (m7)
Major 7th (M7)
Octave
Minor 10th (m10)
Major 10th (M10)
The third part of the quiz asks you to identify whether the chord you hear is in root position, first inversion, or second inversion. Feel free to pause and replay the video as many times as you need. The answers to the quiz are at the bottom of this page.
Bonus Points
Transcribe the improvised closing thought by listening to (not watching) the video. Then download the sheet music to see if you got your transcription correct.
Summary
Developing a strong ear is paramount to maintaining musical context during an improvisation. Your ear will help you identify what makes up a particular musical style, maintain context during an improvisation, and determine how to get to where you want to go throughout an improvisation.
The improvisation in this video was recorded on March 20, 2022, the first day of spring. It's a short piece representing the happiness I feel with the approaching warmer weather months and longer days.
If you want to play this piece yourself, feel free to download the music using the link below.
The musical language that comes most naturally to me is the Baroque style. I've been improvising in this style since I was a kid and consider myself to be far more proficient at improvising in the Baroque style than any other musical style. It forms the foundation of all of my musical creations. The lessons I received on Baroque improvisation were from the Baroque era composers themselves through their compositions. I learned through listening, experimentation, and practice.
I've been brainstorming how best to go about teaching others to improvise in the Baroque style, because others should be able to get as much enjoyment out of it as it's brought me over the years. I'm by no means an expert on Baroque improvisation, but perhaps some insight I provide can serve to complement other teachings that might exist on the subject. I'm hopeful that the methods and techniques I outline in this and future writings will help others learn to improvise in the Baroque style, too.
My assumption going forward is that you, the reader, already know how to read music, play the piano, and have a basic understanding of music theory. Some of the methods and techniques I share might not necessarily be what I personally used to learn Baroque improvisation, as this content is a combination of early recollections and later observations based on years of improvisational experience.
Introduction
Learning to improvise musically is like learning a foreign language. It takes lots of time and practice. When learning a new language, you have to build a vocabulary and properly form sentences in order to communicate clearly and effectively. The same applies to learning a particular musical style, where the vocabulary and sentences are in the form of chords, progressions, and rhythms appropriate to the style.
If improvisation intimidates you, don't let it, because you already improvise every day. Speaking to somebody else is a form of improvisation, because it requires us to think of words on the fly and put them together into sentences with the goal of conveying meaning to the listener. You're simply making it up as you go. This linguistic improvisation is equivalent to what you'd be doing when you engage in musical improvisation.
Build an Improvisational Vocabulary
Listen
What makes Baroque music easily identifiable as Baroque music? What makes any musical style sound unique compared to other styles? The signature is embedded in the note intervals, chord progressions, phrases, and rhythms that characterize a particular musical style. In order to successfully form musical sentences, you have to build phrases. In order to build phrases, you have to rely on a musical vocabulary.
How do you build a musical vocabulary for Baroque improvisation? A great place to start is by immersing yourself in Baroque music. Listen to your favorite Baroque pieces with deep analysis as your goal. Not only should you listen to a piece as a whole, but train your mind to focus on the individual parts that make-up the whole. Mentally isolate an individual part ignoring all the other parts. What are each of the inner voices doing? What's the bass doing? This may take getting used to at first, but it'll be beneficial in the long run for developing a strong musical ear for improvisation. Perhaps challenge yourself to transcribe the notes of some inner harmonies.
Experiment
Learning through analysis and experimentation is something else I recommend as a way to discover new improvisational vocabulary and improve improvisational skills. Extract a short musical phrase you enjoy from a piece of music and break it down into a simpler form so you can examine what's happening and gain insight into what it is you like about it. Then try modifying the phrase by ear to see what different combinations of notes produce. Trial and error is a great learning tool. Here's an example that comes to mind from my childhood. I recall being obsessed as a kid with a phrase from the first movement of Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata, because it had a Baroque sound to my ear.
Let's examine a simplification of the above phrase to see what's happening.
This chord progression appears in Baroque music in different forms and variations very often. At its core, it represents the circle of fifths (B7 E Amaj7 D#dim G#7 C#m). Furthermore, if you examine the first and third measures individually, they each have a V-I progression that's very common in Baroque music too: a 7th chord with a 3rd in the bass that resolves to either a major or minor chord. The supporting 3rd in the bass with the 7th chord above it screams Baroque to me. These are two examples of Baroque style elements that you can experiment with and absorb into your improvisational vocabulary. Familiarizing yourself with a musical style through experimentation and analysis is an important tool at your disposal and shouldn't go to waste.
Practice
Part of my childhood obsession with Baroque-sounding phrases included developing piano exercises from what I discovered during the experimentation phase mentioned above. Creating your own exercises will not only give you practice playing Baroque style elements in different keys, but also get the creative juices flowing while developing exercises and improvisational variations on them (a fun part of the learning process). I suspect that the time I spent creating and performing exercises played a huge role in helping me form a strong foundation for my understanding of the Baroque style. For this reason, I recommend others do the same.
This first example exercise is similar to the types of exercises I'd develop as a kid. It's meant to be played from the top of the keyboard to the bottom without interruption.
This second exercise is an example of one meant to be played from the bottom of the keyboard to the top.
Take a look at the companion video to hear examples of other exercises and start developing your own. You can make your exercises fast, slow, basic, complex, major, minor, or whatever your ear desires.
Summary
My first Baroque improvisation tip is one I consider to be the single most important tip of any tip I might share, which is to listen, experiment, and practice. Listen to Baroque music and mentally isolate the different parts that make-up the whole to help develop a good ear. Transcribe short phrases you like onto the piano, analyze them, and experiment by manipulating them. Finally invent your own piano exercises based on what you discover.
The improvisation in this video was recorded on March 6, 2022. It has lots of staccato notes throughout, but I was hesitant to make note of them all in the sheet music. Rather than have pianists strictly play the piece exactly as I played it, I prefer to loosen the reins and leave the interpretation up to the professionals.
If you want to try and play this piece for yourself, feel free to download the sheet music below. And please consider making a donation. Thanks so much for your support!
The improvisation in this video was recorded on March 6, 2022. I decided to play around with some chords to see where it ended-up.
If you want to try and play this piece for yourself, feel free to download the sheet music below. And please consider making a donation. Thanks so much for your support!
The improvisation in this video was recorded on February 18, 2022. The legato and staccato markings are meant as a general guide and not intended to be strict instructions. I merely annotate my improvisations the way I played it and not necessarily the way I expect you to play it. I understand that I walk a fine line when transcribing my music. The last thing I want to do is stifle the interpretation of others. I welcome other interpretations. But be careful not to take too much liberty with your interpretation.
A day or two after an improvisation session, I listen to all my improvisations to see which ones I like well enough to upload and share. I passed over this improvisation a couple times because I didn't see much in it worthy of sharing. But after listening to it a couple more times, it started to grow on me and I enjoyed it more each time I heard it. So I decided to transcribe, upload, and share it. As usual, I didn't edit out any of my mistakes to keep the recorded improvisation authentic.
An hour improvisation session generally yields 10-15 pieces depending upon the average length of each improvisation. A two-hour session yields double that. But only 5-10% of the pieces I feel are worthy of sharing. Those that make the cut are transcribed, uploaded, and shared.
If you want to try and play this piece for yourself, feel free to download the sheet music below. And please consider making a donation. Thanks so much for your support!
This improvisation was recorded on February 3, 2022. The name "Mirrors" is short for smoke and mirrors, or an illusion.
If you want to try and play this piece for yourself, feel free to download the sheet music below. And please consider making a donation. Thanks so much for your support!
The improvisation in this video was recorded on February 3, 2022. If you want to try and play this piece for yourself, feel free to download the sheet music below. And please consider making a donation. Thanks so much for your support!
The improvisation in this video was recorded on February 3, 2022. I gave it the name Time because it reminded me of time's unstoppable and unforgiving forward motion.
If you want to try and play this piece for yourself, feel free to download the sheet music below. And please consider making a donation. Thanks so much for your support!
This piano improvisation was improvised and recorded on January 16, 2022. I had a difficult time figuring out how to properly classify this piece (ie: sonata, nocturne, etc). I felt it was too short for such a classification and not a good fit. I gave up and ultimately decided to classify it as a "contemplation", since that's precisely what I'm doing. I feel that's a good fit and I'm comfortable with that.
If you want to try and play this piece for yourself, feel free to download the sheet music below. And please consider making a donation. Thanks so much for your support!
This Baroque style improvisation was performed and recorded on January 16, 2022. I had a difficult time coming up with a name for this piece. So I ultimately decided to give it a name that describes what it does. It starts off in the key of D major, and ends in the key of C major.
If you want to try and play this piece for yourself, feel free to download the sheet music below. And please consider making a donation. Thanks so much for your support!
This composition was completed in December 2019. Fugues are my favorite compositional types to listen to and analyze, most especially those composed by J. S. Bach. I love turning up the volume and getting lost in the counterpoint. This piece for two pianos fulfills my own desire to make a compositional contribution to this art form. You might notice that, compared to my improvisations, this piece is more structured. This is due to the fact that I'm able to devote more time to the compositional process, unlike with improvisations which require immediate decision making on the fly. During improvisations, I also have a tendency to forget what the main melody or subject was.
The pictures in this video were taken during past travels.
If you have a piano buddy and want to try and play this piece for yourself, feel free to download the sheet music below. And please consider making a donation. Thanks so much for your support!
