Hello again,

As I've said recently, I'm doing grade 6 and have learnt how to harmonise a melody like Bach would without going 'theoretically' or 'technically' wrong.

However, I'd like to compose something the piano can play or the harpsichord voice on my keyboard. I can probably make a bearable/listenable melody, but how do I split the piece up? Is it like an ABA theme or AB?

thanks!

will

Why not get hold of some actual Bach and have a look? There is no shortage of material to work from..

sorry but I don't dig what you are on about.
you seem to be getting the harmony and form mixed up

you might like to look at somthing like a Minuet or a Baroque dance like that.

what ever your writing you should try to get your hands on the same style music as you want to write and see how other composers have done it.

Thanks guys,

I'm now doing a bach chorale type thing for the piano. I now know it follows AAB - German bar form!

I looked at some bach chorales for piano and trying to base it on that.

will

Well done Will. Some original research looking at scores and at what the old masters really did will help you much more than theory books ever can, after you know some basics of course.

I really wish that we had an early music forun to discuss the joys of German Bar Form and other such things.

Why not find a hymn with words you like but a boring tune and write a nice Bach-style setting for it. I don't think Bach confined himself to a particular exact structure....

Hello and thanks for the suggestion!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I'll get a hymn book.

but I hear he always modulated and I haven't studied that in grade 6 theory yet. Would it sound baroque even without modulating (presuming it's a reasonably short hymn).

You've possibly done a very basic modulation or something approaching it when writing a melody in grade 5 theory. Did the middle of your melodies finish on the dominant? This would be a good starting point even if you return immediately to the tonic in the next bar. You could include the leading note of the dominant in either melody or harmony lines leading up to it.

Thanks, I think I did modulate in grade 5 actually, but avoided the leading note in the dominant key. It's great that you have motivated me to write some more chorales and using a simple modulation. I enquired a similar thing at another forum and the main response was that I wouldn't be able to do it without heavily studying baroque counterpoint and modulation

I wish we could upload files here

And wow, you have 11277 posts - wow