Practical Exams Are Advantageous For Piano Student Options

[SteveHopwood]

I don't have any vivaldi at all, but I have Pachabel's canon. Is that just based on the cycle of fifths?!

The repeated bass line is a 'ground bass'.

Steve :D

[saxlover]

I don't have any vivaldi at all, but I have Pachabel's canon. Is that just based on the cycle of fifths?!

The repeated bass line is a 'ground bass'.

Steve :D

We did that at GCSE :D

[mrbouffant]

I don't have any vivaldi at all, but I have Pachabel's canon. Is that just based on the cycle of fifths?!

The repeated bass line is a 'ground bass'.

Steve :D

We did that at GCSE :D

Why is a "ground bass" NOT a passacaglia? Is it to do with harmonic vs. melodic interest? Whilst I'm on the subject, is a passacagalia the same as a chaconne or is that something else?

[SteveHopwood]

I don't have any vivaldi at all, but I have Pachabel's canon. Is that just based on the cycle of fifths?!

The repeated bass line is a 'ground bass'.

Steve :D

We did that at GCSE :D

Why is a "ground bass" NOT a passacaglia? Is it to do with harmonic vs. melodic interest? Whilst I'm on the subject, is a passacagalia the same as a chaconne or is that something else?

A passacaglia uses a ground bass, as does a chaconne. Not sure about the last part of your question - will look it up later if nobody else answers.

Steve :D

[mrbouffant]

Thanks Steve.. looking a www.wikipedia.org, I find:

In music a passacaglia (French: passacaille, Spanish: passacalle or pasacalle) is a musical form and the corresponding court dance. Its name derives from the Spanish pasear (to walk) and calle (street), supposedly to denote the music played by wandering musicians.

Originally a slow Italian or Spanish dance in 3/4 time, the passacaglia later came to be an instrumental work in 3/4 based on a ground (that is, a melody which repeats unchangingly throughout while other lines are freely varied). The passacaglia is very closely related to the chaconne, except that in the chaconne, the repeating melody is always in the bass (that is, it is a ground bass).

Now we have to ask when is a ground bass NOT an ostinato? rofl we could go on for ever

[YetAnotherPianist]

Why is a "ground bass" NOT a passacaglia? Is it to do with harmonic vs. melodic interest? Whilst I'm on the subject, is a passacagalia the same as a chaconne or is that something else?

A passacaglia uses a ground bass, as does a chaconne. Not sure about the last part of your question - will look it up later if nobody else answers.

Quickly reading through Grove, it states that 'Some writers attempted to define a distinction between the chaconne and the passacaglia ... but no consensus was ever reached and for the most part the terms continued to be used interchangeably'.

[YetAnotherPianist]

ground bass NOT an ostinato?

'Basso ostinato' is Italian for 'ground bass'. That said, an ostinato does not necessarily have to appear in the bass.

[mrbouffant]

I like the definition that "ostinato" is Italian for "obstinate"
:)

[sarah-flute]

For me, i listen to the music simply because i enjoy the music, i wouldn't bother to try to analyse what modulations or chord progressions has gone through the music that i'm listening to. I would tend to be more aware of such details about the music only when i'm looking at the score and attempting to play it. I think this is the case for many average non-piano music student like myself.

Why not try taking a deeper interest in the music that you listen to? I know of many non-instrumentalists who listen to music with much more of an understanding than that: try to understand the music you listen to, don't let it pass you by. Just because you don't have the score doesn't mean you can't attempt to understand it.

I second that - of course I don't sit and analyse every single piece of music I ever hear, but I often notice musical features, and even when listening to pop music I often listen out for what the chords are doing (mostly when a song is really boring and I'm trying to work out why!!).

I don't have any vivaldi at all, but I have Pachabel's canon. Is that just based on the cycle of fifths?!

The repeated bass line is a 'ground bass'.
Steve :D

We did that at GCSE :D

Another good example of a ground bass is Dido's Lament (When I am laid in earth) from Purcell's Dido and Anaeus (can't spell that...) which you may well have listened to as it seems to be a classic for demonstrating ground bass!

[elmo]

I know what a ground bass is :blink:

[saxlover]

I got ever so confused with ground bass, basso ostinato and ostinato at GCSE! :rolleyes: