Phrasing in Baroque Music

[steve jones]

Similar to m1469's recent thread...

Im interested in learning more about the phrasing in Baroque music. When I sit down with a Bach prelude or a Scarlatti sonata, I must admit that the organisation of phrases seems very ambiguous! The length of phrases seems to be uneven, and some will just continue off into new figurations and progressions without previous ones concluding properly!

I find myself quite comfortably analysis Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin... even some liszt. But Baroque music, in this respect at least, really goes over my head.

How do you go about breaking these type of pieces into phrases?

SJ

[musicman99]

Try to look out for recurring melodic or rythmical motifs in the piece, like sequences. Divide the music up taking into consideration the position of these motifs. Listen to performances of the piece and generally get a feel for the music.

I know it isn't much but I hope it helps.

Carlos R.

[outin]

Im interested in learning more about the phrasing in Baroque music. When I sit down with a Bach prelude or a Scarlatti sonata, I must admit that the organisation of phrases seems very ambiguous! The length of phrases seems to be uneven, and some will just continue off into new figurations and progressions without previous ones concluding properly!

I find myself quite comfortably analysis Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin... even some liszt. But Baroque music, in this respect at least, really goes over my head.

How do you go about breaking these type of pieces into phrases?

I think listening to it a lot has helped...I find this unpredictability one of the most enjoyable aspects of Baroque keyboard music.