Improvising with Ornamentation

[qpalqpal]

After more than a year long hiatus from the piano, I'm back at Bach's Invention 7.      I had it pretty much memorized when I stopped playing but I had forgot it. Now it is pretty much memorized but far from performance level.

Also, for some reason, I neglected to learn any of the ornamentation. Reading some of my old posts, I read that ornaments can be improvised while playing, as was common in Bach's time. The problem is, when I learn my inventions, I finger the whole piece; I make sure that the fingering is rock solid because they are very linear pieces where precise fingering is crucial.

So, how do I add in the ornamentation when the piece is already memorized, and, moreover, how do I add my own ornamentation, if at all?

[j_menz]

Step 1 - actually learn the common baroque ornaments - as ornaments, not as part of pieces - so you can do them with a range of fingers. Ornaments used actually varied quite a bit over time, over distance (eg, French ornaments are a bit different from German ones), and from composer top composer. The Bach ones are the most common, and I think they'
re mostly set out on the Wikipedia page for ornaments, or in the preface to many Bach editions, or you can just google them.

Step 2 - have a look at where they are used in scores where they are extensively included to get the hang of where they might usefully go.

Step 2a - It may be useful to read Fux's book on counterpoint, or at least skim through it. Not essential, but useful as an adjunct to 2.

Step 3 - Sit down at the piano and play around. It will probably start off feeling very awkward and the result will probably be terrible. That's fine. Just keep at it, noticing what works and what doesn't. It's this practice that will get you comfortable with them.  There's no one absolutely correct way to do them, just ones that sound good and ones that don't, so use your ears.

[outin]

The problem is, when I learn my inventions, I finger the whole piece; I make sure that the fingering is rock solid because they are very linear pieces where precise fingering is crucial.

This is why I always add the written ornaments from the beginning. I think you can try to add short and not too fast trills and turns, experimenting with the fingers that are available and if it doesn't work, then you just have to refinger. It shouldn't be too much of the problem, considering you've had a long break from the piece.

Good to hear you're back