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How Many Hours Should You Practice the Piano? – The Lines Between Science, Method and Passion
It is a timeless question, a persistent voice in the mind of every pianist: “How many hours must I practice to truly improve?” It springs from a perfectly legitimate desire to measure the commitment required to transform our ambitions into sound, whether that means playing a simple minuet or dreaming of the world’s most prestigious stages. Giulio Cinelli from Pianosolo.it guides us through this classic topic. Read more
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Topic: Mordents on Bach Minuet  (Read 6026 times)

Offline stormx

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Mordents on Bach Minuet
on: April 21, 2005, 01:46:07 PM
Hi !!

I am dealing with mordents in the Bach-Petzold Minuet in G.

Should those mordents be played ON THE BEAT (that is, "stealing" from the note that has the mordent), or should they be played BEFORE THE BEAT (that is, "stealing" from the previous note).

Thanks,
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Offline pseudopianist

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Re: Mordents on Bach Minuet
Reply #1 on: April 21, 2005, 02:05:44 PM
I'm quite sure it is right on the beat.
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Whisky and Messiaen

Offline IanT

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Re: Mordents on Bach Minuet
Reply #2 on: April 21, 2005, 07:14:18 PM
I'd vote for on the beat.  As I understand it, the original purpose of short ornaments (such as mordents) is to create a discord with the bass note so that the melody note doesn't get lost in the harmonics of the bass note.   This is mainly a problem with harpsichord and organ where the melody can't be accentuated in any other way, but it's usually respected on the piano too.

In later periods (particularly romantic) people did start inserting ornaments before the beat, but by this time it was a matter of style rather than necessity.

Ian
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