Tutorial on Improvising / Composing a Chopin Style Waltz

Summary

In this video, Michael (Oblongenoir) explores the art of faking musical styles, particularly focusing on keyboard improvisation in the style of famous composers like Chopin. He explains techniques such as cadences, modular phrasing, and chromatic motifs, offering insights into how these elements can be combined to create authentic-sounding compositions. The video delves into historical musical patterns, like Baroque and Classical-era approaches, and demonstrates how they can be adapted. Michael also provides practical exercises available on his Patreon, helping viewers improve their improvisational skills.

Takeaways

• 🎹 The video is hosted by Michael, also known as Oblongenoir, and focuses on faking musical techniques, particularly piano improvisation.
• 🎼 The video offers practice materials, example sheets, and exercises, available on Michael's Patreon page.
• 🎶 Michael introduces a famous improviser named Jean-Jacques Hauser, also known as Tata Roth, who once fooled an audience into believing they were hearing an unpublished Beethoven piece.
• 📖 To develop improvisation skills like Tata Roth, Michael explains that it requires practice and the use of templates or musical devices refined over time.
• 🎵 Michael demonstrates cadences as essential stylistic elements in Baroque improvisation, showing examples in major and minor keys.
• 🎹 He explores how modular musical segments like cadential 6-4 chords and 5-1 progressions can be used creatively in various compositions.
• 🎶 Michael introduces formal strategies like 'additive four-bar modularity,' a common technique in Chopin's waltzes, showing how small musical ideas can be expanded into larger phrases.
• 🎼 He highlights the importance of themes in waltzes, showing how they reappear multiple times throughout the piece, using Chopin's famous waltzes as examples.
• 🎶 Michael explains how Chopin employed chromatic lamento and voice-leading techniques, demonstrating their significance in his works.
• 🎵 The video concludes with Michael’s own musical experimentation based on Chopin’s techniques, encouraging viewers to explore melodic variants and bass lines as practice.

Q & A

Who is the host of the video?

The host of the video is Michael, also known as Oblongenoir.

What is the video about?

The video is about how to fake or improvise complex musical skills, particularly focused on classical music and piano techniques.

Who is Jean-Jacques Hauser, also known as Tata Roth?

Jean-Jacques Hauser, known as Tata Roth, is a musician who famously scammed a concert hall audience in 1968 into believing they were hearing Beethoven's unpublished 33rd Sonata. He was skilled in various musical idioms, especially piano.

What is one of the main focuses of the video regarding music theory?

One of the main focuses is the concept of cadences, particularly the 5-1 cadence, and how it can be used to structure and end musical phrases.

What technique does the host suggest for building longer musical phrases?

The host suggests using 'additive four-bar modularity,' where smaller musical phrases are built up by repeating and transposing short ideas to create longer structures.

How does the video explain the use of 5-1 and 7-1 progressions?

The video explains that both 5-1 and 7-1 progressions are essential for creating modular phrases that can be chained together to form larger sections of music, especially in waltz compositions.

What is the 'Fonte' sequence mentioned in the video?

The 'Fonte' sequence is a common musical progression that involves moving from the local second degree to the tonic key, often followed by a cadence. It is frequently used in classical music.

How does the video relate themes in Chopin’s waltzes to classical structures?

The video explains that Chopin’s themes often follow classical structures, such as 16-bar periods, where a sentence-like antecedent is followed by a consequent that closes with an authentic cadence.

What is the chromatic 'Lamento' voice-leading trope in Chopin's music?

The chromatic 'Lamento' is a voice-leading technique in which a chain of sixth chords is decorated with suspensions, a process often used by Chopin to create emotional tension in his compositions.

How does the host suggest practicing the Chaconne-like progressions found in Chopin’s work?

The host suggests treating these progressions like a Chaconne, experimenting with different melodic variants over a repeated bass line to explore various possibilities in composition.