8 levels of Bach

September 8, 2021 12:30 AM

There are many "X levels of Y" videos, but I liked this short 8 levels of Bach video by 16 year old pianist Shutian Cheng, as he has a short description of what makes each level increasingly difficult. In addition to him being a skilled pianist, of course. (SLYT)
posted by Harald74 (12 comments total)

I've been happily hacking away at some 1 or 2 level Bach since the pandemic started, mostly as some sort of mindfulness exercise. I normally studiously avoid listening to what it's actually supposed to sound like when done by someone who knows what they're doing, because I find it a bit demoralizing. Looks like I really need to get over myself - I've been depriving myself. This is very neat, thanks for posting the link!
posted by sohalt at 2:04 AM on September 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

I've been watching these as he puts them out and as an "early intermediate" level player who's been playing for 30+ years they are depressing as hell. I start them full of excitement and every single time I'm crushed to learn that Level 2 is a song I've been struggling with since high school and everything above that is wildly beyond my reach.
posted by saladin at 4:32 AM on September 8, 2021 [4 favorites]

I'm just happy that 8 years of piano learning has enabled me to sort of follow the score as he plays.
posted by of strange foe at 8:01 AM on September 8, 2021

At around level 5 I found myself going, "Bach, my man, my dude -- CHILL," because omfg
posted by Hermione Granger at 8:31 AM on September 8, 2021 [4 favorites]

This was great. I was going to watch the Chopin one but I wanted the annotations to clue me in to why specifically it was hard. Of course perhaps it's like Level 8 Bach where the annotation frustratingly says nothing, but then it gets real obvious why it's Level 8.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 12:06 PM on September 8, 2021

Its nice to have the different levels played in the same video sequentially; Bach to Bach if you will; so you can go back and forth and see what makes one level more difficult than the next.

I will explore more from this young man. Thanks.
posted by indianbadger1 at 12:49 PM on September 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

They laughed when I sat down at the clavichord.
posted by thelonius at 1:49 PM on September 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

Saladin, I join you in the ranks of the Level 2 player! I used to be depressed on seeing what the virtuosos can do too. These days it doesn't bother me as much. Mostly because there is so much beautiful Bach at Level 2. As well, the virtuosos are making things more difficult for themselves. In Bach's time the keyboard instruments could only do terraced dynamics, the elegantly shaped crescendos and diminuendos referred to in the link, are a blessing/curse that pianists have made of their own choosing. Finally Bach had few to no tempo markings on his music. Again the virtuosos have made a contest out of playing things at inhuman speeds. This is exciting to watch but sometimes I suspect the musicality is lost in the fireworks.

The neat thing is that much of Bach's music sounds amazingly beautiful even at slower speeds. For example, the Level 8 in the video, the 26th variation of the Goldbergs is here played at a "slow practice speed". Its quality is very different, but still sublime in its own way.
posted by storybored at 2:23 PM on September 8, 2021 [2 favorites]

ah...Bach.
posted by MrGuilt at 9:20 PM on September 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

This is wonderful, Harald74, thanks. I guess there's a whole lot of Bach I've never really listened to and I almost never don't love it.
posted by straight at 9:58 PM on September 8, 2021

Just love this astounding gift the pianist laid out for us; but fortunately I guess, Iʻm satisfied playing inside my sort-of wheelhouse of jazzy chords and measured accompaniment, preferably with a bassist and a drummer and a good singer/solo instrument to take care of the melody. This kind of in-the-moment piano playing has its own hazards, its own levels even (some of which Iʻm incapable of reaching), but itʻs mostly itʻs fun and many times heartwarming.
posted by Droll Lord at 11:14 PM on September 8, 2021 [1 favorite]

This led me down a bit of a rabbit hole, but a lot of fun. Made me want to listen to more classical music!
posted by wooh at 1:19 AM on September 9, 2021