Bach's Fantasia and Fugue in C minor is virtuosic enough to tempt you into playing it stiffly, both rhythmically and physically. Evan Shinners shows where to bend the pulse around its ornaments and rare hand-crossing passage, and how to produce a firm, loud sound with relaxed, natural arm weight.
Tackle this lively, adventurous work with the help of Bach expert and Yamaha artist Evan Shinners. Bach wrote this fantasy late in his life, and in addition to its propulsive energy, it also features audacious and forward-thinking harmonies – as does the wildly chromatic (and mysteriously unfinished) fugue. Shinners walks through every bar of the fantasy, addressing essential topics like: choosing fingerings not just for comfort but also for musical emphasis; how to adjust your ornaments to the context; how to connect distant notes without pedal; how to choose a tempo that works; and where the harmony needs extra time to settle. Shinners closes the lesson with three segments on fundamental skills that also apply to everything else you play: how to take time for musical reasons that also make it easier to play; exercises for producing a beautiful, vibrant sound at the piano without tensing up; and how to break up a phrase into manageable chunks that you can master and combine to build confidence and play fluently.
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