# Bach’s “Air on a G String”



## musicclass10 (Jun 7, 2018)

Hello  I'm in music appreciation class, and I'm having some difficulties. I do not play any instruments, so I have difficult time understanding note, chords, etc. so your help will be greatly appreciated!

I have to write 300 words essay, about Bach's "Air on a G String" (



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I have to discuss following:

First discuss generally how this piece works. It is written in binary form (AB) and both A and B are repeated. A starts at 0:21 and B at 1:50. As a "sound check"-to make sure you understand what is going on-write down the specific times that A repeats and B repeats.

Next, state generally what is going on in the music. What do the first violins (top line) do, what do the second violins and violas do (second and third lines), what do the cellos and basses do (bottom line). Looking at the online score is helpful here.

But more important, why does this piece "work"? Why has it become so famous?


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Well, listen to it! And try to listen to a few different accounts of it. Harnoncourt and Marriner do not find the same things in it. I don't know who is playing your YouTube clip but there are other ways of doing it. Also, listen to it in the context of the 3rd (orchestral) Suite, which it is a part of. None of this will help you finish your homework but it may give you some insights about what the music is trying to do.


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## Manxfeeder (Oct 19, 2010)

Let me just think out loud with you here.

You don't have to know music to see in the video how the parts relate to each other. Notice what one line does while the other one is moving or not moving. Are they fighting each other or do they work together or answer each other? Do the other voices make the piece more interesting or do they make it confusing/boring/cluttered? Do they clash with the other voices or do they support what they are doing?

Is the bass line similar to the other lines or is it doing something separately? The bass line is a continuous beat - what does that remind you of? A heartbeat? Walking? The bass line jumps up and down. Is this distracting or does it add interest? The bass line moves continuously except two times: at 1:51 and at the end. Why is that? Is it signalling something, and is the signal subtle or jarring? 

The piece is extremely simple. Why isn't it boring? It has a serenity to it, but it doesn't put you to sleep. Why not? The chords are conventional as are the notes. But within this, are there enough areas of change and unexpectedness and just pure musicality to take the familiar and make it unique? Is the essence of what makes a piece work the proper proportion of the familiar with the unexpected?

Your instructor probably knows what he is wanting to read from this assignment. But if you have time and feel ambitious, you might surprise him by doing has been suggested, listening to different interpretations. If you have Amazon Music or Spotify, compare Trevor Pinnock's group on instruments authentic to Bach's time to Otto Klemperer, with a full-sized 20th Century orchestra. What do you think of Pinnock's string sound to Klemperer's? And what about the tempo? Pinnock is steady, like a clock. Klemperer is very slow, and he slightly speeds up and slows down. Does that help or hurt?


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## musicclass10 (Jun 7, 2018)

Thank you so much on thinking out loud. It helped me a lot! I appreciate it!


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