Two Part Inventions

or

COULD YOU PLEASE STOP WHISTLING?

The remarkable thing about the piano is the ability to play two separate melodies, one with each hand. J.S. Bach’s two part inventions are fantastic exercises. These are a set of fifteen short pieces, each in a different key, that explore the possibility of playing a different voice in each hand.

Bach wrote these pieces as exercises for his students--mainly his children and his second wife. Although they are exercises meant to prepare the beginning student for his more sophisticated works they each have a wonderful charm of their own. Perhaps to anyone other than a student of the piano these 1-2 minutes songs may sound mechanical. As I slowly make my way through this modest offering by Bach I am struck by their genius. I say modest because Bach probably spent about as much time composing each of the inventions as it takes me to program my VCR.

Each invention has a certain pattern to it and a very precise fingering must be applied to master these little musical tricks. Each invention has at least a couple of musical phrases that are absolute perfection. Learning the inventions has turned me into an annoyingly compulsive whistler. I can’t stop myself. Never before have I had music so thoroughly carved into my consciousness.

I suppose I have written this short essay as an answer to the question, “What the hell are you whistling?” I have been posed this question quite frequently during the past week. Blame it on Bach.