Are you “Feelin’ Groovy?”

By Ian Campbell

Welcome to Try This! Your weekly exploration of musical patterns applied to partimenti.

This week we’re going to look at how two master composers—JS Bach (1685–1750) and Paul Simon (b 1941)—realized these patterns in their music. Here is last weeks post introducing the ④ ③ ② ①.

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Take a Listen to Bach’s ④ ③ ② ①

This excerpt is from Bach’s G major French Suite. Take a listen to Simone Dinnerstein’s fabulous recording here.

Here’s a score:

The opening phrase of this Allemand Bach goes up from ① through ④ then right back down to ①. Look at the bassline, what intervals would you expect above each bass note? They are there! Sometimes pushed around the intervals you would expect with suspensions or appoggiaturas. Listen to these two bars a couple times: first direct your ears to the bass line, then open your ears up to what is going on in the upper voices.

Feelin’ Groovy? Listen to Paul Simon’s Take a Listen to Beethoven’s ④ ③ ② ①

Most of the time we’re talking about excerpts, but the whole bassline of this song goes ④ ③ ② ①. This recording is in C major.

Listen at the beginning he’s just playing ④ ③ ② ① with a 3rd above each bass note
Keep tracking that bassline through the whole song
or just listen to the song!

Next week

I’ll send you some basslines where you can play with these elements yourself!

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The Partimenti Workshop is a safe place that welcomes people of all races, religions, gender identities and expressions, sexual orientations, and body types. We respect, celebrate, encourage, and nurture the unique musical and creative possibilities of each individual.

We acknowledge that we are gather, teach, make art and music on ancestral lands, on Treaty One Territory and that the land on which we gather is the traditional territory of Anishinaabeg, Cree, Oji-Cree, Dakota, and Dene Peoples, and on the homeland of the Métis Nation and that our water is sourced from Shoal Lake 40 First Nation.