The Art of Preluding: Improvise Your own Baroque Solo
Other online courses:
Quantz Baroque Ornamentation Course
Online Summer Improvisation Course
With L’Art de Preluder by Jean-Jacques Hotteterre
6-days course – an hour/day – max 4 participants per time slot
Learn to improvise solos (Preludes)
A fun way to approach scales & technique
Learn how modulation works
Learn about French style
L’Art de Preluder by Jacques Hotteterre is one of the only methods describing how to improvise as a monodic melodic instrument (like recorder, violin, or bassoon). Below you can see my in-depth video about this book. In the Baroque period even amateur musicians were able to improvise such little solos with the help of ideas like the ones in this book. Hotteterre put down a wonderfully clear and well built-up pedagogy, where we learn to start from simply playing three notes, to full-fledged preludes and even what he calls the prelude caprice, which is a longer, stand-alone solo.
On the way we also start seeing scales and technique practice in a different and more creative way. Hotteterre’s is also the simplest approach to explaining modulation that I’ve ever come across. And finally, of course, we learn a lot about the French style: ornaments, typical melodies and affects.
Course overview:
Lesson 1: Using the skeleton [basic melody] and simple traits [figures practised in the scale]
Lesson 2: Playing with different skeletons and typical French ornaments
Lesson 3: Simple modulations, choosing meter and more complicated figurations
Lesson 4: Typical modulation schemes and overall form
Lesson 5: Simple characters in preludes & writing
Lesson 6: Question, Overview and our final Preludes
For Whom:
The advantage of preludes is that they can be done at many levels and everyone is playing individually, so anyone can join in. However, it helps if you can play the scale of C major (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C) at the very least.
Dates:
2 July – 7-July
Times [Amsterdam time]:
Daily at
6:00, 11:00, 16:00 or 22:00*
*Other times may be available as well, let me know if you are free that week but not at these times.
Cost:
200 € (please write in the comments for a reduction if you can’t afford this)
Who am I?
I am Robert. You might know me from The Scroll Ensemble or our YouTube channel. If not, in short: I have improvised in various styles in classical music for the last 20 years and teach improvisation at all levels. I teach improvisation at the Conservatory of The Hague, but have also traveled around teaching in various places in Europe and even Texas!
Beside this I have taught many courses designed to teach amateur musicians to learn to improvise and even worked with small children with the starting points of improvisation.
What is important for me, and what I receive most as feedback: Everyone feels safe in my class to experiment, make mistakes and learn together.