Lesson 32: Baroque Dance Forms
- Hear how four dances group their beats.
- Play Bach’s Bourrée first strain with a clear upbeat.
Let each dance have its own pulse.
Tap the beat of these four original drills, then play each dance rhythm.
Allemande — 4/4, moderate, with an upbeat
Courante — 3/4 or 3/2, lively
Count three beats; keep beat one clear.
Sarabande — 3/4, slow, weight on beat 2
Gigue — 6/8 or 12/8, fast
Play: Bach, BWV 1009 — Bourrée I, first strain
Count two half-note beats; practise the upbeat, then join the repeated strain.
Source: Stelios Samelis, Mutopia 890, public domain; BGA (1879), p. 72. Foreground up P11 for soprano; lower chord tones and slurs omitted.
Now play these
- Bach: Bourrée from the Cello Suite No. 3
- Its complete first strain begins with a two-quaver upbeat.
- Martini/Hermann: Gavotte opening period
- The complete opening period, with its printed trill.
- Arbeau: Branle des chevaux
- Compare this earlier dance’s beat.
- Milán: Pavana VI
- A Renaissance vihuela melody in triple time.
When the drills have distinct pulses and Bach’s upbeat returns in time, continue to Lesson 33.