Bach, where to start?

[MichaelW]

Hi. Can anyone recommend some accessible JS Bach pieces for a classical mandolin novice?

Thanks

[William Smith]

Hi. Can anyone recommend some accessible JS Bach pieces for a classical mandolin novice?

Thanks

Well if your like me ya might as well bang your head against the wall if ya want to understand that stuff There are some maybe mel bay books I've seen that come with a cd? That would pry help ya.. I'll stick with making bluegrass type noise on my horns

[Ausdoerrt]

Well, Bach is really not an easy one to pick up, so maybe try some "easier" composers before you move on to Bach? Not all of his pieces are challenging technically, but they do take some understanding of phrasing, structure etc. to sound properly.

If you still do want to try your hand at it, maybe take a look at some of his violin partitas. Certain sections are easier than others, e.g. Allemande from Partita #2.

[MichaelW]

Thanks guys. Yeah I know it's challenging material but I do like a challenge

Allemande from Partita #2 looks perfect. Any others?

[crisscross]

The Bourree BWV 1009 isn't too hard.
You'll probably find the sheet music for violin for free somewhere on the web and a nice arrangement for mandolin by Alison Stephens at Astute music.
It's in the collection "Favorite Mandolin Solos 18th century" (among other nice baroque pieces).
https://www.astute-music.com/store/p...h_century.html
Here's what I tried to make of this arrangement:

But you don't need a Japanese bowlback, it also works on a Chinese F mandolin

Here is the violin sheet:http://www.free-scores.com/download-....php?pdf=69243

[MichaelW]

Thanks crisscross, really helpful and a nice performance.

[colorado_al]

Cello suite 1 minuet 1 is a good place to start if you want to try the cello suites

[MichaelW]

Thanks. In fact that whole suite looks manageable..... Or some of it anyway

[John Goodin]

Reading these posts reminds me of the article I wrote back in 2001 for the Mandolin Journal, "Twenty Years of Solo Bach", that might serve as an answer to MichaelW.

Here's the link: http://www.mandotopia.com/articles/solobach.htm

It's funny, and somewhat sobering, that for me it has now been over 35 years. I still mostly play the same movements that I mention in the article, although I think I play them better sometimes. The pleasure that I receive from this music, however, continues to grow.

I have purchased, and downloaded, other editions over the years but the Dover volume is still the one I use most.

[MichaelW]

What a great article John, thanks for posting the link. I will keep it in mind as I'm struggling my way through some partita or other.

One challenge I have found already is working out the fingering and positions. I've found a couple of YouTube performances that give some clues but these are all on the violin so I may need to make a few changes.

[CES]

I have a Mel Bay Bach for Mandolin book/cd that's pretty accessible. Can't recall the author (or, rather, arranger) offhand. I've also been playing Jesu Joy of Man's Desiring for a while and am working on getting the Prelude to the Cello suites down. I believe I got the tab for both off the Cafe's tab library.

Good luck! I'm really looking forward to expanding further into this repertoire. Bach's music is just...right...

[Jim Garber]

The Sonatas and Partitas are probably the most difficult of Bach pieces and present a lifetime of playing. I would not start there tho it doesn't hurt to take a look and see what a challenge they are.

The cello suites transcribed for violin are a touch easier on mandolin.

I found some of the Suzuki violin books have easy renditions of Bach as well as other classical pieces that sound good on mandolin.

[Bob Clark]

I recommend you start with J.S. Bach for Mandolin by Robert Bancalari, published by Mel Bay (NFI). It's a good quality, spiral-bound book of 103 pages containing 26 pieces, covering a great range of difficulty. It has Tab as well as notation but I really can't see how you'd learn Bach from Tab. A CD is included. It is an accessible, satisfying book that makes a great introduction to Bach, for mandolin.

BTW, if you purchase it today, don't forget to use the code listed on the Cafe's home page. It will get you 30% off.

Best wishes,

Bob

[crisscross]

Cello suite 1 minuet 1 is a good place to start if you want to try the cello suites

This minuet is also in the e-book by Alison Stephens

Or, if you want to start a little lighter, you may try this one:

Well, it's only attributed to Bach, but in reality it was composed by Christian Petzold.
But there are some nice pieces to start like this one in the Notebook for Anna-Magdalena, not all written by Bach himself though

[MichaelW]

Wow, so much good information! I've printed out a load of pdf's and downloaded the Alison Stephens e-book.

[Scot63]

Robert Bancalari's J. S. Bach for Mandolin, mentioned above, is a good place to start. A couple of charming and relatively easy pieces to get started include two Marches and a Menuet from the Anna Magdalena Book.

[JeffD]

I would highly recommend this book. I think it is exactly what you are looking for.

BACH A Glimpse of Genius, Excerpts and Transcriptions for Two Instruments from the Works of Johann Sebastian Bach
Marshall Barron, Playford Consort Publications

I found it available here:

http://www.honeysucklemusic.com/showf.php?item=9915

Really really try and get it. Its great for sampling Bach works, for straight forward not crazy difficult pieces to prepare for a concert or play with a duet friend. Great to peruse and just get a taste for Bach, and get inspired to "take him on".

I have recommended this book quite a few times, and those who got it have been delighted.

I wish the price would go up so that someone would be motivated to re-issue it or make more available. I would not sell mine for twice the price. It is that good.

Once you get it, don't lend it out, you will never get it back.

[JeffD]

Something else you might want to check out is The Bach Fakebook. It is available on Amazon and other places I would think. I don't have this, but it looks good and might be an excellent way to "survey the territory" finding things you can play now, and things you want to work on.

I think it is listed as The Bach Fake Book

[Cochiti Don]

You can figure out Jesu Joy of Man's desiring on your own in G

[mandoisland]

I have made an arrangement of Jesus Joy of Man's Desiring for mandolin, you can listen to it here:
The sheet music is available as free download on my musicaneo site:
http://michaelreichenbach.musicaneo....ne_freude.html

[billykatzz]

I highly recommend the transcriptions by Daniel Sellman. If you want to get into Bach, the "J. S. Bach, The Cello Suites for Mandolin" is a great place to start. There are quite a few pieces that are easy to get under your fingers, in particular the Bourree I and II, and the Menuet I and II. They sound great and aren't finger-twisters.

[dhbailey]

For easier "Bach" try the melodies from the "Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach." It turns out that many of the melodies weren't actually by Bach, but were melodies he thought would help his wife learn to play the harpsichord. They're fairly simple melodies and they sound very nice. And they're much simpler than either the cello or the violin unaccompanied suites.

[fatt-dad]

I have a duet partner and we are having a blast on the two-part inventions! I play the treble part on the mandolin and he the bass part on the guitar.

f-d

[grassgreen]

There is also this book by Mike Marshall

Mike Marshall's Mandolin Method - Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin by J.S. Bach

https://www.elderly.com/catalog/product/view/id/93982

[Manfred Hacker]

There is also this book by Mike Marshall

Mike Marshall's Mandolin Method - Sonatas and Partitas for Unaccompanied Violin by J.S. Bach

https://www.elderly.com/catalog/product/view/id/93982

The OP has not given us a lot of information about his skills, but IMHO this book is not "where to start"