How to Teach and Play Rameau Gavotte
In a previous post I mentioned how I’ve reassured students who are struggling to master a point by saying something like, “Real musicians are happy when they discover the hard parts in the piece of music they are learning to play.” There’s a bit of tongue in cheek when I say this because it’s not always true. I’m encouraging them to keep at the task, giving them heart to persist and improve their playing. I’ve been through it enough myself.
Musicians do love the challenge of learning to play something difficult, and the prime attraction is the music itself. I think we’d all agree that Bach’s monumental Chacconne, for example, is very difficult to play well and we are urged on by its beauty and magnificence to the challenge of mastering it.
This is such an important element of the Suzuki repertoire for young children – the allure of music they want to play and the satisfaction derived from the achievement of learning how to do it. Hearing the music performed – live or in a recording – sparks the fires of interest.
Rameau Gavotte (actually a pair of contrasting gavottes) from Volume 6 is one of these pieces: attractive in an 18th century diatonic way, with a nice balance of technical challenges to keep students moving upward in their skills. Jean-Philippe Rameau, a French composer similar in stature to Couperin and predecessor Lully, was a Suzuki type student long before Suzuki’s time: he learned music before he could read or write.
What are the main points and key skills in the Gavotte?
Upbow staccato is the primary bowing pattern Rameau uses to create the sprightly sanguine character of the music. The slower paced Gavotte No. 1 features evenly balanced upbow staccato strokes paired to longer bows of slurred quavers (8ths). Gavotte No. 2 moves into D minor and the pace quickens, with the introduction of triplets and descending runs of four upbow staccato notes. Students can prepare for the staccato by practising earlier pieces such as G major Long, Long Ago variation and Minuet in G, both in Volume 2, and there’s a PDF of upbow staccato exercises for download in Resources.
