We will exit quarantine and enter a world filled with thoughtful and intelligent improvisers.

Hi John, thanks for you mentioning my book, and for your wishes. We are actually quite good here, already into the fourth week of quarantine, but this gives the opportunity to work intensively. Congratulations for your wonderful introduction to partimenti!

Thank you so much for your proactive approach and encouraging all musicians at this time!so inspiring,thank you

Taking time to recognize and sharpen our insights. Improv. tips yes! Thank you John.

amazing series! printed the cimarosa sonatas and the Bach/siloti and followed along. you give clear insights on how to approach and comprehend the raw material in order to better interpret the piece as a whole.Thank you! looking forward to get started on some Partimento during this time

Thanks for putting out this content. Really helpful!

love the video!! Really excited to start learning Partimento :)

Wow again, heading to description box! 😃❤️🙏🏻

This is a great way for classically oriented musicians to begin to access the process of jazz improvisation.

Great roadmap, appreciate all the info!

Woow, a new amazing univers. So captivating to learn about it and so frustrating to think I have waste my life until now not having any idea about it... Thank you so much!

I've belonged to the Patreon group since the beginning and this is the clearest explanation of ROTO you've given yet, bravo!

This is so cool. Absolutely my favorite channel on KZfaq, currently :)

A lot of bass lines and harmonic structures can be "stolen" from Classical pieces and then modified for improvisation. One of my favorites is measure 34 and onward of Beethoven's first piano sonata 4th movement. I like to improvise over Cm - G7/D - Cm/Eb - (C7/E and/or E°7) - Fm - F#°7 - Cm/G - G7 - Cm. Another personal favorite is Cm - Fm/Ab - Bb (mixolydian) - Eb/G - AbMaj7 (lydian) - D°7/F - Cm/G - Ab7 - F#°7 - G7. I actually loop that one rather endlessly, and in various keys depending on the day or moment, and applying different rhythmic and harmonic motifs. Because that progression is almost entirely circle progression moving in fourths (and bass line bouncing up and down), it has the feeling of both simultaneously always moving and yet always resolving/being fulfilled. I hope this helps someone.

Have you ever seen the book "Improvisation Thru Keyboard Harmony" by the late Sol Berkowitz? While the method is different, the idea of learning harmony in all keys as the basis for improvising pieces is similar. He was such a great teacher.

What of the older modal systems ? Is there a RO for a phrygian cantus firmus? These are the cases that keep me up at night....

I watched this again after 6 weeks. I'm a keyboard novice and have been practicing ROTO but travel in the circle of fifths every day. Only learn it in one key? Much easier. I've only been doing it in Major keys, only dabbling in minor. I'll change and get better at one thing instead of mediocre at many.

Great!

Hi John, thank you for your video. As a beginner going into music, I am very excited at the prospect of one day getting into partimento, I was influenced very much by classical music growing up and the prospect of learning the blueprints is incredible. I am however as a beginner, very daunted by the inumerable terminology and the vastness within music theory. Could you point me in the right topics I need to cover on music theory before I can actually get into partimenti? Not knowing what needs to be covered makes the task somewhat difficult. I appreciate your input into this.

Fenaroli, Durante, Provenzale, top of composer of Scuola Musicale Napoletana they used Partimenti like music method. Today all best Partimento are in the San Pietro a Majella Conservatorio in Naples

What was the word for 'chord' in 1700 ? Did it mean the same as today?

Tell me where does study of species counterpoint fit in? Eg. The youtube tutorials of Dr Jacob Gran. Do aspects of partimento cover this?

Thanks for a very interesting intro to Partimento. I've designed and written a couple of music theory apps for iPhone e.g. cadences, interval training, chord identification etc. I'm thinking to design one to allow musicians to study and practice Partimento. The nice thing about running music theory apps on a phone is the software can both show (on a staff) and play (with good quality audio) the various notes, chords, and harmonies. Apps can be certainly used for music theory multi-media instruction (e.g. with audio). But then using adaptive learning techniques, they can quiz the student dynamically adjusting the quiz topics and levels as the student demonstrates proficiency. This type of learning really helps keep the student engaged.

Hi John, Looking forward to the new book on fugue improvisation next year! One thing that has always vexed me about the rule of the octave is the issue of parallel intervals. There is a slightly different version of the ascending major where on the 6th and 7th degrees the top two parts have a parallel 5th (CG-DA), which surprisingly seems to be universally accepted as a solution. Interestingly, to my ears at least, it's one of those situations where what offends the eyes doesn't offend the ear - it sounds well enough. Is there some explanation, historical or otherwise, as to why that fifth is allowed? I remember reading somewhere in Arnold's great tome on through-bass (it may have been a quote from Heinichen, but I'm not certain...) that when accompanying or indeed improvising using many parts, that it is only parallel intervals between the extreme parts that should be avoided as they can't be avoided in the inner parts. Seems fair enough! But here, where there are just four parts being used, I struggle to understand how that fifth in question is allowed. My harmony teacher of years ago would have shrieked with glee, reaching for her red pen to circle this one! Would love to know your thoughts about it, John.

Does Sanguinetti's book teach exercises and theory, or is it history only?

Do you recommend beginning with learning figured bass, then move on to partimento, or just start with partimento?

In the sheet with the rule of the octave, there is a parallel oktave 2nd measure beat one on two... Is that ok when playing partimento? And in measure 6 on beat 2 I think there's missing an accidental in the treble clef. Sorry for being nit-picky :) Really enjoy your pandemictivities btw. And I'm a big fan of your improvisations! An artform that's kind of forgotten on piano...

So how is this any different from general bass or from basic counterpoint?

6th bar. I'm guessing there should be natural E in upper line (alto). Otherwise you get disaltered harmony.

Haha pandemictivities. Haven't heard that one before.