Customizing and Maximizing Bach Suite 1 (and more) to Your Needs

Bach Suites are a “forever” piece of music for cellists.  Young cellists are generally exposed to the Prelude of the first Bach Suite.  It is accessible to early cellists due to the “simplicity” of sections entirely playable in first position and modifications to bowing.  It is also a highly recognizable piece of music that most early cellists have heard in television advertisements/movies, social media, etc.  Intermediate cellists are exposed to more technical opportunities with shifting, bow control, dynamics, intonation, etc.  The advanced player builds upon those techniques learned in the intermediate phase by playing with more attention to detail, sensitivity, possibly learning a variety of editions, creating their own fingerings, bowings, and stylistic differences.  Several professional cellists have recorded Bach Suites more than once during their careers as they refine and mature in their perception of the Suites.  At one time, master cellist Pablo Casals, in his old age, was asked in an interview why he still continued to practice his cello and he famously answered that he thought he was making progress…In my perception and humor, he must have been talking about practicing Bach Suites.

A healthy instrument and bow are essential

My cello returned to me after a several month hiatus, having had some professional adjustments such as a new bridge, removing the wolf inhibitor, sound post adjustment, etc.  I was noodling around with the Allemande of the first suite and marveling at the resonance of the cello and I realized…The Bach Suites can be customized to fit the needs of the instrument.

I’m not going to talk about changing fingering and bow patterns due to the limitations of the individual cellist.  A cellist should be able to handle any fingerings or bow patterns given.  However, the cello individually is much less adaptable.  It is amazing how the instrument can vary from cello to cello with capacity of volume production, tone, resonance, and ease of playability.

With regards to Bach, I am going to recommend that if you are preparing to perform Bach at any level, your cello needs to be in top condition!  Get a professional set-up and do not attempt to make these changes yourself.  Make sure your strings are newer, good quality, and healthier (strings tend to lose overtone production and harmonics with time and use, although they still play the correct note).  Bridge and sound post adjustments may be needed, and making sure your bow hair is in good shape with a quality rosin.  So many early cellists don’t rosin their bow in order to get the “floaty” sound.  That also means that you are not getting good volume, distinction of sound, and you end up having to work harder than you need to. All of us have heard recordings of Bach Suites where it sounds like the performer is playing in the bathroom (I love bathroom Bach) or garage/warehouse for the acoustics.  Part of the recording quality is the hall or location of recording for acoustic advantage, the other factor is that professionals have amazing instruments that maximize overtones and resonance.  You will find that these artists trust their instruments to make a beautiful sound no matter where they perform, and they do perform Bach in a multitude of environments for a variety of audiences and not just in acoustically-gifted rooms or locations.

Let me back up and briefly explain overtones.  When you play certain notes on your cello, there are sympathetic vibrations in the instrument.  Quick experiment, if you play a 4th finger C on the G string with accurate intonation, your open  C string should vibrate at the same time.  The open string vibration is adding to the depth of the fingered C. This is a sympathetic vibration or overtone.  Strings and correct placement of the sound post also expand the resonance and the ability of the instrument to produce overtones.  This is how you get that beautiful reverberation from your instrument without having to play in a concert hall or bathroom.

After you have maximized your instrument’s capabilities, depending on the quality of your instrument, it still may come up short.  You may also be required to perform in a venue that has less-than desirable acoustics.  You can increase the resonance or the smooth sound that resonance creates by utilizing 4 or 8 notes to a bow.  This is especially useful for the first few bars and throughout the Prelude of the first suite.  If your open strings are not a glaringly different volume/tone than your fingered notes and it doesn’t ruin the phrasing, consider playing more open strings that will stay vibrating when you have moved to fingered notation. 

Lastly, there is a bit of bow technique that is simple but makes a huge difference in the quality and consistency of your sound. Naturally, sound quality and volume decreases when the bow draws to the tip because the weight distribution is at the frog.  Pronate the hand toward the index finger on the bow as you draw to the tip with the intent to keep the hair at the same pressure on the string consistently from frog to tip.  Understandably, this may be a challenge when you are connecting 8 notes together per bow while crossing strings, however you are creating unintentional loud and soft dynamic swells that may contribute to seasickness in your audience on the Prelude and Sarabande specifically.  Utilizing this technique is useful for anything that you do on the cello and not just Bach Suites.  Never sound like you are running out of bow ever again!

In summary, having a healthy instrument with maximized features as well as finding Bach editions with bowings/fingerings that compliment the sound characteristics of your cello. and it’s acoustical environment can make all the difference for a successful Bach performance.