Ethan Teaches You Music Podcast Remixing the Bach Chaconne
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Sep 20, 2025 Explore the intricate world of Bach's Chaconne, as personal challenges in learning it on guitar unfold. Dive into the historical context and the unique structure of the piece, filled with harmonic surprises and textural nuances. Discover how warping performances can illuminate its dance origins, and enjoy an Afro-rock remix that adds a fresh twist. Engage with listeners’ reactions and the fascinating adaptations this masterpiece has undergone through the years.
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Pandemic Guitar Project
- Ethan Hein learned the Bach Chaconne on guitar during the 2020 pandemic and memorized it despite modest technique.
- He admits he still plays it poorly but enjoys having it under his fingers.
Rhythmic Unpredictability
- Bach's rhythms often start and end phrases unpredictably, making metrical placement unstable.
- Performers' heavy use of rubato further obscures the relationship between score durations and performed durations.
Purpose Of The Partitas
- Bach wrote the violin partitas while working for Prince Leopold during a period of creative freedom (c.1717–1720).
- Hein suggests these works may be pedagogical demonstrations of counterpoint for a single instrument rather than personal expression.
