EXTEMPORE PLAYING - online tutorial

40 Lessons in how to correctly play improvisations.

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	100                          Extempore Playing
	The note usually taken is the tonic or the dominant, or both together; but others are occasionally used. The principle of the 'pedal' is that the note selected may be continued and sounded against any melodic or harmonic combination, whether consonant or dissonant; the only condition being that at its commencement and at its ending there must be a consonance. It may be used not only within the limits of the given key, but also when employ­ing modulations to next-related, or even remote, keys; always remembering the regulation to return to the first key and to a concord before leaving the organ-point. A simple organ-point is usually the tonic or dominant. When these are combined the result is called the 'pastoral' organ-point. Cases of an organ-point continued through a whole movement are occasionally found. Consult Bach's Toccata in F for the organ, where the tonic is held in the bass con­tinuously for the whole of the first section, and the domi­nant for the second. In the popular organ-piece 'Marche des Rois Mages' by Dubois the dominant is held through­out at a very high pitch—b3. The keyboard student may now very well experiment with this valuable device, by means of which many in­teresting effects may easily be obtained. The following examples should first be studied: