BACH BY IMMERSION
Frequently Asked Questions
Why should I pay for MIDI files of Bach works from you when I can download MIDI files of Bach Works for free from other sites on the net? Good question. The Bach By Immersion MIDI files are different from what you will find freely floating on the net. A MIDI file can contain much information beyond just the actual notes.
Organist James Pressler has studied and evolved a system of MIDI control and entry that provides you with a MIDI file that starts with the notes, but adds placing the notes on the correct channels so they play on the correct manuals of the organ, adding musical expression and finally stop registrations for the Rodgers® Organ. This results in the performance files you will receive.
In addition he then creates files that exclude each hand and pedal part in order, following the long-available and respected C.F. Peters Edition for this edition. Adding a metronome track to this all which can be silenced by pressing the R track button, you now have a complete set of MIDI files for each work that permit hands and pedals and hands alone practice with at t empos that you set using the qDial on the PR-300™.
It's Bach tailored to the Rodgers® Organ. Those using organs other than Rodgers® and MIDI keyboards may also use these disks. On organs with set MIDI channels a software or hardware router may be used to convert the note information. Stop information for the Rodgers® present on the Performance disks will not affect another instrument.
What do I get?
If you are buying individual volumes, you receive floppy disks. If you
the entire works you get a CD-Rom for you to use and make your own custom floppies from.
How do I actually use these disks?
Playing Notes
Each Volume has a performance disk and one or more practice disks. Complete sets arrive on CD. Instructions on the CD assist you in finding and using the MIDI Files.
Performance Files (Disk 1)
The display unit is limited to 16 characters, of which the first 3 are used for an automatic numbering system. For example,
Volume 4 contains:File Name -As Displayed --Full Name
Vol40001.mid 01.Pre_Fug_C_531 J. S. Bach: Prelude & Fugue in C Major, BWV 531
Vol40002.mid 02.Pre_Fug_G_550 J. S. Bach: Prelude & Fugue in G Major, BWV 550etc.
How to Use Practice Files (Disks 2-3 or greater)
We are limited to 99 files or 1.44 MB per disk. That is the reason for multiple floppies. Every piece has six separate files. On your display unit they will be, for example:
01.P_F_C_531_lh - Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 531, left hand only (practice right hand and pedal)
02.P_F_C_531_lp - Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 531, left hand and pedal (practice right hand)
03.P_F_C_531_pd - Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 531, pedal only (practice right and left hands)
04.P_F_C_531_rh - Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 531, right hand only (practice left hand and pedal)
05.P_F_C_531_rl - Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 531, right and left hands (practice pedal)
06.P_F_C_531_rp - Prelude and Fugue in C Major, BWV 531, right hand and pedal (practice left hand)For pieces without pedal, only the right hand and left hand will appear.
The metronome track can be suppressed when it's no longer helpful To do this, Push R on the left of the Tracks buttons beofre pressing play. To sofen the volume of the metronome beat, go to SOUNDS in the upper lid area, rotate the qDial to get to Voice 10, reduce the voume from 127 to a better level.
The speed is full prformance speed, which you can slow down as you're getting started by rolling the qDial to the left.
Increasing the speed in subsequent practice sessions is part of the mastery process; some even find it useful to practice a little faster than performance speed. Another trick is to practice sections backward, which you can do by setting markers. Choose where you woudl like to start and hit MARKER A, choose the ending place and hit MARKER B. Hit REPEAT and start it playing.A Note About Hand Division
Every attempt has been made to make the practice sessions comfortable for the beginning player. In particular this means:
1. When possible the left hand will take over most of the notes when the right hand is executing a trill.
2. The first two fugue voices will enter in a different hand, even if they are shown on one staff in the score.
3. Simple parts like parallel thirds and sixths will be assigned to one hand when there is a more intricate part to play in the other hand.
4. Intervals greater than an octave will be divided between the hands, even if shown on one staff in the score.
5. Sometimes two contrasting textures will be divided between the hands, even when shown on one staff in the score.
6. Rapid scale passages that are shown on one score with stems up and stems down actually indicate alternation of right and left hands, and they are so treated in the practice files.
With all of the above in mind, it should be obvious that the score needs to be marked up so you know which hand plays what. This will help when you are finally playing alone without these files.
To immerse yourself in the piece, try listening to the performance file first (Disk 1) or (if available) the CD. Then, I recommend you draw a simple registration (say 8 Principal + 4' Octave on the Great, 8' Bourdon + 4' Koppelflote on the Swell, and 16' Lieblich Bourdon + 8' Octave on the Pedal) and listen to the right hand and pedal version with pencil in hand, circling or drawing a line over a part that you don't hear even though it's on the top staff. Also mark manual changes. Slow or increase the tempo to suit you. You may choose to do this more than once, or do the same with the left hand and pedal version, confirming your first marks.
A Note About Interpretation
I have deliberately tried to make the ornaments sound slightly different, to encourage freedom in your own playing. Occasionally, I even break the rule of trills beginning on the upper note when it seems right to me. Sometimes identical passages have been echoed on another manual, sometimes played more staccato. Some phrasings may be different than the way you feel them. That is one of the reasons you are practicing the organ, to bring your personality into your performance.
When slowed down, the phrasings are exaggerated and the ornamentations may sound strange to your ears. Again, this is part of the creative interchange we are having. When you play your part(s), you should not be slavishly imitating what I am playing, but thinking of ways to give the final performance your own flavor.
--James Pressler, June 12, 2002