Those studying composing/arranging and listening in SQA Music exams pretty soon come upon variation form. If you’re lucky enough to have an iPhone or iPad you can download a free app containing a recording by Kimiko Ishizaka along with a score (with moving cursor) of one of the best sets of variations of all time, Bach’s Goldberg Variations.
I always look forward to notification of a new YouTube upload by Smalin aka Stephen Malinowski. I’ve linked to several here before but this one is a cracker and features:
his uniquely colourful system for portraying pitch and duration
the option to watch in 3D – with the right specs
mention of the following musical concepts:
augmentation – doubling the length of notes in the theme
diminution – halving the length of notes in the theme
inversion – turning the theme upside-down; as he explains the M-shape becomes a W-shape
if you watch the hands closely you’ll also see ‘finger substitution’ – where a finger, which is keeping a note down, is ‘relieved’ by another so that it can move on to its next job; the complexity of the music comes through here as many of the notes are effectively being played twice
What's life like for an instrumental instructor in East Lothian?