To Lift or Not To Lift: Baroque Articulation for Pre-College Students

How can we help our piano students play their Baroque pieces expressively? What can we do to help form an emotional connection between our students and their music of the 17th and 18th centuries?

Articulation is one of my favorite ways to explore creativity in the works of Johann Sebastian Bach and his contemporaries. But, given that most of the music for keyboard from that time has no slurs or other articulation markings, how can pianists decide what to do?

Below are my “Rules of Thumb.” They are not actual rules, but should be considered guidelines to help students try various options and explore possibilities. I had the opportunity to record a session for the ISMTA Virtual Conference, which was uploaded this week, to explain…