Little Prelude in C major (BWV 924)

Johann Sebastian Bach · Level 3 (Late beginner) · Baroque · Piano

The first of the nine little preludes of the Clavierbüchlein for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach (1720): broken chords in the right hand over a bass in quarter notes, then a long G pedal under sixteenth-note figures. One of the Little Preludes Bach wrote for teaching, notably in the Clavierbüchlein for his son Wilhelm Friedemann (1720). C major, 4/4, 18 bars (about one minute), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• The bass mordents (on the beat) are not written here: add them once the notes are secure. In the second half, hold the left-hand G pedal while the right hand traces the harmonies. Find the harmonic progression (play each bar as a block chord) before unfolding the figures. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. The left hand makes wide leaps: look at the landing note in advance and move early, without rushing the rhythm.

More pieces by Johann Sebastian Bach

• Partita 4 (BWV 828) — movement 6
• Aus meines Herzens Grunde (Chorale 1) (BWV 269)
• Two-Part Invention No. 1 in C major (BWV 772)
• Prelude No. 1 in C major, Well-Tempered Clavier I (BWV 846)
• Two-Part Invention No. 13 in A minor (BWV 784)
• Two-Part Invention No. 8 in F major (BWV 779)
• Little Prelude in F major (BWV 928)
• Two-Part Invention No. 4 in D minor (BWV 775)

Source : Mutopia Project · CC BY-SA 3.0