Little Prelude in C minor (BWV 934)
Johann Sebastian Bach · Level 3 (Late beginner) · Baroque · Piano
The second of the Six Little Preludes (around 1720), copied by Johann Peter Kellner, a musician from Bach’s circle: two repeated halves, a line of eighths in the left hand beneath a right hand that converses with it. C minor, 3/4, 40 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.
- Play the left-hand eighths detached but connected by the ear, like a cello; the right hand more singing. The original ornaments (trills) are not in the playable score: add them once you know the notes. The original grace notes are not in the playable score: add them once you know the notes. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. Start hands separately in Wait mode, then put hands together at a slow tempo before speeding up gradually.
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 : PDMX / MuseScore · CC0 1.0