Little Prelude in D major (BWV 936)

Johann Sebastian Bach · Level 4 (Intermediate) · Baroque · Piano

The fourth of the Six Little Preludes BWV 933–938: a genuine two-part invention, cheerful and well developed, in which a sixteenth-note motif keeps passing from one hand to the other. One of the little preludes Bach wrote around 1720 for his pupils, handed down mainly in copies by his circle (Johann Peter Kellner): short pieces, ideal before tackling the Inventions. D major, 2/4, 48 bars (about 2 minutes), 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.
• Follow the motif from hand to hand and give it the same articulation in both. The right hand’s held notes (tied half notes) must last their full value under the counterpoint. No pedal: legato comes from the fingers. Practise hands separately in Wait mode, then put them together slowly. 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 : Mutopia Project · CC BY-SA 3.0