Little Prelude in D minor (BWV 940)

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

One of the Five Little Preludes BWV 939–943: only eight bars, in three voices, densely and expressively written. 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 minor, 4/4, 10 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 right hand often plays two voices: hold the long notes while the other voice moves. Practise slowly, bar by bar. 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. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together.

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