Little Prelude in C, BWV 924
Bach's Little Prelude in C major, BWV 924, from the Clavier-Büchlein for his son Wilhelm Friedemann (begun 1720), is a Beginner piece in 4/4, Octotune grade 4 of 8. The right hand plays broken chords in sixteenths over a walking left hand, then over one long held bass note.
At a glance
| Composer | Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) |
|---|---|
| Difficulty | Beginner: grade 4 of 8 |
| Key | Key signature: no sharps or flats |
| Time | 4/4 |
| Tempo | 60 quarter-note beats a minute, as the app starts it (it can go slower) |
| Length | 18 measures, about 1:12 |
| Hands | both hands |
| Right hand | A3 to C6 |
| Left hand | G2 to E4 |
It reaches past the staff: see ledger lines explained.
Levels in the app
| Version | Grade | Levels |
|---|---|---|
| Little Prelude in C, BWV 924 | 4 of 8 | Melody, Melody and bass, Full |
Practice notes
Bach began a Clavier-Büchlein, a little keyboard book, in 1720 for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann, then nine. Among its lessons are short preludes such as this one: about a minute of music in C major.
How it is built. The right hand plays broken chords in steady sixteenth notes, three notes at a time: G C E, G C E. Each group spells a chord, and the chords change as the harmony moves. The left hand walks beneath in quarter notes. Near the end, the left hand holds one low note for several measures (a pedal point) while the right hand keeps turning above it, and the piece closes on a full chord.
The tricky parts
- Reading shapes. Read each group as a chord shape, not as three separate notes; the hand position changes with each chord.
- Evenness. All sixteenths the same, with no bump where the hand moves.
- Holding the long bass note. Keep it down for its whole length; count the measures.
- Accidentals. F sharp and a few others appear as the music moves through other keys.
Practice plan
- Block the chords. Play each group of three as one chord, to learn the hand positions.
- Right hand alone in Wait for me, then the left.
- Both hands at 50% speed with Loop this measure, then Play along, raising the speed while it stays even.
Also try: Bach's Prelude in C major, BWV 846, built on the same idea.
Before you start: Octotune's path through Unit 10. A few accidentals go a step beyond it.
Questions
Is Bach's Little Prelude in C, BWV 924, easy?
It is a Beginner piece, Octotune grade 4 of 8. The right hand plays broken chords in steady sixteenths and the left hand walks in quarters; the challenge is evenness and reading the chord shapes.
Where does BWV 924 come from?
From the Clavier-Büchlein that Bach began in 1720 for his eldest son, Wilhelm Friedemann: a book of keyboard lessons and short pieces.
Credits and license
- Music: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750)
- Typeset by JD Erickson for the Mutopia Project
- License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0
- Source and printable sheet music: the Mutopia Project’s page for this piece