Bach, from the harmony up
A Bach prelude looks like a wall of sixteenth notes and is actually a chord progression. Everything here starts from that idea: hear the harmony first, then read the figuration it generates, then play it — one eight-bar section at a time.
Three ways in
- Practice toward a prelude → A level-matched sight-reading session built only from the prelude you pick, starting with a quick placement to find your level.
- The chords under every WTC prelude → All 96 pieces of the Well-Tempered Clavier surveyed, every prelude reduced to one block chord per change with functional labels, free scores and MusicXML included.
- Hear a prelude's harmony → The player performs the reduction — the skeleton under Prelude 1 in C — or the piece as written, with the chord labels above the staff either way.
- Learn it section by section → The practice ladder loops eight bars at a time: hear the changes slowly, read along with the score, then play at tempo.
Start with the shortest preludes
- Prelude 2 in C minor Learn it →
- Prelude 11 in F major Learn it →
- Prelude 15 in G major Learn it →
- Prelude 16 in G minor Learn it →
- Prelude 23 in B major Learn it →
- Prelude 21 in B-flat major Learn it →
Every prelude, chords and all
Book I
- Prelude 1 in C major
- Prelude 2 in C minor
- Prelude 3 in C-sharp major
- Prelude 4 in C-sharp minor
- Prelude 5 in D major
- Prelude 6 in D minor
- Prelude 7 in E-flat major
- Prelude 8 in E-flat minor
- Prelude 9 in E major
- Prelude 10 in E minor
- Prelude 11 in F major
- Prelude 12 in F minor
- Prelude 13 in F-sharp major
- Prelude 14 in F-sharp minor
- Prelude 15 in G major
- Prelude 16 in G minor
- Prelude 17 in A-flat major
- Prelude 18 in G-sharp minor
- Prelude 19 in A major
- Prelude 20 in A minor
- Prelude 21 in B-flat major
- Prelude 22 in B-flat minor
- Prelude 23 in B major
- Prelude 24 in B minor
Book II
- Prelude 2 in C minor
- Prelude 4 in C-sharp minor
- Prelude 5 in D major
- Prelude 6 in D minor
- Prelude 7 in E-flat major
- Prelude 8 in D-sharp minor
- Prelude 10 in E minor
- Prelude 11 in F major
- Prelude 12 in F minor
- Prelude 13 in F-sharp major
- Prelude 14 in F-sharp minor
- Prelude 15 in G major
- Prelude 17 in A-flat major
- Prelude 18 in G-sharp minor
- Prelude 20 in A minor
- Prelude 21 in B-flat major
- Prelude 23 in B major
- Prelude 24 in B minor
Or drill the harmony itself: name the chord under a bar, or browse every piece easiest-first — Bach and beyond.