Prelude 14 in F-sharp minor BWV 883

Book II of the Well-Tempered Clavier. Under its figuration, this prelude is 66 chord changes across 43 bars — ranked 36 of 42 by measured difficulty (expert) in this survey. Played as block chords, it's a progression you can learn in an afternoon; the piece is that progression wearing sixteenth notes.

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Opening bars of Prelude 14 in F-sharp minor, reduced to labeled block chords — The opening, reduced: one block chord per change, functional labels above.

How it opens

The first changes are i7 · i7 (E) · iv7 (D) · V7 · i (C#) · V7 · i7 (C#) · V — and the whole prelude keeps moving at roughly that harmonic pace.

What it leans on

Of 56 labeled changes, the harmonies that do the most work: i7 (7×), i7 (C#) (4×), V7 (3×), V7/III (2×), III7 (2×).

Free scores

Blocked-chord reduction (MusicXML) — the harmony skeleton the player performs
The prelude as written (MusicXML)