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Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) · sheet music

  • Key C minor
  • Time 3/4
  • Levels 5–7
  • Passages 5

Your turn · both hands

 

 

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Johann Sebastian Bach, German baroque (1685–1750). The reading release has 5 passages from this piece at levels 5–7; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 5–8 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 5–12 at level 7.

Your practice path

Learn it the way teachers do: each hand on its own, then together, then the hard bars. Each step is a real graded passage of Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934.

  1. Hands together · bars 5–8 level 5
  2. The hardest bars · bars 5–12 level 7

How to play Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934

  1. Tempo:There is no tempo mark. The minuet-like triple meter suggests a moderate pulse with one beat per quarter note.
  2. Right hand:In the passages on this page the right hand keeps returning to one middle note, such as C or B flat, between wider reaches above and below it. Keep the hand quiet and let the fingers make each reach.
  3. Left hand:The left hand walks in quarter notes and often drops or rises an octave at the start of a bar, as from C to the C above or B flat to B flat. Rehearse those octave moves alone so they land on the beat.
  4. Hands together:The right hand's eighths and the left hand's quarters lock together on every beat; later the left hand takes over the eighths, so practice those handover points slowly.
  5. Rhythm:Feel three quarter-note beats in every bar and keep the eighths perfectly even; tap the quarter pulse while the hands play.
  6. Reading:Three flats set the key, and natural signs (E, A, and B natural) and an occasional F sharp appear in passing; read each bar's harmony before you start it.
  7. Dynamics:Bach wrote no dynamics; shape each two-bar unit of the first half with a slight lean and a lighter landing, in keeping with the minuet character.
  8. Practice:Practice each two-bar unit as one gesture, then link units in fours, stopping only at the end of each half.

Common mistakes

  • Treating the eighths as unequal, with a lilt on the second of each pair. Fix: Practice with a metronome at the eighth-note pulse until the pairs are indistinguishable.
  • Missing natural signs in the right-hand passing notes. Fix: Circle every accidental in the score and play those notes slowly in isolation.
  • Letting the left-hand octave drops land late. Fix: Practice the left hand alone with a click on every quarter note.
  • Rushing the second half because the texture loosens. Fix: Keep the metronome on and treat the rests as full beats.

Structure: two-part (binary) prelude

Wikipedia describes a lively, angular theme and a second idea that are each played through twice and come back considerably varied. The first half moves in two-bar units, and in the second half the melody quickly returns to the right hand while the texture shifts slightly from bar to bar.

A · First half (C minor)
The right hand runs in eighth notes over walking quarters, and then the left hand takes over the eighth-note motion to bring the half to a close.
B · Second half
The main melody returns quickly in the right hand, and the left hand has quarter rests for the first time; small changes keep the texture alive.

About Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934

BWV 934 is the second of the Six Little Preludes, BWV 933-938, short teaching pieces Wikipedia dates to around 1717-1720. They circulated in manuscript and were not printed until 1802.

According to PTNA's encyclopedia, the set carries the title Six Little Preludes for Beginners on the Clavier and seems to have been put together in Bach's circle; its main source is a copy by Johann Christian Kittel, Bach's last pupil. The six are ordered by key, C major, C minor, D minor, D major, E major, and E minor, which hints that a larger collection may have been planned.

PTNA's commentary calls this one a minuet in miniature: quarter notes mark the triple meter throughout, the first half moves in clear two-bar units, and the second half varies the steady texture slightly from bar to bar.

  • The six preludes date from around 1717-1720 but were not published until 1802, more than fifty years after Bach's death.
  • The main surviving source of the set is a copy by Johann Christian Kittel, described by PTNA as Bach's last pupil.
  • PTNA notes that quarter rests appear in the left hand only in the second half of the piece.
  • Wikipedia counts the Six and the Twelve Little Preludes together as Bach's 18 Little Preludes.

Why the first passage is level 5

That passage is level 5 rather than 4 because its key signature has 3 sharps or flats, a hand covers more than one position, it leaps a octave.

Three flats in a 3/4 setting with steady eighth notes in one hand against quarters in the other. Accidentals appear as passing notes, and the left hand reaches low enough for a few ledger lines.

Questions about Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934

How hard is Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934 to play?
Its passages grade from level 5 to level 7 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 5–12 at level 7.
Is there an easy part of Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934 for beginners?
Its easiest passage is level 5, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 5–8 for both hands together, the level-5 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 5 because its key signature has 3 sharps or flats and a hand covers more than one position.
What key and time signature is Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934 in?
Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934 is in C minor, 3 flats. The engraving on this page is in 3/4 time.
Who composed Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934?
Johann Sebastian Bach, German baroque (1685–1750). BWV 934 is the second of the Six Little Preludes, BWV 933-938, short teaching pieces Wikipedia dates to around 1717-1720.
Can I practice Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934 online for free?
Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 5 graded passages from Little Prelude in C minor, BWV 934 in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
Is BWV 934 one of the Six Little Preludes?
Yes. It is the second of the Six Little Preludes, BWV 933-938, composed around 1717-1720 and published in 1802.
How long does it take to play BWV 934?
Wikipedia says just over a minute if the repeats are not taken.
Who were the Little Preludes for?
They are teaching pieces; PTNA notes that the set's title calls them preludes for beginners on the clavier and that they were passed from pupil to pupil.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 5 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 5
bars 5–8 both hands · bars 9–12 both hands · bars 25–28 both hands
Level 7
bars 5–12 both hands · bars 21–24 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

Score: public-domain engraving from the corpus (pdmx), graded by the piano-reading-v2-20261023-identity-audit reading release.

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