How hard is Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827) to play?

Its passages grade from level 7 to level 10 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 57–68 at level 10.

Is there an easy part of Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827) for beginners?

Its easiest passage is level 7, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 1–12 for both hands together, the level-7 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 7 because a hand covers more than one position and it has syncopated rhythms.

What key and time signature is Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827) in?

The engraving on this page is in 3/8 time.

Who composed Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827)?

Johann Sebastian Bach, German baroque (1685–1750). The Fantasia opens Bach's Partita No.

Can I practice Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827) online for free?

Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 30 graded passages from Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827) in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.

How is the Fantasia different from the rest of the partita?

It is the opening movement, written in two parts like an Invention, while the later movements are dances such as the Allemande, Sarabande and Gigue.

Should it be played on harpsichord or piano?

Bach wrote it for keyboard and did not name an instrument; it is heard on harpsichord, clavichord and piano alike.

Where does this partita appear in Bach's output?

It is the third of the six partitas collected in Clavier-Übung I, which Bach published in 1731 and labeled his Opus 1.

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Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827)

Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) · sheet music

Time 3/8
Levels 7–10
Passages 30

Your turn · both hands

Preparing your passage…

Johann Sebastian Bach, German baroque (1685–1750). The reading release has 30 passages from this piece at levels 7–10; the reader above opens on the easiest, bars 1–12 for both hands together.

Practice the hard bars →

The hardest stretch is bars 57–68 at level 10.

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 Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827).

Hands together · bars 1–12 level 7
The hardest bars · bars 57–68 level 10

How to play Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827)

Tempo:Choose a speed at which both lines can be heard clearly. The movement is lively, but a calm, steady 3/8 is more important than speed.
Right hand:Play the right-hand line as an independent voice. Shape its motifs and make sure each entrance can be heard.
Left hand:The left hand is not just accompaniment. Practice it alone as a melody, with the same care as the right.
Hands together:Practice the hands together by first playing one voice softly and the other with a clear tone, then reverse the roles.
Fingering:Choose a fingering for each motif and keep it the same each time the motif returns. Consistent fingering makes imitation easier to read.
Rhythm:Count in 3/8 with one pulse per measure, and subdivide into eighth notes at slow tempos.
Dynamics:Baroque dynamics are mostly shaped by articulation. Use clear, slightly detached notes for the motifs, rather than a big crescendo.
Practice:Play each hand alone until it sounds like a complete tune, then combine them in small groups of notes before playing longer sections.

Common mistakes

Letting one hand dominate the other. Fix: Practice each hand alone with the same tone, then bring them together and balance them.
Using the pedal to blur the lines. Fix: Play without pedal so each line stays distinct.
Rushing through the sequences. Fix: Count the beat and let the sequences move at a steady pace.
Changing fingerings on the return of a motif. Fix: Mark a fingering and use it every time.

Structure: two-part invention-style movement

The Fantasia is a two-voice piece in a quick 3/8. The right hand opens with a running sixteenth-note figure that the left hand imitates an octave lower, and the hands keep swapping the figure and its eighth-note companion. Sequences carry the music through related keys before it returns to A minor.

A · Opening imitation (A minor): The right hand states the running figure over eighth notes in the bass; then the left hand takes the same figure while the right hand plays the eighths.
B · Sequences: Short motifs repeat a step lower each time, so recognizing the repeating shape saves reading every note.
C · Return and close (A minor): The figure comes back in the home key and the two lines close together in A minor.

About Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827)

The Fantasia opens Bach's Partita No. 3 in A minor, BWV 827, whose seven movements are Fantasia, Allemande, Corrente, Sarabande, Burlesca, Scherzo and Gigue. Bach wrote the partita out as the opening work of the second music book he compiled for his wife Anna Magdalena in 1725.

A Leipzig newspaper advertised the second and third partitas in September 1727, and in 1731 Bach gathered all six into the first part of his Clavier-Übung, which he chose to label his Opus 1. He was following his Leipzig predecessor Johann Kuhnau, whose Neue Clavier-Übung had appeared in two sets in 1689 and 1692.

Despite its free-sounding title, the Fantasia is written in two strict parts, much like a two-part Invention: the hands trade the same running figure back and forth. That makes it a natural next step for pianists who have learned a few Inventions.

In a later copy in Anna Magdalena's notebook, the partita's Burlesca is retitled Minuet.
The partita's Scherzo is the only movement Bach ever gave that name.
Bach himself labeled the Clavier-Übung, which contains this partita, as his Opus 1.
The name Burlesca, used for the fifth movement, comes from the Italian word for mocking.

Why the first passage is level 7

That passage is level 7 rather than 6 because a hand covers more than one position, it has syncopated rhythms, it runs fast figuration.

The page is in 3/8 with no sharps or flats. Read each hand as its own melody and watch for the repeated motifs.

Questions about Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827)

How hard is Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827) to play?: Its passages grade from level 7 to level 10 on Real Sight Reader's ten-level reading scale, so the full piece is intermediate to advanced reading. The hardest stretch is bars 57–68 at level 10.
Is there an easy part of Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827) for beginners?: Its easiest passage is level 7, so it suits a reader past the beginner stage. Start with bars 1–12 for both hands together, the level-7 passage in the reader at the top of this page; it is level 7 because a hand covers more than one position and it has syncopated rhythms.
What key and time signature is Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827) in?: The engraving on this page is in 3/8 time.
Who composed Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827)?: Johann Sebastian Bach, German baroque (1685–1750). The Fantasia opens Bach's Partita No.
Can I practice Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827) online for free?: Yes. The reader on this page plays any of the 30 graded passages from Fantasia (Partita No. 3 in A Minor, BWV 827) in your browser, with an on-screen keyboard or a MIDI keyboard, and marks every note as you play. No signup.
How is the Fantasia different from the rest of the partita?: It is the opening movement, written in two parts like an Invention, while the later movements are dances such as the Allemande, Sarabande and Gigue.
Should it be played on harpsichord or piano?: Bach wrote it for keyboard and did not name an instrument; it is heard on harpsichord, clavichord and piano alike.
Where does this partita appear in Bach's output?: It is the third of the six partitas collected in Clavier-Übung I, which Bach published in 1731 and labeled his Opus 1.

Every passage, easiest first

The reading release grades 30 distinct passages of this piece. Open any of them in the reader:

Level 7: bars 1–12 both hands · bars 9–12 both hands · bars 9–16 both hands · bars 13–16 both hands · bars 15–26 both hands · bars 17–20 both hands · bars 17–24 both hands · bars 21–24 both hands · bars 25–28 both hands · bars 37–40 both hands · bars 41–44 both hands · bars 43–46 both hands · bars 45–48 both hands · bars 49–52 both hands · bars 57–60 both hands · bars 61–64 both hands · bars 73–76 both hands · bars 77–80 both hands · bars 81–88 both hands · bars 81–84 both hands · bars 85–88 both hands · bars 89–92 both hands · bars 97–100 both hands · bars 109–112 both hands
Level 9: bars 1–24 both hands
Level 10: bars 57–68 both hands · bars 65–68 both hands · bars 65–72 both hands · bars 89–96 both hands · bars 93–96 both hands

More pieces to sight-read

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

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