Invention No. 15 in B minor
About this arrangement
Bach wrote the inventions in Köthen as teaching pieces, first for his son Wilhelm Friedemann, and made a fair copy of the set in 1723. Its title page says the aim is to play two voices clearly and to learn a cantabile style.
Learn each hand alone until the theme feels the same in both, then put them together at 50% and listen for the entry each time a hand picks up the theme.
Start with short loops.
Use the section list as a practice map. Start at 50% tempo, loop one section, then return to the full piece once the hand shape feels stable.
Choose Right or Left to focus on one hand. Wait for note checks the highlighted notes as you play them on the screen or a connected MIDI keyboard.
Before you practice.
01 What level is Bach Invention No. 15?
It's an intermediate piece. The notes lie well under the hand, but both hands carry equal melodic weight, so you need steady independence between them.
02 How long is Invention No. 15 BWV 786?
Our edition has 22 bars, which makes it one of the shorter inventions.
03 What should I practise first?
Start with the opening theme in the right hand, then find every place it comes back in either hand. Loop those bars at 50% before playing the whole piece.
04 Why is it called an invention?
In Bach's day an invention meant a musical idea. Each piece in the set grows out of one short theme, and this one is built almost entirely from its first bar.
