Invention No. 6 in E major
E major dancing in triple time.
Invention No. 6 in E major stands apart from its neighbors in the Clavier-Büchlein by its meter: written in 3/8, it moves with a dance-like lilt that none of the other Inventions quite match. E major, with its four sharps, was considered bright and festive in the Baroque era - a key associated with string music and outdoor celebration - and Bach gives the piece a correspondingly light, almost skipping quality that makes it one of the most immediately charming of the fifteen.
The contrapuntal technique is canonic imitation at the octave: the left hand enters with the same phrase the right hand has just stated, but an octave lower, so the two voices move through the piece as mirror images separated by time rather than pitch. Ornaments - trills and mordents that Bach wrote out explicitly - are integral to the piece's dancing character and cannot be omitted without losing its personality.
Lock the dance rhythm before adding ornaments.
Work through the piece without ornaments first - just the plain notes in 3/8 at 50% tempo - to establish the dance lilt in both hands. The canonic structure means both hands play nearly identical material, so once the right hand is fluent the left hand learns quickly. Add ornaments only after the unadorned version is clean; trills placed into an unsteady rhythmic framework create confusion rather than decoration.
Engraving based on the Mutopia Project edition , licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.
MIDI based on the Mutopia Project edition , licensed CC BY-SA 3.0.
Before you practice.
01 Is Bach Invention No. 6 in E major difficult?
It sits at late-beginner level. The four-sharp key signature requires careful finger placement, but the 3/8 meter keeps individual note values manageable. The 62-bar length is the main challenge.
02 What makes BWV 777 different from the other inventions?
It is written in 3/8 time with a dance-like triple feel, and its E major key (four sharps) is the sharpest tonal color in the two-part invention set, giving it a uniquely bright and lively character.
Ornaments last, dance first.
Use 50% tempo with ornaments removed on the first pass, then reintroduce them one at a time at 75% once the underlying rhythm is secure. The loop function is especially useful here for the measures containing multiple ornaments in both voices simultaneously. Wait-for-note is off for now; the tempo slider controls the pace of playback.
