Prelude and Fugue in B major
About this arrangement
This is No. 23 in Book 1 of the Well-Tempered Clavier, compiled in 1722 in Köthen. It has the clearest link between a prelude and its fugue in Book 1: the fugue subject uses the first four notes of the prelude, in the same place in the bar but at half speed.
Play the first four notes of the prelude, then find them again in the fugue subject at half speed. Practise the fugue in voice pairs before all four voices, and loop the dense bars at 50%.
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 How hard is Bach's Prelude and Fugue in B major?
This is advanced mainly because of the four-voice fugue. The prelude is short, but the fugue needs steady control of every line.
02 How long is BWV 868?
Our score has 53 bars in total: the prelude is 19 bars and the fugue is 34 bars.
03 What should I practise first?
Start with the prelude to get used to the key and the touch. For the fugue, learn the subject on its own, then add the other voices one at a time.
04 How are the prelude and fugue of BWV 868 connected?
The fugue subject uses the first four notes of the prelude, in the same metric position but at half speed. Wikipedia calls it the most direct motivic link between a prelude and fugue in Book 1.