Prelude and Fugue in C-sharp minor
About this arrangement
This is No. 4 in Book 1 of the Well-Tempered Clavier, compiled in 1722 in Köthen. It is one of only two five-voice fugues in Book 1. If you leave out some of the bass notes in bars 4-7 of the prelude, the notes that remain are the fugue subject.
Play the prelude's bass line alone first, and listen for the rising octave leap that keeps coming back. In the fugue, learn the subject by itself, then add one voice at a time. Loop the dense bars at 50% before you try five voices together.
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 C-sharp minor?
This is advanced. The prelude is slow but expressive, and the fugue has five voices over 115 bars, which is a lot to keep track of.
02 How long is BWV 849?
Our score has 154 bars in total: the prelude is 39 bars and the fugue is 115 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 What is special about the BWV 849 fugue?
It has five voices, entering one after another from the bass upwards. The subject goes down a half step, up a diminished fourth and down a half step. Wikipedia describes it as one of Bach's longest and most densely worked fugues.