The Well-Tempered Clavier I, Prelude in E minor
Two characters in one hand.
The Prelude in E minor (BWV 855) from WTC Book I does something unusual in the collection: the right hand plays two completely different musical ideas simultaneously - a singing, expressive melody in the upper fingers and a rapid sixteenth-note accompaniment in the lower fingers - while the left hand maintains an independent bass line. The result is effectively a piece for three voices played by two hands, an early example of what pianists call 'layered texture.'
Bach wrote this kind of textural layering to train the ear's ability to separate simultaneous voices - the same skill that makes counterpoint intelligible. E minor gives the piece a quality of melancholy restlessness: the melody above seems to pull away from the agitated motion below it, the two registers occupying different emotional worlds that never quite reconcile.
Separate the layers, then reunite them.
The right hand's task - sustaining a legato melody while playing rapid notes with the lower fingers - is one of the more demanding technical challenges in the WTC preludes. Begin by practicing only the right hand's melody (upper notes only, held), then only the accompaniment sixteenths, before combining them. The goal is to hear and feel them as two distinct voices, not as a single rapid figure with some notes held longer.
Before you practice.
01 How hard is Bach WTC Prelude in E minor BWV 855?
It sits at solid intermediate level. The non-stop sixteenth-note texture in both hands simultaneously demands stamina, voice independence, and finger evenness that beginners have not yet developed - but dedicated intermediate students can master it within a few focused weeks.
02 How many notes are in BWV 855?
The E minor prelude contains over 1,100 notes across 41 bars, making it one of the most note-dense WTC I preludes. This density is what makes practicing at a slow, controlled tempo so essential before reaching performance speed.
Two voices in one hand - train them separately.
Use the loop tool on the first eight bars at 50% tempo and deliberately over-exaggerate the melody's legato - hold each note slightly longer than written until your hand learns the independence. Once the hand can produce two distinct tones simultaneously, the expressive character of the prelude becomes fully available.
