Prelude and Fugue in B-flat major, WTC II
About this arrangement
This is No. 21 in Book 2 of the Well-Tempered Clavier, compiled around 1742 in Leipzig. Both books circulated in manuscript and were first printed in 1801.
Learn the prelude one half at a time, hands separately, at a slow tempo. For the fugue, learn the subject alone, then add voices one by one. Loop the longest runs 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-flat major, BWV 890?
It is advanced. Both pieces are long, and the fugue needs independent lines for several minutes.
02 How long is BWV 890?
Our score writes out the prelude's repeats, so it has 174 bars of prelude and 93 bars of fugue, 267 in total. Printed with repeat signs, the prelude is 87 bars.
03 What should I practise first?
Start with the prelude, one half at a time. Then learn the fugue subject on its own.