Prelude and Fugue in B-flat minor, WTC II
About this arrangement
This is No. 22 in Book 2 of the Well-Tempered Clavier, compiled around 1742 in Leipzig. Glenn Gould named this fugue, together with the fugues in F-sharp minor (BWV 883) and E major (BWV 878), among his favourites.
Play the prelude hands separately and keep a steady pulse. In the fugue, learn the subject alone, then find its entries in each of the four voices. Practise voice pairs, then loop the busiest 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-flat minor, BWV 891?
It is advanced: the fugue has four voices and runs 101 bars, mostly in long note values that have to be sustained evenly.
02 How long is BWV 891?
Our score has 184 bars in total: the prelude is 83 bars and the fugue is 101.
03 What should I practise first?
Learn the prelude's main idea hands separately. Then learn the fugue subject on its own before you add voices.