Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) 1722 C major 4/4 Intermediate 1:09 Both hands
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The first prelude of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier is a single idea repeated: one chord per bar, broken into the same rising pattern and played twice. Once you know the pattern, each bar is just a new chord to find, which is why it is often the first Bach piece people learn. This easy version keeps Bach's chords for the first 19 bars, up to the return to C major, but lets the left hand play the two lowest notes of each chord together and hold them, while the right hand plays the three upper notes in the familiar pattern. Learn it chord by chord: find the five notes of a bar, then play the pattern.
In every bar the right hand plays three notes, low-middle-high, then the same three again, twice per bar: that is the pattern of the whole piece. Place the hand over the three notes before playing - 1-3-5 for wide chords, 1-2-4 or 1-2-5 for close ones - and keep the wrist still.
The left hand plays the two lowest notes of each chord together on the first and third beats and holds them. Some are close (C-D, E-F), some wide (D-A, G-D): use 5 and 1 for the wide ones, 2 and 1 for the seconds.
Bars 12 and 14 bring the first black keys in the left hand (G-Bb, F-Ab) and a C# in the right hand. From bar 16 the right hand plays below middle C - read the ledger lines carefully.
Bar 1: left hand C-E with 3-1, right hand G-C-E with 1-3-5. Bar 2: left hand C-D with 2-1, right hand A-D-F with 1-3-5.
The right-hand melody of this version, bar by bar, in letter names and in Do Ré Mi. Sharps are written #, flats b; a note held across a bar line is written once.
Melody: G C E G C E G C E G C E A D F A D F A D F A D F …
| Bar | Notes | Do Ré Mi |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | G C E G C E G C E G C E | Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi |
| 2 | A D F A D F A D F A D F | La Ré Fa La Ré Fa La Ré Fa La Ré Fa |
| 3 | G D F G D F G D F G D F | Sol Ré Fa Sol Ré Fa Sol Ré Fa Sol Ré Fa |
| 4 | G C E G C E G C E G C E | Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi |
| 5 | A E A A E A A E A A E A | La Mi La La Mi La La Mi La La Mi La |
| 6 | F# A D F# A D F# A D F# A D | Fa# La Ré Fa# La Ré Fa# La Ré Fa# La Ré |
| 7 | G D G G D G G D G G D G | Sol Ré Sol Sol Ré Sol Sol Ré Sol Sol Ré Sol |
| 8 | E G C E G C E G C E G C | Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do |
| 9 | E G C E G C E G C E G C | Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do |
| 10 | D F# C D F# C D F# C D F# C | Ré Fa# Do Ré Fa# Do Ré Fa# Do Ré Fa# Do |
| 11 | D G B D G B D G B D G B | Ré Sol Si Ré Sol Si Ré Sol Si Ré Sol Si |
| 12 | E G C# E G C# E G C# E G C# | Mi Sol Do# Mi Sol Do# Mi Sol Do# Mi Sol Do# |
| 13 | D A D D A D D A D D A D | Ré La Ré Ré La Ré Ré La Ré Ré La Ré |
| 14 | D F B D F B D F B D F B | Ré Fa Si Ré Fa Si Ré Fa Si Ré Fa Si |
| 15 | C G C C G C C G C C G C | Do Sol Do Do Sol Do Do Sol Do Do Sol Do |
| 16 | A C F A C F A C F A C F | La Do Fa La Do Fa La Do Fa La Do Fa |
| 17 | A C F A C F A C F A C F | La Do Fa La Do Fa La Do Fa La Do Fa |
| 18 | G B F G B F G B F G B F | Sol Si Fa Sol Si Fa Sol Si Fa Sol Si Fa |
| 19 | G C E G C E G C E G C E | Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi Sol Do Mi |
The chords this arrangement holds for at least two bars, read from the score with the root in the bass. Each one opens its page: the notes, every inversion and the fingering, playable on a piano.
The piece is in C major: all the chords of the key
Bach finished the first book of The Well-Tempered Clavier in 1722: 24 preludes and fugues, one in each major and minor key, written, as his title page says, for the use and profit of young musicians eager to learn. This prelude opens the collection, and like many of its companions it explores a single figure from beginning to end.
In 1853 the French composer Charles Gounod improvised a melody over it, which became his famous Ave Maria. Some old editions, including the one Gounod used, contain an extra bar inserted between bars 22 and 23 by a later copyist; modern editions follow Bach's manuscript and leave it out. The excerpt on this page ends before that point.
This transcription: J. S. Bach, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I (1722), Prelude No. 1 in C major, BWV 846: the chords of bars 1-19, in an easier hand distribution by GOONS Studio. Transcribed by GOONS Studio from the original work, which is in the public domain.
Easy Version · G major
Theme A · A minor
Easy Version · C major
Easy Version · B minorThe full piano studio opens this score with your MIDI keyboard and sustain pedal, records what you play and exports it as a MIDI file. It comes with the GOONS Studio subscription - start with the 7-day free trial, no card required.
It is one of the most approachable pieces by Bach: no fast runs and no hand crossings, just one broken chord per bar. The difficulty is evenness and memory over 35 bars of almost identical patterns. This easy version, 19 bars with the chords held in the left hand, is level 3 of 5.
BWV is the catalogue of Bach's works (Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis). BWV 846 is the first prelude and fugue of The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, in C major.
Yes. Gounod's Ave Maria is a melody written over this prelude, which plays underneath as the accompaniment.