Bach’s Prelude in D minor, BWV 999
Welcome to our very first Study Group — a collaborative, peer-led dive into a beautiful piece of music over the course of two weeks.
We’re kicking things off with Bach’s Prelude in D minor, BWV 999!
This is not a course or a class — it’s a space for mutual exploration, discussion, and shared progress. I’ll be learning the piece alongside you (again — it’s been a while!), and I’m excited to discover new things together.
What to expect:
Between June 9th-20th, we’ll focus on:
Fingerings and technique
Harmonic structure and phrasing
Interpretation and expressive choices
Your own questions and perspectives!
We’ll also meet for two live Zoom sessions to share progress, chat about challenges, and nerd out over all things Bach.
How to participate:
- Sign-Up here!
- Grab your score of BWV 999
- Introduce yourself below!
- Join the prompts and discussion!
- Share your thoughts, ideas, or a clip of your playing!
Zoom Call #1 – June 13th, 9am PST
Zoom Call #2 – June 20th, 9am PST
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Also be aware that most guitar versions have an E as a bass note on mesure 23 when, according to the original score, it should be an F. The Apke's version is right here but for whatever reason he's using an Eb instead of a D# for the following note of the chord!
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Derek Yes, it's common to use this chord without the fundamental (in this case Bb), looks at this progression example...
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Hi, it's a great idea to share insights into this piece. Have mostly memorised but would be good to refine it and hear thoughts on dynamics and particularly the tricky bars 31-34!!
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Hi, everyone, I've just about reached till the infamous barre (measure 15 on my score). Can you help me with some advice/opinion on that barre section? Right now, I'm thinking of playing that F an octave higher as suggested by Isaac Bustos in his TB lesson and by Martin in his recorded livestream. For me, I can't hold down the strings with my pinky only. In isolation, I can hold down the C, E and A using a combination of my ring finger and the pinky with the index in the 1st position, but I can't use this fingering when I actually transition from the preceding chord. I'm curious how many of you can pull-off this chord and how you do it.
Secondly, the bass notes- I know about the rest in the 2nd beat, but in the 3rd beat (that's where the bass line comes in, right?), how legato or staccato do you play the bass notes?
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary I can hold the low F through the 3rd 16th (the E at fret V on the B-string) and by then, the F has faded in volume enough, I let off the pressure on the index finger to make sure the A (at fret V on the E-string) is clear without buzzing. My ear seems to accept that as a compromise since I can't comfortably bar the entire three upper notes. I prefer that low F to the octave above, so live with the compromise.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary About your pinky, it could depends on your position. If you manage to play a bit inclined backwards (the Carlevaro approach), the help of your arm can come to the rescue here. As for the «pattern», chords and bass notes, I think important decisions should be done here regarding the way you want to articulate it before settling on any definitive fingerings, or the piece will likely sounds more of a patchwork than a fluid evolution of the «pattern», the motif or the idea.
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Blaise Laflamme David Thank you for your views. That chord I referred to, as of now I'll just play an octave higher as a compromise as my finger or technique is not developed enough to play as is originally notated.
Blaise's advice on reading the piece through for themes, forms, harmonies and melodies is great. As a complete novice, I'm not very good at analyzing music.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary The F bass note only has to last until the sixteenth note A has been played. Then E C E C can be held down with 4th finger pressure as that is the only fretting that's required for second beat. Medium tension strings will make life much easier here. For beat three, you need to get first, second and third fingers in place for A C F C. That needs to be done swiftly and smoothly for good legato. I'm always glad to get to Bars 17 and 18 as it give you a chance to relax before tackling the next section of the piece which has it's own fingering challenges .
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Just curious about how you all are learning the piece. Are you going through the piece a few measures at a time, trying to memorize it and burn the fingerings into your muscle memory? Are you reading through the entire piece and playing it end-to-end? Are you doing a few measures at the beginning and a few measures at the end (some people advocate that you should always learn the end of the piece at the same time you are learning the beginning, and then meet in the middle).
As far as my progress, I am up to measure 16 in the piece, and I will start working on the last 2 measures as well and work my way backwards.-
Marc Adler Hi Marc, I usually start by reading from start to the end, try to get a sense of the form, harmonies, melodies, motives and patterns. At this point fingerings are not what I'm working on, some are obvious and others are natural, but the context (music, sound, emotions, ...) is more relevant for me to build memory for. Then when ideas and meaning are clearer I start to craft fingerings to render them up until I find what's more appropriate and effective. Also I split my practice to focus on isolated fragments, and after to incorporate them into phrases and sections to ensure the proper flow of execution in context, and through the whole piece. And after working constantly and repetitively for a certain time, which varies according to the complexity of the work, the memory is built up.
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Blaise Laflamme Thanks for the good advice, Blaise. I am taking chunks at a time and trying to drill them into my hands. My goal for the Bach is 4 new measures every day (if I am not interrupted). I want to get a good overall sense of the piece before our first study session.
-marc
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Hello from Nanaimo, B.C., Canada.
An appealing feature of this prelude is the repeated bass motif: quarter note on first beat; two eighth notes on third beat. I try to make that pattern move fluidly as a unit unto itself. So I work on maintaining as much legato there as possible. There are treacherous waters to navigate as you do this: Bars 10, 15 (big stretch) 19 through to 25 and 31 to 35, just to highlight a few.
I'm not sure which edition I'm following. It's from a budget collection of standard CG pieces that I purchased years ago. The collection is called The Classical Guitarist's Choice. It does have some fingering indications which I largely follow but will depart from when comfort and musical flow so dictate.
Looking forward to our collective exploration of the Prelude.
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
