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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Hi this is Srinath from Bangalore, India and very happy to join this group. Bach and this piece has always been attractive to me. Bouree in E minor is on my plate for a while - almost there but not quite. This is something a level or two, beyond my reach but I couldnt pass up on this opportunity, even if it meant I could only play some parts and not the whole piece as of now. But more importantly I would be able to be get the pleasure of seeing and listening to how the talented musicians in this group approach the piece and I am sure I will learn quite a few things from that, when that "beyond me" becomes the "present me" :-). Thanks for having me as a part of this study group. What a lovely idea!
Warm regards,
Srinath-
Srinath Subrahmanyan Hi, Srinath. Great to see a fellow Indian in the forum. I'm from a small town called Kokrajhar, although currently I'm based in Guwahati.
When did you join TB?. I've been here since 2023 if I'm remembering correctly. What's the classical guitar scene like in Bangalore? I know that Bangalore is famous for its music scene alongwith Shillong in India. Back where I'm from, I really haven't come across anyone interested in classical guitar music, which is a pity. But great to see you here.
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Nijwm Bwiswmuthiary how nice to see you here. I remember fondly my visit to IIT Guwahati for an event several years back and the beauty of that part of India. Welcome to TB and I look forward to being "classmates" in this group. Bangalore does have quite a few music schools focused on classical music but I think the beter place maybe Kolkatta and possibly Shillong for this form of music. I think martin himself may have been in Calcutta a few years back for their yearly Classical music fest.
Best wishes to you,Srinath
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Srinath Subrahmanyan We should get together sometime, through TB forums and beyond. I'd like to exchange ideas with you.
Yeah, Martin and I think Mircea too was here in India. I tried connecting to some of people in the classical music scene here in India. Sadly, I haven't received any response from them so far.
The classical guitar music festival in India seems to be dormant right now unfortunately. Unless I'm wrong. I'd be great to meet and share ideas with fellow classical guitar.
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I am Jack from Oakland, CA and am currently attending the TB LA Music Intensive thru this week. I am in on revisiting the BWV 999 prelude. I like the concept of shared study with fellow Tonebuddies (is that the correct designation?).
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Hello from the Netherlands! I played this half a century ago. Nice to revisit it. Although I can’t attend the Zoom calls (I have rehearsals with my ensemble 9on that time) I will follow the discussion.
my scores for this piece are from the seventies. A German edition (Schott) and a Japanese one. -
Hello, i am Juan from Madrid....this IS a great iniciative, Martín. As i have some spare time on comming weeks i Will participate....Is an oficial score available to follow or shall we pick one from the web?? Greetings
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Hi from the English Lake District. I also tried to play this piece a long time ago and like Ron I have a Hofmeister edition ( complete Bach Lute Music) which I believe was published in what was then East Germany. Looking forward to working on this and to the Zoom sessions!
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So, already some controversy!!! For the 'A' which occurs on the 3rd beat of the first measure, the Apke transcription says to use the '4' finger in the LH, but the Bustos video uses the '2' finger. I also see that Stephanie Jones uses the '2' finger.
Also in the 3rd measure ... '3' or '4' on that Bb?-
Marc Adler Hi Marc, I would personally start up by getting rid of any fingerings, or even better find a fingering-less version, and then build fingerings based on musical ideas, textures or patterns to ensure a more cohesive and coherent «end result», and also ensure a fluid playing based on your own qualities. That for sure will be an interesting experience!
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Marc Adler In the past I have used 2 on the A (1st measure) and 3 on the Bb in the 3rd, but I'm open to alternatives if it helps the musicality and flow!
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Blaise Laflamme
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David Nice find... is it a free one? Just to be sure we don't share copyrighted works here.
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Blaise Laflamme it’s a pdf of my Musescore file. Should be fine I think if the piece is in the public domain.
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David Ok you did it, awesome!
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David Here's the MuseScore version in case you want to format it yourself and add fingerings into the pdf.
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David Can you export to MUSXML?
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Blaise Laflamme .mxl, .xml, and .musicxml exports
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David Thank you!!!
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Great initiative! I am very excited to take part on this study group. I first learned this piece 3 years ago and there are always points for improvement. Can't wait to hear insights from everyone
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I thought that this might be of interest to some folks. Douglas Niedt goes over different fingerings for the Prelude.
https://douglasniedt.com/fabulouspreludeindminor.html-
Marc Adler Untitled Here's what I understood from the Niedt fingerings. Does it look correct? Thank you for suggesting the site.
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David I have not gotten up to that part of the piece. When I do, I will let you know. Working my way through the first ten measures now.
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Among the instruments I play (I should really say 'try to play' because my left hand no longer functions properly) is the baroque lute, for which this prelude may (or may not!) have been intended. Since I have never played any of Bach's music on the lute (almost all of it is exceedingly difficult!) this challenge presents an opportunity for me to at least try to learn one of his works. I intend to use an edition prepared by the Canadian lutenist Clive Titmuss. While the piece is no easier on the lute than it is on the guitar, the lute does offer several advantages: first, the original key of C minor is preserved, and second, the basic arpeggio pattern (involving one note per string) can be maintained throughout. A possible disadvantage is that many of the left hand chord patterns are quite demanding, at least from a lutenist's perspective. (In general, the chord voicings encountered in the baroque lute repertoire are quite easy for the left hand.) I don't know if I'll manage to get this prelude under my fingers by the end of the challenge, but I'll at least get an understanding of its particular difficulties. Hopefully, something of what I learn will be of interest to guitarists!
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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!
End of the Year Challenge: Finish Strong!
