Prelude in D minor, BWV 999
Johann Sebastian Bach · German, c. 1720 · originally for lute · solo guitar
Techniques
One broken-chord pattern
bars 1–43 →Every bar is the same shape: a bass note, then the chord broken into even sixteenths. Once the right hand knows the pattern, the work is all in the left hand's chord changes.
Fifth position over the D pedal
bars 1–6 →The opening bars sit in the fifth position above the open D string. Keep the hand there rather than reaching back to the first fret.
The E pedal and the climb to the tenth fret
bars 17–24 →From bar 17 the low E rings under changing chords, and bars 20 to 24 move up the neck. Keep the bass ringing while the upper fingers shift.
Slur on the second string
bars 31–33 →B and D stay on the second string here and are played as a slur, so the arpeggio does not jump across strings.
Key and harmony
D minor in this guitar version; Bach wrote it in C minor for the lute. Long pedal points carry the second half: E in bars 17–32, then A to the end. The shading on the circle of fifths shows how many of the 43 bars use each chord.
Chords and positions
Practice plan
Four steps, about a week each at 15 minutes a day. Each link opens the player at that bar and tempo.
-
STEP 150 BPM
The pattern in the fifth position
Learn the right-hand pattern on the first six bars, where the left hand barely moves.
Open bars 1–6 at 50 BPM → -
STEP 256 BPM
Down to the first position
Bars 7 to 16 move through the key one chord per bar.
Open bars 7–16 at 56 BPM → -
STEP 364 BPM
The E pedal
Keep the low E ringing while the chords change above it.
Open bars 17–32 at 64 BPM → -
STEP 480 BPM
The whole prelude
Join the A pedal and the ending, and play all 43 bars through.
Open bars 1–43 at 80 BPM →
Related pieces
Tab by easytabs.studio from the Mutopia Project edition #60, typeset by Jakob Bagterp (public domain).