Chords for J.S. Bach: Prelude in C Major, WTC Book I

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [E] _ This is the Bach Prelude in C Major [Eb] from the Welteber Klavier, Book 1. _
_ It's probably one of the most sublime and gorgeous pieces written for the piano literature.
I love playing it.
I've played it since I was [N] six years old.
It's one of the first pieces I learned.
And my beloved mother is still playing it today in her 80s, every night as a meditation
and as a prayer.
This is a piece for all ages and all generations.
_ I did an unusual type of chart for you on this one.
You will still need your original music for the rhythmic distribution to learn it properly.
But once you get your beginning start on that, you will love this block chord condensation
that I made for you.
And for me, and for all my students, this really has made a big, big difference.
It's not our traditional chart, but it has great value.
Being able to take our [C] original material, _ _ _
_ _ [Dm] _ each chord plays twice, and [E] I've distilled
it down into the single harmonic arrangement.
[C] _
_ This is your first measure.
You can play that chord twice if [D] you want.
All these can be played twice and that equals [N] the full measure.
But I like to play it just once and listen to the statement that each of these systems
make _ as a story.
So we start with [C] C major, _ _ _ [F] _ _
_ _ [G] _ _ [C] _ and we're right back where we started.
[Am] These are the same.
_ Now we open _ the octave and [D] close.
These are two sets of pairs.
[G] _ _ _ _
[C] _ And we have three more chords to wrap [Am] up, _ _ _ [D] _ V7, _ [G]
leading _ to our modulation to G major. _
_ _ _ [Eb] Then we're not in there for just a split second and we're out with system three, the [Db] first minor. _
_ _ _ [Dm] _ Another set of [D] pairs, _ _ which I phrased accordingly.
[C] _
And instead of three to wrap up this phrase, we have four [F] chords.
One, two, [G] three, _ [C] four.
_ _ How interesting. _
We are exactly where we started at the beginning, just down an octave.
_ So we've cycled in a most beautiful manner down one octave.
_ _ Now the piece thickens.
Page [C] two. _ _ _
[F] _ _ _ Two very pungent [C] chords.
And the most pungent.
[Ab] _ _ _ _
_ How was [Fm] that written so many centuries ago and still has this incredible tenacity and _
strength and [Fm] angst to it?
But it only lasts for a [Ab] second because then we go into the golden jump [Fm] point of the piece.
The most important part of the piece, [G] this for me is the sunrise.
_ And we have a pedal point in the bass on the dominant of G.
_ Two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
And finally, [C] _ _ _
our tonic.
And watch how he builds this.
[D] This is the line that I recommend that you take the parts [F] separately and follow each one.
We just did the bass line.
You can take the tenor line [Em] and take it like [F] this and sing them.
_ [E] F, E, [D] _
D, [Eb] D flat, E natural.
This is not in my range.
[D] _ _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ [G] I'm going to play this line right here with just the right hand. _ _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ [G] _ _ [Gb] _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[G] _ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ _
_ [F] _ _ _ _ _ Now when [N] we put this all together here.
_ You can take your time.
One of the things I love to do with practicing is to slow the tempo down into about a quarter
of the tempo that you will ultimately perform it. _
And linger.
And let every harmony [G] _ _
resonate.
_ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ [D] _ Feel how they change in your body.
_ _ _ _ _ Hear the overtones.
Hear the waves.
_ [A] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [D] _ _ _ _
[G] You almost can't go slow enough. _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [F] _ _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ [G] _ _ So [C] simple. _ _ _ _ _ _ _
So pure. _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ I'd like to play for you the last page here in tempo. _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [F] _ _ _ _ _ [Gb] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Abm] _ _ _ _ _ It [G] dissolves now.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
[Em] _ [C] _ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [G] _
_ _ _ _ _ [A] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _
_ _ _ _ _ [G] _ _ _
_ _ _ _ [C] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [F] _ _ _
_ _ [Dm] _ _ [C] _ _ [G] _ _
_ _ _ _ [Em] _ [G] _ _ _
[C] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _