Bach Prelude BWV 933

Out of all of Bach's prelude's I would say that this is one of the friendlier ones. (friendly, nice, easy listening). It starts off with a mordent in the middle of the chord. This is not unusual in Baroque music, especially for Bach, but it is unusual for students who are just starting to learn real repertoire. Through my years of teaching, I have found that Bach's prelude BWV 933 is the first time I introduce my students to an "inside mordent". Or a mordent thats happens in the inside of the chord. If you look closely you can see that there is a E note on top and a G note on the bottom. That leaves a C mordent which comes out to a C-B-C. (I hope there is no pedaling here). This repeats again on beat 3 with a new chord inversion of C Major. G on top, C on the the bottom, and a mordent on E which comes out to a E-D-E. (once again, I really hope the student is not pedaling the mordent.

After that initial unusual mordent, the prelude takes a more traditional route. We have sixteenth notes in a nice sequence with a subtle walking bass in the left hand. Then comes the typical modulation to the Dominant and we arrive in G Major at the end of the first repeat sign. On the second page we have a B section, but this B section is very similar to the first part. We have mordents, and we have sequencing sixteenth notes with walking bass. There is no modulation to the dominant, which in stylistically accurate and we arrive at the end with a mirrored cadence for a C Major conclusion. I would say this piece is about a level 5 or 6. (maybe level 4). It may look challenging at first to your student, but then you will quickly realize why I say it is a friendly piece. There are much harder Bach pieces that students will struggle with later, but this is a good beginning. Enjoy!