Prelude in C
Solo and piano · medium (grade 3, intermediate) · 1 min · piano (keyboard), 2 staves -- right-hand arpeggios over a left-hand bass
'Prelude in C' (J.S. Bach, BWV 846, 1722) -- the iconic opening prelude of The Well-Tempered Clavier, engraved as a two-staff classroom edition in C major. Instrumental, no lyrics.
The rights, in plain language
The underlying composition is in the public domain. Our engraving is our own edition — free to read, print, and perform, with no royalty and no per-performance fee. We host the composition, never a recording.
The composition is in the public domain. This is our own engraved edition of the public-domain score — not a copy of anyone else’s edition, and never a recording (a recording is a separate copyright we do not touch).
Print as many copies as you need for your ensemble, and perform it at school events — performing is free, no royalty, no per-performance fee. When a show is ticketed, tickets are sold through the School Box Office network and we keep a small share; that is what keeps the scores free (a free concert costs nothing). Keep the composer and Free School Music credit on your program. For the full terms, see Licensing & rights.
The score
Read the full conductor score and print every part straight from your browser — no account, no download gate, no copy limit.
Every version is our own engraved edition — free to read, print, and perform, with no royalty and no per-performance fee. We host the composition, never a recording.
Classroom study guide
Prelude in C -- Classroom Study Guide
"Prelude in C" (J.S. Bach, BWV 846, 1722), arranged by FreeSchoolMusic.com from the public-domain score. Engraved as a two-staff classroom edition in C major. Instrumental, no lyrics. Recommended: Grades 4-9, medium (grade 3, intermediate).
Standards targeted
- National Core Arts (Music) anchor standards: MU:Pr4.1, MU:Re7.1, MU:Re8.1, MU:Cn11.1, MU:Pr6.1
Codes are listed only where an activity in this guide actually targets them; each is tied to a specific task below, not stamped on for decoration.
The piece, in brief
This edition engraves the Prelude in C, BWV 846, dated 1722 -- the opening prelude of Bach's Well- Tempered Clavier, one of the most recorded keyboard pieces in the repertoire. Our two-staff classroom edition sets the piece with right-hand arpeggios over a left-hand bass.
Form and structure
The piece is built from arpeggios: a chord broken into its individual notes and played one at a time, in a repeating pattern, rather than all at once. Each measure moves to a new chord, but the pattern of how the notes are broken up stays consistent, so the piece has a rippling, continuous feel from the first note to the last, with the harmony changing underneath the unchanging figure.
Listening and performance notes
- Because the same broken-chord pattern repeats throughout, once a student learns the shape of the pattern, the main task becomes moving that shape smoothly from chord to chord. - Keep the tempo even -- this piece is famous for its steady, unhurried flow, and rushing breaks that effect more than in music with a strong beat emphasis. - The left-hand bass supports the harmony; balancing it quieter than the right-hand pattern keeps the rippling arpeggio in the foreground.
Vocabulary
1. arpeggio -- a chord broken into its individual notes and played one at a time instead of all together. The right-hand pattern that runs through the whole piece. 2. prelude -- a short piece, often one that comes before something larger (here, in Bach's original collection, a fugue follows each prelude). 3. harmony -- the notes that sound together, or in this case are implied together, to form the chord an arpeggio spells out.
Discussion and listening questions
1. Play or listen to just the first measure. What is the shape of the pattern -- does it go up, down, or some combination? Does that same shape return in the next measure, just with different notes? 2. This piece is called a "Prelude." In Bach's original collection, each prelude is paired with a fugue that follows it. What do you think the word "prelude" suggests about a piece's place in a larger set? 3. The tempo stays very steady throughout this piece. What effect does that steadiness have on how the piece feels to listen to, compared to a piece with a strong, changing beat?
Classroom use
The composition is in the public domain; this is our own engraved edition, free to read, print, and perform at your school with no royalty and no per-performance fee. Because the right-hand pattern is consistent throughout, this piece is a useful vehicle for teaching evenness and hand-shape consistency at the keyboard -- the technical challenge is repetition and control, not learning many new patterns.
Cross-curricular extension
This Prelude in C is the opening piece of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, a large collection of preludes and fugues written in every major and minor key. If students later encounter any other piece from that collection, ask them to compare: does it share the same rippling, single-pattern quality as this Prelude, or does it feel different -- and what does that suggest about how varied one composer's output in a single collection can be?