Week 2 - The Fantasy, the Adagio, and the Full Prelude
Hey everyone! 🎹
Welcome to Week 2 of the Bach C minor Challenge. What a first week: almost 100 replies in the Week 1 thread, and a great fingering debate. Thank you all for diving in and cheering each other on.
This week we finish the Prelude.
This week's suggested focus: Sections 5–7 (Prelude, bars 25 to the end)
- Section 5, The Fantasy (bars 25–33): the recitative character, hand crossings, navigating the jumps, and "crunching" practice to lock in the hand groupings.
- Section 6, The Coda: understanding the mordents, the Adagio flourish in bar 34 (play it like a soliloquy), and dynamics for the Allegro ending.
- Section 7, Prelude Consolidation: put it all together in a full Prelude playthrough.
Open the Track here: https://app.tonebase.co/piano/tracks/bach-prelude-and-fugue-in-c-minor-bwv-847
Still on the opening pattern or the melody from Week 1? Perfect, that's what these threads are for. Go at your own pace.
Share a clip, a rough take, a question, or a fingering you changed (no clip required). Leave a kind word or a tip on someone else's post too. We're doing this together.
Question for the week: the Prelude shifts from relentless motor rhythm into something free and improvised. How are you handling the change of character at bar 25 and the Adagio in bar 34?
Coming up:
- Tuesday, Oct 27, 11am PT: Deep Dive on the C minor Prelude and Fugue, live with me. Post your questions in these threads as you go!
- Monday, Nov 2, 11am PT: Watch Party featuring your recorded submissions 🎥