Eight Little Preludes and Fugues

[libraryguy]

I took the plunge and bought myself a copy of the Eight Little Preludes and Fugues. Mine has Hammond registrations which I tried and found enjoyable to play. My organ is a Gulbransen with drawbars and some of the stops recommended in the registrations section. However the drawbars and stops can't be mixed.

Its going to take me while to learn these and the first thing I have to overcome is my vision. I need it all enlarged.

My real question is about some easier Bach to play so I can "ramp up" to the Eight Little Preludes. I'd like a collection of easier works to go through that is not really an instruction book. I've got a couple of those already. This kind of music is so satisfying to play when I find something I can actually play.

[myorgan]

My real question is about some easier Bach to play so I can "ramp up" to the Eight Little Preludes. I'd like a collection of easier works to go through that is not really an instruction book. I've got a couple of those already. This kind of music is so satisfying to play when I find something I can actually play.

Libraryguy,

I would suggest beginning with the Prelude in F Major. Basically, the left hand is very chordal, but they are broken chords--meaning it's the chord, but only one note is played at a time. If you approach it in that vein, you'll find you can go directly to the 8 Little.

Also, challenge yourself to playing one extra measure per day. You'll be surprised how quickly you learn the piece because before long, you'll find repeated passages that are exactly like the passage you played earlier in the prelude.

I hope that helps get you started.

Michael

P.S. If you want to learn it really unusually, start with the last measure and work your way backwards to the beginning.;-)

[Leisesturm]

My real question is about some easier Bach to play so I can "ramp up" to the Eight Little Preludes. I'd like a collection of easier works to go through that is not really an instruction book. I've got a couple of those already. This kind of music is so satisfying to play when I find something I can actually play.

AFAIK the only easier Bach than the 8 Little P&F (which aren't really 'easier' so much as 'shorter') would be the "Anna Magdalena Bach" collection which were not composed for organ. You've got to walk before you can run and a good instruction book will have satisfying pieces at your level that you can 'ramp up' on. That's why they exist. At the same time you could do worse than take Michael's advice and take on one or two of the 8's in bites as your ability increases.

[OneWatt]

I took the plunge and bought myself a copy of the Eight Little Preludes and Fugues. Mine has Hammond registrations which I tried and found enjoyable to play. My organ is a Gulbransen with drawbars and some of the stops recommended in the registrations section. However the drawbars and stops can't be mixed.

Its going to take me while to learn these and the first thing I have to overcome is my vision. I need it all enlarged.

My real question is about some easier Bach to play so I can "ramp up" to the Eight Little Preludes. I'd like a collection of easier works to go through that is not really an instruction book. I've got a couple of those already. This kind of music is so satisfying to play when I find something I can actually play.

Congratulations on taking the plunge!

You've gotten solid advice above, so I'll offer a variation on the theme plus a few additional tidbits:

Start on one of the easier preludes (#1 in C isn't too rough) both from the beginning AND from the end ... and meet somewhere in the middle. There are good reasons for this and you'll likely find, once you learn the whole piece, you'll wind up ending the piece playing it as strongly and with as much confidence as you began playing it.

I would also suggest you play VERY slowly at first ... at a speed at which you can play without errors. Otherwise you will inadvertently be learning those mistakes and make the learning process much more difficult in the long run.

And finally, it's important when playing two hands + pedals to learn each part independently before trying to meld them together. In other words, learn the hands separately and the pedal part separately. Then in various combination of twos (i.e., both hands, one hand + pedal, other hand + pedal) practice until you can play comfortably. And THEN, finally all three together.

Slow and steady wins the race. Have a blast :-)

Enjoy! - OneWatt

[Dutchy]

Nice you want to play Bach! Encourage!

Some additional advice can be found on the website of mr Vidas Pincevicius:

- a handbook how to study, VERY useful: http://www.organduo.lt/organ-practic...privilege.html

- a video tutorial BWV 556: http://www.organduo.lt/organ-practic...privilege.html

- sheet music of the 'little eight' with complete fingerings: https://secrets-of-organ-playing.mys...es-bwv-553-560

And, much, much more. Recommended without hesitation.

Grtz, Dutchy.

[Al Offt]

Thanks everyone for the tips and links. Dutchy, I believe you meant to post http://www.organduo.lt/apps/search?q=bwv+556 for the video tutorial instead of the duplicate link you provided. The BMV 556 video links begin about 6 items down in the general list of search results.

[andijah]

I find the first prelude a lot more difficult than, let's say, the one in g minor. It seems easy because it's C major, but it has quite a few tricky bars, especially towards the end.

I would suggest F major (BWV 556) prelude, then the g minor prelude (BWV 558). I'd also play the d minor (BWV 554) prelude before the C major prelude, but of course it totally depends on you. I love the e minor prelude, but it's not really suitable for the very beginning.

Concerning the fugues, the G major fugue is not too difficult, also the one in a minor. My personal favourite is the fugue in g minor, but this might need some effort if you're a beginner.

Have fun! The 8 little preludes and fugues are really nice pieces, and for me, it doesn't matter whether Bach himself wrote them or whether it was one of his students. You can learn a lot from each piece, and I still play them regularly at the beginning or end of the service (especially when I didn't have enough time to prepare something new. But that's another story).

[myorgan]

...and I still play them regularly at the beginning or end of the service (especially when I didn't have enough time to prepare something new. But that's another story).

How odd! I do too, but this thread isn't meant to be a confessional.:embarrassed:

Thank you for supporting my recommendation of the F Major. It is certainly one of the easiest to learn--especially with pedals, because most of the pedals teach alternate feet and are relatively easy.

Good book to start with, as long as you know basic chords.

Michael

[Melos Antropon]

I completely agree with the advice given by others here, and I would only add to it that the easiest fugue of the "8" is the A minor. Very easy and satisfying to play. As far as easier Bach, if you can turn a copy of the so-called "Neumeister" chorales, they are a perfect "warm-up" for the "8".

Tony

[tbeck]

I find many of the chorale preludes in the Orgelbuechlein easier than some of the 8.

[voet]

One thing that people who play these pieces in public may want to be aware of, scholars now believed that the "Eight Little (aka Short) Preludes and Fugues" were actually composed by Johann Tobias Krebs.

[andijah]

Some scholars think it was Johann Ludwig Krebs (son of Johann Tobias), others think it might even have been one of Bach's sons or someone else from this large family of musicians. We can probably never be sure.

I said it before and I will say it again. For me, it doesn't really matter who wrote the pieces. They offer a wide range of learning possibilities and sound good on both small and larger organs.

[voet]

Some scholars think it was Johann Ludwig Krebs (son of Johann Tobias), others think it might even have been one of Bach's sons or someone else from this large family of musicians. We can probably never be sure.

I said it before and I will say it again. For me, it doesn't really matter who wrote the pieces. They offer a wide range of learning possibilities and sound good on both small and larger organs.

You are right, we will probably never know with certainty who composed these pieces. My comment was not intended to discourage anyone from performing them. I addressed my comments to people who intend to use them in public performances, who might want to indicate in a program that the attribution to J.S. Bach is suspect.

[myorgan]

You are right, we will probably never know with certainty who composed these pieces. My comment was not intended to discourage anyone from performing them. I addressed my comments to people who intend to use them in public performances, who might want to indicate in a program that the attribution to J.S. Bach is suspect.

To be accurate, I would list the pieces as J.S. Bach, and then add a parenthetical (Authorship uncertain). It makes no sense to throw out random student names and pass them off as potential fact. As with many of the arts (architecture, art, luthiers, etc.), sometimes the student would place the teacher's name on a piece, either so it could garner more attention and interest, or as a tribute to the teacher.

That said, I probably wouldn't use them in public performance where they would be listed in a program because they are entry-level pieces. Nice for church, but probably not for a paid performance unless for academic purposes.

Most all of them are nice pieces and fun to play, though. The most challenging of them is the F Major Prelude with the repeated broken chords. It takes a musician to make them musically interesting rather than purely repeated chords. I'll leave it up to y'all to figure out how!O:-)

Michael

[andijah]

That said, I probably wouldn't use them in public performance where they would be listed in a program because they are entry-level pieces.

Yes and no :-) Imagine having all 8 sets played by someone who really knows what he/she is doing. And maybe an audience who isn't used to "complex" and "loooong" concert pieces yet.