J.S.Bach BWV 846 guitar Prelude No 1 C Major

[m1sd3m3an0r]

Veeeeeery nice played, I like it a lot!

[FlameHound99]

Are there any tabs available to learn to play this? Really beautiful

[gipcarp]

Fugues on the guitar are hard,but,i´m no piano-player but i reckon they must be harder there since i suppose you´re playing one voice with one hand and another simultaneously with the other.bwv 1000,997,998 (fugues)seems constructed for lute or as nowadays guitar and the same problem doesn´t occur in the same way.Am i wrong?

[gipcarp]

Have you ever tried the "allegro" from bwv 998?

[gipcarp]

It would be nice to see the fugue though.A three voiced fugue i´ve learned a bit(the first first and ending part) and listened much to is the one from bwv 998.But this one really feels idiomatic for the guitar.I don´t know how to make arr:s so am a bit lost .

[gipcarp]

Yes,that´s correct.Is this fugue even possible to adapt for the guitar,that´s what i was wondering about.As for this prelude i usually play it without the D-tuning because i´m more comfortable with that,and really enjoy it so,despite it´s smaller lack of sonority,polyphony,or whatever they call it.Thanks anyway.

[daleharrisguitar]

@gipcarp Fugues are usually hell on the guitar. 3-part fugues are often barely possible. It wasn't a task that I fancied taking on, and once you go down that road, there are 47 P & F's left to go!!!

[gipcarp]

Very nice.But where is the fugue?

[daleharrisguitar]

@gipcarp I take it that you are asking why I haven't added the fugue? Is that correct?

[daleharrisguitar]

@airboat4477 Not touchy at all. I'm just asking you back up your comments with your example of how you think it should be done.

In effect, Preludes are (in both renaissance and baroque periods) 'free improvisations' serving as an introduction to what follows. How anyone can claim to know what Bach 'intended' beyond the title 'Prelude'? Such works are free-form & devoid of strict rules & Bach left no tempo markings. Moreover, the days of playing Bach like a 'machine' are long gone. Dr DH (PhD)

[airboat4477]

Learn to tap your foot. Timing is awful, but still well played. A simple song that needs rhythm.

[daleharrisguitar]

@airboat4477 Have you posted your metronomically perfect nokia-mobile-ringtone rhythmic version here?! Lol.

[summonshire]

Performed with perfect feeling, great job. The winds seem to be cool outside, ha ha.

[gtrs4life]

I lost my music to this many, many years ago and just had someone request it for a wedding. I've been surfing YT for a descent transcription and I like yours the best out of the ten or so that I've looked at. You will be my teacher for the next few hours! Thank You!

[atornoe]

nice (: but i need the tab can anyone help me?..

[guitarslim56]

@atornoe No.

[hillaroo666]

I like it.

Nice.

Ignore the asswipes who can never find anything nice to say.

[daleharrisguitar]

Kindly post your 'rhythmical' version of it and we compare, no?

[newnoggin2]

rhythm please

[G1J03L]

Yeah hold on man I'll give Bach a call...

[manulitodos]

Very nice !*****

I ike it

cheers from germany

manuel

( *_Y_* )

[anwod94]

I love your version of the prelude... and the sound of the rain in the background just makes it more beautiful.. I totally admire your skills.. keep on the good work!

[shiroosh6]

like your version! :)

good job!

I also play this , have just posted a video comment to your video.

[ziehenderzahne1]

i'd like to hear a guitar version of prelude and fugue in c minor.

[daleharrisguitar]

John Williams has in fact arranged two versions of the piece you mention: the original is called "All At Sea Minor" (from 'Travelling' I believe) and the second is called "Extra Time," a three-part suite (from John Williams and John Etheridge's 'Places Between: Live in Dublin').

[ownsaucee]

...this rules, I want to keep listening to it, gotta love classical guitar (nice playing)

[ralfiona]

lvely piece of music ,may i ask you where i could possibly find a copy for this piece of music many thanks ralph

[daleharrisguitar]

Dear Ralfiona,

thanks for your comments. This particular version is not yet published. Are interested in playing it?

[ralfiona]

im very interested in playing it .I just love playing anything from bach I just found a piano version which i will probably transform it unless you have a better idea.

[xwoopxwoopx1234x]

wow!! Dale I knew you could play the guitar, but didn't realise you were so amazing!!

[daleharrisguitar]

Thanks for your comments. You sound like one of my students. Are you?!

[xwoopxwoopx1234x]

no i'm not...and btw i think my mum or sister wrote that comment lol

[gbh001]

Ha Ha.. yes that WOULD be interesting! Or what about the Meistersinger prelude. Why stop there.. why not Ein Heldenleben??

[daleharrisguitar]

Well then, have a listen to my Reverie On A Hill CD, where I destroy Scarlatti, Handel, Bach, Vivaldi, those Wagner Preludes and Schumann in transcription.

[gbh001]

I agree that the approach to the written note was different in the baroque. I don't accept the jazz analogy with written out instructional pieces like the 48. The baroque was the baroque and now is now. This prelude is part of the musical heritage and every note is familiar. If you are going to arrange it, making changes to make it easier to play may be expedient but really you should be presenting it as a "simplified" arrangement for guitar given that an exact arrangement is possible.

[daleharrisguitar]

Have a listen to my arrangements of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde Prelude from Act's 1 and 3. You'd really hate those!

[daleharrisguitar]

Of course the baroque lute had 11 or 13 courses (Weiss' last lute was C13) so that instrument possessed an extra octave of range which he utilised to the full. My second point is that not all music should be the same. It is your choice if you prefer another version of this work that's just fine. I'd rather listen to Valses Poeticos played by John Williams rather than Bream for instance. But it is for others to make up their own mind, and not leave musical choice in the hands of a few 'critics'.

[gbh001]

This piece can be played on the guitar without altering a note of Bach although it means there are some very difficult bars to play legato. But it can be done and there are 2 or 3 examples on Youtube. I think if you can keep faithful to the music that's better, especially if you are familiar with the original. This isn't just a series of chords so the precise voicing is important. Bach may have made compromises when he yranscribed his music. But who are we to tamper with HIS work..

[daleharrisguitar]

Firstly, Bach's music IS NOT set in stone, nor was anything from the baroque era. They were improvisers, and the written form only represented a convenient part of what was supposed to be a live performance. Chord sequences might be treated much like jazz chord progressions are today (a framework). Bach set his own standards in his own transcriptions of HIS OWN music. He adapted violin or cello works to the lute or 'lute-keyboard' for instance.

[daleharrisguitar]

I have every confidence that I'm qualified to make those choices as a player and musicologist and it is my taste and methodology that is at stake whenever I present an arrangement to the world. As maestro John McLaughlin once stated (regarding his Guitar Concerto) I will be pleased if just one person other enjoys it, then all the hard work would not have been in vein.

[daleharrisguitar]

Dear Drew, thanks for your comments.

Regarding the inversions, it simply is not possible to play piano music (with chords with intervals of predominantly thirds) on the guitar (which is tuned in fourths) without something having to be altered. In this case (e.g. unless you suddenly jump up an octave) the only viable alternative is to simply retain the flow of the music and rearrange the voicings. I would offer my apologies for this to Bach had he not exactly done the same thing himself!

[DrewOchsner]

A couple of the inversions could have been more correct to the original version, but other than that it was well played.