Invention No. 7 in E minor BWV 778

About this work

In Bach’s Invention No. 7 in E minor, BWV 778, a line of semiquavers descends while the other hand leaps down into the bass, then falls silent. Those rests leave space for the right hand’s answer. The roles keep shifting, so each hand needs to carry its phrase without covering the other line.

The contrast is especially clear when one voice holds a long note beneath the other’s moving line. Play one hand while singing the second voice, then swap. Hold tied notes for their full value: releasing them to follow the semiquavers removes the passage’s anchor. A steady four-beat pulse helps you keep both rhythms in place.

There is one sharp in the key signature, but added accidentals often change the colour of a phrase. Find them within the motif, then start again from its beginning to hear where they lead. The printed ornaments also need to remain part of the line. Practise the note they decorate and its place in the phrase before adding the ornamental figures.



What the document contains

The two-page PDF contains the complete keyboard Invention, BWV 778. Allen Garvin’s engraving, distributed by Mutopia from the Bach-Gesellschaft edition, is declared public domain. A MIDI file accompanies the score. The PDF retains the printed ornaments and includes an added link to LesPartitions.info.