Suite BWV 997 — Prelude, transcription for guitar

About this work

The lute Prelude from BWV 997 unfolds in a continuous line that sounds improvised, although its motion is firmly organised. In this guitar transcription, bass notes direct the harmonic changes while the upper voices prolong tension and release.

Do not let the chords isolate every beat. Identify the note that continues the phrase and give it enough length to connect positions. The right hand can distinguish bass, middle voice and upper line without turning the polyphony into three rigid layers.

Practise slowly wherever one note must keep sounding while the left hand changes position. An imaginary sustaining pedal helps reveal what the ear needs to retain. As the texture grows denser, keep the same inner pulse and let cadences create the necessary space rather than inserting arbitrary pauses.

What the document containsContents: the Prelude from Suite BWV 997, transcribed in A minor for guitar across two pages, with a listening MIDI.The LilyPond engraving comes from Mutopia and is in the public domain. LesPartitions.info checked the polyphony and playback, then inspected both pages.