Bach's C major prelude, deconstructed 

Hello everyone! I hope you enjoyed the video, and if you did, you might like my essay on Elgar's Enigma variations: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ZatQm8ASsmI.html. I love making these videos, but they do take a lot of effort to produce. So, if you want to help me make them, take a look at my Patreon: www.patreon.com/listeningin

Bach combined with your soft voice is the most soothing sound known to man... Honestly could fall asleep to this

I’ve used this piece on several occasions with adult beginners. While being simple on the surface, it offers so much musical depth and musical expressivity. Thanks for teaching me something new about the piece. As usual, another beautifully crafted video. Well done.

I've always loved how Bach spends pretty much the entire second page of the piece teasing the G7 -> C resolution he knows you want to hear. It's a constant stream of, "Okay, the next chord. Syke! Okay okay, the next chord for sure. Syke! Alright, this next one, I promise. Ha, fooled again!"

I am close to fifty years old and I am learning to play the piano and this is one of my favorite works, thanks for your detailed analysis,❤❤ excellent work

Once again I am astounded by how thorough your content is yet it remains easily digestible. The fact that you can achieve such a feat is frankly amazing

''it gives them a chance to get used to the instrument'' 4:10 yeah thats why bach throws a four voice monster fugue right after

10/10 for your depth analysis. Bach is the gift from God.

This is still one of the best chord progressions ever.

4:09 So... one of the most beautiful pieces of music ever written was originally composed to teach beginners how to play... Amazing

For years i was looking for a simple and (complex) explanation of this piece, until now. I remember learning this by ear because i dont know how to read music (lazy) but i was shock by the experience to "see" some patterns or feel the "idea" behind, just playing the chords in the learning process. Maybe this is the best piece to naturally learn how to resolve a melody, and obviously there's no going back when you learn something, you cant erase your thoughts and emotions. Thanks so much for your explanation, your videos are pure gold.

"To see a world in a grain of sand/and eternity in an hour". These are the words I think of when I play this. It's a sublime microcosm of harmony. Thanks for your excellent analysis of this deceptively simple masterpiece.

J. S. Bach was unquestionably a mega genius. Quite seriously the best composer who ever lived - period.

One of the most beatiful works by Bach.

Thank you Mrs. Robinson for teaching me this piece just this way, sixty years ago. Now I realize that it prepared me for the life that has followed.

I have always found this piece absolutely magical - it seems to be SO PERFECT in its construction for me without really understanding how he does it.

Considering it was written so long ago it actually sounds quite modern. Timeless.

yet ANOTHER incredible essay!!! I am constantly amazed every time you release a new video. I also think your analysis about the f sharp - a flat change delaying the G is spot on! and that's why Bach is a genius and the scholars who think that he would have gone to the g in between those two chords aren't! Amazing!

resolving to the dominant 7 its beautiful

Such an insightful, educated, cultured, and calm analysis! This is what I needed today.

Ah, this video was just as pleasing as the final resolution. It was exactly what I was looking for, to know just what was going on with all those wonderful sounds in this piece. So simple and yet not. Thank you!

That minor second dissonance in the left hand is a stroke of pure genius and I would have never had the nerve to do that

Superior video that takes teaching far beyond the old person to person model. Helpful to anyone, even non musicians. Great effort!

SO EXCITED FOR BACH!!! Beautiful analysis. Please do more famous works like this.

Please "never" stop this channel! Understanding something about music, this is extremely high quality legitimate content. Haven't watched any other video, but even the first bars of the prelude earned my trust. 💗💗💗💷💷💷💸💸💸💸💴💴💴💴

This was so interesting. I just subbed. My music theory is very minimal. But i was learning to play his prelude BWV 999 for lute on the piano and while i don't really understand all the tricks he does with the chords, theres just this way he drives the music to exactly where your brain wants it to go. By the time its ended you are just so satisfied. He's one of my most favorite composers.

I'm so happy this was recommended to me today! I've been an amateur classical musical lover for years and have always wanted to understand more of the history and theory behind different classical pieces. I'm very excited to check out the other videos that you have.

This is an incredibly well made video. I was a 9 year old when I first heard this piece at school and there was a certain chord that affected me so much that after the lesson I made my music teacher play through it, until I shouted out "THAT ONE!" and he told me it was a G major 7 - WOW, and I've been a jazz freak ever since. Thanks for explaining it well to me!!

It is worth mentioning that the arpeggiation used here was never used again in the centuries that followed. I have always felt that Bach wrote this piece to teach us how how to use the tonal system to be harmonically creative in a structure that is an integral whole.

I got honest goosebumps at the final perfect cadence. Thanks!

Once again! Such a good deconstruction of such a classic!

The small visuals and indications really helped me stay grounded and digest the material. As subtle as they may be, I really appreciate these extra touches.

Wow, amazing! I had never considered the differences in anatomy between the harpsichord and the modern piano. Expertly done!

Bach is absolutely sublime 🎼🎼🎼💎

Bach would be proud of your analysis and presentation. I now have a deeper appreciation for this masterpiece.

Fascinating! Bach's Harmonic language was phenomenal, even in its simplest form it's so amazing.

Thank you for this. The first time I heard this piece something jumped out at me, I've been playing music all my life. The jump from c7 to Fmaj 7 is what I thought was the most beautiful chords together I have ever heard. I finally learned this on my own, Bach is the one of most gifted composers of all time.

Why I have never heard any of your classes, I don’t know, But I am so glad I have found you. I have studied Bach all my Life and he still amazes me with his compositions. I have played Bach, sang Bach conducted Bach and I find something new and fascinating every time. Needless to say, his works, (Passions, Cantatas, Organworks etc) will never get old. His works might be centuries old, but they are new and will never get old. What a master.....

I've always thought of bar 23 as a diminished chord with c being the passing tone, rather than a m6 chord with b being considered a passing tone.

I can't understand why music theory isn't taught in many schools around the world. It's basically applied mathematics in a very delightful way. Thank you for the video! Amazing! Need more of these.

Brilliant - a serene and limpid illumination of one of Bach's most serene and limpid pieces. Thank you!

I've played this prelude. It is simple, yet just beautiful. The use of diminished chords a suspense is just amazing. This video further makes me realise how much of a miracle Bach was. Thanks!!

I really feel like saying that this kind o material as well as YT chanels like yours should be the most watched in this platform.Thanks for making us still believe that there's hope in humanity at all.

Simple on the surface, but those dissonances have the typical Bach mysticism that's so appealing. Looking at the score while playing other pieces you'll find the same, sometimes in just one bar. The piece flows along and suddenly something magical appears without warning.

I love this work. You really deserve more subscribers

Absolutely lovely! Great essay once again!

thank you! so happy too see that Fónagy was right in describing literary works with the same structures, tensions and relaxations you also throw light on in this video! and eventually understand why this music always moved me... thank you

Amazing. Sheer beauty. Very grateful for this documentary and excellent overview of Bach's masterpiece prelude in C major.

What an amazing video ! Really well made and in-depth , without explaining common stuff

Brilliant!!! You've explained the genius of Bach in an easy to understand manner. Brilliant!!!

I cry with this Prelude... It's so beautiful

Thank you so much for deconstructing one of my favourite classical pieces. I've loved it as a child when I first heard it and still do. I don't understand a lot of your theory but I will one day.

Thank you so much! I've been waiting for this explanation for many years.

I would love to see some content on Chopin

Your work on this well-tempered video was just rewarded with my subscription.

Wow, just wow. This is one of the most interesting videos about music analysis I've ever seen!

Nicely done. Describing the piece in a chordal structure way is an excellent way to provide insight to the work.

This was a really well presented analysis! Thank you.

This is the first song I ever learned when I was 10. 7:51 my teacher taught the song to me including that chord, so everytime I played it I included the natural G with its chord and people would say I was making it up. This is the first time I see this issue addressed in a video and boy am I happy to see it

I've loved this piece for years. That was fabulous. Thank You,

Great video! It's probably one of my favourite pieces to play, even just in chords, but is surprisingly tricky IMO, especially keeping in mind it's often one of the first real pieces you play if you're learing to play a keyboard instrument, you really have to feel the pulse to keep the rythm going.

Beautiful video. Thank you for producing it! So informative and extremely well-presented.

A superb analysis! 👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏👏 One can appreciate Bach‘s genius.....even more 😊

Love how you broke down this piece. Great work!

I've recently started to teach myself piano. I have absolutely no idea what you've just said but I listened with fascination and I'm more determined than ever to crack this piece!

It is so simple but so beautiful !!

Unimaginable that Bach "forgot" one bar to compose. The harmonies in this "simple" piece are outstanding.

Just discovered your channel, it's AMAZING!

The geniality of building something so complex and so simple at the same time!

Marvelous. Best harmonic tutorial out here! Thank you!

Just recently, I remembered watching a video a while back talking about how this one composer was genius to delay and elongate a cadence before it eventually satisfyingly resolves into the tonic chord at the very end of a piece, and I had the sudden urge to try and rewatch it, but I can't put my finger on what the video title was or which channel it was from. After stumbling upon this from trying to dig that video up for almost 2 hours and having resorted to just putting "prelude explained" in the search bar, I'm almost completely positive that this might be that video I watched in the past because I remember its style being a video essay form and with the video ending as soon as the tonic chord resolution was played. I distinctly remember it talking about Prelude in C Minor instead though, but I could be totally wrong and it could actually be this. Still, I have to say thank you for now, for saving me the tiniest bit of frustration I had left, since if this isn't that video, I'm content with this being the closest and at least bears a vague resemblance, lol

This was interesting. Thank you for sharing it and not being afraid to dive into the specifics on the chords

oh, an update from my favorite growing channel. it's gonna be a good day

You're an amazing teacher! Thank you!

Fascinating and beautiful video as always

This was fascinating. I've stored it, and will doubtless return to it.

You've earned a sub from this Bach fan with this video. Great stuff!

Makes me want to learn advanced music theory so I can put direction and purpose into my compositions and not just mess around until I get the sound I'm going for.

Amazing video! Was a pleasure to watch.

I've never seen this channel before, i'm learning this piece and this was a superb analysis! THanks

I don't play piano. I play classical guitar some. But what I love to do, and do over and over, is meditate with clarinet improvisation on top of Bach's chords in this most beautiful of sequences. Thank you for your analysis and lesson. They give foundation to and affirm my emotional understanding.

I must say, this is a very enlightening essay on the Old Man's harmonic adventures. You make a very clear analysis of this falsely simple work. It's damned tricky for anyone to make something out of C major, but Old Man Bach did it, and with humour as usual. Actually, I was a bit reticent at the start when I saw you on an electronic keyboard, but was soon reassured by the "natural sound" you sought after. The outstanding Jacques Loussier took Bach to another plane with his Play Bach Trio (it's actually a play on words, because in France we tend to pronounce Bach as 'back", or "baque"- hence Play Back Trio). Just a detail. Well done. Hats off to you Sir.

Love your channel, you're gonna blow up soon!

Brilliant video. Thank you so much.

Superbe analyse, merci beaucoup ! Your analysis, indeed very detailled, helped me a lot to understand this prelude. Thank you very much.

absolutely amazing analysis...Keep going my friend.

Thank you for your teachings

Thanks for all the work of putting this together so pleasantly with icons that children could understand. It saves much lesson time. Danke .

Brilliant. Thank you.

Great video! Really informative.

Fantastic video, you beautifully explain Bach 's genious!

Bach really stood out for me as a teenager living in a northern (UK) steel town, I learned this piece in keyboard (organ) lessons in my late teens. 30 years later I happened upon a video of Anna Lapwood performing at the Royal Albert Hall with Bonobo. It's the reason I bought a really rather good Yamaha electric Piano and have nearly learned to play it again. All the alleged conflict about it aside - forget it - its a totally sublime and satisfying piece of music to play. Do it because you love it - not what others think.

Wow this video was amazing, I'm glad youtube recommended this to me :). Looking forward to more video essays like these.

I absolutely LOVE this video! Thank you.

This is amazing! I am starting A-Level music next year, which is full of this analysis! This is so easy to digest thank you! I have subscribed!

Incredible analysis. Thank you.

Simply AMAZING video!

Thank you for another wonderful video !!

Fantastic analysis. Thank you

This is great video!! Thank you for making it!!