Description
The first piece in the Clavier-Büchlein for Wilhelm Friedemann Bach, the notebook Bach began in 1720 for the keyboard education of his eldest son. Its title, Applicatio, means fingering, and Bach wrote finger numbers into it himself. It follows a table of ornaments in the notebook and marks the first step of the course.
In C major and 4/4, it is written in two parts, a right-hand melody over a left-hand bass, with ornaments added to the melody. At 113 notes in 25 seconds it is very short, and its range, C2 to A5, fits on a 61-key keyboard.
Rated beginner. There are few notes, but the point is to use the fingers in the order Bach marked and to fit the ornaments into the flow of the beat. Lower the playback speed to check how the ornaments begin, and repeat a short section with the A-B loop to go through the finger movements one by one. Watching the hand colours, start with each hand alone. It is the doorway to the little preludes and the inventions that come later.
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Sheet music provided by Mutopia Project
What this piece teaches
The first piece in the notebook for Friedemann; its title means "fingering", and Bach wrote the finger numbers in himself. C major, 4/4, in two parts - a right-hand melody over a left-hand bass - with ornaments on the melody.
How to practise it
- If your edition prints Bach's fingering, play it with exactly those fingers. Following them teaches how the hand moves from position to position.
- At 0.5x, watch the falling notes to see which note each ornament starts on and where it settles into the beat.
- It is very short: loop the whole piece and play it through hands separately many times.
About the Composer
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750)
Johann Sebastian Bach was the towering figure of German Baroque music, serving for decades as Cantor of St. Thomas Church in Leipzig. Renowned for his mastery of counterpoint, he laid the foundations of keyboard music with works such as The Well-Tempered Clavier and the Inventions. This site includes minuets and polonaises from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach, the Inventions and Sinfonias, and fugues from The Well-Tempered Clavier. The Notebook pieces are catalogued with BWV Anh. (appendix) numbers, but many are by other composers - Petzold's minuets among them - or by no one known, and most of their song pages give the current view of who wrote them.
View all works by Bach →