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anything easy by bach, prelude... theres gotta be something

Prelude 1 from the WTC is a popular (read: overplayed) easy piece.
Most of the things from the Anna Magdalena book are easy.
Also, the inventions aren't easy, but they're easier than most of his stuff.

Its overplayed because its easy. Anyone can play it. But its also beautiful, pure Bach, the real thing.
Also, check out some of the movements of French Suites (No. 5, 1st movement) and the Partitas. (No. 1, 1st movement) and some of the Goldberg Variations

How about the little preludes? Are they considered easy?

I have played only one little prelude, in C minor BWV 999. It's very easy but I find that no matter how hard I try, I can't play that from the book and need to rely on memory to play that.

little preludes are relatively easy, but still they are polyphonic pieces with at least 2 voices. at least most of them are short enough to be learned quickly.

some of the inventions are easy also very worth the effort cuz its really beautiful.
I like invention no. 13- its ok in difficulty once you grasp the pattern.
Invention no. 8- easy, pretty melody, but not as good as 13 mo.

inventions are not as easy as little preludes though. skeletony, try to play no.13 as fast as Gould plays, and then tell me it is not difficult. yes, no.13 is a beautiful piece but it is not easy, especially in fast tempo because it requires a lot hand shifting with both hands.

^^^ signa, i didnt say no. 13 was easy, i said i was ok in difficulty. Though he asked for eassy ones, i thought this would be worth the effort. And oh, i love Gould's playing. After i heard it, i digged out my inventions books and replaying them. Ive never playe little preludes before, so i dont know.

Try WTC 1 fugue 2 in Cminor. Not too bad.

I don't think people should be daunted by 'difficulty'.

While we are on the Bach subject... Does anyone have a suggestion of a recording of the WTC (all) that is somewhat slow?

There are CD players on the market today that can adjust the playback speed. I believe they can do this and preserve the pitch. Mostly, they are marketed to DJs. If you are serious about analyzing a piece or adjusting the tempo so you can play along with a recording, it might be a reasonable purchase.
Here are a couple of examples:
http://store.tradehawk.com/tascamcdgt1.html
http://www.banjostore.com/psd230.html

You can also do this with software, such as
http://www.ronimusic.com/

Little Prelude in C Major is very easy. The only tricky part is the mordent in the middle of the chord, but it's slow and doesn't have tricky multi-voice stuff going on!!! The Prelude in D Major drove me nuts, I finally quit it for now. 4 voices! Could NOT count it right. Pretty though!

it is definitely worth an effort, but it is also one of those pieces where its difficulty increases as speed goes up. that's why i was amazed too with Gould's technique.

IMO Gould destroys the piece's beauty with his absurd tempo. I'm usually behind Gould no matter what he decides, but I can't agree with him on this one.

i know someone will say that (since many said it before) about Gould's tempo on no.13. but, it is not my point, because i was only talking about his technique.

Here are two fairly easy Bach pieces. They have the subtle complexity typical of Bach, they will demand your left and right hands work independently, but in cooperation, and they are pretty satisfying to play.

The best part: you can get 'em for FREE.

Go to http://www.sheetmusic1.com/new.great.music.html
Try the Minuet in G Major (the second one down) and the Bouree (fourth one down).

Let us know how it goes.

There's a lot of other great stuff on this page available for download.

Go crazy! (But please support the site if you can)

pj

I suggest picking up an excellent book by Schirmer called "First Lessons in Bach". There are two books; I have the second one. All the pieces are quite simple, and they each deal with a different aspect of Baroque keyboard music. In my opinion, it is the best thing for a beginner-intermediate Bach player.

I'm surprised no one ever mentions Invention #1. I started this in June and have nailed the first 3 lines. Most advanced piece prior to this was Fur Elise. I have also learned 3 of his Minuets and working on his easiest Prelude prior. This Invention is not only a delight to hear but is not that hard. I've heard most of them on CD but I don't hear one any better than #1.

Bach's 2-part Invention No.10 in G major is not very difficult. My favorite 2-part Invention is No.14 in Bb major.