Prelude in C major BWV 846 · piano sheet music & MIDI file
Download Bach's C major Prelude as a free piano MIDI, hear it in the page, and print the sheet music PDF from the same engraving.
Preview played right in your browser with the app's real piano (lightweight version). Inside Pianovera: full multi-layer sound, fingering display and Wait mode.
There's no melody anywhere in this piece. Just chords, broken into the same gentle pattern from the first bar to the last. It has opened Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier since 1722 and serves as the first real Bach for generations of pianists, precisely because once you understand the pattern, the whole MIDI file reads like an open book.
Gounod famously laid his Ave Maria right on top of it, which tells you how complete the harmony is on its own. Your only job here is evenness: every note of the arpeggio carrying the same weight, the bass grounded but never heavy. It's a piece about patience and listening, which is exactly what a beginner needs most.
What you'll be working on
- Perfectly even arpeggios, finger after finger
- Thumb crossings without an accent sneaking in
- Following the harmony (each bar changes exactly one thing)
- Holding the bass while the pattern spins above it
Playing Prelude in C major BWV 846 on piano with Pianovera
In Pianovera's slow Scroll mode this prelude turns hypnotic: the same shape repeats while the harmony slides underneath, bar after bar. A great way to lock in a steady pulse during your first weeks.
Open Prelude in C major BWV 846 in Pianovera: notes fall toward the keyboard, each hand gets its color, and Wait mode is there if you're starting out.
Try Pianovera for freeDownload the Prelude in C major BWV 846 MIDI and sheet music
Two files are waiting for you: the Prelude in C major BWV 846 piano MIDI file (5 KB, opens in Pianovera or any MIDI player) and the Prelude in C major BWV 846 piano sheet music PDF (73 KB, printable). Both come from the same engraving: what you read on the score is exactly what you hear in the preview.
The work itself is in the public domain, and this MIDI engraving was placed in the public domain by its typesetter on the Mutopia Project. Use it freely, videos included.
About this piece
Is Prelude in C major BWV 846 hard to play on piano?
We rate it beginner: 549 notes over 2:20, spanning C2 to A5. The first thing to work on: perfectly even arpeggios, finger after finger.
Where can I get the sheet music for Prelude in C major BWV 846?
Right on this page: the "View the sheet music" button opens the PDF (73 KB), engraved by the Mutopia Project from the same source as the MIDI file, Public domain license. View it, print it, keep it.
Is the Prelude in C major BWV 846 MIDI file really free?
Yes. Johann Sebastian Bach died more than 70 years ago, so the work (1722) is public domain. This MIDI engraving is public domain too: download it and use it freely, videos included.