
Explore play-by-ear training and later sight-reading via video instruction and keyboard diagrams, using a four-chord progression (C, a minor, F, G) with both hands.
Explore how key signatures guide note spellings and tonal centers, from C major to Bb, and learn time signatures, natural symbols, ties, dynamics, and basic sight-reading concepts.
Don't forget to download the 'Essential Reference Pages PDF' from the RESOURCES of this lesson. It contains the sheet music, keyboard diagrams and cheat sheets for both preludes.
Uncover the five-note arpeggiated broken-chord pattern that runs through every bar of the Bach preludes, built from a C major arpeggio across both hands.
Explore bars 5 to 11 of Bach preludes in hands separately, tracing left-hand step-down patterns, octave spans, and right-hand fingerings 3-1 and 3-2 toward a D to G resolution.
Play both hands together with precise fingering, moving from bar 19 C chord through C7 tones, F, and the walking bass. Visualize the cheat sheet and practice from memory.
Learn to add expression to Bach preludes by emulating a favorite rendition, then practice in small sections, record yourself, and refine pedal, articulation, dynamics, and rubato.
Apply Bach Prelude in C minor’s six-note arpeggio pattern using two cheat sheets: a chord-style reference and a diagrammatic view to simplify bars 1–6 and guide memorization.
Memorize Bach's prelude sections by using keyboard diagrams and a chord-focused cheat sheet, including diminished seven chords in the minor, to map each bar visually.
Master the bass run (bars 7–12) in C minor. Use Cm middle inversion tones; shift the bottom note from G to A in bars 11–12, mirroring left-hand C and Eb.
Explore the hand jump section in Bach prelude bars 13–18, where left-hand jumps connect four chord shapes (Gm, Eb, Cm, D7) to the right-hand; practice with the cheat sheet.
Explore diminished seventh chords through three distinct shapes that let you play any diminished seventh chord, using geometric patterns to aid sight-reading and memorization in the C minor prelude.
Explore Bach prelude section five (bars 22–27), featuring downwards diminished seventh chords, a tight left-hand pattern around D bass, optional Eb bass in bar 23, and a two-page cheat sheet.
Discover how to apply flexible tempo and balance acoustic guitar voice while learning Bach preludes by ear, blending rhythm and tone for expressive classical performance.
A New Way to Learn
For over a decade, Pianoforall has taught over 300,000 people worldwide how to play amazing pop, jazz, blues, ballads and improvisation, and now we’re going to teach you how to play INCREDIBLE Classical pieces in the same way.
These courses are for ADULT BEGINNERS who would love to build a repertoire of great classical pieces but who don’t have the time (or the inclination) to learn the ‘traditional’ ‘hard’ way.
This Classics By Ear Series will teach you a NEW way to learn classical piano – from the ‘inside out’.
Instead of painstakingly learning complicated sheet music one note at a time by memory, you will learn how to take a piece of classical music apart bar by bar, section by section, and understand how it was all put together: from the musical ‘form’ – distinct sections and subsections – to the underlying chord structure, visual clues, patterns and repeats.
So not only do you learn how to play – the pieces but you UNDERSTAND what you are playing and this makes it SO much easier to memorise and perform.
No more performance fear
This really helps if you feel nervous performing in front of others. If we rely solely on ‘muscle memory’ we can have a fear of ‘forgetting our lines’ but if we have a deep understanding of a piece from many different angles – chords, sections, patterns, repeats and memorable elements – then we go beyond muscle memory until it feels as if we have written the piece ourself!
And you will learn everything in a refreshingly NATURAL way – the way we all learn to speak or read as kids: we first LISTEN to others, then we imitate them and SPEAK what we hear – and ONLY then do we attempt to READ words or sentences that we can already say. And so it makes so much more sense.
Similarly with Classics By Ear you will learn to play the pieces by following the videos, keyboard diagrams or ‘cheat sheets’, and then you will find it MUCH easier to follow the sheet music – because then it will all make perfect sense!
No Cliched Beginner’s Pieces!
The pieces you will be learning aren’t the usual cliched beginner’s pieces (like ‘Fur Elise’ or ‘Minuet in G’). We have especially chosen pieces that sound more advanced (watch the Promo video to hear the pieces) yet they are actually deceptively EASY to play – which means your audience will think that you have been playing for YEARS!
The course is perfect for those people who read a little music but aren’t very advanced – or those who play by ear but want to play some beautiful classical pieces.
If you have no prior knowledge you can still follow the lessons if you are prepared to put in lots of practice, but I suggest you also study sections 1 to 5 of my main Pianoforall course, which will teach you basic sight-reading and chord theory. Section 2 of this course also teaches BASIC SIGHT READING in just 18 minutes! It will give you enough knowledge to follow the rest of the lessons.
Like Pianoforall – these Classics By Ear courses come with exceptional and comprehensive supplementary PDF ebooks that you can print out and set on your piano or keyboard.