Air on the G String

J. S. BachBWV 1068 (Orchestral Suite No. 3, mvt 2)

Key

D

Time

C

Tempo

♩=56

AO focus

AO3

Form

Air — slow movement of the third Orchestral Suite. The popular name comes from August Wilhelmj's 19th-century arrangement that transposed the violin line down to fit the cello's G string. A two-part texture: walking-bass + soaring melody.

Teaching points

• Walking bass — quarter notes on every beat, providing harmonic foundation under the long-breathed melody
• Phrase shaping — the violin/cello line spans 4-bar phrases; coach the player to plan breath/bow accordingly
• AO3: contrapuntal Baroque texture rendered as a pop standard — discuss why it became famous