Cello Suite No. 1 in G major — Prelude

J. S. BachBWV 1007

Key

G

Time

C

Tempo

♩=72

AO focus

AO1

Form

Prelude — unaccompanied cello, broken-chord toccata. The single most-played piece of solo cello repertoire. 42 bars, harmonic outline of G major / its closely related keys, structured around an internal pedal point.

Teaching points

• Implied harmony from a single line — the broken chords spell out G–D–em–C–G progressions across each bar
• String-crossings — RH bow technique, four strings of the cello, smooth changes
• AO1: technically accessible enough for a Grade 5 cellist; musically deep enough that Yo-Yo Ma keeps recording it