Learn EVERY chord in Bach's Prelude in C - Chord names, theory, and progressions!

[@fromt789]

There are many videos on Prelude in C, this is the best one!

[@ryanabshier]

I missed replying the this comment, but super huge thanks! Glad you liked it

[@colinjames2469]

This!

[@NoBody-xg1wg]

I've played this since I was 10.. but since I learned most popular music by ear, I can't PLAY something these days without truly understanding it.. so as an adult, I did what you did, analyzed all the chords, and love the fact that old Johannes was using - or inventing - jazz chords centuries before they were universally adopted.

[@OreyTelevision]

Thank you for breaking down everything in this piece :) I appreciate your support. I see your future. I'm getting into music in an extreme scale recently

[@ryanabshier]

Sweet, hope it's super helpful to have a lot of the info packed into one place. What pieces are you working on right now?

[@OreyTelevision]

@@ryanabshier lots of Jacob Collier ones haha

[@ryanabshier]

@@OreyTelevision Nice! I haven't listened to him really at all. Maybe I should check it out, have any suggestions of things to get started with?

[@OreyTelevision]

@@ryanabshier Everlasting Motion, Ocean Wide Canyon Deep, and Little Blue

[@Roy-pl4ye]

Agree with other comments - excellent lesson. I'm learning piano by myself, only started three months ago and have only basic chord theory and some scales, and understood everything here. Really helped me understand what Bach is doing, and opened up my use of seven chords. I felt like I was already hitting a wall after three months of practice and this helped me break thru. Fantastic stuff.

[@ryanabshier]

Awesome! Breaking through a wall always feels great and I'm glad to help. Yeah, chords are helpful in like 2 stages. The "What" are they, helps you to memorize and sightread better. Then the "Why" are they, which also helps a bunch with memory, but also really assists in interpretation.

[@a.j.9722]

By all means the best analysis on Bachs Prelude. Thank you!

[@ryanabshier]

Thanks. That's great to hear! Glad you found it helpful. Are you playing this right now?

[@zimamup]

Ryan, this is by far the best video I've watched on youtube on music theory, the interrelation between chords in a piece of music, a story of Bach, the chord progression and tricks on how to make them more interesting and not so predictable and finally, how to make music meaningful for other aspects of our lives and understand it in a whole new light. Thank you so much for presenting the importance of this piece that so many teachers suggest to beginners disregarding the wealth of music information it contains. Many thanks, once again and I wish you all the best.

[@ryanabshier]

Thanks so much for the kind words. I really love theory, like really love it. So for me it's fun to share the cool aspects of it and to really dig into a piece. Most famous pieces do something brilliant or clever and the "aha" moment when you see it is so satisfying. I don't remember if you commented on my other chord video, but I did another massive video like this on Moonlight Sonata. Same idea, but Moonlight chords are more sophisticated than Prelude in C, so the video is a good stepping point after this one.

[@zimamup]

@@ryanabshier Actually, I'm still trying to learn how to learn to play a piece of music like Moonlight Sonata or any other similar masterpiece. I wonder if there is a way, some method or a sequence of chords or musical sentences that could help memorize the melody and chords and carve them into the long-term memory in a systematic way.

[@ryanabshier]

@@zimamup That's a great question and big topic. For me, chord progressions stick very rapidly. It's tough to sum up briefly how to improve, but I'll give you a couple main thoughts. 1. Focus on sound. For example: you could memorize Moonlight have a bunch of G#7 chords that go to C# Minors. You can try to just memorize the letters, but if you focus on the driving sound/nature of the V7 chord "wanting" to go to the i chord, your ear helps you. 2. You then combine point 1 with some knowledge. And this just gets easier over time. So now that I've played a ton of pieces that go i - VI - iv - V - i, if I see that progression in Moonlight I can quickly commit it to memory. So point 1 is what to do now, and point 2 is to encourage you going forward. It does get easier. However, it is a great idea for a more fleshed out video in the future and I could express my thoughts more completely.

[@CCLinGameOnABC]

I have long wondered what goes in Bach’s Prelude in C major that creates such simple and yet melodic delights. Recently chord structures and chords progressions have also become the center of my learning focus. I suspect that KZbin can read minds, and introduce your tutorial to me. Thank you for the comprehensive tutorial.❤

[@ryanabshier]

Awesome, so glad you enjoyed the video! It's so fun to take a deep dive into a piece like this. And yes, you probably wondered aloud what makes Prelude in C brilliant and KZbin delivered, haha.

[@Mariposa_46]

I have seen so many references to the Roman numerals associated with chords and now you have finally given me the key to understandind what I, ii7,V, I is all about. I can't thank you enough. What an instructor.

[@MattBartonGoogle]

Immensely helpful! Perfect amount of detail for someone like me who is new to this piece

[@ryanabshier]

Awesome, glad it was helpful. Also good for you starting learning this great piece.

[@stevenbrown508]

Wow, I can't wait to watch this. Thank you! There's a surprising gap on KZbin for creators making educational piano content (I mean explaining the Theory) and that's so helpful to people like me who have trouble affording a teacher.

[@ryanabshier]

Awesome, I hope it was super helpful and you learned a lot! I actually have another coming out soon where I analyze chords in Moonlight Sonata. Same idea, just the next level of complexity.

[@stevenbrown508]

@@ryanabshier Oh, I love that! That's on my list to learn as well as prelude in e minor by Chopin (currently learning). I'll be watching your vids multiple times sitting by the piano lol, I appreciate your time putting these together! Edit: Adding that it was extremely helpful watching this!

[@boriscartes7012]

Thank you for the detalied analysis! I’ve learned a lot with the video. You do have amazing comunication skills to teach music.

[@MultiCugel]

Fascinating, so much in this video. Been listening to this music all my life but never understood how it was constructed. Many thanks!

[@bichthanhtruong426]

Thank you for all the time and efforts to make this video! I learned a lot from the detailed analysis and clear instructions. Looking forward to more videos like this on Bach from you

[@ryanabshier]

Thanks so much! It's always nice to hear someone learning from them. If you love Bach you're in luck. I'm actually working on a big WTC fugues video right now where I'm teaching how fugues work by looking at how Bach writes them in the 1st Book.

[@JWentu]

Wow! this was truly fantastic. Have been listening to classical music for decades but I (almost) never played any instrument. Last year I said to myself: let's learn just ONE easy piano piece, just ONE. And I chose the C prelude from WTC. Well, I didn't manage to learn it during the summer, ... but I was near :) I am so happy to listen to you explaining each and every step of it because in my immense ignorance of music analysis I was able to relate to what I learned. This was a fantastic ride and I think I'll be watching this again (and maybe find time to learn the prelude again, who knows!) thanks for your work!

[@TomLeg]

Good for you, JWentu ... love this piece

[@meraklmuskulpesent8313]

Dude, that's the best introduction to the harmonic analysis I've ever watched. Thank you. Please make more harmonic analysis videos.

[@ryanabshier]

Thanks a bunch! Love that it was helpful. I did the same thing with Moonlight 1st movement, kinda like the next level as the chords are more complicated than this one. And literally right now I starting editing one for Chopin Etude Op 25, No 12. I think it'll be the next video I put out in a week or so, so great timing!

[@sonomabob]

Well done! Makes so much sense. Thank you.

[@francksertelon9541]

Thank you! I wanted to learn about the chords of this piece and I ended learning so much more. You really know how to teach. Bravo.

[@ryanabshier]

Thanks. You're very kind. Glad you found it helpful!

[@donparker4521]

Chord mantra: ceg b dfa! Now you can spell every triad (basic chord), just pick 3 letters at a time. Play and say the notes, and try to have some fun!

[@colinjames2469]

You are a very good teacher, sir.

[@colinjames2469]

+subbed

[@mvseelam5415]

This is amazing. Thanks so much for this breakdown. It really helps me

[@puputintin5296]

This is fascinating ! Thank you so much!

[@nicolasabuin8639]

THANK YOU!!! This detailed analysis is fascinating. Really brings out the educational side of Bach, almost feels as teaching these chords and their progressions was the goal of this piece.

[@alexarcadia7289]

Excellent! Thanks for sharing this knowledge.

[@ryanabshier]

You're welcome! Thanks for checking it out!

[@j2000rocks]

Really fantastic!

[@ryanabshier]

Thanks, hope it was helpful! Do you play piano?

[@j2000rocks]

@@ryanabshier self-taught since I was a kid but started taking lessons as an adult. Just discovered you a few weeks ago. Never paid attention to music theory until I started harp playing two years ago. Was trying to attempt this piece on both harp and piano. This theory lesson was immensely helpful in breaking this piece into the chords. I’ll let you know if it helps playing it.

[@ryanabshier]

@@j2000rocks Oh sweet! I have a diatonic harp, but can't do too much with it. Really fun to mess around with though. Yeah, I decided I wanted to do a pretty in-depth video. I figured there's a lot of "5 minute everything you need to know about music theory" videos out there, so hopefully something bigger and more detailed will serve some people well. Glad you liked it. And don't worry if not everything sticks in like one day, haha. These are concepts that are taught over a year or more of music theory, so give it time to sink in.

[@jaiklar2]

Amazing teaching! I just study piano as an adult, and it made music make much more sense to me

[@ryanabshier]

Nice! One of my favorite things to hear is that the videos are helpful. I did one on harmony in Moonlight sonata as well if you want kind of a "next step" harmony video (it's a little bit more complicated, but not too much).

[@roberthubbard5696]

Ok, it took three listens but now I get it. A little note on the screen for the measure number would help. Really good on the third listen for a non musician. Thanks!

[@apianofan]

Wow, this was so helpful! Thank you!

[@ryanabshier]

Thanks for checking it out and I'm glad it was helpful. Are you studying this piece or just having fun learning chords?

[@apianofan]

@@ryanabshierI am taking private piano lessons and am currently learning this piece. I am appreciating this piece further more after watching the harmonic analysis in your video. Thanks again.

[@ryanabshier]

I love hearing that. Yeah, the piece really cool once you dive into and see where the chords are driving.

[@kristinamusik7414]

Exactly when I start to both analys and play this. Thank you.

[@ryanabshier]

Awesome timing! Hope the analysis was super helpful. How the learning going?

[@sanjeevsampath]

explained so well. thank you

[@ryanabshier]

Thanks for checking it out. Hope it was really helpful!

[@TomLeg]

Stupid how simple this is. Why couldn't music lessons have been like this in 1963?

[@mrsuperdrose1]

I agree. Spend a whole life time trying to figure this piece out and so many like it and never succeeding. Finally Epiphany. Job very well done. Thank you, Ryan.

[@srothbardt]

Very interesting. Well done

[@moy9022]

Well explained. 🎹🎉

[@ryanabshier]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@moy9022]

@@ryanabshier l like to learn piano theory from all directions. Your is very well written. Thanks again.

[@ryanabshier]

@@moy9022 Thanks a bunch, that's nice to hear. It takes a bunch of work so I love knowing that it's helpful!

[@moy9022]

@@ryanabshier very helpful. Your explanation enhanced my music knowledge.looking forward for your next uploading.

[@kingofdrama3236]

Thanks a lot for this great explanation. Do you have a video where you explain all the different functions of a key?

[@melodicar2287]

Excellent ! It help a lot!

[@ryanabshier]

Great. Hope you're enjoying learning some chords!

[@lifeofthetheatre]

Thanks for the time you gifted us with this video ..really fascinating AND instructive. But from the eight measures of the standing on dominate G (I think there are 8!) you kind of stopped naming the chords, or rather you did not write them out. I am working this out FOR MYSELF on guitar and i was wondering if you might write out the chord symbols from measure 24 (G7) to the end. Of course on guitar it’s simplified but that is why i love your video. I got lost after measure 28 (the F#°7) till the end. ( G7 - G/C - Gsus7 - G7- F♯°7/G - ??? - G/C - G7 -C7 - F/G - G7 - C -G7 -C ) That is how I understood it so far. Thanks for any help! Keep up the good work!

[@mrlarrybobjr]

Thanks for the great video. I like this song a lot. I knew one day I would sit down and work out all these cords so I knew them my name and with modern technology and you making this great video I got through it really easy good job bud.

[@ryanabshier]

I somehow missed this comment from months ago. Just wanted to say thanks for the kind words and I'm glad it was so helpful!

[@bitti1975]

One of the new things I noticed while watching the video is: Bach is not only repeating the exact same chord Progression, I, IVmaj7, ii7, V7, I in C after doing it in G, but he is also using the exact same inversions! So these are literally the same notes transposed down a fifth. It's one of these things you always subconsciously knew they are there, but it never reached the surface of the rational mind.

[@scottrhoden]

Great video! Now subscribed. Do you happen to have a printout of all the chords in the piece. (I should’ve taken notes the first time.) 😂

[@ryanabshier]

Glad you enjoyed it. No, I don't have a printout 😔 The way I do these is to add text boxes over the score in my video software, so I can pop them in one at a time. But it does sadly leave me without a final version. Guess you could skip around and look for the hard ones again. Maybe that was intentional for me...to like...increase learning or something...at least that's the story I'm going with.

[@richardkana7567]

thank you this is great

[@mariosaat]

Great job man! Thank you.

[@gdasilva3531]

Hello. Great video thank you. It would be awesome to see a sheet with all the chords on it.

[@frankseibel9386]

How lazy is that?!

[@rebanelson607]

I learned so much from this - supscribing!

[@patrickomalley1513]

Hi Like this thank you. instead of changing key to G in measures 4/5 could we treat the D7 as a secondary dominant and stay in C throughout.

[@bitti1975]

These fully diminished chords always perplexed me. I kept wondering what's supposed to be the root. Now you just mention "look into how it's written out instead of just looking at the keys", and it felt like scales falling from my eyes...

[@JWentu]

Before a serious final comment, let me tell you at a certain point you reminded me of the wonderful Friends scene when Monica explains Chandler the erogenous zones of the female body: one, two, five, one, two, four, two, five, seven seven SEVEN SEVEN SEVEN!!

[@wchen2340]

:-D

[@alexgoriatchenkov]

So glad I found You. I do play this piece but now with your help get much more to keep in mind! TY

[@ryanabshier]

You're welcome! This is such a good intro to chords. I always tell people that the 1st couple pieces you work on with chords in mind can be challenging, but it really starts helping after you get the hang of it.

[@kamoans]

Good analysis concept but very fast presentation. Marking the notes on a score presented on the screen would be helpful also.

[@jasoncdebussy]

I don't think I have ever seen anyone pull so many faces and wave their arms around so much in a video! Calm down!

[@Mariposa_46]

Please leave. We don't need snark, we just want to learn.

[@roberthubbard5696]

So interesting and hopeful until you started mis-stating the measure numbers and what a mess! Can’t follow after 23. Lesson: Bach is way too hard. No help here.

[@ryanabshier]

So, I have a completely honest question for you. How does me "mis-stating" the measures numbers take you from "interesting" to "what a mess"? Like, if you feel like you were enjoying a video for 45 minutes, which is much longer than most videos, how does "mis-stating" measure numbers turn the whole video into "no help here". Was it not helpful for the first 45 minutes and you watched anyways? Also, important to note. The measures are on the screen for you to look at, so even with no measure numbers you could follow. But most importantly, I literally mentioned that some edition don't have/add an extra measure in. At the exact moment you are talking about, measure 23, there is a well known extra meaaure/missing measure. But even if that wasn't the case, and I did say measure numbers wrong, why do you feel the need to be so harsh with a comment about a video you stuck with for 45 minutes?