Punching a Higher Floor: One Prelude, Twelve Keys

Well… I had a major piano development last weekend and somehow didn’t write about it.

I PLAYED BACH'S C MAJOR PRELUDE (BWV 846) IN ALL 12 KEYS!

Folks, I transposed this baby. No sheet music, no written progressions, no lead sheet. Just what’s been settling into my brain over the past couple of weeks.

I’d been experimenting with transposing it here and there, but the switch flipped sometime Saturday evening. I played it from memory in C, then transposed to G. Then F. Then B♭. Then E♭. Those went pretty smoothly, since I've tried transposing to those keys before. But then, at some point, I thought, “What about A♭?” So I tried it ... and it wasn't hard.

So I moved on to D♭. Then G♭ (not exactly a friendly key). Still worked.

Then B (even less friendly). A few stumbles, but I made it through.

Then E, A, and D ... and they felt easy. Then G, then C ... full circle!

I was in a serious flow state. Part of it was the prelude itself—I could listen to it all day—but a bigger part was realizing I wasn’t thinking in chord names anymore. I was hearing and feeling the progression in numbers. In function.

I've wanted to be able to think like this for months!

I feel like the elevator of musical development has taken me a floor higher. I'm at a whole new level. Same piece I've known for almost 50 years, same hands (albeit a little wrinkled)—but a revolutionary (to me) way of understanding the music.

I didn’t record any of it. It didn’t even occur to me at the time, and honestly, I think recording would have broken the spell.

But it happened. (I promise!) And I've been walking on air ever since!

Here is a video of Lang Lang playing it. It's more beautiful than my version, I'm sure—but does he play it in all twelve keys? I don't think so! 😄

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