I Tried Singing Bach's Prelude in C — Here's What I Learned

Train your ear with Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major — sight-singing, chord analysis & arpeggio breakdown in Bobby McFerrin style. 🎼✨ Bach's Prelude No. 1 in C Major is one of the most recognised pieces in classical piano — but what if you sang it instead of played it? In this lesson, Jason Zac takes inspiration from Bobby McFerrin's legendary Ave Maria performance to turn this beloved arpeggio study into the ultimate ear training workout. Rather than just reading and playing the notation, you'll learn to collapse each arpeggiated bar into a stacked chord, identify the harmony (D minor 7, G7, F major 7, and that mysterious diminished voicing nobody can name), and then sing each note back. This trains your intervals, voice leading awareness, register switching, and chord recognition all at once. This approach works for pianists, singers, and any music student who wants to genuinely HEAR what they're playing. We cover sight-singing technique, transcription thinking, harmonic analysis, and how to use Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier as a serious ear training resource — not just a piano study book. Throughout the lesson, Jason demonstrates how to use the piano as a reference, find the lowest or highest note first, name notes as scale degrees (1-2-3-4-5), and gradually move away from the instrument so your voice becomes the piano. You'll also explore voice leading between chords — like how F resolves down to E and E down to E♭ in parallel motion. Hit subscribe, ring the bell, and share this with a musician friend who's ready to take their listening skills to the next level! 🎹🎼 🏫 Courses, Workshops or Private lessons ➡️ https://forms.gle/fsbhFKSgJbZ5xZEr8 ============================= 📹 Our Video Courses (Everything for Life Bundle) - https://learn-music.nathanielschool.com/ 🏡 Visit our Channel for more Tutorials & Performances - https://geni.us/NathanielYouTube ============================= ▶️ Related Videos & Playlists 🎬 Compose with Dorian Mode & Chord Progressions - https://youtu.be/NCFZhIyG0Y8 🎯 Piano: Sing Harmony Over Chord Progressions - https://youtu.be/Mi_k69JLyGg 🔑 Melodic Arpeggios on Piano with Accents - https://youtu.be/DbL4DJnwIhA 💡 Connect Music Theory and Ear Training - https://youtu.be/f5Fs0VQe8Ps 📂 Jazz Lessons - Chords, Standards & Exercises - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLrNNL05e9FT9ZCriHyNonJasffWWSCS_E ============================= 🎓 Learn Music With Nathaniel School of Music & Jason Zac: https://nathanielschool.com 📚 All our YouTube lessons (1000+) categorised by skill level, topic & genre all in one place: https://free-music-lessons.nathanielschool.com ⏳ Chapter markers 00:00 - Introduction: Ear Training with Bach 🎹 00:29 - Why Prelude No. 1 in C Major? 01:39 - The Bobby McFerrin Inspiration 🎤 02:02 - Three Options: Analyse, Play, or Train the Ear 02:40 - The Well-Tempered Clavier Book Recommendation 📖 03:30 - Notation Tools & Nathaniel School Resources 05:10 - Bar 1: The First C Major Stack 05:28 - Technique: Collapse the Arpeggio into a Chord 06:12 - Finding the Lowest & Highest Notes 06:57 - Singing the Arpeggio with Numbers (1-2-3-4-5) 07:15 - Using the Piano as an Assist 08:00 - Bar 2: C, D, A, D, F — D minor 7 over C 08:47 - Tricky Leaps in the Voice 09:12 - Bar 3: B, D, G, D, F — G7 over B Bass 09:55 - Bar 4: Back to D minor 7 10:03 - Stacking & Singing Four Bars Together 10:50 - Crossing an Octave and a Half 12:29 - A minor 7 Open Voicing with High C 13:10 - Range Challenges: Two Octaves and Beyond 13:51 - Making Notes on Tough Intervals 📝 14:13 - D, A, D, A, F# — Register Switching 14:44 - G Major & G Diminished 7th Voicing 15:54 - End of Page 1 Recap 16:14 - Page 2: C, G, C — The Tough 5th Chord 16:31 - F Major 7 with E Bass 17:01 - Revisiting D minor 7 and G7 17:32 - The Mysterious F# Diminished Chord 🤔 18:03 - Voice Leading: F → F# and E → E♭ in Parallel 19:49 - Putting Page 2 Together on Piano 21:16 - The Calando Ending: Slow Down & Soften 21:31 - Singing the Upper Notes When Range Gets Tough 22:02 - Why Bobby McFerrin’s Version is Superhuman 22:39 - The Final C Major Resolution 23:18 - Takeaways: You Don’t Have to Perform It 24:04 - Three Applications of Notation: Play, Sing, Transcribe 24:33 - These Aren’t Jazz Chords — Just Bach 24:43 - Final Practice Tips for Your Ear 🎯 25:35 - Outro: Thanks for Watching! 👋 💰 Donate on PayPal: https://geni.us/DonatePayPal 👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Follow me on Instagram: https://instagram.com/jasonzac 📞 +917760456847 (Mobile & WhatsApp) 📧 Customised & Private Classes: music@nathanielschool.com 🎧 Listen to Jason Zac Music: https://riffs.jasonzacmusic.com/