Musette in D, BWV Anh. 126

The Musette in D from the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach is one of the most-played pieces in the early-grade Baroque repertoire. A musette imitates the bagpipe — a sustained drone in the bass with a folk-tune-like melody above — and the D-major piece in the Notebook is a textbook example of the texture. Like the more famous minuets, the musette's authorship is now debated; some scholars assign it to a Bach pupil rather than the composer himself.

The piece tests sustained two-hand independence. The left hand keeps a continuous tonic-and-dominant drone in steady quavers; the right hand carries a folk-flavoured melody that crosses the hand-position frame in places. The student must voice the right hand clearly above the drone without letting the bass collapse into an even rhythmic mush. Hand position in the right hand expands beyond a five-finger frame; a planned fingering across the melodic peaks is essential.

Two pitfalls. First, the drone bass can become metronomic — Bach's writing rewards a left hand that maintains pulse but breathes with the melody, with a small dynamic curve across each strain. Second, the famous tune tempts students into expressive rubato; the musette is a peasant dance and asks for a steady pulse, not a Romantic shaping.

The full Anna Magdalena Notebook is on IMSLP. Hearing the musette on harpsichord (with its proper drone effect) calibrates the right balance between melodic line and sustained bass.