How to Approach Bach on Guitar

Sooner or later, every classical guitarist arrives at Bach. His music is the instrument's daily bread and its highest mountain at once, and the first attempt is often humbling. The good news is that approaching Bach is less about speed than about understanding. Here is a way in.

Start with the Cello Suites

Bach never wrote for the modern guitar, so guitarists borrow. The richest place to begin is the six Cello Suites. They were written for a single melodic line, which is exactly why they sit so well on the guitar: the cello implies its harmony rather than stating it, and the guitar gets to make that harmony explicit. Begin with Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007. Its Prelude is the most recognized music Bach ever wrote for a solo instrument, and it teaches the whole approach in four minutes.

Our editions of the Cello Suites are arranged by Jeffrey McFadden, the Canadian guitarist who recorded the complete set for Naxos. His arrangements make the implied voices explicit on the page, which makes them an unusually good teacher. You can start with Cello Suite No. 1, BWV 1007.

Find the line before the notes

Bach's single voice is really several voices folded into one. Before you worry about fingering, play the top line on its own, slowly, until it sings as a melody. Then find the bass notes that anchor each phrase and play those alone. Only once you can hear both lines should you put them back together. Most of the difficulty in Bach is not technical. It is hearing what is actually going on.

Let the bass breathe

The implied bass is the structure of the music, but it is not the point of it. Bring the bass notes out enough to feel the harmony move, then let them go. A common first mistake is to thump every bass note as if it were a downbeat. Bach is a conversation between lines, not a march.

Decide what to sustain

This is where the guitar earns its place. McFadden's arrangements add a harmonic dimension and make the interaction of the voices explicit, and that hands you a choice the cellist never had: what to let ring, and what to release. Holding a bass note under a moving line turns a single melody into counterpoint. Learning to make those choices, bar by bar, is most of what it means to play Bach on the guitar.

Slow is the tempo of understanding

There is no shortcut. Play at the speed where you can hear every voice, and let the tempo rise only when nothing falls apart. The Cello Suites sit in our Advanced band, Levels 7 to 10, so they reward players who have already built a foundation. If you are not there yet, that is fine. Keep it on the horizon, and come back when your hands are ready.

Where to go next

Once Suite No. 1 feels like yours, the others are waiting. The full set of McFadden's Cello Suite editions covers all six, and the Level Guide will help you judge when each one is within reach. Bach rewards patience more than talent. Start slowly, listen hard, and the music opens.