J.S.Bach’s Invention No. 3 BWV 774 in the key of D offers rhythmic challenges to the keyboard player. It is an intermediate level movement with the playback tempo of the realisation being 56 dotted quarter note or crotchet beats to the beats per minute (bpm) It is best to play the work with a sense of there being one beat to the bar. There are three scores available in the download i) and edited music score with suggested fingering in place and with the ornaments written out as in the sheet music video ii) a plain score and iii) an edited sheet music score with suggested fingering in place and the ornaments indicated. The music editor suggests that this a challenging invention to play. For those wishing for clarification as to how the ornaments should be played refer to the video score on the PlentyMusic YouTube channel. The ornaments are probably best omitted when learning the piece whilst fingers need to be kept as close as possible to the piano keys. Suggested fingering is in place in the edited score. The inventions are concentrated and demanding movements to play for the intermediate level player. This is an interesting Invention to study because of the wide variation in how the movement is performed particularly from the tempo point of view and the approach to playing the ornaments. Many pianists for example trill the long tied notes beginning at bar 26. The points of imitation at the start of the phrases are something that keyboard players need to particularly communicate in their playing. The Inventions benefit from being played with a lightness in the hands and consideration as to how notes are articulated. Exaggerated playing should be avoided and is not appropriate to this style. The limitations of the realisation is that the weight distribution between the hands is not truly represented in how the music should be played on the piano. J. S. Bach composed 15 Inventions in a collection dating from 1723 intended to introduce keyboard players to composition techniques of the baroque. They are excellent pieces for developing a sound and secure keyboard technique. A plain score is appended to the edited music score.
