Can you recognize Bach by ear?
Johann Sebastian Bach (1685–1750) was a German Baroque composer and organist, known for the Brandenburg Concertos, the Mass in B minor and the St Matthew Passion. In Guess the Composer, you hear up to 30 seconds of music and name the composer.
How to recognize Bach
Listen for several independent melodies woven together at once over a steady, running bass. The rhythm rarely stops, the harmony moves with strict logic, and a short theme often comes back in one voice after another.
Who can Bach be mistaken for?
Listeners may confuse this music with that of George Frideric Handel, Antonio Vivaldi or Georg Philipp Telemann.
How hard is Bach in the game?
The game has up to 693 excerpts by Bach, depending on your country, and most are at the Medium level.
Pieces you may hear
- Kantate, BWV 147 „Herz und Mund und Tat und Leben“
- The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I
- Brandenburg Concerto No. 3 in G major, BWV 1048
- Orchestral Suite no. 3 in D major, BWV 1068
- Cello Suite No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007
- Goldberg Variations, BWV 988
- Cello Suite No. 5 in C minor, BWV 1011
- Chorale Prelude In G Minor
Portrait: Elias Gottlob Haussmann, Public domain; background removed.
