Minuet in G major, BWV Anh. 114

Why this piece

The previous songs allow you to lean heavily on harmony and familiarity. This minuet asks you to read and shape two written parts with classical precision. Its short, balanced phrases reveal the importance of note lengths, finger choices, and cadences.

Musical profile

• Key / tonal centre: G major
• Meter: 3/4
• Suggested version: Original score. (Historically included in the Notebook for Anna Magdalena Bach and often misattributed to J. S. Bach.)

Representative harmony

Classical tonic–dominant relationships, chiefly G and D/D7, with brief movement toward the dominant key (D major).

What to listen for

Rather than attach a pop-style loop, locate the cadences at phrase endings and mark where the bass supports G or D.

What to learn

Practice each hand separately, identify where the melody rests or changes direction, and observe the difference between connected and lightly detached notes. Work in two- and four-bar phrases instead of repeatedly playing from the beginning. Resist using the sustain pedal to hide awkward finger changes.

Practice checkpoint

Play both sections with repeats, a reliable dance-like pulse, and visibly intentional phrase endings.

Diagnostic drill · E08 — Short two-part reading study

Target: Read two staves and respect note values.
Drill key / meter: G major · 3/4

Use this only when it addresses the current bottleneck. Skip it when the skill is already ready.

Steps

1. Make or write a two-bar mini-score. RH plays quarter notes G4 A4 B4 | C5 B4 A4. LH plays G3 for two beats, then D3 for one; next bar C3 for two, then D3 for one.
2. Read each hand separately, counting 1–2–3; combine without changing the held LH notes into repeated notes.
3. Play the two bars once connected and once lightly detached. Listen for how articulation changes the character without changing pitches.

Ear task: Sing RH while tapping only LH entry times.

Transfer: Locate a two-bar phrase in Petzold’s minuet and mark its actual note lengths and cadences.

Drill checkpoint: Read and play this unfamiliar miniature correctly twice without memorizing it first.