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:oDoes anyone know of a good book of Bach's Preludes for a low intermediate player?

Do you mean the Little Preludes, the Preludes from the Well-Tempered Clavier, or something else?

Low intermediate can mean a lot of things. When I think low intermediate, I think of the Anna Magdalena notebooks rather than any of the preludes.

Kurt

"Low intermediate" doesn't mean anything - it's just relative to something else. And I definitely think the WTC preludes would not fit into ANYONE'S definition of low intermediate.

If you are early intermediate (which, as others pointed out, is quite different depending on who you're talking to), chances are the Little Preludes would be too difficult. WTC would be way out of that league. Anna Magdalena Notebook pieces would be good to study, however. Are you interested in playing just Bach, Baroque music in general, or finding some challenging music that is similar to what Baroque pieces offer?

You can try Little Prelude in C Major BWV 939 (see Google). BWV 939 is not one of the Six Little Preludes but its melody will be instantly recognizable.

BWV 939 should not be confused with Little Prelude in C Major BWV 933 (which is one of the Six Little Preludes).

BWV 939 is suitable for intermediate players, which for reference would be RCM Grade 5 or ABRSM Grade 3.

The other prelude, BWV 933, is considerably more difficult. Basically if you can play the 933 piece, you can probably sight-read the 939 piece. (On the other hand, if you can play the WTC preludes, you can probably sight-read BWV 933).

Depending on what "low intermediate" means, BWV 939 is still challenging - Grade 5 RCM is IMO intermediate as you indicated. This piece presents a lot more equality and independence in the hands than you'd get in AMB notebook pieces.

So I guess the real question for the OP is what pieces can you play well right now? That will help us in suggesting appropriate pieces for your level.

BWV 999 in C minor is worth having a look at.It looks and sounds more difficult than it actually is because the figures repeat a lot.It's either ABRSM grade 3 or 4, probably 4 I would think.It's a really nice piece as well.

I was given a prelude to play by a teacher & now have it down pretty well but I have no idea which one it is. I am approaching Bach's Prelude in C Major in Carl Humphries' Piano Handbook and am now tackling Beethoven's Fur Elise. I have a Bach Musette down pretty well & Schumann's Humming Song down pretty well.

I apologize because I may have opened up something and not known exactly what i was doing. I just enjoy the Preludes I've heard.

I extend my heartfelt thanks for the evidently heartfelt help everyone has tried to be.

Bwv's

924
926
939
999
846
1007 piano version

Imlsp is your friend.

At the risk of making a further fool of myself, what do BMV & Imlsp mean?

You are not a fool! I think the problem is that with terms like "intermediate" or "advanced" etc., no one knows what that means really. Everyone's opinion is different. So the best way we can help you, is for you to let us know what you are currently able to play well.

BWV stands for "Bach-Werke-Verzeichnis", or Bach Works Catalog. They are numbers, similar to opus numbers that have been assigned to every piece written by J.S. Bach. It's a way to distinguish between all of his keyboard preludes, for example.

IMSLP is imslp.org, a website full of public domain music. These are publishers that for whatever reason have lost their copyright license to works they've published, and are therefore free for the taking.

Thank you very much. And I've just looked at the top of the sheet music I've been playing and the label of my printout & the Prelude I've been playing is in C major. I'm doing pretty well with it with the metronome set at about 110 per minute.
Hope that gives some insight?

I am just starting Fur Elise @ 70 per minute.

Are these the only two pieces you've ever played?

No. I've also done the previous parts of Carl Humphries' The Piano Handbook. The pieces have gotten progressively more difficult & have included Greensleeves, Schumann's The Humming Song, A Bach Musette, Haydn's This Dance and a couple of pieces by Henry Purcell.

I also play a few songs like Mack the Knife, Until It's time for You to Go, Hey Jude & My Girl & use Beginning Blues Piano by Eric Kriss.

Because the copyright has expired. That's the reason.

You may want to try the Little Preludes then, still a bit of a reach, but should be manageable. They're a good way to get take you to an intermediate level.

Here is a book I use for those:
http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Bach-Eighteen-Little-Preludes/290056

Try some Anna Magdalena first.

This is better.

Going from BWV 939 right to Fur Elise (musically at full speed) is already a decent jump. Most of the Six Little Preludes are yet more difficult than Fur Elise. Doable but hard work I think.

Bach Invention no. 1 is another interesting staple piece at this level.