Invention No. 7 in E minor, BWV 778

7.3 Follow a subject and answer

Study Bach’s Invention in E minor, BWV 778: the right hand states the subject and the left hand answers it half a bar later, an octave lower. Follow the opening idea through bars 1–9; its left-hand reply is octave imitation, not the dominant answer of a fugue. At the keyboard: play an entry and sing its answer.

Ideas

• Fugue vocabulary and structure
• Two-part counterpoint
• Imitation and canon

Theory cards

• Fugue vocabulary

Technique

• E harmonic minor scale, hands separately, 2 octaves