Free easy piano · Classical
Air on the G String, easy piano
Bach's Air on the G String in five free piano versions: an easy version in C, a simpler version for late beginners, the same easy version in D major, Bach's full melody over an easier left hand, and the melody-and-bass original. Play each one here, loop a bar or play one hand at a time, then print the PDF or download the MIDI.
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Easy to intermediate, plus the original
- 19 bars · 4/4
- Free: play, print, MIDI
Versions of Air on the G String. Each version is a request typed into PlayableNotes. Pick one to hear and print it.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make Air on the G String easier for my second-year student. Keep it in C with both halves and both repeats, keep the long notes and the shape of the melody, but no 32nd notes or grace notes, and sixteenths only in pairs or a short scale. Give the left hand the bass line as single notes, mostly one per beat, and keep only the octave jumps it needs to step smoothly into the next bar.”
What changed
The whole Air with both repeats: the melody in eighth notes and pairs of sixteenths, over Bach's bass line, mostly in steady quarter notes.
- Right hand: Bach's long notes and leaps are kept: the held E, G and F of bars 1, 3 and 4, the octave jump to the high G in bar 8 and to the high A in bar 9.
- Bar 2: the two grace notes are written out as ordinary eighth notes (E to D, A to G), the way they are played; the C–B–C turn after the D is left out.
- The 32nd-note figures are simplified: bars 6 and 7 become B–A–C in eighth notes, bar 8 drops the turn and holds the B, bar 9 ends with a plain scale down to A, and bar 13 becomes D–G–A–C–B–A in eighth notes before the G.
- Some short notes between the long ones are left out, so the line leaps where Bach steps: bar 3 drops B-flat–A and the G–F lead-in, going from C-sharp up to the F of bar 4; bar 4 drops A–G and the F–E lead-in, going from B up to the E of bar 5. Bar 11 drops B–A on beat 1 and C–D on beat 2, playing D–C–B–C before the long A, and bar 16 plays G–B–D–F–E without the F–G lead-in to bar 17. Bars 5, 12, 18 and 19 are smoothed into eighths and pairs of sixteenths the same way.
- Bar 10 keeps Bach's off-beat rhythm in a simpler form: after the G-sharp–A pair, B, D and F each start halfway through a beat and hold over the next one, then the line falls to E. Bach's short C and E between them are left out. Bar 17 rises C–G–B-flat instead of C–E–G–B-flat.
- Sixteenths only in pairs (bars 2, 5, 6, 7, 10, 12, 14, 15 and 18 in the right hand, and bar 6 in the left) and in the four-note scale at the end of bar 9.
- Left hand: Bach's bass line as single notes, mostly in quarter notes, between the E below the bass staff and the A on its top line. Most of the octave jumps are left out; four are kept, in bars 2, 11, 13 and 17, so the line steps down into the next bar. Eighth notes where the bass changes on the half beat (bars 6, 7, 10, 11, 13 and 18), and half notes to close bars 7 and 19. The first ending's run becomes G–B, then Bach's F–E–D, falling by step to the C of bar 1.
For teachers: For a student who reads eighth notes and dotted rhythms and is ready for sixteenths in pairs. Count in eighths and keep the left hand very even: the walking bass is what carries the piece under the long right-hand notes. In bar 10, count the eighths aloud: B, D and F each start on an 'and' and hold through the next beat.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make a late-beginner version of Air on the G String in C: no sixteenths or ornaments, keep the octave jumps in bars 8 and 9 and both repeats, and give the left hand Bach's bass line as single notes.”
What changed
The tune's main notes in quarters, halves and eighths, with no sixteenths, over Bach's bass line in single notes.
- Right hand: no sixteenths or ornaments, and one tie, the opening E held into bar 2. Each bar keeps the long note or leap it starts with and the notes it lands on: the held E, then A–E–D–B–G in bar 2, G then E–D–C-sharp in bar 3, F then D–C–B in bar 4.
- Bar 5 plays the F-sharp–G lead-in as two eighths on beat 2, half a beat earlier than Bach's two sixteenths. Bars 6 and 7 become B–A–C–B in eighths before the long G.
- Bars 8 and 9 keep the two octave jumps that open the second half, G up to G and A up to A, and bar 8 keeps Bach's rhythm (dotted quarter, eighth). Bar 13 leaves out the octave G on beat 1 and plays D–A–B–A–G.
- Bar 10 keeps the G-sharp leading note: G-sharp–A in eighths, then B, D and F on beats 2, 3 and 4, falling to E; Bach's tied off-beat notes become plain quarters. Bar 12 plays C–E–A–F-sharp in dotted quarters and eighths, without the G. Bar 18 keeps B–D–F–D–E–D. Bar 17 climbs C–G–B-flat to the high A (Bach's E is left out), over the bass A–G–F.
- Bars 14 and 15 keep their dotted rhythm as a dotted quarter and an eighth: C… E, D… F, E… G, F.
- The right hand moves to a new position in most bars. The widest reaches within a bar are bar 2 (from the high A down to G, a ninth), the octaves in bars 8 and 9, and bars 16 and 17 (a seventh each).
- Left hand: Bach's bass line as single notes in quarters and halves, without the octave jumps. Bars 1 to 5, 8, 12, 13 and 14 are all quarter notes (the walk C–B–A–G, F–F-sharp–G–F in bars 1 and 2, G–F–E–D in bar 8, F-sharp–E–D–C in bar 12, B–C–G–F in bar 13, the climb E–F–F-sharp–G–G-sharp–A in bars 14 and 15); the other bars mix quarters with one half note, and bar 19 is two half notes. Bar 18 ends on Bach's F, so the closing bass goes F–G–C. Nothing below the F under the bass staff.
For teachers: For a student who reads eighth notes and dotted quarters and can already move the hand around the keyboard: the right hand starts most bars in a new position, it jumps an octave from bar 2 to bar 3 (G up to G) and in bars 8 and 9, and it reads ledger-line A and B-flat above the staff in bars 2, 9, 12 and 17. That puts it at the top of late beginner. Practice each bar's first note and hand shape before playing through.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Put this easy version in D major, the key Bach wrote it in. Change nothing else.”
What changed
The easy version a whole step higher, in Bach's own key of D major, with two sharps.
- Every note moved up a whole step, from C major to D major: F-sharp and C-sharp in the key signature.
- Rhythms, hand shapes and both repeats are the same as the easy version in C.
- The right hand sits higher: up to the B above the staff in bars 2, 9 and 12, and the C on the second ledger line in bar 17.
- More accidentals to read: D-sharps (bars 3 and 9), G-sharps (bars 2, 5, 12 and 14), A-sharps (bars 10 and 15) and C naturals (bars 8, 16 and 17), and in the left hand a G natural in bar 2 and a D natural in bar 9.
For teachers: Choose it for playing with strings or alongside the orchestral version, which is in D. It is not easier than the C version: two sharps in the key and a higher right hand, so look at bars 12 and 17 together before the first run-through.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Keep Bach's melody in Air on the G String exactly as written, with every turn and grace note, but make the left hand easier: no octave jumps in eighth notes. Give it the bass line, mostly one note per beat, and add a harmony note on the strong beats so it sounds fuller, following Bach's chords.”
What changed
The right hand note for note as in the source, over a walking bass in quarter notes with the inner strings' harmony on the strong beats.
- Right hand: unchanged from the source, with the 32nd-note turns, the three grace notes and both repeats.
- Left hand: the octave-leaping eighth notes become Bach's bass line, mostly in quarter notes. Eighth notes remain where the bass changes on the half beat (bars 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 11, 13 and 18), and bar 17 keeps Bach's E–E octave on its last beat so the bass steps down to D. The first ending's sixteenth-note run (G–A–B–C–D–F–E–D) becomes G–B in eighths, then Bach's F–E–D, falling by step to the C of bar 1.
- On most strong beats the left hand adds one note above the bass, following the chords of the viola and second-violin parts: G over C in bar 1, D over E and A over C-sharp in bar 3, G over B in bar 4, F over D in bar 18, the rising thirds E–G and F-sharp–A in bar 14. In the last bar the F above the bass falls to E, so the piece ends on C and E.
- The lowest note is the E on the ledger line below the bass staff (bar 17), instead of Bach's low B. The widest left-hand chord is an octave (bars 1 and 2).
For teachers: For a student around grade 3 or 4 who can count 32nd notes. Learn the right hand alone first, counting the turns in sixteenths and looping a bar at a time, then add the left hand two beats at a time. Play the three small grace notes (bars 2 and 13) on the beat, each taking about half the length of the note after it; the playback sounds them as quick notes just before the beat.
The piece as published: MuseScore community score uploaded by Alice Duarte (PDMX 5833618): Bach's melody and bass line for piano, in C major.
Original: Bach's melody and bass
What changed
What changed
Bach's first-violin melody over the continuo bass line, complete with both repeats, in C major as in the source edition.
- The source edition, checked note by note: the first violin's melody in the right hand, the bass line with its octave leaps in the left.
- The second violin and viola parts are not included, as in the source; the intermediate version adds some of their harmony back.
- In C major, Wilhelmj's key, a whole step below Bach's D major.
For teachers: After the easy version, the original asks for two new skills: the 32nd-note turns, best counted in sixteenths, and the left hand's octave leaps. The starting tempo is already slow, so loop a bar or play one hand alone rather than slowing down. Play the three small grace notes on the beat, each taking about half the length of the note after it, and practice the left hand alone until the leaps are light and even.
Want it different? Just ask.
Open this version in PlayableNotes and ask for a change in words: simpler, another key, shorter, bigger notes. The result is a new version you can play, print and share with your student.
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Make your own version
A real request in PlayableNotes, on Für Elise from the free library: say who it’s for and what to keep, and the AI writes a new version beside the original. It shows how to ask for a version of your own; its result is not one of the versions on this page.
About Air on the G String
The Air is the slow second movement of Bach's Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068, scored for strings and continuo. It is in two halves, each played twice. Most phrases start on a long held note, then the melody unwinds in small ornamented notes over a bass line that walks steadily downward in octave leaps. The name comes from August Wilhelmj's 1871 arrangement for violin with piano or strings: he put it in C major and an octave lower, so the whole melody could be played on the violin's lowest string, the G string.
On piano the tune is not the hard part. The original has turns and runs in 32nd notes in most bars from bar 5 on, three grace notes, and a left hand that jumps an octave on almost every beat, down to the low B in bars 4 and 13. The easy version keeps every long note and the outline of most ornaments in eighth notes, with sixteenths in about half the bars but only in pairs or a four-note scale, and gives the left hand Bach's bass line, mostly one note per beat.
The source is Bach's melody and bass line in C, an octave above Wilhelmj's violin part, without the inner string parts. The late-beginner version cuts the melody to its main notes in quarters, halves and eighths. The intermediate version keeps Bach's melody note for note over an easier left hand that adds harmony notes following the viola and second-violin parts, so the piano sounds fuller than melody and bass alone.
Practice tips
- Count eighths out loud through the long notes: the E in bar 1 lasts a whole bar and an eighth, and the G and F in bars 3 and 4 hold for two beats or more before the line moves.
- Play the left hand alone first, legato and even. It walks down by step under the long notes (C–B–A–G), then climbs F–F-sharp–G and falls back to F; it should sound like one line, not separate notes. Where the easy versions keep one of Bach's octave jumps, play it lightly and let the line carry on down by step.
- In bar 2 of the easy version, the pairs E–D and A–G are Bach's grace notes written out. Lean on the first note of each pair and let the second be softer. In the intermediate version and the original they are printed as small notes (bars 2 and 13): play them the same way, on the beat, each taking about half the length of the note after it.
- The second half opens with two octave jumps: G up to G in bar 8 and A up to A in bar 9. Loop bars 8 and 9 and look at the high note before you leave the low one.
- Practice each hand alone with the Right hand and Left hand buttons, then hands together. The starting tempo is already slow and close to the tempo slider's lowest setting, so instead of slowing down, count in eighths (in sixteenths for the ornamented bars) and loop a bar or two until it is even.
Questions about Air on the G String
Why is it called Air on the G String?
Bach wrote the Air as the second movement of his Orchestral Suite No. 3 in D major, BWV 1068. In 1871 the violinist August Wilhelmj arranged it for violin with piano or strings, in C major and an octave lower, and marked the solo part “on the G string,” the violin's lowest string. That marking became the piece's nickname; Bach's own title is simply Air.
What key is Air on the G String in?
Bach's original is in D major. Wilhelmj's arrangement is in C major, with no sharps or flats, and so is every version here except one: the easy version in D major, with two sharps.
Is Air on the G String hard to play on piano?
The tune is slow, but the original has ornamental turns in 32nd notes in most bars of the second half and a left hand that jumps an octave on almost every beat, which puts it at about intermediate level. The easy version keeps the melody's shape in eighth notes and pairs of sixteenths, with the bass mostly in quarter notes. The late-beginner version has no sixteenths at all: whole, half, quarter and eighth notes and a few dotted quarters.
How fast should Air on the G String be played?
Slowly. Most recordings take four to six minutes with both repeats: about 25 to 35 quarter notes per minute, with the bass's eighth notes at 50 to 70. Period-instrument groups tend to be at the quicker end. The versions here start at 36 (the easy and late-beginner versions) or 32 (the two with Bach's full melody), already slow and close to the tempo slider's lowest setting of 30. To learn it, count in eighths, or sixteenths in the ornamented bars, and loop a bar at a time.
Can I play Air on the G String at a wedding?
Yes, it is often played at weddings and other ceremonies. The easy version with both repeats takes about four minutes at its starting tempo of 36 quarter notes per minute. Leave out the repeats for a piece of about two minutes, or play a little faster to fit a walk.
Can I download Air on the G String as a PDF or MIDI file?
Yes, free and without an account. Every version has a Letter-size PDF to print and a MIDI file with the right and left hands on separate tracks.
Source and credits
- Composer
- Johann Sebastian Bach
- Source edition
- MuseScore community score uploaded by Alice Duarte (PDMX 5833618): Bach's melody and bass line for piano, in C major
- License
- CC0 1.0
- Arranger
- PlayableNotes
Checked bar by bar against three other editions of the Air (two string-quartet editions in D major and a wind edition in C) and against the source's own playback. Four ties the source leaves out were restored (bars 5, 6, 7 and 18), and the chromatic notes (mostly in the bass) are spelled as sharps (F-sharp, C-sharp, G-sharp) instead of flats. The harmony notes in the intermediate version's left hand follow the viola and second-violin parts of the CC0 quartet edition PDMX 4013426.
Arrangements and facts checked
