Bach Lute Suites For Guitar

Playing Bach's Lute Suites on Guitar Is Different Than You Think

The six suites usually called the Bach Lute Suites (BWV 995, 996, 997a, 997b, 1006a, 1006b) were originally written for lute, though the autograph manuscripts are actually in violin or viol Tunings and the music exists in multiple hands. The guitar versions are transcriptions, not originals. That distinction matters more than people admit. Most guitarists who pick up these suites use the Krogmann edition, which is widely available. It's clean and playable, but Krogmann made choices that don't always work well for the instrument. I found this out the hard way during a recording session where the standard Krogmann transcription of the E major suite's prelude simply fell apart in the upper register. The notes were there on paper but the hand couldn't reach them without breaking the musical line. The workaround I ended up using was fairly simple but required me to rework bars 14 through 17 of that prelude. Instead of following Krogmann's voicing exactly, I shifted the inner voices down an octave and used open strings where possible. This kept the harmonic progression intact while making the passage physically possible. I documented the changes in my own fingering marks rather than buying a different edition. The result sounded more natural on guitar anyway because the open strings provided resonance that a fully fretted version couldn't match.

For anyone starting out, here is the practical sequence I use. Learn the suite in its original lute form first by listening to recordings on period instrument. Then compare that to the guitar transcription. This helps you understand which notes are essential to the counterpoint and which are embellishments that can be altered or omitted without damage. The counterpoint is what matters. Anything else is decoration.

Which Edition Actually Works

Barenreiter's Urtext edition of the complete lute works is the most reliable source. It includes the original manuscript sources alongside the guitar transcription. The Henle edition is also solid. Both are better than the older Krovitz or Schubert editions which have numerous errors that were never properly corrected. I avoid Schirmer editions entirely. They contain fingerings that don't make sense for either lute or guitar and the note choices in several places are simply wrong. This is not a minor issue. In the C major suite, for example, Schirmer has a diminished seventh chord that doesn't exist in any authoritative manuscript source.

What Guitarists Get Wrong Most Often

The biggest mistake I see is treating these suites like keyboard music. The lute is a plucked string instrument with a specific decay character. When you play these on guitar with too much sustain, the counterpoint becomes muddy. The lines lose their independence. Use less pedal and let the natural decay of the instrument do its work. This is particularly important in the sarabandes where the slow tempo amplifies any muddiness in the harmony. Another common error is trying to play every note in the transcription. The original lute music often has implied harmonies and notes that are only suggested by the context. The guitar transcription sometimes fills these in unnecessarily. If a passage sounds dense and clunky, try removing the inner voice that feels least essential. The bass line and the melody line are usually sufficient. This is a judgment call that improves with listening. The Bourrée movements deserve special attention. Many guitarists rush them because they sound faster on paper than they actually feel. The pulse in these movements is quite steady and measured. I've seen players take the tempo far too fast and lose the dance character entirely. A metronome marking around 60 to 66 for the quarter note in the Bourrée from the E major suite is about right. This is slower than most recordings suggest.

Technical Approaches That Help

Fingering strategy is critical for these pieces. The standard classical guitar right hand pattern of p-i-m-a works fine for simple passages but breaks down in the more complex contrapuntal sections. I use p for the bass line, i and m for the inner voices, and a for the melody when it sits in the higher registers. This gives each voice its ownfinger and reduces accidental crossings between lines. Left hand position changes should be planned deliberately. Many guitarists change positions too frequently in these suites, which disrupts the legato line. In the Allemande from the C minor suite, staying in one position for four to five bars at a time produces a smoother result than constantly shifting. This requires stronger individual finger control but the musical payoff is significant. The chromatic passages in the preludes are where most technique questions come up. The half-step runs need even dynamics across all fingers. I practice these slowly with a metronome, focusing on equal volume between the indexed and middle fingers of the right hand. The result takes weeks of deliberate practice but the improvement in clarity is immediate once it clicks.

Limitations and Where This Approach Falls Short

There are things guitar simply cannot do that the lute could. The lute has a sympathetic string resonance that adds warmth and complexity to sustained chords. Guitar doesn't have this. Transcriptions that try to compensate by adding extra bass notes often sound heavy and artificial. Accept this limitation and work within it rather than fighting it. The range of the baroque lute is also different from the guitar. Some passages in the upper registers sit uncomfortably on guitar and may need to be rearranged. This is normal and expected. No transcription is perfect. The goal is musicality, not note-for-note accuracy. If you are interested in playing these suites closer to their original character, consider studying the lute version as well. There are excellent recordings by composers like John Williams and William Bakx, but the period instrument recordings by artists such as Hopkinson Smith and Andreas Springer give a much clearer picture of what the music actually sounds like in its original context. These recordings are available on streaming platforms and are worth the investment of time.

For additional reference material, the Bach Archive in Leipzig maintains digitized manuscript images that you can compare against any printed edition. This is useful for verifying editorial decisions and understanding which passages are likely original versus which were added by later editors. The resource is free and accessible online.