Johann Sebastian Bach - Facts for Kids

Early Life & Background

Johann Sebastian Bach was born on March 21, 1685 (which is March 31 on today’s calendar) in the German town of Eisenach, into a lively musical family.

Johann Sebastian Bach came from a huge family of musicians, and so many musicians in his region were named Bach that people began to use “Bach” almost like a nickname for a musician!

Johann Sebastian Bach lost both his parents by the time he was 10 years old, after which his older brother Christoph took care of him and taught him music.

Johann Sebastian Bach grew up in a family of musicians, and his father, Johann Ambrosius, showed him how to play the violin when he was a young boy.

Johann Sebastian Bach had a beautiful singing voice as a boy, and because of it he earned a spot in his school’s choir and sang in church services.

When Bach was 15, he walked with a friend about 200 miles from his home to Lüneburg so he could study music and sing in the choir at a special school.

Johann Sebastian Bach grew up in Thuringia, a part of Germany with a rich musical tradition, and many musicians from his family lived and worked there.

Johann Sebastian Bach began writing his own pieces when he was still young — before he became a professional musician — and by his late teens he was composing keyboard music and other works showing his growing talent.

Education & Development

When Bach was a boy, he couldn’t use a special music book his brother kept locked up, so he snuck down at night and copied the music by moonlight because he was so determined to learn it!

Johann Sebastian Bach became so good at playing the organ that when he was 18, he earned his first job as a church organist in Arnstadt, playing the big organ for services!

Johann Sebastian Bach learned to play many instruments, including violin, harpsichord, and organ, with help from his father, his brother, and music teachers as he grew up.

Johann Sebastian Bach studied Latin and religion in school, which helped him write beautiful music for churches later in life.

Johann Sebastian Bach learned music by copying other composers' works by hand, just like practicing handwriting to improve penmanship.

Johann Sebastian Bach practiced the organ so much and understood it so well that churches sometimes asked him to check new organs and help make them sound their best!

Johann Sebastian Bach studied the music of composers from Italy, France, and Germany, combining their styles to create his own unique sound.

Johann Sebastian Bach became an expert at improvising music, which means making up beautiful songs on the spot without any written notes.

Career & Achievements

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote over 1,000 pieces of music in his lifetime, which is like writing a new song every week for 20 years!

Johann Sebastian Bach gathered six of his best instrumental pieces and sent them to a nobleman in hopes of getting a new job, but the nobleman never thanked him or gave him the position — and the music stayed in a library for years before anyone knew how great it was!

Johann Sebastian Bach was so busy writing music for church that for several years in Leipzig he created a brand‑new cantata almost every week for Sunday services!

Johann Sebastian Bach became the music director at St. Thomas Church in Leipzig, where he worked for 27 years until he died.

Johann Sebastian Bach taught many young musicians, including his own children, and some of them became famous musicians themselves — like a teacher training future music superheroes!

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote beautiful music called "The Well-Tempered Clavier," which pianists still use to practice today.

Johann Sebastian Bach played for King Frederick the Great, who gave him a tricky melody to improvise on — and Bach turned that challenge into a great work called The Musical Offering.

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote six special musical pieces called the Cello Suites, which are like musical stories told by just one instrument — the cello!

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote music for many instruments of his time — from organ and harpsichord to violin, cello, and flute — showing how many sounds he could create.

Personal Life

Johann Sebastian Bach had 20 children with his two wives, Maria Barbara and Anna Magdalena, creating his own family orchestra!

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote a funny piece called the “Coffee Cantata” about a girl who loved coffee so much she wouldn’t give it up — it’s a musical story that shows how popular and silly coffee habits were in his day!

Johann Sebastian Bach kept special music books called the “Notebook for Anna Magdalena,” filled with pieces he and others wrote for his second wife to play and enjoy!

Johann Sebastian Bach enjoyed solving musical puzzles and creating codes within his music, like a musical detective.

Johann Sebastian Bach loved teaching so much that many of his students lived in his home for long periods, learning music from him every day!

Impact & Legacy

Johann Sebastian Bach’s music was included on the Voyager Golden Record that NASA sent aboard the Voyager spacecraft into space — so his music is now traveling farther than he could ever have imagined, out into the stars!

Johann Sebastian Bach’s music has been used in hundreds — probably over 1,000 — movies and TV shows, from cartoons and dramas to big Hollywood films, showing how loved his music still is today.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s musical style influenced many of the great composers who came after him, and musicians have studied his work for hundreds of years!

Johann Sebastian Bach's works are now stored in a special library in Leipzig, Germany, where people from around the world come to study them.

Johann Sebastian Bach’s face and name appear on many statues and monuments in Germany — from Leipzig to his birthplace in Eisenach — so people everywhere can remember and celebrate his music!

Johann Sebastian Bach’s music has been arranged for many modern instruments — like guitar, synthesizer, and saxophones — that didn’t even exist when he was alive, and musicians still enjoy playing his music in new ways!

Fun Facts & Trivia

Johann Sebastian Bach’s handwriting in his music scores was neat and beautiful, and many people today admire his original manuscripts almost like works of art!

When Johann Sebastian Bach was young and working as an organist, he was allowed to take four weeks off to study with a famous musician — but he ended up staying away about four months, and his bosses weren’t happy!

Johann Sebastian Bach could play the organ with both his hands and his feet at the same time — and people said his feet “flew” over the pedals like lightning because he was such a master!

Once when Bach was trying to leave his job and get a better one, his boss didn’t want to let him go — so Bach spent about four weeks in jail before he was finally released and free to move on.

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote music for weddings, birthdays, and special town celebrations as well as music for church, so he wasn’t just a church composer!

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote clever pieces where a tune could be played forward and backward — like the “Crab Canon” — showing he could think of music almost like a mirror puzzle!

Johann Sebastian Bach’s music was so rich and full of clever musical lines that many people — both in his time and today — find it difficult to play, and musicians often spend years mastering it!

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote special little pieces and music exercises to help his children and students learn how to play instruments and understand music!

Johann Sebastian Bach wrote music for many different moods — from very happy and lively to calm and peaceful, and even very sad — so listeners can feel all kinds of emotions in his pieces!

Before he wrote music, Johann Sebastian Bach would often write “J.J.” at the top of the page, short for “Jesu juva,” which means “Jesus, help me,” as a little prayer before he began!

Johann Sebastian Bach's music was almost forgotten after he died, until another composer named Felix Mendelssohn helped make it popular again.

Johann Sebastian Bach created music that doctors use today to help people feel calm and relaxed.