If someone who has never heard this prelude listens from the beginning, they will only recognize that it is in 3/4 time when they hear the sequence from measures 9-12. Until then, the piece could even sound like it's in 4/4 time. Of course, the performer themselves, having practiced extensively, would never imagine such a thing, but it is the performer's responsibility to convey a sense of 3/4 time from the outset, even to those hearing the prelude for the first time.

Among pieces of Western classical music, there are many that surprise listeners when they finally see the score, revealing how the piece is constructed. For example, even for a piece one has listened to for many years, never seen the score, and memorized by ear, a passage believed to be on the first beat might, upon consulting the score, actually be on the fourth beat.

While there are some pieces where it is impossible for the performer, no matter how much effort they put in, to accurately reproduce the score for listeners, in this prelude, for instance, simply adding a slight accent to the right hand on the first beat of the opening changes the impression. Try adding accents to:

• the first beat of measure 2
• the first beat of measure 3
• the first beat of measure 5
• the first beat of measure 6
• the first beat of measure 8

Subsequently, follow the same manner.

Do not forget that the task of making a piece accessible to the audience is an extremely important challenge for performers.