violinist in the private band of Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar;
but this was only to fill the time till he could find a place to
play the instrument he so loved. An opportunity soon came. The old
Thuringian town Arnstadt had a new church and a fine new organ. The
consistory of the church were looking for a capable organist and
Bach's request to be allowed to try the instrument was readily
granted.

As soon as they heard him play they offered him the post, with promise
of increasing the salary by a contribution from the town funds. Bach
thus found himself at the age of eighteen installed as organist at a
salary of fifty florins, with thirty thalers in addition for board and
lodging, equal, all in all, to less than fifty dollars. In those days
this amount was considered a fair sum for a young player. On August
14, 1703, the young organist entered upon his duties, promising
solemnly to be diligent and faithful to all requirements.

The requirements of the post fortunately left him plenty of leisure to
study. Up to this time he had done very little composing, but now he
set about teaching himself the art of composition.

The first thing he did was to take a number of concertos written for
the violin by Vivaldi, and set them for the harpsichord. In this way
he learned to express himself and to attain facility in putting his
thoughts on paper without first playing them on an instrument. He
worked alone in this way with no assistance from any one, and often
studied till far into the night to perfect himself in this branch of
his art.

From the very beginning, his playing on the new organ excited