 The piece begins with its well-known opening theme consisting of three-note phrases, grouped together as one eighth note and two sixteenth notes. It finishes with chords that form a plagal cadence between bars 2 and 3, an element that is not featured in his previous preludes. The second part of the melody enters in bars 3 – 4, evoking a Scottish ballad or resembling a tune in the style of Edvard Grieg. The melody from the opening returns in bar 8 with added harmony in the left hand. At bar 19, the melody begins its ascent to the climax of the piece, gradually building up through the use of crescendo to propel it to peak at the end of bar 21. Near the end of bar 22, the melody decrescendos to the subsequent measure, where the theme of the climax is repeated an octave lower. A pianissimo drone-like part that moves in parallel motion — featuring consecutive fifths in some places — comes in at bars 24 to 27. In the next measure, the prelude's coda sees the return of the opening theme one last time — albeit at an octave higher — followed by the droning motif. Finally, the melody ascends in parallel movement and makes use of a final plagal leading cadence to get to the home key chord in root position. This cadence neither "melodically anticipates the arrival pitch" nor does it include the tonic in the left hand. Thus, it has been described as "the ideal harmonization of the plagal leading tone." The melody ends with two arpeggiated octave chords (D ♭ in the left hand followed by G ♭ in the right), bringing the prelude to a close.
