His son Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach remembered that he often conducted and played first violin: "he played the violin cleanly and penetratingly, and thus kept the orchestra in better order than he could have done with the harpsichord".
O seu fillo Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach lembrou que a dirixiu frecuentemente e tocou o primeiro violín: "el tocaba o violín de xeito limpo e penetrante, e isto fixo que puidera manter á orquestra en mellor orde que se o tivera feito dende o clave".