Johann Sebastian Bach
When he was fifteen, he went to the small town of Lüneburg. At first he sang treble in the choir and was said to have a very fine treble voice, but his voice very soon got lower, so he made himself useful playing instruments. He learned by listening to famous organists like Reincken (1623–1722) and Dietrich Buxtehude (1637–1707). Bach got his first job in 1703 in Arnstadt. It was a well-paid job for a young boy who was 18 years old. There was a new organ in the church, and Bach already knew a lot about organ building as well as being a brilliant organist. They asked him to examine the new organ, and then they offered him a job. Bach spent four years as organist there. He composed some organ works. Unfortunately, the congregation were not musical enough to like it. They did not understand the ornamental notes he added to the hymn tunes. Bach got rather fed up with the priests who were always complaining about it, so he resigned and took another job in Mühlhausen, not far away. After a year there, he gave up that job and went to a big town called Weimar.