The Musical Offering
Bach also put riddles at the top of some of the pieces. Some of these riddles have been explained, but some have more than one solution. One of these riddle canons, "in augmentationem" (i.e. augmentation) has notes which get longer and longer. Bach wrote: "Notulis crescentibus crescat Fortuna Regis" (“may the fortunes of the king increase like the length of the notes”). Another one is a modulating canon which ends a tone higher than it starts. Bach wrote over the music: "Ascendenteque Modulationis ascendat Gloria Regis" (“as the modulation rises, so may the King's glory”).