He was the father of the so-called "Erfurt line" of Bach family musicians.
He spent seven years studying under Johann Christoph Hoffmann, a stadtpfeifer in Suhl.
His first wife, Barbara Hoffman (a daughter of his teacher), died half an hour after bearing a stillborn son in 1639.
Following this he married Hedwig Lämmerhirt, the daughter of a town councilman in Erfurt.
Bach's works included two motets, Unser Leben ist ein Schatten and Sei nun wieder zufrieden, and an aria, Weint nicht um meinen Tod.