Beethoven · Key of C · 3 chords
Ode to Joy
The most recognisable tune in classical music, and it sits inside five notes. Beethoven wrote it as the finale of his ninth symphony; you can play it with one hand.
Piano — —
Guitar
Practise one phrase at a time
The rhythm to watch
One bar is not like the others
Most of this tune is steady quarter notes. Then at the end of each half comes a dotted quarter followed by an eighth — the long-short on “Lord of love”. Play it evenly and it sounds wrong immediately.
01
The dot adds half again
A dotted quarter lasts a beat and a half. The eighth after it fills the remaining half.
02
Count it as one-and-two
The long note holds through the “and”, and the short one lands on it. Slow tempo makes this obvious.
03
Five notes, no black keys
The whole melody uses C, D, E, F and G. Your right hand never moves position.
Keep going