By his late twenties, Beethoven was well established as a performer and composer in Vienna. He was the first composer in history to live independently of exclusive patronage and earn a lucrative living from commissions and publication of his works. Publishers fought over his music:
“They no longer bargain with me... I demand, and they pay.”
And that is a position most us can only dream of!
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827) labored endlessly, sketching and reworking his compositions for years. Ode to Joy is a melody from Beethoven's choral symphony, Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Op. 125, composed between 1822 and 1824 while he was almost completely deaf. While this mammoth symphony is widely regarded as the maestro's greatest work, the humble yet memorable Ode to Joy melody has taken on a life of its own, arranged in endless choral and instrumental versions.
Here's a translation of Ode to Joy's first verse:
Joy, beautiful spark of Divinity,
Daughter of Elysium,
We enter, drunk with fire,
Heavenly one, thy sanctuary!
Thy magic binds again
What custom strictly divided;
All people become brothers,
Where thy gentle wing abides.
Now those are a set of lyrics!
Study Tips
Melody
Ode to Joy consists mostly of stepwise melody, quarter note driven rhythm and phrase repetitions. Alternate middle and index fingers (m-i) if you're playing fingerstyle, and give the half notes at the end of each line the full two beats. With that said, Ludwig's famous Ode should fall under your fingers with little struggle.
Practice the melody of Ode to Joy until smooth and flowing. Read the music—don't just copy the finger movements in the video. As indicated by the key signature, all B notes are flat. Practice with the audio track or video to help shore up your rhythm.
Once the melody sounds solid, work on the chords.
Ode to Joy Tips and Demonstration | Professor Peter
Chords
The main challenge of Ode to Joy is wrangling the chords: seven different chords with a harmonic rhythm of mostly two changes per measure. It is prudent to keep the strums as simple. The Down 2x Strum is recommended: strum downwards every two beats with the thumb (beats 1 and 3). The Down 2X Strum underlines metrical accents and allows the quarter note melody to sparkle.
Down 2X Strum | Down 2X strum with a rhythm fill at the end of the phrase.
I used the Down 2X in my audio track along with a rhythm fill at the end of each phrase. The rhythm fill is explained in the video, but basically, it's a way of marking the end of the phrase and creating excitement by using faster rhythms. In this case, a Flat-Four Strum to contrast with the Down 2X strum.
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Beethoven Musings
Study Tips
Melody
Listen to the Track
Play the Melody
Rhythm Fill
Daily Review
