How do you play Für Elise on the piano?

Für Elise piano notes

The Für Elise piano notes start E D# E D# E B D C A: rock between E and the black key D#, then walk down to A. Next come C E A B and E G# B C, then the theme again. These are the notes of the famous opening theme, for the right hand.

Play it on the virtual piano

The notes, line by line

Each line shows the letters to play, then each key with its octave: C4 is middle C. The box under a key is the computer key that plays it on the virtual piano.

E D# E D# E B D C A
E5PD#50E5PD#50E5PB4UD5OC5IA4Y
C E A B
C4QE4EA4YB4U
E G# B C
E4EG#46B4UC5I
E E D# E D# E B D C A
E4EE5PD#50E5PD#50E5PB4UD5OC5IA4Y
C E A B
C4QE4EA4YB4U
E C B A
E4EC5IB4UA4Y

How to play it

Put your right thumb on the A above middle C, so fingers 1 to 5 sit on A B C D E. Your fourth finger plays both D and the black key D#.
Play E D# E D# E with fingers 5 4 5 4 5, then B D C A with fingers 2 4 3 1.
C E A B starts on middle C, below your hand: move your thumb down to the C, then reach up to A and B.
E G# B C starts on the E above middle C. G# is the black key just left of A. Then the theme starts again.

Fingers have numbers: 1 is the thumb, 2 the index finger, 3 the middle finger, 4 the ring finger and 5 the little finger. In the virtual piano, press Listen to hear the rhythm first, and pick a slower speed while you learn.

Key facts

Level	Hard
Notes in the melody	35
Keys	9: C4 E4 G#4 A4 B4 C5 D5 D#5 E5
Black keys	G#4 D#5
Lowest and highest note	C4 – E5
First note	E5
Melody by	Ludwig van Beethoven, about 1810

The notes in do re mi

In fixed do, C is always Do, as in Spanish, French and Italian.

Mi Re# Mi Re# Mi Si Re Do La
Do Mi La Si
Mi Sol# Si Do
Mi Mi Re# Mi Re# Mi Si Re Do La
Do Mi La Si
Mi Do Si La

About the song

Für Elise, often written Fur Elise, is a short piano piece by Ludwig van Beethoven: the Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor. The lost manuscript was dated 27 April 1810.

Ludwig Nohl, who found it, published it in 1867, forty years after Beethoven died. Nobody knows for sure who Elise was. Some think that the title was "Für Therese" and that Nohl misread it. A study from 2010 names the singer Elisabeth Röckel.

Questions

Is Für Elise hard to play?

The opening theme on this page is one of the first classical pieces that many piano students learn. The rest of the piece is harder, with fast runs and chords.

What do D# and G# mean?

They are black keys. D# is the black key between D and E, and G# is the black key between G and A.

Who was Elise?

Nobody knows for sure. One idea is that the title was "Für Therese", for Therese Malfatti, and was misread. A 2010 study names Elisabeth Röckel, a young singer.