How do you play Ode to Joy on the piano?

Ode to Joy piano notes

Ode to Joy starts E E F G, G F E D, C C D E, E D D. Almost the whole melody sits on five white keys, C to G, so your right hand stays in one place. The only other note is a low G, below middle C, at the end of the third line.

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 E F G G F E D C C D E E D D
E4EE4EF4RG4TG4TF4RE4ED4WC4QC4QD4WE4EE4ED4WD4W
E E F G G F E D C C D E D C C
E4EE4EF4RG4TG4TF4RE4ED4WC4QC4QD4WE4ED4WC4QC4Q
D D E C D E F E C D E F E D C D G
D4WD4WE4EC4QD4WE4EF4RE4EC4QD4WE4EF4RE4ED4WC4QD4WG3B
E E F G G F E D C C D E D C C
E4EE4EF4RG4TG4TF4RE4ED4WC4QC4QD4WE4ED4WC4QC4Q

How to play it

Put your right thumb on middle C: C D E F G are fingers 1 to 5.
The first line is E E F G G F E D, fingers 3 3 4 5 5 4 3 2, then C C D E E D D, fingers 1 1 2 3 3 2 2.
The second line is the same, but it ends D C C, on your thumb.
The third line goes D D E C, D E F E C, D E F E D, then C D and a low G. Play that G with your left hand, or move your thumb down to it.
The fourth line is the same as the second.

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.

Temel Bilgiler

Seviye	Orta
Notes in the melody	62
Keys	6: G3 C4 D4 E4 F4 G4
Black keys	Yok
Lowest and highest note	G3 – G4
First note	E4
Melody by	Ludwig van Beethoven, 1824

The notes in do re mi

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

Mi Mi Fa Sol Sol Fa Mi Re Do Do Re Mi Mi Re Re
Mi Mi Fa Sol Sol Fa Mi Re Do Do Re Mi Re Do Do
Re Re Mi Do Re Mi Fa Mi Do Re Mi Fa Mi Re Do Re Sol
Mi Mi Fa Sol Sol Fa Mi Re Do Do Re Mi Re Do Do

About the song

Ode to Joy is the main tune of the last movement of Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 9, which he finished in 1824. The words come from a poem that Friedrich Schiller wrote in 1785.

The Council of Europe made the tune its anthem in 1972, and the European Union has used it since 1985.

Sorular

Is Ode to Joy easy on the piano?

The melody is. It moves one key at a time and stays on five white keys, C to G, except for one low G. The full symphony is another matter: it is for an orchestra and a choir.

Why is Ode to Joy the anthem of Europe?

The Council of Europe chose Beethoven's tune as its anthem in 1972, and the European Union has used it since 1985. The anthem has no official words, so it belongs to no single language.