Ode to Joy (Complete Theme)

All sixteen bars of Beethoven's theme, middle section included.

Level:
2 of 6
Hands:
Right hand
Key:
C major
Notes:
62
Range:
G3 to G4
One run:
about 49 seconds at 80 bpm

The notes, in order

62 notes, one at a time.

  1. E4
  2. E4
  3. F4
  4. G4
  5. G4
  6. F4
  7. E4
  8. D4
  9. C4
  10. C4
  11. D4
  12. E4
  13. E4
  14. D4
  15. D4
  16. E4
  17. E4
  18. F4
  19. G4
  20. G4
  21. F4
  22. E4
  23. D4
  24. C4
  25. C4
  26. D4
  27. E4
  28. D4
  29. C4
  30. C4
  31. D4
  32. D4
  33. E4
  34. C4
  35. D4
  36. E4
  37. F4
  38. E4
  39. C4
  40. D4
  41. E4
  42. F4
  43. E4
  44. D4
  45. C4
  46. D4
  47. G3
  48. E4
  49. E4
  50. F4
  51. G4
  52. G4
  53. F4
  54. E4
  55. D4
  56. C4
  57. C4
  58. D4
  59. E4
  60. D4
  61. C4
  62. C4

How to practise it

  1. The first eight bars never leave C position: fingers 3-3-4-5 to start
  2. The middle section has a quick E-F pair and ends on the G below the thumb: reach down with the thumb, or hand it to the left
  3. The dotted rhythm in bars 4 and 8 is long-short, not two even notes

The scale behind it

This one is built on the C Major scale: C D E F G A B (no sharps or flats). Its right-hand fingering runs 1-2-3-1-2-3-4-5, and the scale page has the full diagram if you want to hear the shape on its own first.

How to play it here

Play along on the keys with your mouse, your computer keyboard, a touch screen, or a MIDI keyboard you have plugged in. Every key can show its own name, and the metronome will hold the tempo while you work through the 62 notes.

What it trains

  • adult beginner
  • classical
  • hand position
  • dotted

More adult beginner course

Piano for adult beginners, in the order the method books teach it: black keys and finger numbers, Middle C, pentascales, primary chords, then real pieces with both hands.

All piano exercises