Ode to Joy
Five neighboring notes, step by step: open up the melody from the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, premiered in Vienna in 1824 and today the anthem of the European Union. See why anyone can sing it, hear its question and answer, and harmonize it in C with just three chords: I, IV and V. Then look back at the whole Holiday Classics module.
In this lesson you'll
- Play Ode to Joy slowly in C, right thumb on C, one finger per note: E E F G | G F E D | C C D E | E. D D, then the answer ending D. C C.
- Explain why it is so singable: only five neighboring notes (C to G), every move a step or a repeat (a conjunct melody), plain even quarter notes, and one famous early, syncopated entry.
- Harmonize the tune with C, F and G (I, IV, V), choosing on beats 1 and 3 a chord that holds the melody note, and play along while the melody plays.
Music in this lesson
- Ode to Joy (Symphony No. 9, final movement)Ludwig van Beethoven · 1824
Remember
The melody stays inside five neighboring notes and moves only by step or by repeated note: no leaps, so any voice can sing it.
Two phrases with the same start form a period: the question ends on D over V (up in the air), the answer ends on C over I (home).
Every one of the five notes belongs to I, IV or V, so three chords can harmonize the whole tune: on beats 1 and 3, pick a chord that holds the note.