Beethoven in 60 Seconds: His Life, the Legends, and Ode to Joy on Keys 1–0
· 6 min read · Play With Keyboard
Bonn, Vienna, failing hearing and nine symphonies: Beethoven's life in a one-minute read, which famous stories are legends, and how to play Ode to Joy with your number keys.
Ludwig van Beethoven was baptized in Bonn in December 1770, moved to Vienna at 21, kept composing as his hearing faded, and died there in March 1827. That's the 60-second version. Below is a slightly longer one, plus his most famous tune, which you can play right now on keys 1 to 0.
Beethoven in 60 seconds
1770, Bonn. He was baptized on 17 December 1770. His exact birth date isn't documented.
A musical family. His grandfather was court Kapellmeister in Bonn and his father sang in the court choir. Ludwig became deputy court organist in 1784, at 13, and joined the court orchestra as a violist in 1789.
1792, Vienna. In November 1792 he went to Vienna to study with Joseph Haydn. He never moved back. Vienna was home for the remaining 35 years of his life.
Late 20s: the hearing starts to go. He was not yet 30 when he noticed his hearing getting worse. In 1802 he wrote a long private letter about it, now called the Heiligenstadt Testament.
1808: the Fifth. On 22 December 1808 the Fifth and Sixth Symphonies premiered in the same, very long concert at the Theater an der Wien.
1818: conversation books. By then his hearing had declined so far that visitors wrote to him in notebooks, the so-called conversation books.
1824: the Ninth. On 7 May 1824 the Ninth Symphony premiered in Vienna. Its last movement contains the tune we now call Ode to Joy.
26 March 1827. He died in Vienna, aged 56. In 2027 it will be 200 years since his death.
Legends, and what we actually know
Beethoven attracted stories during his lifetime and many more after it. Some hold up. Some don't.
"Fate knocking at the door." The famous four-note opening of the Fifth is often said to be fate knocking. That line comes from Anton Schindler, Beethoven's secretary, who wrote it down years after the composer's death. Historians treat Schindler with caution, since he's believed to have forged entries in the conversation books. So: a good story, not a documented quote.
Who was Elise? Nobody knows for sure. "Für Elise" was written in 1810 but only published in 1867, from a manuscript that has since been lost. Researchers have suggested at least three women, and none of the theories is settled.
Turned around to see the applause. At the Ninth's premiere, the story goes, Beethoven was still facing the orchestra when the music ended, and the alto soloist Caroline Unger turned him around so he could see the audience clapping. Accounts from the time differ on the details, even on which movement it was.
"He was completely deaf." Careful here. His hearing declined severely over many years, and by his last decade he had lost most of it. How much he could still hear at any given time is debated. What's clear is that he kept writing music he could hear mostly in his head.
Play Ode to Joy with keys 1–0
Ode to Joy is almost all steps. Next key up, next key down, very few jumps. That makes it the perfect first Beethoven piece. On our site it's set in G major so the whole tune fits on the number keys. These are the exact keys from the Ode to Joy song page.
Phrase 1: 7 7 8 9 9 8 7 6 5 5 6 7 7 6 6. Climb up to 9, walk back down to 5, climb again, and land on 6. It sounds unfinished. That's on purpose.
Phrase 2: 7 7 8 9 9 8 7 6 5 5 6 7 6 5 5. The same start. Only the ending changes: 6 5 5 instead of 7 6 6. Now it sounds finished.
Phrase 3, the middle part: 6 6 7 5 6 7 8 7 5 6 7 8 7 6 5 6 2. This one wiggles. Watch for 7 8 7 5 and 7 8 7 6, and the drop down to 2 at the end.
Phrase 4: 7 7 8 9 9 8 7 6 5 5 6 7 6 5 5. Exactly phrase 2 again. You already know it.
Guide mode: on the song page, turn on guide mode. The next key lights up and waits for you. Play through twice this way.
Listen, then play for score: press Listen to hear the rhythm, start the metronome (100 BPM), then try Play for score. After a one-bar count-in, hit each key on its beat. You get a score out of 100.
Tip: the long notes are the repeated ones at the end of each phrase, like the second 6 in 7 6 6. Hold that key down a moment longer before you move on.
New to the number keys? Our beginner's guide to playing with keys 1–0 has the full note chart.
Three more Beethoven tunes
These need sharps or a wider range, so they use the full keyboard (the letter keys). Don't worry about which letter is which. Turn on guide mode and follow the lights.
Für Elise starts with the famous back-and-forth between E and D sharp. Slow and quiet, at 70 BPM.
Beethoven's 5th Symphony: the four-note opening, three quick notes and a long one, twice. Short, loud, unforgettable.
Turkish March (Beethoven) comes from music he wrote in 1811 for a play called The Ruins of Athens, for the opening of a new theater in Pest. It's not the same piece as Mozart's Turkish March, although people mix them up all the time.
Questions
When was Beethoven born?
We only know he was baptized on 17 December 1770 in Bonn. There's no record of the actual birth date, so the baptism is the date historians work with.
Where does the Ode to Joy melody come from?
From the last movement of his Ninth Symphony, first performed in Vienna on 7 May 1824. The words he set are from a poem by Friedrich Schiller, "An die Freude."
Was Beethoven deaf when he wrote the Ninth?
His hearing had declined severely by then, and he had lost most of it. He had been using conversation books since about 1818. "Completely deaf" goes further than the evidence.
Is Ode to Joy hard to play on a keyboard?
No. On our site it uses only keys 2 and 5 to 9, and almost every move is to a neighboring key. Most people can play the first phrase within five minutes.
Which instrument should I use?
The piano is the classic choice. Ode to Joy also sounds great on the trumpet or the violin: open the instrument page and play the same keys.
Sources
- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Piano
- Für Elise
- Moonlight Sonata
- Ode to Joy
- Beethoven's 5th Symphony
- Turkish March (Beethoven)
About the composer
- Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827)
Ludwig van Beethoven (1770–1827) was a composer and pianist born in Bonn who spent his adult life in Vienna, one of the most famous composers in history.
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