Ode to Joy for Fingerstyle Guitar - Tab and Notation

Download the Sheet Music

Listen to the Music

About the Music

Ode to Joy is a theme sung by vocal soloists and a chorus in the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The text of the music is based on An die Freude, a poem by Friedrich Schiller. It is one of the most popular melodies in classical music.

Technique

This arrangement is fairly straightforward, but there are a few places that may be problematic for some.

Barre in the First Measure

The third beat of first measure, requires a barre on the first fret of the high E string with the index finger. This should be fairly easy if you can play an F major chord. You can simply keep your index finger on the first fret of the second string and flatten the finger to barre the first string at the same fret.

Alternate G Major Fingering

The fingering for the G major chord in second measure is different from the standard fingering. This is done to facilitate playing the rest of the measure. With this fingering, the ring finger can be left on the sixth string for the whole measure. This frees up the other fingers to play the rest of the chords.

Normally, this chord is played with the middle finger on the sixth string, but using this fingering would result in an awkward stretch when playing the second chord in the measure.

Tied Notes

The notes in parentheses at the beginning of the last line mean that the notes aren't played again. They are just held over from the chord played in the previous measure. If you are able to read music notation, you will see that the parentheses in tablature correspond to the tied notes in the standard notation. These measures are shown below:

Right Hand Technique

Since every chord has four notes, you can use pima throughout for plucking each chord.

Interpretation

Tempo

The tempo in the original score is Allegro Assai, so this arrangement should be played fairly quickly. The recommended metronome marking for this arrangement is quarter note equals 120. The piece still sounds good played somewhat faster or slower, so use your own judgment on the tempo.

Many recordings of this go a bit faster than 120, but this arrangement might sound a little heavy-handed if played much faster because every melody note is accompanied by a full chord.

Dynamics

The original score of the symphony indicates that this section should be played forte, or loud. However, keep in mind that loud doesn't mean harsh. You should play loudly, but the chords should sound full-bodied and be played with complete control. Try to keep a steady dynamic level throughout.

Mood

This should be played energetically and joyously. Listen to a recording of the original symphony if you don't understand what this means.

Practice Tips

It will be easier to learn Ode to Joy if you break it up into sections and practice each section separately. The best way to do this with this piece is to divide it into four four-measure sections as shown below:

first section: measures 1-4
second section: measures 5-8
third section: measures 9-12
fourth section: measures 13-16