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Beethoven Piano Music - The Story of "Ode to Joy"
Beethoven piano music is known to anyone who has ever taken
piano lessons. Ludwig von Beethoven changed the world of
music with his compositions for orchestra and piano.
Born in 1770, the German composer first learned music from
his father, who was exacting and hard.
Rumor
has it that sometimes Beethoven's dad would come home after
a long night of drinking with his friend and get Beethoven
up, forcing him to practice the piano the rest of the night!
(That's no way to raise kids or learn piano!)
Anyway, Beethoven obviously learned what his dad wanted him
to learn, because when he was only 16, he had a chance to
play for the famous composer, Wolfgang Amadeus
Mozart. Mozart was one of the first that got to know
Beethoven piano music and predicted that the young German
would "astonish the world" with his talent.
Mozart was certainly right!
Beethoven really
lived a tragic life, though. His hearing began to fail while
he was still in his twenties. It must have been
heartbreaking to be losing his hearing when he had such an
obvious passion for music.
The result was that he
became depressed and morose in personality as he grew older,
and even contemplated taking his own life.
In order
to communicate with people, Beethoven kept books in which he
and his acquaintances wrote down their conversations. These
records are still used to help musicians get a feel for how
the composer intended for his music to be played.
"Ode to Joy"
One piece of Beethoven
piano music that has been loved by many down through the
years is his "Ode to Joy". This song is from the final
movement of his beautiful ninth symphony.
The tune
has been familiar for a century or more as a Christian hymn
entitled "Joyful, Joyful,
We Adore Thee". The words of the hymn were written by
Henry van Dyke.
Then in the peace and love
days of the early Seventies, the Spanish singer, Miguel
Rios, released a version called
"Song of Joy"
that spoke of a coming day of harmony and peace among all of
mankind. It's certainly a shame that almost 40 years later,
we don't seem to be much closer to seeing that day. Let the
dream live on, though!
The song, "Ode to Joy", is often included in beginner piano
courses, because it is a fairly simple tune.
It's also useful because it is so familiar. A
beginner
needs to know how the tune should sound so they can hear if
they are playing it right.
Well known songs
need to be included in the lessons, instead of just random
notes thrown together for practice purposes. It will make
the lessons more enjoyable for the learner, and make you
sound like you know what you are doing early in your piano
course.
Classical music will never really go out of
style. The rhythm and meter of a song like "Ode to Joy" has
a timeless beauty and appeal. It truly is one of the
most beloved Beethoven piano music compositions of all.
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Joy"
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