We have a lot of typical children’s songs on our site, but there are also some great songs that were not written for children, but are still a good choice for young beginners. Ode to Joy is a great example because many people know the melody, and the melody can be played in a fairly simple way. In this guitar lesson we will even show you how to play the whole melody on just one guitar string. For more advanced players, we will also provide the sheet music for the song. But before we get into the playing part, we will talk a little about the history and background of the song. And don’t forget to download and share our free printables of the song at the end of the article.
History and Origin of Ode To Joy
Ode to Joy is one of the most iconic and recognizable melodies in Western music. The melody was composed by Ludwig van Beethoven as part of his Ninth Symphony in 1824. The piece is based on a poem written by German poet Friedrich Schiller in 1785, which celebrates the unity and brotherhood of all mankind. Beethoven, who was completely deaf by the time he completed the symphony, set Schiller’s text to music in the final movement of the Ninth Symphony, creating a groundbreaking piece that combined choral and orchestral elements in a symphony for the first time.
The melody of Ode to Joy has since transcended its origins to become a symbol of universal peace, hope and unity. It has been adopted in numerous settings, including as the anthem of the European Union, and is performed worldwide in a variety of genres, from classical to contemporary.
Learn how to play Ode to Joy on the Guitar
There are many different ways to play a song on the guitar, from simplified to very advanced fingerstyle versions. In our tutorial we want to focus on the easy versions. You can either fingerpick the melody of strum it with chords. Strumming with chords is normally used for songs where you also sing along. Ode To Joy is normally played without singing and fingerpicking is consequently often the first choice.
Ode to Joy on one Guitar String
For the first version, we only need one guitar string to play all the notes of the song! Sure, this is not the way advanced guitarists would play the song, but for beginners it’s definitely a great way to get a feel for the melody and especially for students to get a quick sense of success. Because for beginners, getting a melody right on the guitar can be challenging, starting with a very simple way of playing a song is just a great thing.
So for this one-string version, we are going to focus on picking one string and moving just one finger of the left hand up and down on that string. And we are going to do a lot of up and down with the left hand because we have to find all the notes we need on that one string. But don’t worry, we’re not going to go too far up the neck, just to the 7th fret. So let’s press down on the string with the index or middle finger of the left hand. Let’s pluck the string with the thumb of the right hand.
Here are the tabs for Ode To Joy on one string:
That sounds pretty basic, but still pretty nice, right? Not sure if you got it right? Check out the recording below of the one-string guitar version of Ode To Joy and see if you got it right. You can play along and if it’s too fast, just slow it down.
And did you know that you can actually play the same pattern on any other guitar string as well. Try for example the 6th string (low E string) to have a low version of this melody.
Tabs and Chords for Ode to Joy
Fingerpicking the melody on just one string is a good start for beginners but normally you would play across different strings because it’s just more efficient to use the notes on the other strings as well. And you can also strum along. This is especially a nice idea when two guitar players want to play the song together. One of them can fingerpick the melody and the other one can strum a long the chords.
For accompanying Ode To Joy with chords you only need 4 basic guitar chords. To keep it simple in the beginning you can just make a down strum while changing between the chords. This will already sounds really nice. When you know how to play some nice strumming pattern you can also try them out.
Here are the chords for Ode To Joy G, C and F with the chord diagrams.
If you already know these four guitar chords, you’re ready to dive into this song on your guitar! But if you’re still working on mastering them, start by practicing each chord individually. Once you can switch between them with ease, you’ll be ready to play the whole song. And for the fingerpicking part we use now two strings of the guitar but you see that we stay on the first three frets of the guitar, which requires much less movement of the left hand along the neck.
Listen to how the song sounds when plucked on different strings. You can also use the recording to play along with the chords.
Sheet Music and Notes for Ode to Joy
Guitar tabs are great for beginners, but advanced guitarists and music teachers often prefer sheet music. Sheet music provides all the information about a song. It gives you all the essential details for playing a song, including the notes, rhythm, key signature, and dynamics, and tells you what to play, how long to play each note, and what chords to use for accompaniment. Sheet music can be quite challenging for young beginners, but even if sheet music is new to you, a simple song like Ode To Joy can be a great introduction to the world of reading music.
Free PDF Printables For Ode To Joy
If you need the tabs or music notes as a PDF, you can find them below in order to use them for your practicing or guitar lessons!
Interested in instruments other than the guitar? You can also find a free lesson on how to play Ode To Joy on the piano.
