Ode to Joy Piano
Piano Music for Beginners

Ode to Joy is one of Beethoven's most recognized and beloved melodies, and now it's back with another EASY & EARLY beginner sheet, along with multiple EARLY and LATE beginner arrangements!

Surely your student's older brother has played this familiar melody on his trumpet in school band, or perhaps she or he has heard it sung in church as "Joyful, Joyful, we adore thee..."  Your student will recognize this tune.

Lots of arrangements, solo & duet

See below many arrangements of the famous music, now with:

• An ADVANCED solo arrangement with a "majestic" sound, in 3 keys
• Two duet versions for teacher plus student, using that majestic arrangement!
• Three beginner arrangements with the Ode to Joy LYRICS.
• Several one-hand beginner versions, with and without lettered notes
•  A late elementary arrangement offering a challenging and interesting set of left hand chords for students in their second year! 

First, the easy piano versions

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

This newest easy arrangement, above, was made for my 6-year-old granddaughter, who has just started playing in the last few weeks, and wants to play everything that will fit into 5 fingers!  She also likes to sing as she plays, so I added verse one of the hymn in English.

Here are several easy music downloads.  These pieces of simple, free kids sheet music for beginning piano players can be dressed up with chords.

Here is the VERY EASIEST Ode to Joy, a lead sheet (minus chords):

Please scroll on down the page for the free downloadable links!  

Letters inside the note heads

Those notes with letters inside the heads are called "AlphaNotes", and they give new piano students COURAGE.  

Is this a crutch?  No, a tool.   Pay attention to your student, and you will know when it is time to pull off the "training wheels"!

I call arrangements with JUST A FEW lettered notes "helper" versions.

What makes this melody so intuitive?

  After finding the starting notes, this song is almost on autopilot, if your student knows the melody at all.  For the most part, reading "Ode to Joy" is like following Wormies or Snakes, two beginning note-reading sheets!

It is just possible your student has heard the song sung by a quartet at the end of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.

However it may be, if they have heard this most famous of Beethoven's songs before, they will want to play it themselves!

How they will WANT to play the rhythm

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Observe the dotted rhythm!  See the eighth notes in line three!

 And eventually, beginners will play it like that.  And if my beginners add that rhythm all on their own, I leave it be.

As for left hand, that equals "5, 1, 5, 1, 5, 1, 5, 1, CHORD!"

A simplified melody - the best first way if not using lettered notes

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

If they automatically play the end of lines one, two, and four with the dotted quarter note rhythm, fine.  I don't try to stop that.

With only minimal fingering, kids read this song just like "Snakes," except I warn them that there are some skips hiding in some of the measures. Sometimes we go looking for the skips (or thirds), and circle them with a colored pen.

Preparing for chords

Another change I have made is to turn the melody UP at the end of line 3 instead of down, in order to contain the melody within one hand. That way, we can add chords in a few weeks or months when the melody is very strong.

With chords, Ode to Joy can be dressed up for a duet, or returned to later, when they have gained more skill and their hands are more independent.

Use the sheet below for your adventurous students and treat Ode to Joy like a lead sheet:

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

How should beginners use the chord symbols?

What will those chords look like, for your beginners?

I suggest just a single bass note.  Yes, tell them it's like a bass guitar.  Single note C, then G, then C... I may even demonstrate by using my pointer finger only, as unpianistic as that may be!  It is slow, but completely understandable.

When should you start adding chords? As I said, not until the melody is well in hand.  

One year or two later:

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

The hymn lyrics

Here are two arrangements which include lyrics.  These are just simple arrangements.

If you are interested in an accompaniment for church playing, check out "Joyful, Joyful, We Adore Thee" (Ode to Joy's English hymn lyrics by Henry van Dyke) at my other website, SingTheBibleStory.com. 

There are 2 very pretty and challenging arrangements there, in 3 keys.

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

The lyrics in an easy piano setting

And here again are the lyrics "Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee," with another easy arrangement for beginners, with a fancier left hand part.

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

Let beginners experience the majesty

I've had kids play the chord accompaniment different ways in this piece, but always starting it as a duet with them on the melody and me on the chords -- BIG chords.

It's good for them to feel the majesty of this piece and to learn to feel comfortable with all the sounds happening while they strive to keep the melody going rhythmically.

If they get too lost and confused initially, then I drop my fancy accompaniment and just play along with them, doubling their part.  

Here's what I mean by "majestic":

This is the kind of accompaniment I might make - FOR ME, THE TEACHER!

Then we switch places, and I have them try C and G open chords all the way through, striking the chord on beat 1 only.

Changing chords may be a little slow at first, but this student may have been playing the C, F, and G chords of Louie Louie for at least a few weeks by now, to get them ready for fast-moving chords.

Switching chords quickly

And here is something fun. I point out to them that they can change from C to G and back to C again without even looking at their hand, if they "sneak" through the their thumb on g key, using it as a landmark, and switching to their 5 finger.

"Close your eyes and try it," I tell them, and now it becomes a challenge. They love a challenge!

Then we go through the whole piece, with me on the melody and them on the chords, left hand only, swapping back and forth from C to G to C.  

Line 3 is a lot of work, moving twice a measure. Watch out where there are two C chords in a row!

...and line 4 is just like line 2.

Amp up the energy

Finally, we make one last change... after the energy of line 3, it doesn't seem right to settle back down to just one chord a measure, so we put FOUR chords in each measure of line 4 -- one chord for each beat -- what a difference!

I ask them if they can feel the difference, and they can indeed!

It may be some time before they can put this vigorous left hand together with the right hand melody, but that's okay...in the meantime, you have a great duet, and they are learning chord basics.

"BIG" solos and duets

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

More than one key

This arrangement is available in the keys of C, F, and G.

Here is a close-up look at page one of the F version:

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

Above is the G arrangement, a look at the most difficult part of the song.

Piano duets

Thanks to Alison in New Zealand!

She requested that I make a duet accompaniment for her and her daughter, using the "majestic" sound that I demonstrated higher up the page with big chords in both hands.

Here are the piano duets, both of which make use of the solo arrangement above:

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

For a beginner, & an accomplished pianist

Here is page one of almost the exact same duet, but the primo part uses just one line, one hand, and is therefore able to be played up just one octave above the secondo part. 

That's my preference, personally.  I always feel like if kids play TOO high, their music starts to sound like mice singing in a closet!

Please scroll down the page for the download links.

By the way...

Here are the links for the music above

The links for the VERY EASY piano arrangements of Beethoven's song:

The link for the late elementary arrangement:

The links for the arrangements with the Ode to Joy hymn lyrics:

The links to the advanced level piano music:

The links to the piano duets:

And don't forget...

Give your students the joy of learning Beethoven's famous Für Elise in an easy-to-read format... every note from the ORIGINAL piece is here  in this beautiful new setting

More 5-finger songs at Music-for-Music-Teachers:

Boil'em Cabbage Down - only 4 notes, and lots of repeated notes, with energy!

Cat Came Back (easiest version) - with fun-to-sing lyrics, many verses!

Eensy Weensy Spider - the easiest version has only 5 notes

Erie Canal - Part I has only 5 notes, but is a satisfying introduction to this song

Fuzzy Wuzzy - cute and short!

Go Tell Aunt Rhody

God is So Good - a sweet melody with sweet words

Jingle Bells - every child knows this one

Mary Had a Little Lamb - a song with many uses!

Ode to Joy, the famous tune by Beethoven

Pizza Please (Hot Cross Buns) - 3 notes, arranged for each hand

Seek Ye First - a pretty & popular Bible verse song

Sharks (3 notes, for left hand) - this is like the Jaws theme song

Snake Charmer - with fun lyrics and a mysterious minor melody

Spring by Vivaldi - the easiest arrangement of this well-known classical piece has just 5 different notes in the melody!

Tarantelle - the spider dance, with silly lyrics about tarantulas

When the Saints Go Marching In - with several arrangements!

Wolken - the left hand is where the 5-finger melody resides, while the right hand plays a 2-note pattern over & over.  A very pretty song for beginners.