How To Play Ode To Joy on the Violin

Ode To Joy is a famous Christmas carol from Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. This melody is featured in the last movement that has a choir singing along with the orchestra. The piece is based on a poem written by Friedrich Schiller and the hymm "Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee" by Henery van Dyke.

Remarkably, Beethoven was deaf by the time he wrote this piece, so he could not hear the piece being preformed. It was conducted by a different conductor, but Beethoven, wanting to be involved with the process, was standing with his back to the audience on stage when the piece ended. When the applause erupted, he couldn’t hear them clapping, so one of the soloist turned Beethoven around so that he could see the standing ovation.

To play this piece well, you should focus on having long, smooth bow strokes with lots of energy as you express yourself playing. Be aware of the low second finger as you play a C Natural note.