Beethoven Feelings FUR ELISE? - Analysis tutorial

[@wongkp8602]

Fantastic playing and interpretation to the music. Thank you for letting me have a clear insight into the counting and playing of the theme. I will use your methodology when I teach my piano students to play this piece of music.

[@SonataSecrets]

I'm happy to hear that :)

[@carmelbutler1127]

Your interpretation is expressed simply and musically . The more I study this piece the more I am fascinated with this piece. I am starting to think that my students think I am obsessed about doing justice to this piece . Truly worth studying thank you

[@caterscarrots3407]

This piece is my mom's favorite Beethoven piece. I like playing this piece. And like you, I play the D at the end and E the other times. I do a significant ritardando at the end, from Andante to Largo to emphasize that D. So I end a joyful piece with just a touch of melancholy. And I find that I do a gradual accelerando through most of the piece, so like the first time the main theme comes through, I will play it slower, but by the end, it is noticeably faster. I also add some notes here and there, especially at the alternating notes that start the main theme(which I start slow and accelerate to full speed). Anyway, that's how I play it.

[@SonataSecrets]

Thanks for sharing Caters!

[@jonnierman3954]

Great analysis. I also love the new aesthetic with the cool tones, blue curtain and candle. And of course little Beethoven.

[@SonataSecrets]

Thanks Jon! Yes, I'll change the setup every once in a while to get some variation between all the videos. I'm glad you like this one!

[@Franklin-pc3xd]

Wow, what a treat to have this explanation.

[@carlkolthoff5402]

Totally agree that the two upbeat notes make it feel 4/8 instead of 3/8 in the opening. Having drums and percussion as my first instrument, it's very easy for me to hear a metronome in my head and count along the bars. But then I feel like the musical point misses it's target, which to my understanding is to give the listener a more floaty experience and feel less like a strict march or dance. Think it's a very clever rythmic trick by the master and I'm actually a bit surprised it's not used more often in modern music like jazz, prog, fusion and metal since all of those genres seems in love with odd meters and syncopations. Actually haven't thought of it before, but Für Elise probably has the earliest rythmic illusion that I am aware of. Definetily the first one I heard, since my mother used to play this on the piano when I was small. Been in love with Beethovens melodies and harmonies ever since!

[@SonataSecrets]

Thanks for the comment! "Rhythmic illusion" is exactly the right term, because it's also written like that to be a bit ambiguous just like you say. It's very common also in Brahms, he almost regularly breaks the standard beats and sometimes I struggle with which feeling to go for.

[@carlkolthoff5402]

@@SonataSecrets Thank you for the insight, this means I have to check out more Brahms! He is currently not on the list of composers that I'm more familiar with.

[@melaniekeane5176]

Great tutorial! Thank you for the insight! Can't wait to apply this to my playing :D

[@davidungercomposer]

William Rothstein discusses a similar problem with The blue Danube waltz in in his book Phrase structure in tonal music. There the pickup is a quarter followed by a measure of three quarter notes before landing on a strong first beat only in the second measure. He then says that we must look at all these four beats as a long pickup, although it concists of more than one measure. A similar approach could be taken to this piece where we can look at all of the first four beats as a single prolonged pickup measure.

[@SonataSecrets]

I totally agree in the Blue Danube. In Fur Elise, I still find it harder for some fine-grained reasons of how the notes are arranged - but of course it's also a long upbeat of four beats until the strong downbeat in the second bar!

[@Hellnation13]

Thank you for doing this. I’m definitely going to watch more of your videos

[@jeffh5388]

Thank you for a great analysis. Very well done.

[@raneksi]

Great video, thank you. Appreciate the microphone setup as well.

[@vladiordache1313]

lol I came here just to know how to pronounce the name of the piece, but the man is good. Keep up the good work!

[@SonataSecrets]

Thanks, will do!

[@margarethansen7480]

I love this tutorial, like all of this channel! Thanks a lot!!❤❤❤❤

[@profsjp]

Really interesting and instructive. Fascinating to learn too, about the alternative version.

[@SonataSecrets]

Thanks!

[@Lee_music249]

I guess we'll never know if it was an 'e' or a 'd'. But my hunch is that he was experimenting and contemplating on using the 'd', and when to implement it. I think using the 'd', maybe not each time around, but in certain times he would have desired it. But who knows, Beethoven knows, and he ain't talkin'. It's left to us now.

[@kennytan728]

very effortless! thnx for analysis.Did you do any on fantasie impromptu? thnx

[@SonataSecrets]

Thanks! Yes, I have one on Fantasie-impromptu: kzbin.info/www/bejne/eqmtm5-barJ-e5o

[@k.l.spencer5635]

Nice video. Thanks! :) I heard the piece was supposed to be "For Therese," but Ludwig's copyist (or whatever they were called) couldn't read his handwriting, so it became "For Elise." I don't know if this is true, but you can see an autograph copy of his 5th Symphony here on YT to see how horrible his penmanship was!

[@korzalm]

Anyone would know of other types of souvenir pieces like these? This piece still seems rather odd to me. Especially this intro, the two first notes. This Eb. And this simplistic theme with this somewhat creepy element. Could it be something like the Phantom of the Opera? Ne me quitte pas had something similar...Wondering, tripping and rambling...

[@cjnadance7773]

It's D#.

[@alexgoico]

The candenza run, how do you get up the speed on that?

[@fireheart1026]

Most part of this feels like he's expressing his pain and some notes make me feel like he expresses hope...What do you guys feel the emotion behind this masterpiece is?

[@okayest_pianist]

yea it's like there's a story being told, after the first theme (where it gets slightly harder) it's like he's preparing himself to propose to the girl and you feel a little big of the anxiety and hoping for the best turn of events, the theme comes again and then towards the end it clearly feels like something went wrong and he's feeling frustrated, in pain or even heartbroken? then the way the theme seamlessly returns it's as if he's accepted it and moved on maybe, this is my personal interpretation and how I feel about it when I play 😁

[@sunving]

Thank you very much. Oh you are a Swedish. Cool.

[@AnaPaula-np5rq]

Elise was Beethoven's secret girlfriend. It was a lot of love involved.

[@AnaPaula-np5rq]

Very good explanation, as always. I just think that the music would be better if the name was Für Ana. In that case I will die willingly, that is, only at will. 🤔

[@juliusjaxxon4411]

a tip : you can watch series on InstaFlixxer. Me and my gf have been using it for watching lots of of movies lately.

[@kacekristian5178]

@Julius Jaxxon Definitely, I've been watching on instaflixxer for since december myself =)

[@cooperjacob4548]

@Julius Jaxxon Yup, have been watching on instaflixxer for months myself :)

[@samsonbeckett4810]

@Julius Jaxxon yea, been using InstaFlixxer for months myself :)

[@22660719]

You know the audience is here for the quality content when nobody has commented on the “I do the D in the very end” @5:35 yet^^

[@aaronrosenberg6633]

I appreciate your analysis, and respectfully disagree with your "re-metering" of the opening. Begin playing after the pickup, thinking/feeling triple meter _before_ you begin to play. Do it a couple of times, then begin again, adding the one-beat pickup, feeling it as such, and continuing in triple meter. It's the most natural thing. I would not recommend learning it with the re-metering. If Beethoven desired a sort of metrical ambiguity, fine, but my guess is that it still sides with triple meter. I think that so many pianists over time have played this by ear, or at least have begun to play without using music, such that when they did have the music, triple meter, right there in front of them to see, had nonetheless been tossed out the window, which has led them to play with a forced duple feel. Some of the best pianists play it ambiguously. But I think if you play it with the re-metering, especially young pianists run the risk of taking something away from the piece. It's not that hemiola and such didn't have a place in this era. I just don't think it does with Für Elise.

[@atmadeepmukherjee5550]

You are playing Für Elise LIKE Für Elise, which is very rare.

[@vishtayeganeh174]

What is the piano brand and model ?

[@SonataSecrets]

It's a German Rönisch, around 100 years old, don't know the exact model.

[@vishtayeganeh174]

@@SonataSecrets unbelievable. How possible is good as the new once . For sure has been renovated.

[@vishtayeganeh174]

@@SonataSecrets I wish I could find something like that

[@SonataSecrets]

Yes, probably stood silent for some decades, and then definately retouched at the local piano store. I basically went in there and looked at the best used ones they had, and got lucky!

[@vishtayeganeh174]

@@SonataSecrets could you please let me know the piao store name and location?

[@rosealiyeva185]

Für elise Sonata?

[@goph999]

terrible piece

[@wed2w]

it is not

[@arvindiyer1649]

No Only overplayed because of which it has lost it's charm But it's still veryy beautiful