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Für Elise: guitar chords and tab for beginners
Germany, 1810
Für Elise
by Ludwig van Beethoven
- Tempo
- 120beats per minute
- Count
- 3beats in each bar
- Key
- A minorthe home note
- Level
- 1 of 3easiest
Level 1. Strum one chord per beat. Start here.
Chord names above, strum arrows below. Down arrow = strum down toward the floor, up arrow = back up.
Hold this chord
How to read it
- Red cross: don’t play that string. Skip it when you strum.
- Green circle: play that string open, with no finger on it.
- Number: press there with that finger. 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky.
- Letters: the strings, thickest (low E) on the left to thinnest (high e) on the right.
Space bar plays and pauses. Left and right arrows jump a bar.
The chords
The chords in Für Elise
2 chords, all open shapes: Am, E. 3 beats in each bar, 120 beats per minute, in A minor.
In words: A minor is x 0 2 2 1 0. E major is 0 2 2 1 0 0. Numbers are frets, thick string to thin, and x means do not play that string.
About the song
Beethoven wrote this little piano piece in 1810 and it was not published until forty years after he died. The opening two-note wobble is known everywhere. Played an octave down it fits the first four frets, and the left hand only ever needs two fingers at a time.
Questions people ask
- What chords are in Für Elise?
- Two chords: Am and E. All of them are open shapes, so some strings ring without a finger on them.
- What key is Für Elise in?
- A minor. The key control on this page moves it up or down, and tells you where to put a capo so you can keep the same easy shapes.
- Is Für Elise easy to play on guitar?
- It is one of the harder songs here: two chords at 120 beats per minute. Slow it to 50 percent, and try Ode to Joy and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star first if it fights back.
- What is the strumming pattern for Für Elise?
- Five strums in each bar: down, down, up, down, up. There are 3 beats in every bar. The arrows above the chord boxes move with the sound, so you can see the pattern as you hear it.
- How do I play Für Elise on guitar?
- Three ways on this page, all from the same arrangement. Chords mode strums one chord at a time, Melody mode picks the tune from the tab, and Fingerstyle mode plays the bass with your thumb under the tune. Start in Chords mode at 60 percent speed.
- Who wrote Für Elise?
- Ludwig van Beethoven. Germany, 1810. The music is old enough to be in the public domain, so it is free to learn, play and record.
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