Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata for Guitar

It’s one of Beethoven’s most popular and frequently performed works. It’s referred to as “Beethoven’s opus 27 no. 2” or “Piano Sonata No. 14 in C sharp minor.” We know it better as Moonlight Sonata.

Click here to listen to the MP3 (about 4 megs).
Click here to listen to the MIDI.

In 1801, Beethoven wrote this sonata and dedicated it to his student, 17-year-old Countess Giulietta Guicciardi. It was said that Beethoven was in love with her. The sonata didn’t get its popular name until 1832, after Beethoven’s death; the poet Ludwig Rellstab related the music to moonlight reflected from Switzerland’s Lake Lucerne.

Source:
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Now you can play it on guitar. (This piece is not recommended for beginners.)

Here is the intro. Play it fingerstyle.

|-----0-----0-|-----0-----0-|------0-----0-|------0-----0-|
|---2-----2---|---2-----2---|----2-----2---|----2-----2---|
|-1-----1-----|-1-----1-----|-1------1-----|-1------1-----|
|-------------|-------------|--------------|--------------|
|-------------|-------------|-2------------|-2------------|
|-------------|-------------|--------------|--------------|
 

|------0------0-|------2-----2-|---------------|---------------|
|----2------2---|----3-----3---|----4-7----4-7-|------5------4-|
|-2------2------|-2------2-----|-5------5------|----5------5---|
|---------------|-0------------|-4------4------|-4------4------|
|-0-------------|--------0-----|--------6------|-6------6------|
|--------0------|--------------|-4-------------|-4-------------|

Download more here.
The download is a WinZip file of less than 200K.

Features

Besides being a classic piece of music, the Beethoven Moonlight Sonata for Guitar lesson features these:

• Shows preparing left hand fingers to anticipate needs of next chord
• Unusual chord changes that give color and variety to the music
• Example of how music in minor keys lends itself naturally to key modulations
• A challenging workout for the left hand
• Example of a simple fingerpicking rhythm yielding a full sound
• Many hours of enjoyment for the mind and soul

These features are better experienced by playing through the sample lesson, so download more here.

System requirements

You need three pieces of free software to learn Beethoven Moonlight Sonata for Guitar:

• Adobe Acrobat Reader
• WinZip
• Power Tab

The music notation is in a Power Tab file. Power Tab is a free application for Windows systems that plays and helps you compose music for the guitar. You can learn more about Power Tab here: http://www.power-tab.net. Power Tab is not available for the Macintosh.

Get Adobe Acrobat Reader here: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

WinZip and Adobe Acrobat are common applications; you may already have them on your system. Here’s how to scan your system for them.

To test for WinZip, click on the Start button (probably in the lower left corner of your screen), select Run... and then type "WinZip" in the box that results. If an error results, you do not have WinZip. Download it free from http://www.winzip.com/ddchomea.htm.
 
Test for Adobe Acrobat Reader the same way: Start button, Run... and then type "acrord32.exe" in the box that results. If an error results, you do not have Adobe Acrobat Reader. Download it free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html.

The main lesson is contained in the PDF file.

Here is a repeat of the link to download Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata for Guitar.

Tips on learning

The most important material for learning Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata for Guitar is the Power Tab file. Second most important are the chord diagrams in the Adobe Acrobat file. The recommended approach is to begin reading the tablature from the Power Tab file, and consult the chord diagrams in the Acrobat document as needed. If your knowledge of movable chords is beyond the novice level, you may find your hand instinctively going to the correct place just by reading the tablature.

Understand that the music you’re going to learn is made almost entirely from basic chord shapes, with few additional movements after forming them. That makes learning easier. Once your hand has formed a particular chord, there will generally be few other movements required from your left-hand fingers.

The important thing is to learn the basic fingerpicking patterns this piece uses. The patterns are very simple, but may feel complicated if you’ve never played a piece with fingerpicking.

Part of the challenge of learning this piece, aside from coordinating the fingerpicking action, is the left hand strength required. If you’re playing a steel string acoustic (NOT recommended), you’ll need a fair amount of hand strength to learn this arrangement of Moonlight Sonata for Guitar. It would be easier on your hand if you learn on a classical, nylon-stringed guitar or even an electric guitar.

Note of Caution

This point introduces a note of caution: do not strain your hands in learning this piece. If you find your hands are getting tired but you feel you must continue playing, hover your fretting hand over the fretboard and form the correct shape, but do not apply any pressure. Obviously, you won’t be producing any sound, but you will build your knowledge of this piece.

Purchase the complete lesson

If you’d like to purchase the complete lesson, you can do so by clicking on the Order Here link that follows. The price is $9.99. If you are not satisfied with the purchase, request a refund within 30 days of purchase and your money will be refunded.

Order here.

Click here to contact me, Darrin Koltow, with any questions you have.

 
I wish you much enjoyment in learning Moonlight Sonata for Guitar.