Beethoven, Ludwig van – Für Elise
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Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven was born in December 1770 in Bonn, Germany. He is one of the most recognized figures in the history of music. Beethoven wrote music for piano, string quartets, symphonies, concertos, one opera, and other works.
Beethoven's musical history is divided into 3 parts. The early, middle, and late periods. This is due to stylistic changes in his music.
Beethoven connects two important musical periods. The Classical period, and the Romantic period. The compositions written in his early period were traditional for Beethoven's time. His personal ideas pushed the boundaries of music during his late period. He made pieces longer, more dramatic, and more intellectual.
During the late period, Beethoven became deaf. This caused a lot of inner pain and anger. He became more secluded and focused on music. Some of his most popular compositions were written during this period.
Fur Elise was written in the late period of Beethoven's life. It is one of his most recognized compositions for solo piano. It was written in 1810 but was not published during his lifetime. The original title is “Bagatelle No. 25 in A minor”.
The beautiful, melancholy piece has been popular since its discovery. It was published in 1867. Since then, there have been many arrangements for many different instruments. Both performers and listeners enjoy this wonderful piece.
No one but Beethoven himself is certain who "Elise" was. Experts suggest different women in the composer's life. Others suggest that the title of the piece is a mistranslation, or chosen by an editor.
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Thanks to you (you are my only teacher) in only a few months I've gone from very basic beginner pieces to having just completed learning Bach's Gavottes 1&2 in good form and execution. As a non-classical electric guitarist who has always used a pick and never his fingers, this has been no small feat!
~ Gregg Olson
-Gregg Olson
Hi, I’m Allen Mathews.
I started as a folk guitarist, then fell in love with classical guitar in my 20’s. Despite a lot of practice and schooling, I still couldn’t get my music to flow well. I struggled with excess tension. My music sounded forced. And my hands and body were often sore. I got frustrated, and couldn’t see the way forward. Then, over the next decade, I studied with two other stellar teachers – one focused on the technical movements, and one on the musical (he was a concert pianist). In time, I came to discover a new set of formulas and movements. These brought new life and vitality to my practice. Now I help guitarists find more comfort and flow in their music, so they play more beautifully.
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Those videos on practicing the piece were just awesome, Allen! I've always thought that learning songs might be something completely different than practicing exercises, but the way you teach it makes it much easier than I thought. I'm positive that joining the Woodshed has been the best investment I've ever done for learning the classical guitar. Thank you so much for these lessons.
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-Ulysses Alexandre Alves