German Dance- Ludwig van Beethoven
Grade 3- Intermediate
German Dance (WoO42) by Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827)
Time 0:50
“German Dance” by Ludwig van Beethoven and it’s a song with a jumpy, lively feel. A short piece that’s not too difficult to play. This work is written for the piano and later adapted for the guitar. Somehow for me, the piano works better. Nevertheless, “German Dance” is a good practice for me and I would like to share it with you.
Technique
AABA which means play part A twice, then play B once, then conclude with A once. The hardest part is part B, good news is that it is only played once. There are couple of full barre chords and a trio of half barre chords played rapidly towards end of B. Playing the back beat note while holding these chords is essential.
Excerpts from Beethoven's German Dance
Tips
Bar 5. Low E string, 2nd Fret (F#) is played with thumb. You can substitute with index finger if you feel uncomfortable with curling your thumb over the neck to hold the F# note. I learnt this technique from play electric guitar with a thinner neck. It carried on to my classical playing. I find it easier to play this way, you don’t have to follow me as everyone got their own style.
Further Reading
I stumbled upon “German Dance” from classtab.org, probably the biggest classical tab archive on the net organized by weed. Prior to youtube, this resourceful site has been the only website I visit for classical guitar songs. I have made one tab contribution for Bach’s Gigue BWV825, for those interested please go here
Related posts:
- Ode to Joy- Ludwig van Beethoven
- Fur Elise- Ludwid van Beethoven
- Bourree (BWV996)- JSBach
- Aubade- Rene Bartoli
- Lagrima (prelude 20)- Francisco Tarrega
