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Moonlight Sonata, 1st movement

Ludwig van Beethoven · German, 1801 · arranged by Francisco Tárrega · solo guitar

PUBLIC DOMAIN
DIFFICULTY
4 / 5 · Upper intermediate
TUNING
Drop D · D A D G B E
KEY
D minor
TEMPO
60 BPM · 4/4
PLAYING TIME
4:36 · 69 bars
BARS 1–4 OF 69 · INTRODUCTION
Open in player
e B G D A D 1 Dm 2 Dm7/C 3 B♭ 4 A7 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 0 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 2 3 1 3 3 3 1 3 3 1 3 4 3 3 4 3 1 5 2 2 3 2 3 1 2 3 0 0 2 0 0 0
65 more bars →
01

Techniques

Triplet accompaniment under the melody

bars 1–69 →

Every beat is a triplet broken chord, and the melody sits on top of it from bar 5. Keep the triplets soft and even so the melody notes stand out above them.

Drop D bass

bars 1–4 →

The sixth string is tuned down to D. The open D and A strings carry most of the bass, so check the tuning before you start and let the low notes ring for their full length.

The Neapolitan chord in bar 3

bars 3–4 →

Bar 3 moves to E♭ major, the chord Beethoven uses for the darkest moment of the opening, then resolves through A7 back to D minor. Hold the shape across the bar instead of rebuilding it on each triplet.

High positions in the middle section

bars 32–36 →

The arpeggios climb past the 12th fret here. Move the whole hand along the neck with the thumb behind it, and practise each shift slowly before joining the bars together.

02

Key and harmony

Tárrega set Beethoven's C♯ minor a semitone higher, in D minor, so the low D string can carry the bass. The shading on the circle of fifths shows how many of the 69 bars use each chord.

C: 7 bars G: 2 bars D: 5 bars A: 18 bars E: 0 bars B: 0 bars F♯: 0 bars D♭: 3 bars A♭: 2 bars E♭: 5 bars B♭: 3 bars F: 5 bars Am: 0 bars Em: 0 bars Bm: 0 bars F♯m: 0 bars C♯m: 0 bars G♯m: 0 bars E♭m: 0 bars B♭m: 0 bars Fm: 2 bars Cm: 3 bars Gm: 10 bars Dm: 23 bars C G D A E B F♯ D♭ A♭ E♭ B♭ F Am Em Bm F♯m C♯m G♯m E♭m B♭m Fm Cm Gm Dm KEY D minor
Dm / Dm7 i · tonic 23 bars
A / A7 V · dominant 18 bars
Gm iv · subdominant 10 bars
C / C7 VII · subtonic 7 bars
E♭ / E♭maj7 ♭II · Neapolitan 5 bars
F III · relative major 5 bars
D / D7 V7/iv · secondary dominant 5 bars
Edim / Em7♭5 ii° · supertonic 5 bars
03

Chords and positions

Dm
× × ○
E♭/G
× ×
Dm/A
× ○ ×
A7
× ○
A7/C♯
4fr × × ○
Gm
× ×
Gm/D
○ × ×
A
5fr × ○ ×
WHERE YOUR LEFT HAND GOES · FRETS 0–12
0
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
XII
most of the pieceshort reaches and barres
04

Practice plan

Four steps, about a week each at 15 minutes a day. Each link opens the player at that bar and tempo.

  1. STEP 140 BPM

    Triplets on the opening chords

    Play the first four bars until the triplets are even and quiet. Count three to each beat.

    Open bars 1–4 at 40 BPM →
  2. STEP 246 BPM

    Add the melody

    From bar 5 the melody enters on top. Let it sing a little louder than the triplets under it.

    Open bars 5–16 at 46 BPM →
  3. STEP 352 BPM

    The middle section

    Learn the high arpeggios on their own, shift by shift, then join them to the bars before.

    Open bars 27–42 at 52 BPM →
  4. STEP 460 BPM

    The whole movement

    Play all 69 bars, raising the tempo a little each day until you reach 60 BPM.

    Open bars 1–69 at 60 BPM →
05

Related pieces

SAME COMPOSER Für EliseLudwig van Beethoven 3/5 · A minor · 48 BPM SAME TECHNIQUE Spanish Romance (Romance Anónimo)Anonymous 3/5 · E minor → E major · 90 BPM SAME KEY Prelude in D minor, BWV 999Johann Sebastian Bach 3/5 · D minor · 80 BPM EASIER Gymnopédie No. 1Erik Satie 2/5 · D major · 66 BPM

Guitar arrangement by Francisco Tárrega. Tab by easytabs.studio from the Mutopia Project edition #2074, typeset by Jeffrey Olson (public domain).