Fur Elise (Opening Theme) — Piano Notes & How to Play

Ludwig van Beethoven (1810, published 1867)

  • Intermediate
  • Key: A minor
  • Time: 3/8
  • Opening theme (first four bars of the main idea)

Keyboard letters you can play right now

Each letter is a key on the on-screen piano below. Lowercase letters are white keys, capital letters are black keys. Open the piano and press them in order — no sheet music needed.

Phrase 1 fDfDfadsp
Phrase 2 tupa
Phrase 3 uOas
Phrase 4 ufDfDfadsp
As note names: E5 D#5 E5 D#5 E5 B4 D5 C5 A4 · C4 E4 A4 B4 · E4 G#4 B4 C5 · E4 E5 D#5 E5 D#5 E5 B4 D5 C5 A4

Open the free virtual piano →

Why this piece works for practice

Everyone learns the opening of Fur Elise, and this is it written out so you can actually play it on a keyboard: alternating E and D sharp, a falling scale, then the answering chord figure. It is the standard first piece that uses black keys, so it is the natural step up once nursery rhymes feel easy.

How to practise it

  1. Isolate the alternation f D f D f. Play it as a rocking motion between two adjacent keys, not as two separate presses.
  2. Then let the line fall: a d s p. Slow, even, no accent on the last note.
  3. The answering figure t u p a is a broken chord — play the notes in order and let them ring rather than lifting between them.

Frequently asked questions

What are the first notes of Fur Elise?

E, D sharp, E, D sharp, E, B, D, C, A. On our keyboard: f D f D f a d s p. The D sharp is a black key, played with the key labelled D in our layout.

Is Fur Elise hard for a beginner?

The opening is intermediate rather than truly hard, but it is the first piece most players meet that needs black keys and a rocking repeated figure. Expect it to take longer than a nursery rhyme.