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Several years ago, Jonny released a YouTube video in which he performed Beethoven’s “Für Elise” in 6 different jazz styles. The video quickly went viral, receiving over 600,00 views. In today’s Quick Tip, Play Fur Elise Jazz Piano Style, Jonny breaks down his 6-step process on how to transform any classical tune into jazz. You’ll learn:

• Introduction
• 6 Steps to Play Fur Elise in Jazz Piano Style
  • #1: Identify the Chords for Fur Elise
  • #2: Make a Lead Sheet for Fur Elise
  • #3: Modified Jazz Chords for Fur Elise
  • #4: Add Filler Chords
  • #5: Add the Spice Notes
  • #6: Spread the Notes Out

Today’s lesson is especially fun because it feels like a “behind the scenes” bonus feature on Jonny’s arranging process.

Introduction

If you’re wondering, “How does Jonny do that?” then you are in the right place. In this lesson, we’ll take a close look at Jonny’s 6-step process for turning any classical piece into jazz. In fact, you can even download the PDF lesson sheet from the bottom of this page after logging in with your membership. Additionally, members can easily transpose this lesson to any key using our Smart Sheet Music.

Let’s start by examining an excerpt from the sheet music for “Fur Elise” as Beethoven composed it…

Beethoven’s Fur Elise – Traditional

What differences do you notice between Beethoven’s original score for “Fur Elise” and other jazz tunes you’ve played? For example, how does Beethoven’s score compare to The Real Book? What would a lead sheet for “Fur Elise” look like? You’ll discover the answers to each of these questions and more in the next section.

6 Steps to Play Fur Elise in Jazz Piano Style

In scanning the original sheet music for “Fur Elise” and listening to the demonstration, you probably noticed a few things right away that are not so jazz-like. For instance, 3/8 is not a common time signature for jazz compositions. In addition, there aren’t any chord symbols in Beethoven’s piano score. In fact, unless we understand which chords Beethoven used to compose “Fur Elise,” we won’t be able to get very far in creating a jazz arrangement. Therefore, Step 1 is to identify the chords in “Fur Elise.”

Step 1: Identify the Chords for Fur Elise

Jazz music uses a distinctive harmonic language that is immediately recognizable, even to the untrained ear. Therefore, if we want to play “Fur Elise” in a jazz piano style, then we have to know which chords are already present within the composition. Only then can we make the necessary modifications required to give it that jazzy sound.

Therefore, our objective in step 1 is to analyze each measure and determine which chord or chords are present. As we identify each chord, we’ll write the corresponding chord symbol above the staff.

Let’s try an example together. We’ll start in the 2nd full measure of “Fur Elise” because this measure is rather straightforward. In the example below, we’ve labeled all the notes for the entire measure. As you can see, only three unique pitch classes are used: A, C and E. Therefore, we can determine that the chord here is A minor. Hence, we’ve written the chord symbol “Am” above the staff.

Let’s briefly talk through the next measure. In measure 3, the only notes we have are E, G♯ and B. This spells an E major triad. Therefore, the chord symbol for measure 3 is simply “E”.

What if I can’t tell what the chord is?

Keep in mind, not all analysis examples are this straightforward. Sometimes, not of all the notes in the measure belong to the prevailing chord. These “extra notes” are called nonharmonic tones or non-chord tones. Therefore, you’ll have to determine which notes are essential and which notes are ornamental. Here’s a hint: most embellishing notes occur on weak beats. Therefore, if all of the notes on the strong beats spell a familiar chord, then that is likely the actual chord. On the other hand, it’s also possible to have more than one chord per measure…or even no chord at all! As you practice this analysis method, you’ll develop some intuitive instincts about which notes to include or exclude and how many chords are in each measure.

Here is the same excerpt of “Fur Elise” that we examined previously, except that now we’ve included all the chord symbols in the sheet music.

Perhaps you’re wondering about measures 1 and 5? Since the left-hand accompaniment is absent in these measures, they are more harmonically ambiguous. In fact, an argument for the tonic chord (A minor) or the dominant chord (E major) could be made in these measures. You could also use the “N.C.” symbol for “no chord.” However, we’ve simply left these measures blank, which is another way to acknowledge this ambiguity.

Now, let’s move on to Step 2.

Step 2: Make a Lead Sheet for Fur Elise

The second step to transform a classical piece into jazz is to make a lead sheet. The essential musical elements for a lead sheet include the melody and the chord symbols.

Sometimes, when transforming a classic piece into jazz, you’ll have adjust the meter and phrasing of the melody. This is particularly true for examples like “Fur Elise” in which the original melody does not employ a 4/4 time signature. Since 4/4 is the most frequently used time signature in jazz music, our arrangement will sound more jazz-like if we can adapt the melody to fit into 4/4 time.

In this step, you want to try to write the melody as it would appear in a fake book. For example, most jazz lead sheets for familiar standards use a combination of quarter notes, 8th notes and longer tones. It’s okay if the melody comes out sounding a bit “square” or “boxy” in this step. In fact, jazz musicians view the rhythms on a lead sheet as more skeletal than literal. You just want to make sure that you can get the melody to fit into 4/4 time. Afterward, we can focus on how to make it swing.

Here is an initial sketch of a lead sheet for “Fur Elise” in 4/4 time. (Note: the demonstration features a metronome click on beats 2 and 4.)

Even though this was an important step, we’re obviously not done yet. Therefore, let’s move on to Step 3.

Step 3: Modified Jazz Chords for Fur Elise

In Step 3, we need to modify the chords of the song so that they sound more jazzy. In jazz harmony, chords normally have a minimum of four notes. Therefore, we need to add a “jazz note” to each chord. The most common 4-note chords in jazz are 7th chords. However, 6th chords also occur quite frequently. For our jazz piano arrangement of “Fur Elise,” we’ll actually use both!

Let’s start by adding a note to our A minor triad. Instead of playing Am, we’ll use Am6 (pronounced “A minor sixth” or “A minor six”). To build a minor 6th chord, start with a minor triad and then add a major 6th interval above the root. Therefore, we’ll keep the notes A–C–E and add the note F♯. The following example demonstrates this step.

Modified Jazz Chords – Ex. 1

Right now, the only other chord we have on our lead sheet is an E major chord. Since this is the 5-chord of A minor, let’s make this a dominant 7th chord. To build a dominant 7th chord, start with a major triad and then add a minor 7th interval above the root. Therefore, we’ll keep the notes E–G♯–B, and add the note D. The following example demonstrates this step.

Modified Jazz Chords – Ex. 2

So far, we have Am6 for the tonic chord of “Fur Elise” and E7 for the dominant chord. Without a doubt, these chords sound jazzier that the triads we had initially. However, something is still missing. In the next step, you’ll learn how to add additional “filler chords.”

Step 4: Add Filler Chords

Jazz arrangements often contain harmonic embellishments that we might describe as “filler chords.” These extra chords make the song sound much more interesting. In music theory, we call these passing chords because they are on their way to a specific destination. In fact, we call that destination a target chord.

Passing chords are particularly useful for breaking up harmonic stagnation. For example, right now we have Am6 for the first 4 measures of our arrangement. Harmonically speaking, we’ll want to come up with something a bit more interesting.

One of the most common passing chord techniques is to choose a chord that is a diatonic 5th above the target chord. For example, if my target chord is Am6, then I can go up a fifth from the root of Am6, remaining in the key signature (Think 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 = A, B, C, D, E). Then, use a diatonic chord built on E. Keep in mind, we want a 4-note chord, so we’ll use E7 as a passing chord to Am6.

Let’s use the same approach to find the passing chord that is a diatonic 5th above E7. (Think 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 =E, F, G, A, B). Then, use a diatonic chord built on B. If we use the A natural minor scale, that chord is Bø7 (pronounced “B half diminished”). Another way to write this chord is Bm7(♭5).

The following example demonstrates how to approach Am6 and E7 with passing chords from a 5th above. (Note: sometimes B7 is uses instead of Bø7).

More Than One Passing Chord?

Sometimes, if a chord is especially prolonged in our initial harmonic outline, then we may have time for more than one passing chord. In that case, we can add a passing chord to a passing chord. For example, if we have a prolonged Am6 chord, then we already said we can proceed it with E7. However, we can also proceed that E7 with its passing chord, which is Bø7. Therefore, we can use the progression Bø7→E7→Am6. Since Bø7 is the 2-chord in A minor and E7 is the 5-chord, we call this a minor 2-5-1 progression. Check it out…

Let’s apply these passing chord techniques to our lead sheet for “Fur Elise.” The goal here is to find any prolonged instance of Am6 and add in an E7 chord before it, or possibly even Bø7→E7→Am6. Similarly, when we find any prolonged instances of E7, we’ll add in a Bø7 or a B7 before it.

Fur Elise with Filler Chords

As you can hear, our arrangement is really starting to come along! Let’s see what other jazz inflections we can add in Step 5.

Step 5: Add the Spice Notes

Earlier we mentioned that jazz harmony typically uses chords that contain at least four notes. In Step 5, we’ll add additional “spice notes” to some of our jazz chords.

The most common chord type that can handle extra tension notes is a dominant 7th chord. Therefore, our primary interest here is how to add spice notes to B7 and E7 chords…the two dominant chords in our arrangement of “Fur Elise.”

When we have an E7 chord, we’ll use one of four different spice notes in our arrangement: F, F♯, G and C. Respectively, these notes are the ♭9, the 9, the ♯9 and the ♭13 of E7. Let’s listen to these different chord colors in the example below…

Spice Notes for E7

The example above does not contain all of the possible spice notes for E7…just the ones we’ll use in today’s arrangement. For a deep dive on this topic, check out our courses on Piano Chord Extensions (Int) and Piano Chord Alterations (Int).

Let’s also check out two spice notes for B7 that we’ll use in our arrangement. They are G♯ and G♮, the 13th, and the ♭13 respectively…

Spice Notes for B7

Alright, we’ll almost ready for our final arrangement. However, we should clarify one thing first. When we add these spice notes, we don’t necessarily wind up playing more than four notes simultaneously. That’s because jazz arrangers often omit the 5th of the chord on dominant 7th chord. Keep that in mind when you examine the voicings in the final arrangement.

Step 6: Spread the Notes Out

The last step to transform a classical piece into jazz is to spread the notes out. So far, our right hand has been playing the melody while our left hand has been playing 4-note chords in closed position. However, we can get better sounding jazz chords by spacing the notes out a bit. In fact, the higher the melody goes, the wider the note spacing should be.

Here’s a sample of our finished arrangement…

Getting used to spreading the notes out takes some practice. If you are new to jazz arranging, then it’s best complete this step with pencil and paper (or using music notation software). Sometimes you’ll have to try several options before you find voicings that work.

For a deep dive on this topic, check out our course on Play Piano Lead Sheets with Extensions & Alterations (Int).

Conclusion

Congratulations, you’ve completed today’s lesson on Play Fur Elise Jazz Piano Style. The next time someone says, “Can you play Fur Elise?” why not shock them with this arrangement?

If you enjoyed today’s lesson, then be sure to check out the following PWJ resources:

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