Exploring Beethoven

Ludwig van Beethoven is one of the most well-known composers of all time.

He was born in 1770 in Germany and died in 1827.

He composed amazing pieces of music. From symphonies and concertos, to operas and solo pieces.

Beethoven started to go deaf at the age of 28. Soon he could only hear music by imagining the sounds in his head.

He tried lots of inventions to help him hear but sadly none of them worked.

Despite this, he still managed to compose incredible music.

The beginning of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 is perhaps one of the most famous movements in all orchestral music ever written.

Also, the end of his Symphony No. 9 is thought by many, to be the greatest melody ever written!

A symphony is a piece of music for an orchestra to play, that is usually split into four sections.

Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 begins with one of the famous motifs in the history of music. It has even been used in pop songs!

A motif is a short musical idea. In Symphony No. 5, the short motif at the start is three short notes, followed by one long note.

Lightning Jelly meet Beethoven, who explains why duration and tempo are important in his 5th symphony.

Have a listen to this performance of Beethoven’s Symphony No.5.

How many times can you hear the short, short, short, long motif?

Listen as this motif is then passed around the different instruments of the orchestra.

You can find out more about Ludwig van Beethoven with BBC Ten Pieces.

After listening to the orchestra playing Beethoven's 5th symphony, try and answer these questions. Think about how Beethoven uses dynamics, tempo, rhythm and pitch to answer.

• How did the music make you feel?
• What is it about the music that made you feel that way?