Super Simple Chords

Piano chords · Blues & boogie

How to play Moonlight Sonata on piano

By Ludwig van Beethoven

  • C# minor
  • 2/2
  • 56 BPM
  • Medium
Play the full song with sheet music
Tuning the piano…
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Style

Left hand Jazz walkRight hand Rising bubblesChords worked out from the notes of the famous part

Learn Moonlight Sonata in 5 steps

The chords first, then one hand at a time. Each step plays in the player above.

  1. 1

    Chords: C#m – G# – C#m – F#m – C#m7 – B

    Moonlight Sonata sits in C# minor: C# is home, where the song ends. It goes round 6 chords: C#m is C#, E and G#; G# is G#, B# and D#; F#m is F#, A and C#; C#m7 is C#, E, G# and B; B is B, D# and F#. Play each one as a block with your right hand until the changes feel easy.

    C#miG#VC#miF#mivC#m7i7BVII
    • C#mC# · E · G#
    • G#G# · B# · D#
    • F#mF# · A · C#
    • C#m7C# · E · G# · B
    • BB · D# · F#
  2. 2

    Left hand: Jazz walk

    One note per beat, strolling like a jazz bassist. Musicians call it walking bass (walking bass), an easy pattern heard in thousands of songs of the library.

    Jazz walkWalking bass · Blues and boogie-woogieLeft handEasy
  3. 3

    Right hand: Rising bubbles

    Three notes float up again and again, each time starting just off the beat. It moves with the chords, so it fits every bar of the loop.

    Rising bubblesRising arpeggio · BalladRight handMedium
  4. 4

    Both hands at 56 BPM

    Put the two hands together over the loop. Start at half speed with the player's speed control, and bring it up once every change is easy.

  5. 5

    Ending: A – B – C#m

    The last chords are bVI – bVII – i, then one chord rolled from the bottom up, left to ring.

    ABC#m
    • AA · C# · E

Play next

The same left hand: Jazz walk

About this pattern
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More by Ludwig van Beethoven

All their songs
Ode To JoyLudwig van Beethoven
Fur EliseLudwig van Beethoven
Minuet In G, Op. 10, No. 2Ludwig van Beethoven
Adagio Cantabile from Sonate Pathetique Op.13Ludwig van Beethoven

Questions about Moonlight Sonata

What chords are in Moonlight Sonata?

The loop is C#m – G# – C#m – F#m – C#m7 – B (i – V – i – iv – i7 – VII) in C# minor, and the song ends on A – B – C#m.

What key is Moonlight Sonata in?

C# minor, at about 56 beats a minute in 2/2.

What does the left hand play in Moonlight Sonata?

Jazz walk: walking bass, an easy pattern. It follows the chords, so the same shape works for every bar.

Is Moonlight Sonata easy to play on piano?

It is a medium one: learn the 6 chords as blocks first, then add the left hand, then the right, slowly.

Can I hear the real melody of Moonlight Sonata?

Yes: "The part you know" plays the main tune of the song from a score, with both hands.

Made from 2 arrangements of this song: the left and right hands are the patterns these scores repeat most.