Tag: Music

Vibrant Viola – Step-It-Up!

I composed a piece of music using Google Arts & Culture. It makes me think sad and somber thoughts at the start, but slowly but surely, it turns from a minor to a major(figuratively).

Ode to Joy was his most famous and last symphony; Symphony No. 9 or the Ninth which was composed between 1822 – 1824. That was also during the time he was completely deaf.

People are not completely sure why Beethoven was deaf, but it was most likely because of compression of the eighth cranial nerve(2 nerves) which is responsible for maintaining body balance, eye movements, and hearing. Some people think Paget’s disease of bone(disease which disrupts the replacement of old bone tissue with new bone) has caused deafness.

If you were to compose your own music, how would you make the listener feel?

Sad, happy, jealous?

Vibrant Viola – Kick Start

Using Google Arts Viola the Bird, I have ‘played’ Ode to Joy by Beethoven. I have inserted a screen recording so you can see and listen to the performance. The music was fairly simple and easy to play as we just had to swipe the mousepad. I also couldn’t figure out how to hold the notes longer.

Fun facts!

  1. He was the 3rd Ludwig van Beethoven in his family
  2. Beethoven’s birth date is not completely known. His baptism was on December 17, 1770. Most babies were baptised 1 or 2 days after birth
  3. At 11 years old, Beethoven had to leave school and became the breadwinner at only 14 years old because his father was unable to provide for the family
  4. Beethoven’s first performance was in March 1778 when he was 7 and 1/2 years old. To impress the audience, his father made him believe he was 6 years old
  5. Beethoven composed lots of pieces while he was deaf(started deafening from 1798), such as Moonlight Sonata and the 9th Symphony

What is your favorite piece from Beethoven?