Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 opens with a famous four-note pattern: three short notes and one long. Ludwig van Beethoven built much of the first movement out of it. The symphony was first played in Vienna in December 1808. It has four movements and lasts a little over half an hour.
For a child, start with the first minute. Then play the whole first movement, which lasts about seven minutes.
Quick facts
- Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven, born in Germany, lived in Vienna
- First played: December 22, 1808, in Vienna
- Length: about 30 to 35 minutes
- Shape: four movements
- Listen for: short, short, short, long
The first concert
The first concert was long and cold. It ran for about four hours in an unheated theater in winter. Beethoven’s Sixth Symphony had its first performance on the same night, along with several of his other new works. The orchestra had little time to rehearse.
Beethoven was losing his hearing when he wrote this music. He went on composing for almost twenty more years.
The four notes
Three short notes, then one long, lower note. Then the same shape again, one step down.
People have long said the notes sound like fate knocking at the door. That story came from a man who worked for Beethoven, and historians doubt it. Nobody knows what Beethoven meant by the notes, or if he meant anything.
During the Second World War, the pattern took on a new meaning. Three short and one long is the letter V in Morse code. The BBC used the notes on the radio as a sign for victory.
The four movements
First movement: fast and fierce. The four notes start it, loud, in the strings and clarinets. Then the pattern passes from one group to another, soft and loud, high and low. A second, smoother tune appears, and the four-note rhythm keeps tapping underneath it in the low strings. Late in the movement, everything stops for one oboe, which plays a short, slow line alone. Then the storm picks up again.
Second movement: calm and walking. The violas and cellos begin a warm, flowing tune. A second idea follows, quiet in the woodwinds and then loud and proud in the brass. Beethoven takes turns with the two ideas and changes them a little more each time.
Third movement: soft and uneasy. The cellos and double basses climb up from the bottom in a whisper. Then the horns blast out a rhythm: short, short, short, long. In the middle, the double basses scurry through a fast, gruff tune, and the other strings chase after them. When the opening returns, it is plucked and hushed.
Fourth movement: bright and loud. There is no break before it. A drum taps, soft and steady. The strings creep upward and the sound swells. Then the last movement begins with the full orchestra, loud and bright, led by the brass. Beethoven saved three instruments for this moment: the trombones, the piccolo, and the contrabassoon. The ending is long, with chord after chord.
Things to do together
Clap it. Clap short, short, short, long. Then find things around the house that fit the pattern, such as a knock on a door.
Count the knocks. Play the first movement. Make a tally mark each time you hear the four-note pattern. Nobody gets the same number, and that is part of the fun.
Hunt for it later. The pattern comes back in the third movement, in the horns. Ask your child to raise a hand when it does.
Wait for the oboe. Tell your child that one instrument will play alone near the end of the first movement. Ask them to freeze when it happens.
Dark to light. Play the last minute of the third movement and let it run into the fourth. Start crouched on the floor. Rise as the sound grows, and jump when the brass come in.
Conduct it. Stand in front of the speaker and lead the orchestra. Big arms for loud, small hands for soft.
Words to know
Symphony. A long piece for orchestra, usually in four movements.
Movement. One complete part of a longer piece.
Motif. A short musical idea, a few notes long, that a composer uses again and again. The four notes are a motif.
Print and play
Read Beethoven for kids and print the Beethoven fact sheet. For the Italian words that tell players how loud and how fast to play, see dynamics in music and tempo words in music.
More guides are listed in classical music listening guides for kids.
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This article is part of Classical music listening guides for kids: famous pieces, one at a time.
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Use it with your kids
Print a listening page, a practice chart, or a composer fact sheet. Or try a tool, such as the composer timeline or the piece picker.