Welcome Mandolinists!





Above:
A set of variations on Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" theme, arranged for Solo Mandolin in Duo-Style. The sheet music and tablature for this piece conclude my method book on solo mandolin performance, "Duo-Style A to Z".

In the first and third variations, I combine the "Ode to Joy" theme with original counter-melodies; the second variation uses some of Beethoven's own counterpoint from the Finale of the Ninth Symphony.

The fourth variation uses the theme as its own counter-melody, via a canon at the 7th and a canon at the 10th; the fifth variation derives its counter-melody from Beethoven's Andante con Variazioni, WoO 44b; and the sixth variation's counter-melody is from "Aura Lea," written in the 1800's by Fosdick & Poulton (also used as the melody for "Love Me Tender").