TonalicsJOURNALOpen Tuner
‹ Trombone songs
1234567
B♭B♭3 · concert pitch1st position · 4th partialalso 5th position · 5th partial
SongsOde to Joy
Play a different song (36)
Play along
  1. 3,
  2. 3,
  3. 4,
  4. 5,
  5. 5,
  6. 4,
  7. 3,
  8. 2,
  9. 1,
  10. 1,
  11. 2,
  12. 3,
  13. 3,
  14. 2,
  15. 2,
  16. 3,
  17. 3,
  18. 4,
  19. 5,
  20. 5,
  21. 4,
  22. 3,
  23. 2,
  24. 1,
  25. 1,
  26. 2,
  27. 3,
  28. 2,
  29. 1,
  30. 1,

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, 1824. Public domain.

38 notes · E2–F5 · the pedal B♭1 on the ladder · 38 notes · The B♭ tenor trombone: nine feet of tube and seven positions — the one in every band.

Tap a note, or slide along them to play legato, from note to note in one breath. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — Q is the low F in 6th position, and they climb a semitone at a time.

TromboneFree · printable · plays in your browser

Ode to Joy — Trombone Notes

Ode to Joy, written out for the trombone as every note with its slide position and set up above on the Tenor. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the trombone waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes30, 5 pitches
  • RangeB♭2–F3
  • Key hereB♭ major
  • Tempo112 bpm · about 17 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a trombone play Ode to Joy?

Yes — every one on this page plays it. The check is made note by note against what each one can actually sound. Where the tune does not fit as the library writes it, another key or octave is tried, and the table says which; where nothing fits, it names the notes that are missing.

  • Tenor✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–F3 · loaded above
  • Tenor + F trigger✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–F3 · load it
  • Alto in E♭✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–F3 · load it

Ode to Joy: trombone notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the slide position — T means with the F trigger held. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

▶ Play it above

Ode to Joy — trombone notes (Tenor) · tonalics.com

The 5 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 5 and you can play the whole tune.

  • B♭1st×6
  • C6th×7
  • D4th×9
  • E♭3rd×4
  • F1st×4

What to expect on a trombone

  • It runs from B♭2 to F3, a fifth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 6 semitones unused below and 24 above.
  • Every move is a step or a repeated note — there is no leap anywhere in it.
  • It uses 4 slide positions: 1st, 3rd, 4th and 6th.
  • The longest move between two neighbouring notes is 5 positions.

About the tune

The theme of the last movement of Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, first performed in Vienna in 1824, where a choir joins the orchestra to sing Schiller’s poem “An die Freude”. An instrumental arrangement of it has been the anthem of the Council of Europe since 1972 and of the European Union since 1985.

Ludwig van Beethoven, Symphony No. 9, 1824. Public domain. More about Ode to Joy →

Ode to Joy on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, which does not have the notes.

More songs for the trombone

All 36 trombone songs · Christmas songs for trombone · The online trombone on its own

Playing it on a real trombone?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The trombone tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

🎙 Open the Trombone Tuner