Piano Tutorial: Play "Akiho No Tame Ni (Für Elise Reimagined)" by Ludwig van Beethoven and Jenny Laine!

If you are a fan of classical piano music and Joe Hisaishi's Neo-classical, jazz-infused Japanese folk fusion music (mouthful!), you are in for a treat! This is a special arrangement of the A section of Für Elise in the style of Joe Hisaishi. 

Level and Technical Challenges

I rank this as a late elementary piece (Faber 3A) as far as readability. The piece has no sharps or flats in the key signature, has a borrowed F#, and relies heavily on 8th note rhythms. 

Students familiar with A minor and E minor scales (or the relative majors) should be comfortable with this piece. 

The piece uses jazz chords in arpeggio form, providing a rewarding harmonic experience. 

Consider presenting this as a recital piece or for personal enjoyment at the piano. 

Background of this Arrangement

Along with many people, I adore Hisaishi's calm, flowing pieces with a special flavor of pentatonic scales and jazz chords. So I was very interested when a video by Nahre Sol entitled "What Makes Studio Ghibli Music SO GOOD??!!" came up in my YouTube subscriptions (linked below). 

In this video, Nahre Sol does a deep dive analysis into Hisaishi's style and observes the following:

• Mood: sincere and wistful
• Harmony: eclectic
• "ii v i" minor chord progressions
• Circle of Fifths
• Jazz Harmony
• Quartal and Quintal
• Open Chords
• Melodies: Tension+Release and Direction+Shape
• Minor Pentatonic scale
• Rhythm: Anticipatory, not on beat, chatty
• Influences:
• Russian, German, Austrian Classical
• Italian, French, Latin, and Japanese Folk Traditional
• Wagner, Chopin, Ravel, Copland, Gershwin, Britten
• Jazz (did you know his pen name, Hisaishi Joe, is a Japanese version of Quincy Jones?)
• Electronic Music
• Minimalist
• Instrumentation: 
• Plucked strings
• Bells
• Snare
• Strings
• Rolled Piano Chords

She then applies her findings to revamp Pachelbel's Canon and concludes her video by writing some original music to score movie scenes. 

I was inspired.

Could I do the same to Für Elise? So I began work on the A Section. It was my intention to also reimagine the B section and C section. The B section was very jazzy, but I suddenly felt the project was overwhelming&nbsp and I really wanted to put out an album. (Maybe a future album will have an extended version?

Process

I actually used this chicken-scratched manuscript to record, so there is a slight unintentional hesitation at the end of the recording. But at least you know I'm human, right!? 

I usually write my music with dashes for notes with chord names at the top. Then I fill in the chord voicing. 

I used the minor pentatonic scale, harmonized with jazz chords, quartal and quintal harmonies, and I replaced the octaves of Es with ascending 4ths. 

Inspiration for the Title

The title, Akiho no tame ni (秋穂のために or あきほのために in hiragana), may or may not be an accurate translation of how you would say "For Akiho" in Japanese, but I did my best with an online translator. So if Engrish is how we say misused English in Japan, this could be Niheigo or misused Japanese in America. You're welcome for this contribution. 

The name Akiho can mean harvest and the name Therese, the theorized actual name of Elise, can also mean harvest. 

Why Therese instead of Elise? The manuscript was found in her personal belongings. Beethoven allegedly wanted to marry her, but was denied. 

How to Play Akiho No Tame Ni

First things first, the score is available for purchase from Sheet Music Plus or Sheet Music Direct. You may also follow along with my Score Preview on YouTube. 

Additionally, the first page is available for preview with handwritten analysis below. 

Instead of the original ⅜ time signature, this version expands the rhythm into ¾ time. We start with a pick up on beat 3. Sometimes the measures are expanded to 4/4 time to allow for a longer, rubato Fadd2 arpeggio. The tempo is approximately 120bpm, but definitely push and pull the tempo as desired. There are many fermatas where I tend to hold the notes longer to be dramatic. 

The key signature contains no sharps or flats, however, there is an F# accidental that creates a borrowed D9 chord in the second full measure. 

We open with a two-note theme, high G and treble E, reminiscent of the E-D# repeated motive from the original piece. 

Pedal harmonically, meaning that when the left hand chord changes, use syncopated pedal (play the first note of the chord at the same time as you lift up the pedal and immediately put the pedal back down before leaving the first note in the arpeggio) to prevent the harmony from becoming muddy or separated. 

At rehearsal mark C, the harmony is Fmaj9, C7, and Dm9. This section is ended with a quartal arpeggio in 

place of the iconic E's in octaves. In the left hand, starting with E, go up a fourth to A, up a fourth to D in the right hand, up a fourth to G, and finally up a fourth to C. Then return to the opening theme. 

The final chord is quintal in the left hand: A E B with E and A creating a quartal harmony at the top. 

Nahre Sol's Video

Additional Information

Akiho No Tame Ni (Für Elise Reimagined) for Piano Solo by Ludwig van Beethoven and Jenny Laine

From the album, Tranquility by Jenny Laine
Instrumentation: 1 piano
Level: Late Elementary
Duration: 2 minutes
Pages: 3
Style: Japanese Cinematic Harmony, Neo-Classical.
Recommended for: Student Repertoire, Recitals.
Written in 2021. 

Price: $5.99 (check all distributors for sales)

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