Ludwig van Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” was completed in 1801, formally titled the “Piano Sonata No. 14 in C-Sharp Minor” or “Quasi un Fantasia.” The entirety of the piece consists of three movements:
- Adagio sostenuto (C♯)
- Allegretto (D♭)
- Presto agitato (C♯)
We’ll cover the first movement, Adagio sostenuto, perhaps the most recognizable of the three. Further, we’ll make the popular classical piece easily discernible in tablature form.
Though the original score is in C♯m, our tabs have been transposed to A minor, since it’s an easier version to play on the guitar.
Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata
The Moonlight Sonata guitar tab is translated from piano rather easily, allowing you to make use of arpeggiated fingerpicking patterns to mimic both the left and right hand portions of the piano score.
Here’s a look at the original cover for the Piano Sonata No. 14 sheet music:
The original cover of the Moonlight Sonata score. Image via Wikimedia Commons
You can view the rest of the piano music manuscript, if for nothing else, for the historical relevance. We’ll break this original manuscript down to a line-by-line tab sheet, where all lines will be grouped into sections along with their corresponding audio samples.
In total, we’ll have seven sections to learn.
Moonlight Sonata Amp Settings & Tone
As listed above, I used my Taylor 114CE acoustic guitar for all the research and trial.
The guitar has a concert shaped body with a cutaway, which gives it slightly brighter and chime-friendly tone, ideal for classical fingerpicking. In most cases I played it unplugged, though for a performance, I’d cut in the following dials on an acoustic amp:
This is the Acoustic EQ 2.0 setting from our amp presets post.
Mids and treble get a bump while we cut the low end, depending on how “bassy” our guitar might sound. If you want a thicker tone, just bump the bass or low knob a little higher. Additionally, I used a Boss CE-5 Chorus Ensemble to add a slight modulation effect. Still, all you really need is an unplugged acoustic.
The chorus pedal is just optional flavor. Here are a few more EQ conventions and best practices you can follow, if helpful:
- Add new strings (I used Elixir acoustics size .052)
- Play sitting down
- If you use an acoustic preamp, dial in a brighter tone (high treble)
- Play without a pick (most of the song is best played via fingerpicking)
Don’t assume that you need to get your guitar to sound “piano-esque.” The guitar, on its own, has a great sound when it takes over this piece. Just let it be a guitar song and don’t worry too much about embellishing the cadence and vibe of the piano.
Parsing the Original
The 1st movement of Moonlight Sonata is roughly six minutes in length. We’ll build out a tab sheet that covers the entire six minutes. We’ll then parse the song into groups so we can focus on learning the entire piece, one segment at a time.
One of the pages from the Piano Sonata No. 14 score. Image via Wikimedia Commons
There are a few practical reasons that having the song broken up will help:
- It’s easier to follow
- It provides structure
- It’s less visually chaotic for the reader
As I mentioned earlier, we have seven total sections with several short tab lines in each. The result is a clean, premium-grade tab sheet that’s easy to follow and gets you playing the song quickly. Here’s a key that shows how I’ve set everything up:
How these guitar tabs are set up.
Once you’ve got a feel for the broad direction of the song, this setup makes it easy to go back in and pick up on the subtle nuances of each part. Let’s start with the first five lines.
Moonlight Sonata Bass Guitar Line
The bass line I added is my own interpretation of the most crucial root notes in the 1st movement. There are a number of different ways you could handle the bass line. I’ve gone with a more minimal approach, emphasizing the more prominent and thicker points of the progression, while making sure to space notes out and avoid hitting every chord.
We’ve set you up to tackle the Moonlight Sonata bass guitar line, if you so choose. Flickr Commons Image via John Sears Photography
While the bass notes also loosely match the Moonlight Sonata chord progression, be aware that there are a lot of minor chords in play, none of which I’ve listed, because they simply don’t matter as much on a bass guitar. So there’s room for interpretation on a couple of levels, which means you should take my bass notes with grain of salt.
Tab reference credit: Classicalguitar.org
Capo 4 if you want to match the key of the track.
Section #1: Lines One through Five
(0:00 - 0:27)
LINE #1
E|-------------------------|-------------------------|
B|-----1-----1-----1-----1-|-----1-----1-----1-----1-|
G|---2-----2-----2-----2---|---2-----2-----2-----2---|
D|-2-----2-----2-----2-----|-2-----2-----2-----2-----|
A|-0-----------------------|-------------------------|
E|-------------------------|-3-----------------------|
A G
LINE #2
E|-------------------------|-------------------------|
B|-----1-----1-----3-----3-|-----3-----1-----0-----0-|
G|---2-----2-----3-----3---|---1-----2-----2-----1---|
D|-3-----3-----0-----3-----|-2-----2-----2-----0-----|
A|------------(5)----------|-------------------------|
E|-1-----------------------|-0-----------0-----------|
F D E E The first two lines set the tone for the entire piece with arpeggiated triadic patterns that fall under corresponding root notes. These root notes (creating dyadic chords) give us the loose bass line of the pattern.
(0:28 - 1:08)
LINE #3
E|-------------------0----0-|--0-----------------0-----0-|
B|-----------1-----1-----1--|------3-----3-----3-----3---|
G|-2---2---2-----2-----2----|----4-----4-----4-----4-----|
D|-2-2---2-----2-----2------|--------2-----2-------------|
A|-0------------------------|----------------------------|
E|--------------------------|--0-------------------------|
A E
LINE #4
E|-0-----------1-----------|-0-----------------3-----|
B|-----1-----1-----3-----3-|-----1-----1-3---0-----0-|
G|---2-----2-----2-----2---|---0-----0-----0-----0---|
D|-2-----2-----0-----3-----|-2-----2-----3-----------|
A|-0-----------------------|-------------------------|
E|-------------------------|-3-----------3-----------|
A D G G
LINE #5
E|-------------------------|---------------------------|
B|-1---1-----1-----1-----1-|---------------------------|
G|---0-----0-----0-----0---|-----5-----5-----5-8---5h8-|
D|-2-----2-----2-----2-----|---5-----5-----5-----5-----|
A|-3-----------------------|-6-----6-----6-----6-------|
E|-------------------------|-8-------------------------|
C C E♭
In these three lines we see the song begin to complicate further by adding a fourth note to the triadic pattern we’ve used to from the first two lines. Root chords, particularly G and C, will also fill out with additional notes. Each of these chords have been highlighted in red notes to better aid the reader.
If you’re having trouble getting through the chords or if it seems too fast for you to keep up, play through it a couple times with just the chord shapes. If you do this along with the track (assuming you’re capo 4), you’ll begin to feel and anticipate when the chords will change.
Section #2: Line Six through Ten
(1:09 - 1:34)
LINE #6
E|---------------------------|-------------------------|
B|-4-----------------4-----4-|-4---------------1-3---1-|
G|-----6-----6-----6-----6---|-----5-----5---2-----2---|
D|---5-----5-----5-----5-----|---6-----6---1-----0-----|
A|-------6-----6-----6-------|-6-----6-----------------|
E|-6-------------------------|-4-----3-----2-----------|
B♭ A♭ G F♯ D
LINE #7
E|-------------------------|-------------------------|
B|-3-----------4-----1-----|-3-----------3-----------|
G|-----3-----3---0-2---0-2-|-----3-----3-----2-----2-|
D|---5-----5---1-----1-----|---5-----5-----4-----4---|
A|-5-----5-----3-----------|-5-----5-----5-----5-----|
E|-3-----------------------|-------------------------|
G C D
The walk-down you see in the second half of line #6 requires you to change chord shapes quickly while maintaining the rhythm and arpeggiated feel of the piece. I would advise blocking off the second portion of line #6 and the first portion of line #7 to work on together. Once you’re comfortable with that part, you can add the rest of both lines.
(1:35 - 2:12)
LINE #8
E|-------------------3-----|-4-----------------2-----|
B|-----3-----3-----3-----3-|-----4-----4-----4-----4-|
G|---3-----3-----4-----4---|---5-----5-----5-----5---|
D|-5-----5-----5-----5-----|-5-----5-----5-----------|
A|-------------------------|-------3-----------3-----|
E|-3-----------------------|-------------------------|
G G C C
LINE #9
E|-3-----------------3-----|-4-----------------2-----|
B|-----3-----3-----3-----3-|-----4-----4-----4-----4-|
G|---4-----4-----4-----4---|---5-----5-----5-----5---|
D|-5-----5-----5-----5-----|-5-----5-----5-----------|
A|-------------------------|-------3-----------3-----|
E|-3-----------------------|-------------------------|
G G G C C
LINE #10
E|-3-----------3-----------|-3---0-----0-1-----------|
B|-----3-----3-------------|-----------------3-----3-|
G|---4-----4-----3-6---3-6-|---2-----2-----2-----2---|
D|-------5-----5-----5-----|-------5-----0-----3-----|
A|-------------------------|-4-----------------------|
E|-3-----------0-----------|-------------------------|
G E/G C♯ D
The bass line here anchors heavily on G and C, which means you can simplify some of these chords by playing only root notes and add the intervals in later. It also takes on a more ominous and darkened tone, particularly in line #10. The dyadic chord shapes get dense here as well, so slow things down and try working through those chords first before adding in the rest of the melody.
From here, we’ll speed things up, taking the tab lines in larger chunks.
Section #3: Lines 11 through 15
(2:12 - 3:15)
LINE #11
E|-------------------------|-------------------------|
B|-4-----------3-----------|-------------------------|
G|-----3-----3-----4-----4-|-------------2-----2-----|
D|---5-----5-----3-----3---|-7---3-----3-----2-----2-|
A|-------6-----5-----5-----|---5-----5-----5-----4---|
E|-3-----------4-----------|-5-----5-----5-----5-----|
G A♭ A
LINE #12
E|--------------------5-----5-|-5-------0-----0---5-----5-|
B|------------------6-----6---|---5-8-----8-----8---5-8---|
G|------------7---7-----7-----|---------------------------|
D|------7---7---7-----7-------|-7-----7-----7-----7-------|
A|----8---8-------------------|-0-------------------------|
E|-10-------------------------|---------------------------|
D A A
LINE #13
E|-5-----------------5-----|-7---0-----0-----0-7---0-|
B|-----6-----6-9---------6-|-------------------------|
G|---7-----7-----7-9---7---|---7-----7-----7-----7---|
D|-7-----7-----------------|-6-----6-----6-----6-----|
A|-5-----------------------|-------------------------|
E|-------------7-----5-----|-4-----------------4-----|
D B A A♭ A♭
LINE #14
E|--8-----------7-----5-----|-4-----------------------|
B|-----10----10-0---9-----7-|-------5-----6---0-----0-|
G|----9-----9-----7-----5---|-----4-----4-------7-----|
D|-10----10-----0-----7-----|---6-----6-----6-----6---|
A|--0-----------------6-----|-------------------------|
E|--------------------------|-0-----------------------|
A/D D E♭ E
LINE #15
E|-------------------------|-------5-----8-----5-----|
B|-----0-----0-----0-----0-|-----5-----5-----5-----5-|
G|-------------------------|-5-5-----5-----5-----5---|
D|---6-----6-----6-----6---|-------------------------|
A|-------7-----8-----5-----|-------------------------|
E|-0-----------------------|-0-----------------------|
E E/C
These five lines knock off an entire minute of the song and, outside of the first half of line 14, are comfortably straightforward. You’ll have some tritones in line 13, 14 and 15 with some challenging chord shapes intermingled. This will likely make lines 13 and 14 the focal point of your effort.
Line 15 generously uses the open B, followed by four triadic shapes that anchor comfortably on the fifth fret. It’s a bigger piece to tackle but, each line is small and manageable.
Take a couple runs through and then focus on the lines that are giving you the most trouble.
Section #4: Lines 16 through 21
(3:16 - 4:29)
LINE #16
E|-------------------------|-------------------1---4-|
B|-------------1-----------|-----------0---3-0---3---|
G|-------2-----------2-----|-------1-----1-----------|
D|-----2-----2-----2-----2-|---3-0---3---------------|
A|-3-3-----3-----3-----3---|-2-----------------------|
E|-0-----------------------|-0-----------------------|
E/C E
LINE #17
E|-----------0---5---8-5---|-----------------------2-|
B|-------1-----1---5-----5-|---------------1---4-1---|
G|---2-----2---------------|-----------2-----2-------|
D|-----2-------------------|---1---4-1---4-----------|
A|-3-----------------------|-0---3-------------------|
E|-0-----------------------|-0-----------------------|
E/C E/A
LINE #18
E-|-------------------4---7-|-4---1-------------------|
B-|-------0-----0-6-----6---|---3---0-3---0-----------|
G-|---1-------7-----7-------|-----------1-----1-------|
D-|-0---3---6---------------|---------------3---0-3---|
A-|-------------------------|-----------------------2-|
E-|-0-----------------------|-------------------------|
E/D
LINE #19
E|------------------------|------------------------|
B|------------------------|------------------------|
G|------------------------|------------------------|
D|-0---------0-3---0---0-3|-----2-3-2-----0-3---0-3|
A|-----2---------2---0----|---5-------5-2-----0----|
E|---4---1-4--------------|-4----------------------|
A♭ A♭
LINE #20
E|------------------------|------------------------|
B|------------------------|------------------------|
G|------------------------|-----------------2-----2|
D|-----2-3-2-----0-3---0-3|-----2-3-2--------------|
A|---5-------5-1-----0----|---5-------5-0h3---0h3--|
E|-4----------------------|-4-----------1----------|
A♭ A♭ F/A
LINE #21
E|-------------------------|-------------------0-----0-|
B|-------------------------|-----------1-----1-----1---|
G|-----2-----2-----1-----1-|-2---2---2-----2-----2-----|
D|-0h3-----3-----2-----2---|---2---2-----2-----2-------|
A|-2-----2-----2-----2-----|-0-------------------------|
E|-------------0-----------|---------------------------|
B/D E A
Starting in the second half of the 16th line, we see Beethoven abandon the familiar triadic arpeggio in favor of a dyadic two-note rhythm that holds through the root E.
He slowly reintroduces the triadic cadence in line 19. By line 21 you’re back in the same spot you started in. This segment almost works better with a pick, since there are only a few chords. Plus, the dyadic shapes that we do see have their root notes and intervals positioned conveniently close together.
If a pick makes it easier, give it a go.
Either way, the most challenging aspect of this segment is note memorization and knowing where you’re at in the song. Keep an eye on the time stamp if you have to.
Section #5: Lines 22 through 27
(4:29 - 5:45)
LINE #22
E|-0-----------------0-----0-|-0-----------1-----------|
B|-----3-----3-----3-----3---|-----1-----1-----3-----3-|
G|---4-----4-----4-----4-----|---2-----2-----2-----2---|
D|-------2-----2-----2-------|-2-----2-----0-----3-----|
A|---------------------------|-0-----------------------|
E|-0-------------------------|-------------------------|
E A
LINE #23
E|-0-----------------3-----|-------------------3-----3-|
B|-----1-----1-3---0-----0-|-----------5-----5-----5---|
G|---0-----0-----0-----0---|-5---5---5-----5-----5-----|
D|-2-----2-----3-----3-----|---5---5-----5-----5-------|
A|-------------------------|-3-------------------------|
E|-3-----------3-----------|---------------------------|
G G/F F C
LINE #24
E|-3---1-----1-----1-3---1h3-|-3---0-----0-4---0-5-----|
B|---3-----3-----3-----3-----|---1-----1-----3-------5-|
G|-0-----0-----0-----0-------|-0-----0-------------5---|
D|---------------------------|-------------------7-----|
A|-2-------------------------|-3-----------2-----0-----|
E|---------------------------|-------------------------|
B/G G C/G B A
LINE #25
E|-7---0-----0-8-----------|-6-----------4---0-----0-|
B|-0-----0--------10----10-|---3-6---3-6---3-----3---|
G|---7-----7-----9-----9---|-3-----3-----1-----1-----|
D|------------10----10-----|-0-----------------------|
A|-------------0-----------|-------------------------|
E|-4-----------------------|-------------0-----------|
A♭ A/D D/B♭ E
LINE #26
E|-5-----------------5-----|-6-----------------4---1-|
B|-----5-----5-----5-----5-|-----6-----6-----6---3---|
G|---5-----5-----6-----6---|---7-----7-----7---2-----|
D|-7-----7-----7-----7-----|-7-----7-----7-----0-----|
A|-0-----------------------|-------5-----3-----------|
E|-------------------------|-------------------------|
A A A D C/E D
LINE #27
E-|-5-----------------5-----|-6-----------------4---1-|
B-|-----5-----5-----5-----5-|-----6-----6-----6---3---|
G-|---6-----6-----6-----6---|---7-----7-----7---2-----|
D-|-7-----7-----7-----7-----|-7-----7-----7-----0-----|
A-|-0-----------------------|-------5-----3-----------|
E-|-------------------------|-------------------------|
A A A D C/E D
While it’s a large chunk, a lot of these tabs are repeating lines from earlier in the song. Then again, it’s Beethoven, so there will be subtle nuances and differences that will challenge your memory. Also note that in lines 24 through 27 the frequency of triadic chords thickens again, meaning a slower pace will be necessary to memorize and place each one.
Section #6: Lines 28 through 32
(5:45 - 6:50)
LINE #28
E|-5-----------5-----------|-3---1-----1-----1-3---0-|
B|-----5-----5-----6-----6-|---3-----3-----3-----1---|
G|---6-----6-----7-----7---|-0-----0-----0-----------|
D|-7-----7-----7-----7-----|-------------------------|
A|-------------5-----------|-2-----------------3-----|
E|-5-----------------------|-------------------------|
A D B/G C
LINE #29
E|-1---0-1-----------0-----|-------------0-----1-----|
B|---1-----0-3-5---------1-|-3---0-----0-----0-----0-|
G|---------------4-7---2---|---2-----2-----2-----2---|
D|-3-----3-----6-----2-----|-0-----0-----2-----0-----|
A|-0-----2-----------0-----|-------------------------|
E|-------------4-----------|-1-----------0-----------|
A/F B/F A♭ A F/D E D
LINE #30
E|-0-----------0-----------|--------------------------|
B|-----1-----1-----0-----0-|-1---------1-----1-----1--|
G|---2-----2-----1-----1---|-----2---2-----2-----2----|
D|-2-----2-----0-----0-----|-2-2---2-----2-----2------|
A|-------------------------|-0------------------------|
E|-0-----------0-----------|-------------------0----0-|
E E/D A E E
LINE #31
E|---------------------------|-----------5---8-5-12-8-----|
B|-----3-----3-----3-----3---|-------5-----5---------10---|
G|---4-----4-----4-----4-----|---5-----5------------------|
D|-2-----2-----2-----2-------|-----7----------------------|
A|---------------------------|-7--------------------------|
E|-4-----------------0-----0-|-5------------------0-----0-|
A♭/E E E A E E
LINE #32
E|---7------------------------|-----------5---8-5-12-8----|
B|-9-----9--------------------|-------5-----5---------10--|
G|----10---7-10---7-----------|---5-----5-----------------|
D|--------------9-----6---0---|-7---7---------------------|
A|------------------8---7-----|-7-------------------------|
E|-0------------------0-----0-|-5------------------0----0-|
E E/A♭ E A E
Finally, you’re in the home stretch. At this point, the song begins to slow, repeating familiar patterns and preparing to resolve. Line 29 will likely be the trickiest, clustering six triadic chords shapes that span only several seconds. Play this segment with a slow, descending feel while adding heavier emphasis to the root notes.
Since we’re leading into the end of the song, we need to feel the culmination of the piece and make sure we’re emphasizing a slow decent.
Section #7: Lines 33 through 35
(6:50 - 6:50)
LINE #33
E|---7-----------------------|-------------------------|
B|-9------9------------------|-------------------------|
G|-----10---7-10---7---------|-------5-----------2-----|
D|---------------9-----6---0-|-7---7---7-------2---2---|
A|-------------------8---7---|-7-7-------7---3-------3-|
E|-0-------------------0---0-|-5-----------5-----------|
E E/A♭ E/D A A
LINE #34
E-|-------0-----------------|--------------5----------|
B-|-----1---1---------------|--------------5----------|
G-|---2-------2---2---------|--------------5----------|
D-|-2-----------2---2---2---|--------------7----------|
A-|-0-----------------3---3-|-p0-----------0----------|
E-|-------------------------|-------------------------|
A A
LINE #35
E-|------------------------|
B-|------------------------|
G-|------------------------|
D-|-7~---------------------|
A-|-0~---------------------|
E-|------------------------|
A
Line 33 walks down slowly into three arpeggiated A chords before dropping you off at the low open A. The song finishes on a dark, resonating chord with an octave added at the seventh fret. And that’s a wrap, folks. It’s a long way to the top, but that’s the entire first movement, Adagio sotenuto.
Why are we using the piano version and not guitar?
I used this particular piano recording of Moonlight Sonata for a few reasons:
- It was one of the slower versions I could find
- Many of the acoustic guitar versions were played slightly different.
- It was true to the original notation
Most of the guitar versions of this piece are quicker and have some of the artist’s own creative flair added to them. However, the piano recording I used was exactly like the original and one of the most genuine examples of the song I could find. If you want to hear a guitar version, here are a few I would recommend.
Moonlight Sonata Guitar Performances: Acoustic and Classical
Now that we’ve got the academia out of the way, we can get into some inspiration. What I’ll do first is send you through a Spotify playlist I created with my favorite Moonlight Sonata guitar covers:
Nicely done, right? There are more renditions of this song then you’d ever care to listen to. But, I think the acoustic guitar handles it well, particularly because of all the arpeggiated shapes. Here’s a cover video I’d add to the inspirational pile:
Eric Henderson does a great job with the first movement and, like the tabs we’re using, is in the key of Am. There are other more creative versions of the movement, including some metal renditions that might interest the electric-leaning crowd. Personally, I could do with them. When I’m learning a song like this I prefer to go the purist’s route and stay with the acoustic arrangement.
If you choose to depart from conventional wisdom, I’d advise laying the groundwork on a “boring” acoustic guitar, then exploring other ways to mod the song.
Is it a must to use the classical guitar posture like Henderson does in his video?
No. Not at all. The “formal” classical guitar posture, while it might be helpful to some, is not necessary. All the guitar playing I did to write this post was done with a Taylor 114CE Acoustic Guitar (not a classical guitar) while in a garden-variety “sitting down” guitar posture.
You don’t need a classical guitar or the Spanish guitar form. Or that weird little foot stool they use. Play the guitar you want and just make sure you’re comfortable.
Other Resources
The Moonlight Sonata guitar tab is complete, though we do have a few more links to share with you that might be useful to you:
- The full “Moonlight Sonata” track with all three movements
- Wikipedia Page
- Piano Sheet Music from 8Notes
You can also check out the words cited section at the bottom of the page.
Your Thoughts and Questions
Do you have questions about the tab or thoughts you’d like to share?
You can reach out to me directly or get in touch via the comments section below.
Related Articles
Written by Bobby on Acoustics and Roundups
Written by Bobby on Acoustics and Roundups
been trying this piece on and off for years, but for some reason this break down helped me nail it. I think just the breaking of sections made it feel possible.
Thanks for the comment, Robert. Really glad you found this helpful.
Like this. Would be handy to have a PDF version of your complete arrangement to download and print.
Hey, thanks Steve. I’ll see about getting that setup with a download on this page.
This is great! I used OneNote to clip the tabs and then saved with print to pdf. I’m very grateful.
Hey, thanks, Maurice. So glad to hear you found it useful!