# Guaraldi, Schroder . . . and Beethoven

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaraldi-schroder-and-beethoven/48163>\
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\
**Created:** [January 3, 2001, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaraldi-schroder-and-beethoven/48163 "2001-01-03T00:50:49Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Johanna](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johanna/32/8318_2.png) [@Johanna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johanna)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaraldi-schroder-and-beethoven/48163/1 "2001-01-03T00:50:49Z")

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I had a musical epiphany the other day watching my orchestra conductor brother-in-law playing Vince Guaraldi’s famous theme from _A Charlie Brown Christmas_ on the piano. It is built using the same three notes at the beginning–that ascending figure that uses the “horn intervals.”

“Horn intervals” are so called in music theory because they were traditionally played on a pair of French horns using the overtone series. They go sixth-fifth-third. The most famous use of them is in Beethoven’s “_Lebewohl_” Sonata (“_Les Adieux_”) in E-flat, Op. 81. There, Beethoven used them in a descending figure. Guaraldi played the exact same figure – in reverse.

Do you suppose he deliberately jazzed Beethoven? Considering that the soundtrack for the Charlie Brown show had Schroder playing that tune. The well-known Beethoven fanatic.

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**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\
**Post date:** [January 3, 2001, 5:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/guaraldi-schroder-and-beethoven/48163/2 "2001-01-03T05:41:00Z")

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Interesting idea. That motif also appears once or twice in the Leonore Overture #3.