Well, it's a little late for Christmas this year, but it took me longer to refine this song than I expected. This
link will bring up two different versions. There are no barre chords
in either one, but that does not mean they are both “easy”. The first
one is beginner to intermediate level of difficulty. It’s in the key of G, so
there are no difficult chords, though there are hammer-ons, pull-offs,
and slides. They sound cool, and are not hard to do.
The
second version is an exact transcription of the piano music published in
the Children’s Songbook, transposed to the key of G, using the
transposing engine found in the Church’s interactive music player at
lds.org. Unlike most piano pieces, this song is doesn’t sound bad as a
guitar piece. There are two musical “parts”, which on the piano are
right hand and left hand, making it easy to keep them separate. On the
guitar, this does not work out quite so well. I have italicized the
“left hand” part, and specified “Drop D” tuning (lower the bass E string
to D) to aid the guitarist, but it’s still not an easy piece to play.
Many of the necessary techniques are actually classical guitar
techniques. If you can play classical guitar, this is the one for you,
but you won’t need my instructions. If you are not a classical
guitarist, I recommend my fingerstyle arrangement. It’s much easier, and
frankly, I think it sounds better.
Please note that the chords
called for in the tab are for finger position only, not for strumming.
Perhaps the best example of this is the initial G7 chord. Actually, the chord played is a G, since the #1 string is not played. You could play it as a G-shape
if you wanted to, but your fingers would not be in the right position
to fret the following melody notes. Putting your fingers in the G7 shape fixes the problem. But if you strum the full G7
chord, it will sound wrong. This piece is intended as an instrumental
solo. It would be hard to play in Eb major, as it is written in the
Children’s Songbook. You’d have to transpose it, which I did.
You may also notice that most of the D7 chords
include the open A string, a departure from the usual practice.
Normally, the bass note of this chord is the open D string, and the A
string is not used. Technically, this chord should be called D7/A. For simplicity, since all the D7 chords are played this way, and the only difference is the open A string, I have labeled them all D7,
and show the change in the chord diagram at the end. This does not
matter in the second, harder version, as the Drop D tuning there makes
the extreme bass D note available. I had thought to include Drop D
tuning in this version as well, but it seemed an unnecessary
complication.
This song is not in the public domain. The
copyright is owned by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,
and is used by permission. Please abide their use restrictions, and use
this only for non-commercial, church or personal use.
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Oh, Come, All Ye Faithful
Finally, after weeks of arranging, I’ve got this song right. I wanted to get it posted well before Christmas, but it just needed more work. Merry Christmas, anyway.
Don’t feel bad if you have trouble with the semi-pattern picking. Most (but not all) of the melody notes are fretted with the little finger of the left hand. Like most fingerstyle guitar, the LEFT index finger frets in the first space, the middle in the second space, and the ring finger in the third space. Hence, the little finger is left free for fretting other notes, but sometimes this is not handy, and you have to release the chord, so you can use one of the other fingers for melody notes, hammer-ons, or slides.
I have not included all the chords that would be needed to strum the song as an accompaniment to singers. The chords called out in the tablature are only for finger position. Quite often, the following chord is only represented by a single melody note, or can easily be “faked” without changing the basic position of the chord being held. In these cases, I have left out the chord symbol. If you want to know all the chords used in this song, I recommend doing an Internet search for oh come all ye faithful/chords. The chords shown in the chord chart at the end of the tab really only show the chord shapes used in this arrangement.
There are three verses to this song, and they are all different, with two key changes. I’ll be playing it, as written, for my ward’s Christmas party this week. But you need not learn all three verses. If you can find one of the three that you like, you can simply repeat that one twice. The first verse is almost all chords, and would go well as an accompaniment to singers, though the key of C is a bit low for most vocalists. Verse two is in D, and may be easier for a singer, but the verse is tabbed for fingerstyle guitar. Verse Three is in C again, AND is mostly fingerstyle.
The chords in the first two lines are all strummed, and the other notes can be played easily with the thumb, giving this verse a distinctive, soft sound. It’s also really easy to play that way. The third line and the chorus contain a lot of pattern picks that are better done as finger-picking, (using “free strokes” for you classical guitarists). I like to play this section and the second verse near the bridge, for a twangy, “classical” sound. It wouldn’t hurt to use your fingernails, if you’ve got ’em.
To make finger-picking easier, remember to use your right ring finger to pluck the notes on the #1 string (high e). Use your RIGHT middle finger to pluck notes on the #2 (B) string, and the RIGHT index finger for notes on the #3 (G) string. The RIGHT thumb plucks the bass strings. In the last measure before the Chorus, you’ll have to strum the two bass strings to play them both with the thumb.
The first measure of the chorus introduces a riff that sounds like it is repeated throughout the song. Though there are many similar measures throughout the song, there are no actual repetitions. Fortunately, they are not at all hard to do, and they all sound great.
In the second line of the chorus, watch out for the glissando (slide) on the third (G) string. Use the LEFT middle finger to make the slide. Timing is critical, and to sound good, you must hit the tenth fret exactly, without overshooting or undershooting. Hold that note (F) with a bit of vibrato if necessary.
In the second and third lines of the second verse, pay special attention to the tab. The notes aren’t always what you would expect. Sometimes they change slightly, for example from a D to a C# and back, in order to conform to the melody, even though the chord names do not change. If something sounds wrong to you, you may be missing a slight change in the notes shown in the tab.
There’s another glissando in the second line of the second chorus. Again, accuracy is super important. Hold the final G of the slide with vibrato if needed.
The third verse contains chords designed to add a “full” sound to the music: six-string chords such as the barre chords GIII and FI and the non-barre chord C/G. If you’ve come this far, please don’t skip them. They are there to prepare the audience for the finale, and paradoxically, they may also make the music easier to play on the guitar. Remember, chords with the strum marking are to be strummed. All others are to be pinched.
Slow almost to half-speed for the final line. The glissando in the second measure is exactly like the one in the first verse. Hold the final C/G chord as long as you can, preferably for the full eight counts. This is hard to do if you are playing an acoustic guitar, but do your best. It’ll sound wonderful, a real crowd pleaser.
About the song:
This song was originally written in Latin, under the title Adeste Fideles, which could be translated as, “Approach, faithful ones.” The author and composer are uncertain, but the earliest extant copies from the 1700s were all signed by John Francis Wade, an English Catholic hymnist, and it is most commonly attributed to him.
Latin puns and other internal evidence in the lyrics have led many to conclude that the hymn was originally composed in celebration of the birth of Charles Edward Stuart, the Jacobite pretender to the crown of England, known to history as Bonny Prince Charlie. His cause was defeated when the Jacobite rising of 1745 was crushed, but the song lives on. It is a perennial favorite in most Catholic countries and virtually all English speaking ones. (See the Wikipedia articles Adeste Fideles, John Francis Wade, and Bonny Prince Charlie for more details.)
Don’t feel bad if you have trouble with the semi-pattern picking. Most (but not all) of the melody notes are fretted with the little finger of the left hand. Like most fingerstyle guitar, the LEFT index finger frets in the first space, the middle in the second space, and the ring finger in the third space. Hence, the little finger is left free for fretting other notes, but sometimes this is not handy, and you have to release the chord, so you can use one of the other fingers for melody notes, hammer-ons, or slides.
I have not included all the chords that would be needed to strum the song as an accompaniment to singers. The chords called out in the tablature are only for finger position. Quite often, the following chord is only represented by a single melody note, or can easily be “faked” without changing the basic position of the chord being held. In these cases, I have left out the chord symbol. If you want to know all the chords used in this song, I recommend doing an Internet search for oh come all ye faithful/chords. The chords shown in the chord chart at the end of the tab really only show the chord shapes used in this arrangement.
There are three verses to this song, and they are all different, with two key changes. I’ll be playing it, as written, for my ward’s Christmas party this week. But you need not learn all three verses. If you can find one of the three that you like, you can simply repeat that one twice. The first verse is almost all chords, and would go well as an accompaniment to singers, though the key of C is a bit low for most vocalists. Verse two is in D, and may be easier for a singer, but the verse is tabbed for fingerstyle guitar. Verse Three is in C again, AND is mostly fingerstyle.
The chords in the first two lines are all strummed, and the other notes can be played easily with the thumb, giving this verse a distinctive, soft sound. It’s also really easy to play that way. The third line and the chorus contain a lot of pattern picks that are better done as finger-picking, (using “free strokes” for you classical guitarists). I like to play this section and the second verse near the bridge, for a twangy, “classical” sound. It wouldn’t hurt to use your fingernails, if you’ve got ’em.
To make finger-picking easier, remember to use your right ring finger to pluck the notes on the #1 string (high e). Use your RIGHT middle finger to pluck notes on the #2 (B) string, and the RIGHT index finger for notes on the #3 (G) string. The RIGHT thumb plucks the bass strings. In the last measure before the Chorus, you’ll have to strum the two bass strings to play them both with the thumb.
The first measure of the chorus introduces a riff that sounds like it is repeated throughout the song. Though there are many similar measures throughout the song, there are no actual repetitions. Fortunately, they are not at all hard to do, and they all sound great.
In the second line of the chorus, watch out for the glissando (slide) on the third (G) string. Use the LEFT middle finger to make the slide. Timing is critical, and to sound good, you must hit the tenth fret exactly, without overshooting or undershooting. Hold that note (F) with a bit of vibrato if necessary.
In the second and third lines of the second verse, pay special attention to the tab. The notes aren’t always what you would expect. Sometimes they change slightly, for example from a D to a C# and back, in order to conform to the melody, even though the chord names do not change. If something sounds wrong to you, you may be missing a slight change in the notes shown in the tab.
There’s another glissando in the second line of the second chorus. Again, accuracy is super important. Hold the final G of the slide with vibrato if needed.
The third verse contains chords designed to add a “full” sound to the music: six-string chords such as the barre chords GIII and FI and the non-barre chord C/G. If you’ve come this far, please don’t skip them. They are there to prepare the audience for the finale, and paradoxically, they may also make the music easier to play on the guitar. Remember, chords with the strum marking are to be strummed. All others are to be pinched.
Slow almost to half-speed for the final line. The glissando in the second measure is exactly like the one in the first verse. Hold the final C/G chord as long as you can, preferably for the full eight counts. This is hard to do if you are playing an acoustic guitar, but do your best. It’ll sound wonderful, a real crowd pleaser.
About the song:
This song was originally written in Latin, under the title Adeste Fideles, which could be translated as, “Approach, faithful ones.” The author and composer are uncertain, but the earliest extant copies from the 1700s were all signed by John Francis Wade, an English Catholic hymnist, and it is most commonly attributed to him.
Latin puns and other internal evidence in the lyrics have led many to conclude that the hymn was originally composed in celebration of the birth of Charles Edward Stuart, the Jacobite pretender to the crown of England, known to history as Bonny Prince Charlie. His cause was defeated when the Jacobite rising of 1745 was crushed, but the song lives on. It is a perennial favorite in most Catholic countries and virtually all English speaking ones. (See the Wikipedia articles Adeste Fideles, John Francis Wade, and Bonny Prince Charlie for more details.)
Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains
“Far, Far Away on Judea’s Plains” may be the only popular Christmas carol originally composed for a Mormon choir. It got its start in 1869, when John Menzies Macfarlane composed it for the St. George, Utah choir, which he directed. It was first published in the December 15, 1889 issue of the Juvenile Instructor, ancestor to today’s New Era magazine. Brother Macfarlane also composed the tune. The song has achieved acceptance in the Christian community at large. Few who sing it realize it is not a traditional Christmas carol.
Merry Christmas!
This song contains a lot of dotted eighth-notes and sixteenth-notes. I haven’t put them in. You know the song anyway. Remember that the metronome count is for quarter-notes. Play it fast.
The entire first line is fretted from the basic C-shape. CaddG is just a normal C chord with the G added on the first string, to bring out the melody. The bass note C on the fifth string forms a drone that helps to keep the rhythm steady. Don’t leave it out-- it will help your audience follow the rhythm too. The notes on the bass strings in the next two measures serve the same purpose.
Similarly, the second line is played (mostly) from the GIII position. The exception is a very brief excursion into the CIII position. You don’t even have to move the barre. Just switch from the barred E-shape to the barred A-shape, and then right back.
The first line of the chorus is played from the C-shape again, but the second line is different. FV is normally played as a C-shape barred at the 5th fret. Since many guitarists have a hard time reaching this chord quickly, I have modified it to a four-string chord. This also eases the transition to the following CIII chord. The arpeggios at the ends of measure 5 and 6 are for time-keeping, similar to the drones in the first line of the verse. You can hold the G7III briefly for emphasis, if you wish.
The arpeggio at the beginning of the last line is another one for time-keeping, but the ones in the next measure are not. They are part of the melody. Do not leave them out! The C/G in the last measure is just another variation on the basic C-shape. Just add the bass G note with the left pinkie and strum all six strings. The full sound gives a better resolution for the end of the song.
You can play as many verses as you like. You may want to alternate pinching and strumming the chords from verse to verse, or change the tempo, for variety. This song is in the public domain.
Merry Christmas!
This song contains a lot of dotted eighth-notes and sixteenth-notes. I haven’t put them in. You know the song anyway. Remember that the metronome count is for quarter-notes. Play it fast.
The entire first line is fretted from the basic C-shape. CaddG is just a normal C chord with the G added on the first string, to bring out the melody. The bass note C on the fifth string forms a drone that helps to keep the rhythm steady. Don’t leave it out-- it will help your audience follow the rhythm too. The notes on the bass strings in the next two measures serve the same purpose.
Similarly, the second line is played (mostly) from the GIII position. The exception is a very brief excursion into the CIII position. You don’t even have to move the barre. Just switch from the barred E-shape to the barred A-shape, and then right back.
The first line of the chorus is played from the C-shape again, but the second line is different. FV is normally played as a C-shape barred at the 5th fret. Since many guitarists have a hard time reaching this chord quickly, I have modified it to a four-string chord. This also eases the transition to the following CIII chord. The arpeggios at the ends of measure 5 and 6 are for time-keeping, similar to the drones in the first line of the verse. You can hold the G7III briefly for emphasis, if you wish.
The arpeggio at the beginning of the last line is another one for time-keeping, but the ones in the next measure are not. They are part of the melody. Do not leave them out! The C/G in the last measure is just another variation on the basic C-shape. Just add the bass G note with the left pinkie and strum all six strings. The full sound gives a better resolution for the end of the song.
You can play as many verses as you like. You may want to alternate pinching and strumming the chords from verse to verse, or change the tempo, for variety. This song is in the public domain.
White Christmas-- a stocking stuffer
I AM dreaming of a white Christmas this year. There's not a speck of snow on the ground. In case you're also dreaming of a white Christmas, here it is: the most popular single song of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. It was listed as such in the very first edition of Guiness, and again each year for the last fifty years.
The Tab:
The tablature is simplicity itself. I only included the melody line, except for the final C chord. For those who are not familiar with the upper end of the fret board, I have included notations above each staff, in lightface italics, showing which finger of the left hand to use for each note. The fingers are numbered thus:
1 = index
2 = middle
3 = ring
4 - pinkie
This is standard notation for classical guitar (or lead). In general, you will be playing in "seventh position", so all the notes in the seventh fret will be fretted with the index finger, all the notes in the eighth fret will be fretted with the middle finger, etc. The only changes are near the end.
In the next-to-last line, right after the word, "write," the left hand changes to fifth position. If you like you can barre the fifth fret, but you may find it easier to play the third string normally, then just sort of smash the side of your finger down on the second string and first string, as needed. Do the same with the third finger at the eighth fret. Stay in fifth position until it's time to play the last three notes of the next-to-last measure on the open second string, then change to first position for the C chord. With a bit of practice, it will seem quite natural to you.
I hope to do a full guitar arrangement in 2012, and post it before next Christmas, so you will have time to practice. But it sounds pretty good this way, and even better on an acoustic guitar, with lots of vibrato.
Cool stuff about the song:
Irving Berlin wrote over 1500 songs in his long lifetime (he died in his sleep at 101, in the 1980s.) Legend has it that he stayed up all night writing White Christmas, then called up a friend the next day and said, "I've just written the best song I ever wrote-- maybe the best song anybody ever wrote!" If so, many famous song writers, including George Gershwin and Aaron Copeland, would agree. So would millions of fans. Recordings of White Christmas have sold over a hundred million copies, more than any other song in history, and it has reached #1 on the Hit Parade chart of best-selling records three separate times-- the only song ever to do so.
Not bad, for an American Christmas carol written by a Jewish immigrant from Russia!
The Tab:
The tablature is simplicity itself. I only included the melody line, except for the final C chord. For those who are not familiar with the upper end of the fret board, I have included notations above each staff, in lightface italics, showing which finger of the left hand to use for each note. The fingers are numbered thus:
1 = index
2 = middle
3 = ring
4 - pinkie
This is standard notation for classical guitar (or lead). In general, you will be playing in "seventh position", so all the notes in the seventh fret will be fretted with the index finger, all the notes in the eighth fret will be fretted with the middle finger, etc. The only changes are near the end.
In the next-to-last line, right after the word, "write," the left hand changes to fifth position. If you like you can barre the fifth fret, but you may find it easier to play the third string normally, then just sort of smash the side of your finger down on the second string and first string, as needed. Do the same with the third finger at the eighth fret. Stay in fifth position until it's time to play the last three notes of the next-to-last measure on the open second string, then change to first position for the C chord. With a bit of practice, it will seem quite natural to you.
I hope to do a full guitar arrangement in 2012, and post it before next Christmas, so you will have time to practice. But it sounds pretty good this way, and even better on an acoustic guitar, with lots of vibrato.
Cool stuff about the song:
Irving Berlin wrote over 1500 songs in his long lifetime (he died in his sleep at 101, in the 1980s.) Legend has it that he stayed up all night writing White Christmas, then called up a friend the next day and said, "I've just written the best song I ever wrote-- maybe the best song anybody ever wrote!" If so, many famous song writers, including George Gershwin and Aaron Copeland, would agree. So would millions of fans. Recordings of White Christmas have sold over a hundred million copies, more than any other song in history, and it has reached #1 on the Hit Parade chart of best-selling records three separate times-- the only song ever to do so.
Not bad, for an American Christmas carol written by a Jewish immigrant from Russia!
I Saw Three Ships
Well, it's a Christmas carol, even if it's not in the hymnal, or even specifically Christian, and it has always bothered me that it would be impossible to see ANY ships from the region near Bethlehem. Oh, well! It's a pretty song to play on the guitar, and quite easy. There are no barre chords at all. Basically, it's C, G, and G7, with just one variation of each. I've tagged the variations with asterisks, as the real names of the chords take up a lot of room, and are quite unnecessary. For you purists, I've included the real names on the chord charts. If you just wanted to strum along with some carolers, you wouldn't even need to play the variations, just the three basic chords.
Good thing, too, at least in Salt Lake City where I live-- it gets DARN COLD of a winter evening, cold enough to make any but the simplest playing impossible, and I've never figured out how to play with gloves on. Enjoy! Of course, it's in the public domain.
Good thing, too, at least in Salt Lake City where I live-- it gets DARN COLD of a winter evening, cold enough to make any but the simplest playing impossible, and I've never figured out how to play with gloves on. Enjoy! Of course, it's in the public domain.
Hark! the Herald Angels Sing
Merry Christmas!
Here's another one of my favorite Christmas Carols. Enjoy!
The music:
This is not a difficult song, but it needs a bit of explanation. As published in Hymns, it is written in the key of F, which is nearly impossible for most guitarists. I have transposed it up two frets, to the key of G. Other than that, the first verse is taken exactly from the soprano and alto lines in Hymns. The song is in the public domain, so that’s okay. For those who just want to accompany singers, I have included the rhythm guitar chords, in lightface type. They won’t help you with the tab, though. So if you’re trying to play the tab as written, just ignore the lightface chords in the first verse. (The second verse is different. More on that later.)
The first verse does not need chord symbols, as there are NO CHORDS in this verse, just two-finger pinches. For those who are not classically trained, I have included notations about which left-hand finger to use to fret the notes. Normally, in classical guitar notation, such abbreviations are given in Spanish: p - i - m - a, for the Spanish words, pulgar, indicio, medio, & anulario. Since the song is written in English, and few of my followers are classically trained, I decided to use the English abbreviations: t - i - m - r (for thumb, index, middle, & ring) instead. If you are a classical guitarist, please just deal with it.
There are a couple of places where it’s easier to just slide the left hand up or down the neck, rather than switching fingers. You’ll find them as you play through the song. I tried to specify the fingering that I think will be easiest for a beginner. If you think a different fingering would be better, please yourself. This is just my arrangement; it wasn’t handed down by Mendelssohn!
The second verse is a different story.
First, the lyrics: I couldn’t keep the song on three pages and use the real lyrics for the second verse. They just take up more room, and are not as easy to follow. Since I only include lyrics to aid in following the rhythm, I re-used the lyrics from the first verse. This is supposed to be a guitar solo, anyway.
Second, the arrangement: This is one of my easier guitar arrangements. Half the notes are played on open strings! All the chords are easy to play, and most are well-known to every guitarist. The only exceptions are GaddD and CaddD, which are both slight variations of the basic G-shape. There are no difficult chord changes, and NO BARRE CHORDS!
I have included chord symbols where they would be helpful in knowing where to place the fingers of the left hand. I have left them out, where they are not needed. For example, where all the strings are played open, it is not necessary to hold a G chord, even though that is what you would do if you were playing accompaniment or rhythm guitar. In other places, only a single note of a chord is called for. In such places, I have left out the unnecessary chord changes, for clarity. If you wish to play rhythm, use the chords from the first verse.
History:
This is one of eight thousand hymn lyrics written by Charles Wesley, younger brother of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church. During his life, Charles published over six thousand of his hymns, many of which are found in the LDS hymnal.
The tune he had in mind is not the one usually associated with this carol. Wesley envisioned it being sung to the tune of Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, which he also wrote. The tune we now use was part of a secular cantata, written a hundred years later by Felix Mendelssohn, to commemorate the invention of the printing press. Fifteen years after that, English musician William H. Cummings adapted Mendelssohn’s tune to Wesley’s lyrics, creating the sprightly Christmas carol we now know.
There have been many other tweaks since Wesley’s day. Even the first line (and hence, the title) of the song has changed. Originally, it began, “Hark! how all the welkin rings / Glory to the King of Kings”. Wesley’s co-worker, George Whitefield, persuaded him to change it. Thank you, George!
Here's another one of my favorite Christmas Carols. Enjoy!
The music:
This is not a difficult song, but it needs a bit of explanation. As published in Hymns, it is written in the key of F, which is nearly impossible for most guitarists. I have transposed it up two frets, to the key of G. Other than that, the first verse is taken exactly from the soprano and alto lines in Hymns. The song is in the public domain, so that’s okay. For those who just want to accompany singers, I have included the rhythm guitar chords, in lightface type. They won’t help you with the tab, though. So if you’re trying to play the tab as written, just ignore the lightface chords in the first verse. (The second verse is different. More on that later.)
The first verse does not need chord symbols, as there are NO CHORDS in this verse, just two-finger pinches. For those who are not classically trained, I have included notations about which left-hand finger to use to fret the notes. Normally, in classical guitar notation, such abbreviations are given in Spanish: p - i - m - a, for the Spanish words, pulgar, indicio, medio, & anulario. Since the song is written in English, and few of my followers are classically trained, I decided to use the English abbreviations: t - i - m - r (for thumb, index, middle, & ring) instead. If you are a classical guitarist, please just deal with it.
There are a couple of places where it’s easier to just slide the left hand up or down the neck, rather than switching fingers. You’ll find them as you play through the song. I tried to specify the fingering that I think will be easiest for a beginner. If you think a different fingering would be better, please yourself. This is just my arrangement; it wasn’t handed down by Mendelssohn!
The second verse is a different story.
First, the lyrics: I couldn’t keep the song on three pages and use the real lyrics for the second verse. They just take up more room, and are not as easy to follow. Since I only include lyrics to aid in following the rhythm, I re-used the lyrics from the first verse. This is supposed to be a guitar solo, anyway.
Second, the arrangement: This is one of my easier guitar arrangements. Half the notes are played on open strings! All the chords are easy to play, and most are well-known to every guitarist. The only exceptions are GaddD and CaddD, which are both slight variations of the basic G-shape. There are no difficult chord changes, and NO BARRE CHORDS!
I have included chord symbols where they would be helpful in knowing where to place the fingers of the left hand. I have left them out, where they are not needed. For example, where all the strings are played open, it is not necessary to hold a G chord, even though that is what you would do if you were playing accompaniment or rhythm guitar. In other places, only a single note of a chord is called for. In such places, I have left out the unnecessary chord changes, for clarity. If you wish to play rhythm, use the chords from the first verse.
History:
This is one of eight thousand hymn lyrics written by Charles Wesley, younger brother of John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church. During his life, Charles published over six thousand of his hymns, many of which are found in the LDS hymnal.
The tune he had in mind is not the one usually associated with this carol. Wesley envisioned it being sung to the tune of Christ the Lord Is Risen Today, which he also wrote. The tune we now use was part of a secular cantata, written a hundred years later by Felix Mendelssohn, to commemorate the invention of the printing press. Fifteen years after that, English musician William H. Cummings adapted Mendelssohn’s tune to Wesley’s lyrics, creating the sprightly Christmas carol we now know.
There have been many other tweaks since Wesley’s day. Even the first line (and hence, the title) of the song has changed. Originally, it began, “Hark! how all the welkin rings / Glory to the King of Kings”. Wesley’s co-worker, George Whitefield, persuaded him to change it. Thank you, George!
Ding-Dong, Merrily on High (easier)
It's HARD to play this song at the proper speed. Doing so requires paying strict attention to correct fingering of both the left and right hands. What works best for me may not work best for you, so don't hesitate to change these instructions if your fingers like a different pattern better! The chords called out in the chord charts require some odd fingerings to allow for fast chord changes, so I have specified which finger to use in the charts. The number 1 = the index finger, 2 = the middle finger, etc. You may find some of these fingerings counter-intuitive, but they are the ones I have found work the best in this particular song.
Meanwhile, back at the first verse:
Strum the initial C chord with the thumb, then play the second note with the ring finger of the right hand. This leaves the stronger middle finger to initiate the pull-off series on the second string. You'll probably have to release the C chord-shape with the left hand to play that series. Play the last note, on the third string, with the right index finger.
In the second measure, play all the third string notes with the right middle finger, and the bass string with the right thumb. This sets you up to play the F chord in the third measure as a thumb strum. The next three notes, all on the second string, can be played rapidly by using a different right hand finger for each one: ring-middle-index. If you know classical guitar terminology, use alternating rest-strokes. In the final measure, use a thumb strum, and pluck the final note with the middle finger (that's a free-stroke in classical guitar).
The Chorus
The Chorus is the fastest part of the song, and thus the hardest to play. Practice each measure until you can do it without thinking about it, then go on to the next. All three Choruses are the same, except for the last line of the final Chorus.
Pluck the first note of the first measure with the right ring finger, then strum the next two notes. Release the chord shape with the left hand, and play the fourth note with the ring finger. Then pluck the next-to-last note with the right middle finger, pulling-off the last note with the left hand. All the notes are eighth-notes, and should have equal length and emphasis.
The second measure of the Chorus has a slightly different pattern. All the notes on the first string are plucked with the right middle finger, the bass note with the thumb, and all the rest with the right index finger. Releasing the chord-shape after the first two notes will make this measure much easier on your left hand. The third measure has the same pattern.
The pattern for the fourth and fifth measures is actually the same, except shifted down one string. The second string notes are all plucked with the right middle finger, bass notes with the thumb, and all others with the index finger. There are no notes on the first string.
The sixth measure is different. Keep the chord shape with the left hand throughout the measure. All second string notes are plucked with the right ring finger, all third string notes with the middle finger, all fourth string notes with the index finger, and the bass with the thumb. The same pattern holds for the final two measures of the Chorus, except for the strummed chord at the beginning of the seventh measure. I like to repeat the Chorus, but it's not required except after the last verse.
The Second Verse
This same pattern is continued into the second verse, except for the second measure, where it shifts down another string, so the chord is strummed by the thumb, then the third string is plucked by the right ring finger, the fourth by the middle finger, the fifth by the index, and the bass by the thumb. At the end of this measure, shift back to the previous pattern, and keep it up until the end of the verse. Repeat the verse, then go right into the Chorus.
The Third Verse
The Third Verse does not follow the melody-- it just sounds really neat! If you want to follow the melody, just repeat the First Verse. But if you want to play the Third Verse the way I've arranged it, here's how.
After the initial strum, release the chord-shape with the left hand. The rest of the measure consists essentially of scales, descending from treble to bass, then ascending again. If you have trouble performing two pull-offs or hammer-ons in a row, you'll have trouble with this verse, but if you can do them, it makes the verse extremely easy, as it's the same pattern, just on different strings.
The only “odd” note comes in the third measure, where you have to fret the fifth string in the fourth space with your left pinkie. If your pinkie is not up to this, you can move your hand around and hit the note in the same place with your ring finger, but it's a lot of finger-dancing for one note. I use my pinkie, and figure if it doesn't sound too good, nobody is likely to notice, as it's a “grace note.”
Repeat the verse, going immediately into the beginning of the repetition without a pause. Even though you are doing exactly the same thing, most of your audience will think you somehow have shifted the guitar down an octave, and will wonder how you did it!
Final Chorus:
The last Chorus is played exactly like all the others, except for the last two measures. You can slow down for this “finale”, but it's way more impressive if you don't. The next-to-last measure is actually easier than in the previous Choruses, to allow a bit more time for you to move your hand up the neck to the eighth fret, for the full-barre C chord.
Just strum the two bass strings quickly, so they sound more or less together, then “slow strum” the other four strings, so each one can be heard independently. (But don't slow down!) Hold the final note as long as you can. If you don't break the rhythm, and you play it as fast as it's written (or even close), your applause will be thunderous!
O Little Town of Bethlehem
Well, I figured if I didn't get it posted soon, I'd have to save it for next Christmas. It may contain errors or need tweaking a bit; I didn't play through it as many times as usual, and I sometimes get errors anyway, so, if something looks wrong, it probably is. Let me know in a comment, or, if you're a follower, click my thumbnail photo and email me.
This is a gorgeous song, and not especially hard to play, if you can play barre chords. If you can't, don't despair: there are substitutes, and even an entire alternate last line, on the third page.
The first verse is mostly chords and melody notes. The original is written in 4/4 time, which, as usual, I've recast as 8/8 to make it easier to see the rhythm. Remember, the "100" shown as a metronome setting is for EIGHTH NOTES. If you try to play it as 100 quarter notes per minute, you'll sound way too fast.
Play the slide in the second measure with the little finger of the left hand (right hand for you southpaws). This will set you up perfectly for the barre chord that starts the third measure. CaddG is just a C chord, with the pinkie in the third fret to add the G note. No sweat.
Beginning with the 5th line, you will encounter arpeggios, grace notes, and other "extra" notes. If you don't like them, just repeat the first four lines. It's a guitar solo-- no one will know. If you're doing that, you can leave out all those "extra" notes.
I recommend you leave in all the "extra" notes called out in the tab, for a more Baroque sound. If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it! --motto of the Eighteenth Century Cooking Club, which I just made up. Seriously, the first four lines are better for accompanying singers, while the last four are better as an instrumental solo.
Next Christmas, I'll try to get my Christmas carols done by Thanksgiving, so you have time to learn them.
This is a gorgeous song, and not especially hard to play, if you can play barre chords. If you can't, don't despair: there are substitutes, and even an entire alternate last line, on the third page.
The first verse is mostly chords and melody notes. The original is written in 4/4 time, which, as usual, I've recast as 8/8 to make it easier to see the rhythm. Remember, the "100" shown as a metronome setting is for EIGHTH NOTES. If you try to play it as 100 quarter notes per minute, you'll sound way too fast.
Play the slide in the second measure with the little finger of the left hand (right hand for you southpaws). This will set you up perfectly for the barre chord that starts the third measure. CaddG is just a C chord, with the pinkie in the third fret to add the G note. No sweat.
Beginning with the 5th line, you will encounter arpeggios, grace notes, and other "extra" notes. If you don't like them, just repeat the first four lines. It's a guitar solo-- no one will know. If you're doing that, you can leave out all those "extra" notes.
I recommend you leave in all the "extra" notes called out in the tab, for a more Baroque sound. If it ain't Baroque, don't fix it! --motto of the Eighteenth Century Cooking Club, which I just made up. Seriously, the first four lines are better for accompanying singers, while the last four are better as an instrumental solo.
Next Christmas, I'll try to get my Christmas carols done by Thanksgiving, so you have time to learn them.
Un Flambeau, Jeanette, Isabelle (Bring a Torch!)
An old, French Christmas carol, much beloved in France, and practically unknown in the English-speaking world. Possibly because the English lyrics don't seem to flow very well. The French lyrics don't, either, but the French don't seem to care. They can deal with a slightly "sprung" rhythm. I have "un-sprung" it in this version, (to make it easier to play) by adding and extra "Ah" and stretching out the word, "bell-e, and then adding another "Ah!" to make it all come out even. Non-French audiences don't seem to mind the change.
If anybody asks, I'll tab the last line in the traditional manner and add it.
I know it's too late for Christmas Carols, two days after Christmas, but it's the best I can do. Maybe it'll help next year. When you're my age, that doesn't seem so far away.
If anybody asks, I'll tab the last line in the traditional manner and add it.
I know it's too late for Christmas Carols, two days after Christmas, but it's the best I can do. Maybe it'll help next year. When you're my age, that doesn't seem so far away.
A-Soulin'
Similar to the old Peter, Paul, & Mary version of this very old, English carol, but arranged as a round for two guitars. There's a very short lyric section, which isn't at all hard to sing. The round is in two "parts", but they're almost exactly the same, except for the end of the intro and the coda, where they have to transition to unison. Meylin, my seven-year-old beginning guitar student, can play it. The hardest part is not getting "pulled off" of your part by listening to the other player.
Play at a steady pace, without variation, and it'll sound fantastic. Especially if you can do it while looking a bit bored. Mind you, no one will think it's actually easy. They'll just think you're showing off. And that you have talent worth showing off. It's actually not bad as a solo piece, too, but the duet round just blows people away.
Play at a steady pace, without variation, and it'll sound fantastic. Especially if you can do it while looking a bit bored. Mind you, no one will think it's actually easy. They'll just think you're showing off. And that you have talent worth showing off. It's actually not bad as a solo piece, too, but the duet round just blows people away.
Christmas Duet for Guitar & Violin
My own arrangement. Actually, this is a medley of the Christmas carols, "Angels We Have Heard On High," and "Joy to the World," plus the Easter song, "Christ the Lord is Risen Today." I first tried the medley as a tribute to President Hinckley's statement that without Easter, there would be no Christmas. The three songs go so well together, musically, too!
You'll want too play right through the transitions from one song into the next without hesitation. If this is hard for you, practice just the measure before and after each transition, over and over, until you can play the transition without hesitation. The second time around, the songs are not complete, just a few bars of each to remind the audience what they are hearing, ending with the joyous finale of "Let Earth receive her King!" (tum ta-TUM!)
Sounds really, REALLY good with a decent violinist. The guitar part fits around the violin melody just right. I don't have a program for writing sheet music, so you have to transpose and print out the violin part. Fortunately, that's not very hard. Instructions follow the chord charts at the end of the guitar part. Anybody know a good, CHEAP (preferably free) program for writing violin music?
You'll want too play right through the transitions from one song into the next without hesitation. If this is hard for you, practice just the measure before and after each transition, over and over, until you can play the transition without hesitation. The second time around, the songs are not complete, just a few bars of each to remind the audience what they are hearing, ending with the joyous finale of "Let Earth receive her King!" (tum ta-TUM!)
Sounds really, REALLY good with a decent violinist. The guitar part fits around the violin melody just right. I don't have a program for writing sheet music, so you have to transpose and print out the violin part. Fortunately, that's not very hard. Instructions follow the chord charts at the end of the guitar part. Anybody know a good, CHEAP (preferably free) program for writing violin music?
Joy to the World!
Public domain. There are no hard chords or transitions in this song! You can play it along with the music as printed in Hymns (# 201), or you can do variations. My favorite variation is to slow down the tempo in the second half of the song. After "Let earth receive her King!" I switch to 4/4 time. This slows the notes down too much for singing, but is just fine as an instrumental solo. It also emphasizes the part about every heart preparing room for the Savior, which I think is the main point of the song. I also like to repeat "Let earth receive her King!" as a finale.
Silliest Twelve Days ever
The song:
OK friends, back by popular (?) demand, here's the Twelve Days of Christmas. Well, at least the Twelfth Day of Christmas. No need to print the other eleven, as the twelfth day repeats them all anyway. It's so easy, I'm only including the cheat sheet. Not exactly a guitar solo, but okay for accompanying the weird lyrics. You probably won't be asked to perform it more than once, anyway. It's the only Twelve Days parody I know that's even dumber than the original.
The story: (of course, there is a story)
Shortly after I joined the Mormon Church, somebody did the Twelve Days to my family, leaving a present on the porch, knocking on the door, and running. We couldn't identify them, as they used a different car every night. (We later found out it was our branch Mutual, but at the time, we were so new we didn't know there was a Mutual.) It made us feel incredibly loved, as it could have been ANYBODY.
I have never been able to remember what the other eleven were, but the first one was a cartridge in a bare tree. So I have done my best to recreate the spirit of the rest of the presents, using whatever was available and cheap. I'll try to include photos, if I can get the camera to work. (Christmastime is NOT the best time of year to drop a camera!) Yes, we are actually presenting these gifts to a local family. What goes around, comes around.
OK friends, back by popular (?) demand, here's the Twelve Days of Christmas. Well, at least the Twelfth Day of Christmas. No need to print the other eleven, as the twelfth day repeats them all anyway. It's so easy, I'm only including the cheat sheet. Not exactly a guitar solo, but okay for accompanying the weird lyrics. You probably won't be asked to perform it more than once, anyway. It's the only Twelve Days parody I know that's even dumber than the original.
The story: (of course, there is a story)
Shortly after I joined the Mormon Church, somebody did the Twelve Days to my family, leaving a present on the porch, knocking on the door, and running. We couldn't identify them, as they used a different car every night. (We later found out it was our branch Mutual, but at the time, we were so new we didn't know there was a Mutual.) It made us feel incredibly loved, as it could have been ANYBODY.
I have never been able to remember what the other eleven were, but the first one was a cartridge in a bare tree. So I have done my best to recreate the spirit of the rest of the presents, using whatever was available and cheap. I'll try to include photos, if I can get the camera to work. (Christmastime is NOT the best time of year to drop a camera!) Yes, we are actually presenting these gifts to a local family. What goes around, comes around.
Free Christmas sheet music
Wonderful website review: ChristmasCarolMusic.org is a collection of scores (pardon the pun) of famous (and not-so-famous) Christmas carols, arranged for SATB, guitar, and other instruments. It contains almost every famous carol that is in the public domain, plus many really OLD carols. No tablatures, unfortunately, and the scores arranged for guitar are melody only, plus "easy chords". I guess there are a lot of guitarists around who only want easy stuff to play. That being said, it's a great resource to mine for ideas and melody lines, and you can always get your harmonies from the SATB scores. That's shorthand for "Soprano-Alto-Tenor-Bass," for you non-choir people. The link is at right in the linklist. Best free sheet music site on the web!
Angels We Have Heard On High
- Complete with all the "Glo-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-rias!"
This song is definitely in the public domain. Like most Christmas carols, it has been published many, many times. I have tried to stick with the form as printed in the green, LDS hymnal, where it is #203. There are many other, equally pretty guitar versions, though I don’t know of any that have been published in tablature as free downloads.
The study guide is completely my own creation, as it only applies to my version of the song. There are a few typographical errors in the study notes, but no serious ones. My apologies. Technical difficulties prevent me from easily correcting them in time for you to learn the song for Christmas. It generally takes me at least a week or two of practice before I am willing to perform a song for any audience, even my family. I assume my readers also need time to practice. You may be more talented. Nevertheless, I may not post many more Christmas carols this season.
Changes:
Since writing this tab four years ago, I have decided I prefer to begin the first measure of each of the first two lines with a quick strum of the full C chord: x32010, in place of the pinch shown in the tab, and end the song by substituting for the final measure:
|-------0-/-8-||
|-----1---\-8-||
|---0-----/-9-||
|---------\10-||
|-3-------/10-||
|---------\-8-||
O Holy Night
Lyrics are in public domain; tab is subject to rules of this site. See “About the tab” posting.
“ O Holy Night” was composed in 1847 by French musician Adolphe Adam (pronounced with the stress on the last syllable of each word, in the French manner: ah-DOLPH a-DAHM). It was intended as a musical score to the French poem, “Minuit, chrétiens,” by Placide Cappeau (1808-1877). The resulting Christmas carol is usually called “Cantique de Noël” (Christmas Hymn) in French.
English lyrics to the song were first written in 1855, by Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight, editor of Dwight’s Journal of Music. He re-named the song, “O Holy Night.” The original French lyrics have a strong Catholic flavor, and are quite different from Dwight’s loose English interpretation.
On December 24,1906, Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden made the first AM radio broadcast, in which he played “O Holy Night” on the violin. The carol therefore appears to be the first piece of music ever broadcast. It later appeared in an edition of carols by Josiah Armes, published by Oxford Press in 1936, subsequently increasing its popularity in the English-speaking world.
I prefer the original French poem, for several reasons. French is a lyrical language, while English is a gutteral one; almost anything sounds better in French than in English. The ideas of Christ humbling the mighty while exalting the slave, and exchanging chains of bondage for the union of love, resonate with my spirit. There are parallelisms in the French poem, on several levels. The French version scans better, too. Dwight may have been a man of God, but he was not the poet Capeau was.
French lyrics of “Cantique de Noël”
Minuit, chrétiens, c’est l’heure solennelle,
Où l’Homme-Dieu descendit jusqu’aux nous
Pour effacer la tache originelle
Et de Son Père arrêter le coeur-roux.
Le monde entier tressaille d’espérance
En cette nuit qui lui donne un Sauveur.
Peuple à genoux, attends ta délivrance.
Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur,
Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur!
De notre foi que la lumière ardente
Nous guide tous au berceau de l’Enfant,
Comme autrefois une étoile brillante
Y conduisit les chefs de l’Orient.
Le Roi des rois naît dans une humble crèche:
Puissants du jour, fiers de votre grandeur,
A votre orgueil, c’est de là qu'un Dieu prêche.
Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur.
Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur.
Le Rédempteur a brisé toute entrave:
La terre est libre, et le ciel est ouvert.
Il voit un frère où n’était qu’un esclave,
L’amour unit ceux qu’enchaînait le fer.
Qui Lui dira notre reconnaissance ?
C’est pour nous tous qu’Il naît, qu’Il souffre et meurt.
Peuple debout ! Chante ta délivrance,
Noël, Noël, chantons le Rédempteur,
Noël, Noël, chantons le Rédempteur !
English translation by Don Falllick:
Midnight, Christians, is the solemn hour
When God-In-Man descended unto us
To erase the Original Sin
And end the wrath of his Father.
The entire world trembles with hope
On this night that gives us a Savior.
People, to your knees! Await your deliverance.
Noel, Noel, behold the Redeemer,
Noel, Noel, behold the Redeemer!
May the brilliant light of our faith
Guide us all to the manger of the Child,
As, in the past, a star shone
And guided the Kings of the East.
The King of Kings, born in a humble manger:
Powerful ones of today, proud of your greatness,
It is against your pride that God is preaching.
Bow your heads before the Redeemer!
Bow your heads before the Redeemer!
The Redeemer has broken every shackle;
The earth is free, and the heavens are open.
He sees a brother where once was only a slave;
Love now unites those whom iron chains once joined.
Who will tell Him of our gratitude?
It is for us all that he was born, that he suffered and died.
People, arise! Sing of your deliverance.
Noel, Noel, let us sing of the Redeemer,
Noel, Noel, let us sing of the Redeemer!
“ O Holy Night” was composed in 1847 by French musician Adolphe Adam (pronounced with the stress on the last syllable of each word, in the French manner: ah-DOLPH a-DAHM). It was intended as a musical score to the French poem, “Minuit, chrétiens,” by Placide Cappeau (1808-1877). The resulting Christmas carol is usually called “Cantique de Noël” (Christmas Hymn) in French.
English lyrics to the song were first written in 1855, by Unitarian minister John Sullivan Dwight, editor of Dwight’s Journal of Music. He re-named the song, “O Holy Night.” The original French lyrics have a strong Catholic flavor, and are quite different from Dwight’s loose English interpretation.
On December 24,1906, Canadian inventor Reginald Fessenden made the first AM radio broadcast, in which he played “O Holy Night” on the violin. The carol therefore appears to be the first piece of music ever broadcast. It later appeared in an edition of carols by Josiah Armes, published by Oxford Press in 1936, subsequently increasing its popularity in the English-speaking world.
I prefer the original French poem, for several reasons. French is a lyrical language, while English is a gutteral one; almost anything sounds better in French than in English. The ideas of Christ humbling the mighty while exalting the slave, and exchanging chains of bondage for the union of love, resonate with my spirit. There are parallelisms in the French poem, on several levels. The French version scans better, too. Dwight may have been a man of God, but he was not the poet Capeau was.
French lyrics of “Cantique de Noël”
Minuit, chrétiens, c’est l’heure solennelle,
Où l’Homme-Dieu descendit jusqu’aux nous
Pour effacer la tache originelle
Et de Son Père arrêter le coeur-roux.
Le monde entier tressaille d’espérance
En cette nuit qui lui donne un Sauveur.
Peuple à genoux, attends ta délivrance.
Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur,
Noël, Noël, voici le Rédempteur!
De notre foi que la lumière ardente
Nous guide tous au berceau de l’Enfant,
Comme autrefois une étoile brillante
Y conduisit les chefs de l’Orient.
Le Roi des rois naît dans une humble crèche:
Puissants du jour, fiers de votre grandeur,
A votre orgueil, c’est de là qu'un Dieu prêche.
Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur.
Courbez vos fronts devant le Rédempteur.
Le Rédempteur a brisé toute entrave:
La terre est libre, et le ciel est ouvert.
Il voit un frère où n’était qu’un esclave,
L’amour unit ceux qu’enchaînait le fer.
Qui Lui dira notre reconnaissance ?
C’est pour nous tous qu’Il naît, qu’Il souffre et meurt.
Peuple debout ! Chante ta délivrance,
Noël, Noël, chantons le Rédempteur,
Noël, Noël, chantons le Rédempteur !
English translation by Don Falllick:
Midnight, Christians, is the solemn hour
When God-In-Man descended unto us
To erase the Original Sin
And end the wrath of his Father.
The entire world trembles with hope
On this night that gives us a Savior.
People, to your knees! Await your deliverance.
Noel, Noel, behold the Redeemer,
Noel, Noel, behold the Redeemer!
May the brilliant light of our faith
Guide us all to the manger of the Child,
As, in the past, a star shone
And guided the Kings of the East.
The King of Kings, born in a humble manger:
Powerful ones of today, proud of your greatness,
It is against your pride that God is preaching.
Bow your heads before the Redeemer!
Bow your heads before the Redeemer!
The Redeemer has broken every shackle;
The earth is free, and the heavens are open.
He sees a brother where once was only a slave;
Love now unites those whom iron chains once joined.
Who will tell Him of our gratitude?
It is for us all that he was born, that he suffered and died.
People, arise! Sing of your deliverance.
Noel, Noel, let us sing of the Redeemer,
Noel, Noel, let us sing of the Redeemer!
Silent Night
With the Christmas season fast approaching, I thought it appropriate to begin this blog with my favorite Christmas carol, "Silent Night". This song was originally composed for the guitar, and has inspired many legends in it's nearly two centuries of popularity. This version is my own work, and is not especially true to the original, nor does it follow the version in the LDS hymnal.
Click the song link in the list at right. You will find the files for Silent Night and Silent Night study guide, as well as About the Tablature. Click on the link, then on the file name to download it. All the files are in .pdf format, so you will need Adobe Reader to view them. Adobe Reader is a free download from adobe.com. You will be able to view, download, and print the documents, but not edit them, unless you have Adobe Acrobat. It's the best I can do on short notice, while I'm building my online archive.
Both the lyrics and the music to "Silent Night" are in the public domain.
The Legends
In late December, 1818, Father Joseph Mohr, pastor of the Church of St. Nicolas in Oberndorf, Austria, wanted a Christmas carol he could play on his guitar. Some romantics say the church organ was broken, and could not be fixed before Christmas. Historians tell us that Father Mohr had composed the lyrics two years earlier. What we do know is that his friend, Headmaster Franz Xavier Gruber did compose the melody we now know, and that “Silent Night” was first performed in public on Christmas Eve, 1818, in Father Mohr’s church. It has since been translated into 300 languages and dialects, making it one of the most popular songs of all time.
Another legend of “Silent Night” is that it stopped a world war, at least temporarily. The legend is that on Christmas Eve, somewhere in Flanders, a German soldier, miserable and homesick, began singing “Schtille nacht”. An English soldier in the facing trenches joined in accompaniment in his own language. Soon, soldiers on both sides of No Man’s Land were singing. Leaving their trenches, they joined in an impromptu truce that lasted all night and all Christmas day, along hundreds of miles of trenches, much to the chagrin of the generals, who wanted their soldiers to continue fighting “The Great War.”
There is as much truth in this as there is in most legends. There was an unofficial truce in World War I, exactly one hundred years after Father Mohr composed his immortal song. Troops on both sides did sing their own versions of “Silent Night” together, most likely because it was the only Christmas carol they all knew. There had been many sporadic attempts to agree on a temporary truce, all along the front, for most of the month of December, 1916, as the trench-dwelling enemies at the front had much more in common with each other than either side had with their own generals, many miles to the rear. Newspaper reports from the front speak of the enemy soldiers gifting each other with delicacies sent from home, and even joining in No Man’s Land to sing together, and help each other bury the dead. In this atmosphere, it is very likely that “Silent Night” did play a part.
The Music
Guitarists with experience in reading tablature probably will not need to use the study notes, which I originally wrote for classical guitar students who were not familiar with tab. References to the p, i, m, and a fingers means, thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers of the right hand. These are common abbreviations in classical guitar music. They stand for the Spanish words pulgar, indicio, medio, and anulario. This arrangement of Silent Night is my own, and follows neither the LDS Hymnal nor Gruber's original exactly. But it's very pretty.
Click the song link in the list at right. You will find the files for Silent Night and Silent Night study guide, as well as About the Tablature. Click on the link, then on the file name to download it. All the files are in .pdf format, so you will need Adobe Reader to view them. Adobe Reader is a free download from adobe.com. You will be able to view, download, and print the documents, but not edit them, unless you have Adobe Acrobat. It's the best I can do on short notice, while I'm building my online archive.
Both the lyrics and the music to "Silent Night" are in the public domain.
The Legends
In late December, 1818, Father Joseph Mohr, pastor of the Church of St. Nicolas in Oberndorf, Austria, wanted a Christmas carol he could play on his guitar. Some romantics say the church organ was broken, and could not be fixed before Christmas. Historians tell us that Father Mohr had composed the lyrics two years earlier. What we do know is that his friend, Headmaster Franz Xavier Gruber did compose the melody we now know, and that “Silent Night” was first performed in public on Christmas Eve, 1818, in Father Mohr’s church. It has since been translated into 300 languages and dialects, making it one of the most popular songs of all time.
Another legend of “Silent Night” is that it stopped a world war, at least temporarily. The legend is that on Christmas Eve, somewhere in Flanders, a German soldier, miserable and homesick, began singing “Schtille nacht”. An English soldier in the facing trenches joined in accompaniment in his own language. Soon, soldiers on both sides of No Man’s Land were singing. Leaving their trenches, they joined in an impromptu truce that lasted all night and all Christmas day, along hundreds of miles of trenches, much to the chagrin of the generals, who wanted their soldiers to continue fighting “The Great War.”
There is as much truth in this as there is in most legends. There was an unofficial truce in World War I, exactly one hundred years after Father Mohr composed his immortal song. Troops on both sides did sing their own versions of “Silent Night” together, most likely because it was the only Christmas carol they all knew. There had been many sporadic attempts to agree on a temporary truce, all along the front, for most of the month of December, 1916, as the trench-dwelling enemies at the front had much more in common with each other than either side had with their own generals, many miles to the rear. Newspaper reports from the front speak of the enemy soldiers gifting each other with delicacies sent from home, and even joining in No Man’s Land to sing together, and help each other bury the dead. In this atmosphere, it is very likely that “Silent Night” did play a part.
The Music
Guitarists with experience in reading tablature probably will not need to use the study notes, which I originally wrote for classical guitar students who were not familiar with tab. References to the p, i, m, and a fingers means, thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers of the right hand. These are common abbreviations in classical guitar music. They stand for the Spanish words pulgar, indicio, medio, and anulario. This arrangement of Silent Night is my own, and follows neither the LDS Hymnal nor Gruber's original exactly. But it's very pretty.
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