O Come, O Come Emmanuel

Apology:  I know I promised my next song would be “Where Can I Turn for Peace.”  It’s just not coming together quickly.  Normally, I’d just take the time to do it right, but my wife and I have just begun a temple mission here in Santiago, Chile, and have not even finished unpacking yet.  I had been saving this one for Christmas, as many consider it a Christmas Carol, which it is not (see History below).

The tab:

This is written as a duet for two guitars, but I originally intended it as a duet with another kind of instrument.  I think it would sound especially good with a violin, cello, flute, or woodwind.  Since these all play in different keys, I didn’t know whether to write the guitar part in Am or Em, so I did it in both.  Then I realized that you could also get an interesting effect by playing both versions together, with the Em part played with a capo to put them in the same key.  Hence, the duet version.  If you just want to play it as a solo, or to accompany singers, I recommend the Am version (upper staff).  It’s easier, and just as pretty, and there are no hard transitions and only one barre chord.  In fact, it’s one of the easier songs I know.  If the barred Amv is too hard for you, substitute the regular Am as in the last measure of the previous line.  It won’t sound quite as good, but the audience won’t know.

There are a lot of hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides.  Please don’t leave them out, as they contribute greatly to the beauty of the song.  Despite the large number of such ligado techniques, the slow, regular tempo makes this an ideal vehicle for learning them, so I have listed the difficulty level as “beginner to intermediate”.  There are no unusual chords in the upper staff, but there are a few melody notes that are not part of the chords being played.  Watch for them.

In the 4th measure, fret the D note on the 2nd string with the little finger.  In the second measure of the third line, make the slide with the ring finger, for strength.  The little finger probably will not be strong enough.  In the last line before the Finale, there’s a mordant.  This is a technical music term meaning to slide the note up to the next note and back down again.  It counts as one beat of the tempo.  Do it with the middle finger, then pull off the third string, all in one fluid phrase.  It’s not hard to do, and sounds fantastic.  If you tend to speed up during this maneuver, play it with a metronome.  There are several good metronome apps available free on the internet.  Some are even abailable as phone apps.

The song, as usually sung, has seven verses, but since this is an instrumental solo, you can include as many or as few as you like.  After the last verse, play the Finale.  It sounds much like a repetition of the last line, but there are differences.  Play it about half speed, for emphasis.

The lower staff is in the key of Em.  If you’re playing it as a guitar duet, place the capo in the 5th space.  If you’re playing with some other instrument, or with singers, put the capo wherever you need to.  This version is a bit harder than the upper staff, and contains a couple of barre chords.  The G (7)  chord is actually easier than it looks.  It’s a normal G chord, but since you’re not playing the 1st string anyway, you can fret it as if it were a G7, which makes the transition faster.

History

This lovely, medieval melody, from the early Middle Ages, may be more than 1000 years old.  Like other very old songs, even the century of composition is not known for sure.  Most authorities place it around the Twelfth Century, but it could well be based on Gregorian chants and “plainsong” (unaccompanied singing) of the Eighth or Ninth Century.  Others point out that it did not achieve its present form until much later, possibly as “recently” as the late 1400s.

The lyrics are based on a Catholic chant usually sung at evening prayer (“Vespers”), in which the leader calls out one of the seven names of Christ in the New Testament, and the choir responds.  The seven verses of the poem correspond to these seven names, except that the last one, Emmanuel (Hebrew for “God is with us”) has been moved to the first position in the hymn.

Like many other hymns, the lyrics were originally sung to other tunes than the one we now associate with it.  The present tune has been associated with the hymn for centuries, so long that the tune has taken on the name of the chant, “Veni, veni” (“O come, o come” in Latin).  Until it was translated into English scarcely 150 years ago, it was known by the Latin title.  The English title is an exact translation.  Latin customs in writing titles used capital letters only at the beginning of the first word, and for names and references to Deity, so English writers who wish to appear authentic follow that convention, and may also spell “Oh” as just the letter O, but it’s okay to modernize the spelling if you wish.  Since the song has been around so long, and no one knows how it originally went anyway, it’s also perfectly acceptable to arrange the music to suit yourself.  It’s definitely in the Public Domain.

Here are the verses, in the most popular English translation, done by John Mason Neale in 1851:

O come, O come, Emmanuel
And ransom captive Israel
That mourns in lonely exile here
Until the Son of God appear
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Rod of Jesse, free
Thine own from Satan's tyranny
From depths of Hell Thy people save
And give them victory o'er the grave
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Day-Spring, come and cheer
Our spirits by Thine advent here
Disperse the gloomy clouds of night
And death's dark shadows put to flight.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, Thou Key of David, come,
And open wide our heavenly home;
Make safe the way that leads on high,
And close the path to misery.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

O come, O come, Thou Lord of might,
Who to Thy tribes, on Sinai's height,
In ancient times did'st give the Law,
In cloud, and majesty and awe.
Rejoice! Rejoice! Emmanuel
Shall come to thee, O Israel.

Dream A Little Dream Of Me

It’s not really LDS, or even religious, but it’s such a pretty lovesong, and a chaste one at that, that I couldn’t resist including it as a Valentine’s Day treat. Yeah, I know, it’s barely New Years, but it might take you a while to get this one down pat, as the chord progressions, while beautiful, are a bit unusual. I’m including two versions. If you like instrumental guitar solos, play the tab version. If you’re intending to sing it to someone special, the cheat sheet is probably better. Or, you can do as I do most of the time -- play the chords and sing it, but include some finger-pickin’ as an interlude.

The “cheat” version is intended to be strummed, either with a soft, flat pick or with the thumb. Strum slowly and easily, DOWN up-down-up, DOWN up-down-up, DOWN up-down-up, DOWN up-down-up. The song makes extensive use of barre chords, to bring out the melody, even when chording. They are not especially difficult ones, but you may find the use of the GVII chord (a barred C) difficult, if you are not used to it. I often play it as a four-string chord, which makes it much easier.

The transitions: CIII - B7II - Fm7sus & CIII - B7II - A7 are central to the song. The only really hard part of this is making the transition B7II - A7 quickly. I do it by just lifting the barre and sliding the whole chord two frets toward the nut. It may feel “wrong” to play A7 this way at first, but it’s lots faster than trying to change finger positions to play it the normal way, and it does pre-position your hand perfectly for the full-barre F which follows.

The song will sound LOTS better if you put in the melody notes on the F - Fm phrase. See the tab version for the exact notes to play. The AV - A6V - AV transition is even easier, as all you are doing is moving the little finger. You have to be quick to hit the following E7 and stay in the rhythm, but again, you can do it much faster if you just pick up the barring finger and move the whole hand, playing the chord with the “wrong” fingers. Try hard not to actually slide the chord. It sounds bad if you do, though sliding UP the bass string to the AV works really well. Barbara says it’s her favorite part of the song!

I wrote the tab version in 8/8 time, to make all the notes come out eighth notes, or very nearly all of them. I don’t know what the original time signature was-- 4/4, or even 2/4. I tried writing it as 4/4, and it just looked too “busy” to be easily readable. The hard thing is to make it sound slow and relaxed. It might take a month of practice, which is why I’m posting it now. If you haven’t been working on “Til There Was You” from last year, this makes an acceptable replacement, and it’s not nearly as hard. It even works well as a duet -- if one of you has a throaty, contralto voice like Mama Cass!

This is NOT in public domain, so -- SORRY! You don't get the full lyrics with the tab. I've included them with the cheat sheet, because you can't write a cheat sheet without the lyrics! The arrangements are all mine, including simplified (really!) chords. Papa Denny must be double-jointed, to play the chords he's written. I can't!

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.

Softly and Tenderly, Jesus is Calling

By Will Thompson, but in public domain. One of the best-beloved hymns of the English-speaking world.

The Legend:

When world-renowned evangelist Michael Moody lay on his death-bed, he called his friend Will Thompson to his side, and whispered, "Will, I would rather have written "Softly and Tenderly" than anything I have done." The song holds a prominent place in nearly every Protestant hymnal in the world, and has been translated into many languages. Nearly every Gospel recording artist has covered it, but perhaps the best-known version (and my personal favorite) was done by Elvis Presley.

The Tablature:

Play this song SLOWLY! The melodies and harmonies are sweet, but if the bar chords are too much for you, play just the first 4 strings, and it'll still sound good. You can also leave out the ligados (hammer-ons and pull-offs) and the tremolo at the end, if you don't know how to do them. For those who just want the absolute basics, you can also leave out the last three notes in the first line, holding the G chord for two measures, to compensate.

This song sounds good on any kind of guitar, from classical to electric. You can play the tab as a solo by itself, or as an introduction or a bridge if accompanying a singer. For accompaniment, I have found it very effective to just strum the chords at the beginning of each measure, holding each chord for a full count of 3, while letting the voice carry the melody. I also like to use the guitar solo for a fourth verse, or sometimes let the guitar solo carry one or more of the choruses. This song has lots of possibilities!

The Old Rugged Cross

This is not an LDS hymn, but it is beloved by other Christians, especially Protestants, all over the world. I learned this version from Jeff Moore, who is not a Christian, and does not even believe in God, but Boy! can he play Gospel music! This one will make people weep. Play it slowly, with LOTS of expression, and don't be shy with the tremolo. Study guide is included with the tab. If you're not familiar with the tune, a really great vocal by Brad Paisley, with guitar accompaniment, can be found HERE. I especially like this ACOUSTIC GUITAR SOLO, too (tablature available at www.graytoney.com). But perhaps my version is closest to Chet Atkins's version, or would be if you played it with an organ, a string bass, and a rhythm guitar backup!

This song does require you to play artificial harmonics. They are not really any harder to play than regular harmonics, but you play them with one hand, while fretting the string with the left hand. They are easy to do if you rest the right index finger lightly on the string, exactly twelve frets above the fretted note, then pluck the string with the ring finger, allowing the index finger to come off the string at the same time. With a little practice, you can achieve a gorgeous, bell-like tone, exactly one octave higher than the fretted note.