Jingle Bells (chorus)

The melody in letters

Bar by bar, as the app’s melody version has it; the small numbers are the fingers.

1. Bar 1E₃E₃E₃
2. Bar 2E₃E₃E₃
3. Bar 3E₃G₅C₁D₂
4. Bar 4E₃
5. Bar 5F₄F₄F₄F₄
6. Bar 6F₄E₃E₃E₃E₃
7. Bar 7E₃D₂D₂E₃
8. Bar 8D₂G₅
9. Bar 9E₃E₃E₃
10. Bar 10E₃E₃E₃
11. Bar 11E₃G₅C₁D₂
12. Bar 12E₃
13. Bar 13F₄F₄F₄F₄
14. Bar 14F₄E₃E₃E₃E₃
15. Bar 15G₅G₅F₄D₂
16. Bar 16C₁

At a glance

It reaches past the staff: see ledger lines explained.

Versions in the app

Practice notes

The chorus of Jingle Bells, by James Lord Pierpont, fits in the right hand's C position: thumb on middle C, little finger on G.

It begins E E E, E E E ("jingle bells, jingle bells"), then E G C D E ("jingle all the way"). The second half is F F F F, F E E E E, then E D D E, D G. After that the first part comes back and finishes G G F D C.

Two things to practise:

• "Jingle all the way": E G C D E. From G (finger 5) the tune drops a fifth to C (the thumb), then steps back up. Play just these five notes until the drop is sure.
• Repeated notes. Most of the song is the same key several times. Keep the finger on the key's surface, let it rise just enough, and play again. Count the notes: three Es, three Es; four Fs.

Rhythm. Mostly quarter notes, with a dotted quarter on C in "all the way" and a pair of quick eighths near the end of the second half. A whole note on E ends the first line: hold it for four.

Practice plan. Wait for me first. Then Play along slowly, since the fun of the song is its bounce, and speed it up bit by bit.

In the path: Unit 4 for grown-ups, and the Kids unit Long and short, where its long and short notes are the point.

Credits and licence

• Music: James Lord Pierpont (1822–1893)
• Arranged for Octotune
• Licence: Arrangement © Octotune; melody public domain