TonalicsJOURNALOpen Tuner
‹ Accordion songs
SongsJolly Old Saint Nicholas
Play a different song (36)
Play along
  1. 3'
  2. 3'
  3. 3'
  4. 3'
  5. 2'
  6. 2'
  7. 2'
  8. 1'
  9. 1'
  10. 1'
  11. 1'
  12. 3'
  13. 6
  14. 6
  15. 6
  16. 6
  17. 5
  18. 5
  19. 1'
  20. 7
  21. 1'
  22. 2'
  23. 3'
  24. 2'
  25. 3'
  26. 3'
  27. 3'
  28. 3'
  29. 2'
  30. 2'
  31. 2'
  32. 1'
  33. 1'
  34. 1'
  35. 1'
  36. 3'
  37. 6
  38. 6
  39. 6
  40. 6
  41. 5
  42. 5
  43. 1'
  44. 2'
  45. 1'
  46. 2'
  47. 3'
  48. 1'

American, 19th century; the music was first published in 1874. Public domain.

41 keys · F3–A6 · 41 keys · The standard piano accordion: a 41-key keyboard, the same notes push or pull.

Tap a key, or slide along them to run from note to note on one breath of the bellows. On a keyboard the letters on the keys are the ones to press — A to ' are middle C up to F like a piano's white keys, W E T Y U O P the black ones; Z to / are ten bass notes and 1 to 0 their major chords (Shift for counterbass and minor); Space turns the bellows.

AccordionFree · printable · plays in your browser

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — Accordion Letter Notes

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, written out for the accordion as letter notes, phrase by phrase and set up above on the Piano keys. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the accordion waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes48, 6 pitches
  • RangeG4–E5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo100 bpm · about 19 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a accordion play Jolly Old Saint Nicholas?

Yes — every one on this page plays it. The check is made note by note against what each one can actually sound. Where the tune does not fit as the library writes it, another key or octave is tried, and the table says which; where nothing fits, it names the notes that are missing.

  • Piano keys✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · loaded above
  • Buttons · C-system✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · load it
  • Buttons · B-system✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · load it
  • Diatonic · one row✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · load it

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas: accordion letter notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is its number in the scale. A dash holds the note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and a dot beside a note makes it half as long again. Each line is one phrase.

▶ Play it above

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — accordion letter notes (Piano keys) · tonalics.com

The 6 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 6 and you can play the whole tune.

  • G5×4
  • A6×8
  • B7×1
  • C1×13
  • D2×10
  • E3×12

What to expect on a accordion

  • It runs from G4 to E5, a major sixth, using 6 different notes. That leaves 14 semitones unused below and 17 above.
  • 85% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, E5 to A4, at note 13.

About the tune

An American children’s song whose words appeared as a poem in the 1860s. The music was first published in 1874 and is generally attributed to James R. Murray, the composer of the “Mueller” tune for Away in a Manger.

American, 19th century; the music was first published in 1874. Public domain. The notes follow Douglas D. Anderson, The Hymns and Carols of Christmas (sequence released to the public domain), cross-checked against 2 other transcriptions. More about Jolly Old Saint Nicholas →

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng or handpan, which do not have the notes.

More songs for the accordion

All 36 accordion songs · Christmas songs for accordion · The online accordion on its own

Playing it on a real accordion?

If it sounds wrong, check the instrument before the notes. The accordion tuner listens through your microphone and names what each note is actually sounding.

🎙 Open the Accordion Tuner