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SongsThe First Noel
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Traditional Cornish carol, first printed in 1823 and with this tune in 1833. Public domain.

4 strings · C2–A3 open · E5 up the A string in thumb position · Perfect fifths, exactly an octave below a viola. The C string is the deepest note in a string quartet.

Tap a string, or slide along a string and the pitch follows your finger, under a bow that never stops. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — they run down the strings, the A at the top — hold a key and the note holds.

CelloFree · printable · plays in your browser

The First Noel — Cello Notes

The First Noel, written out for the cello as every note with its string and how far up it. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the cello waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes72, 8 pitches
  • RangeC3–C4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 42 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a cello play The First Noel?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the cello, in C major from C3 to C4. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

The First Noel: cello notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the string, and how many semitones above its open note to stop it. 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

The First Noel — cello notes · tonalics.com

The 8 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 8 and you can play the whole tune.

  • CG·5×3
  • DD·0×6
  • ED·2×9
  • FD·3×6
  • GD·5×12
  • AA·0×14
  • BA·2×13
  • CA·3×9

What to expect on a cello

  • It runs from C3 to C4, an octave, using 8 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 16 above.
  • 93% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fourth, C4 to G3, at note 23.
  • It is played on 3 strings (G, D and A), crossing between strings 24 times.
  • 20 notes are an open string, and the highest stop is 5 semitones above the open string — it never leaves the bottom of the neck.

About the tune

A Cornish carol, first printed in 1823 and given with this tune in William Sandys’s collection of 1833. It is unusual among carols in that its verse and its refrain are nearly the same phrase, sung three times over — some scholars think the tune is a descant that outlived the melody it was written against.

Traditional Cornish carol, first printed in 1823 and with this tune in 1833. Public domain. The notes follow Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about The First Noel →

The First Noel 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 cello

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

Playing it on a real cello?

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

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