Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — Clarinet Notes

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

Can a clarinet 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.

• B♭ clarinet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · loaded above
• A clarinet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · load it
• E♭ clarinet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · load it
• Bass clarinet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · load it

The notes here are written pitch, which is what a clarinet player reads. On the B♭ clarinet this sounds in B♭ major.

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas: clarinet notes

The large line is the note, and the drawing is its fingering — a filled hole or key is one that is down. 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.

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.

• GG4×4
• AA4×8
• BB4×1
• CC5×13
• DD5×10
• EE5×12

What to expect on a clarinet

• It runs from G4 to E5, a major sixth, using 6 different notes. That leaves 15 semitones unused below and 8 above.
• 85% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, E5 to A4, at note 13.
• It crosses the break 4 times — between B♭4 and B4, where the register key comes in — which is the hard part of this tune on this instrument.

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.

• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — kalimbatabs
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — pianoletter notes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — mbiratabs
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — oudnotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — violinnotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — cellonotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — erhunotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — dulcimertab
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — xylophoneletter notes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — marimbaletter notes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — glockenspielletter notes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — steel drumletter notes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — ocarinanotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — harmonicatabs
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — trumpetnotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — saxophonenotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — flutenotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — recordernotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — tubanotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — euphoniumnotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — trombonenotes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — accordionletter notes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — harpletter notes
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — lyretabs

More songs for the clarinet

• Jingle BellsChristmas songs · fifth
• We Wish You a Merry ChristmasChristmas songs · octave
• Silent NightChristmas songs · octave and a fourth
• Deck the HallsChristmas songs · octave and a semitone
• O Christmas TreeChristmas songs · octave and a whole step
• Joy to the WorldChristmas songs · octave
• Hark! The Herald Angels SingChristmas songs · octave and a whole step
• O Come, All Ye FaithfulChristmas songs · octave

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