O Come, All Ye Faithful — Dulcimer Tab

• Notes61, 8 pitches
• RangeA4–A5
• Key hereD major
• Tempo104 bpm · about 47 s
• LevelIntermediate

Can a dulcimer play O Come, All Ye Faithful?

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.

• DAD✓ Plays as writtenIn D major, A4–A5 · loaded above
• DAA✓ Plays as writtenIn D major, A4–A5 · load it

O Come, All Ye Faithful: dulcimer tab

The large line is the fret, on the melody string unless a string is named; the small line under it is the note. 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 8 notes it uses

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

• 4A4×6
• 5B4×2
• 6½C♯5×6
• 7D5×15
• 8E5×11
• 9F♯5×14
• 10G5×6
• 11A5×1

What to expect on a dulcimer

• It runs from A4 to A5, an octave, using 8 different notes. That leaves 19 semitones unused below and 5 above.
• 78% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is an octave, A4 to A5, at note 25.
• It uses 8 fret positions: 4, 5, 6½, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11.
• The whole tune is on the melody string, so it can be played with a noter while the other strings drone.
• It needs the 6½ fret, which dulcimers built before about 1980 often lack.

About the tune

The Latin hymn “Adeste Fideles” survives in manuscripts copied by John Francis Wade, an English Catholic music copyist working in France, from about 1743; he is usually credited with the tune as well as the copying. The English text sung today dates from 1841.

“Adeste Fideles”, attributed to John Francis Wade, c. 1743. Public domain. The notes follow Douglas D. Anderson, The Hymns and Carols of Christmas (sequence released to the public domain), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about O Come, All Ye Faithful →

O Come, All Ye Faithful on other instruments

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

• O Come, All Ye Faithful — kalimbatabs
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — pianoletter notes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — mbiratabs
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — oudnotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — violinnotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — cellonotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — erhunotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — xylophoneletter notes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — marimbaletter notes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — glockenspielletter notes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — steel drumletter notes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — harmonicatabs
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — trumpetnotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — clarinetnotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — saxophonenotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — flutenotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — recordernotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — tubanotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — euphoniumnotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — trombonenotes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — accordionletter notes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — harpletter notes
• O Come, All Ye Faithful — lyretabs

More songs for the dulcimer

• 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
• God Rest Ye Merry, GentlemenChristmas songs · octave and a whole step

All 35 dulcimer songs · Christmas songs for dulcimer · The online dulcimer on its own