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

2 strings · D4–A4 open · A5 at the octave · D key · 1 = D · A perfect fifth, the same interval a violin uses between neighbours. Those two notes are the entire tuning; everything above them is your hand.

Tap a string, or slide along a string and the pitch follows your finger, under a bow that never leaves the strings. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — the inner string is the upper key — hold one and the note holds.

ErhuFree · printable · plays in your browser

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — Erhu Notes

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, written out for the erhu 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 erhu waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes48, 6 pitches
  • RangeA4–F♯5
  • Key hereD major
  • Tempo100 bpm · about 19 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a erhu play Jolly Old Saint Nicholas?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the erhu, in D major from A4 to F♯5. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas: erhu 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

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — erhu notes · 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.

  • AA·0×4
  • BA·2×8
  • C♯A·4×1
  • DA·5×13
  • EA·7×10
  • F♯A·9×12

What to expect on a erhu

  • It runs from A4 to F♯5, a major sixth, using 6 different notes. That leaves 7 semitones unused below and 3 above.
  • 85% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, F♯5 to B4, at note 13.
  • It is played on 1 string (A), crossing between strings 0 times.
  • 4 notes are an open string, and the highest stop is 9 semitones above the open string.

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 erhu

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

Playing it on a real erhu?

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

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