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left handright handfoot jointB♭T123G♯B♭1D2D♯3E♭C♯Chead joint · left handright hand · foot jointB♭T123G♯B♭1D2D♯3E♭C♯C
C4concert pitch1st octavegentle air: the bottom of the tube
SongsCarol of the Bells (Shchedryk)
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Mykola Leontovych, “Shchedryk”, 1916. The melody is public domain; the later English lyric is not used here.

37 notes · C4–C7 · three octaves · 37 notes · The standard concert flute: the foot joint ends at middle C.

Tap a note, or slide along them to slur from note to note in one breath. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — Q is the D above middle C and they climb a semitone at a time.

FluteFree · printable · plays in your browser

Carol of the Bells — Flute Notes

Carol of the Bells (Shchedryk) (the soprano line), written out for the flute as letter notes with the fingering drawn under each one and set up above on the C foot. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the flute waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes92, 11 pitches
  • RangeB4–E6
  • Key hereE minor
  • Tempo168 bpm · about 26 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a flute play Carol of the Bells?

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.

  • C foot✓ Plays as writtenIn E minor, B4–E6 · loaded above
  • B foot✓ Plays as writtenIn E minor, B4–E6 · load it

Carol of the Bells: flute 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.

▶ Play it above

Carol of the Bells (Shchedryk) — flute notes (C foot) · tonalics.com

The 11 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 11 and you can play the whole tune.

  • BB4×2
  • C♯C♯5×2
  • D♯D♯5×2
  • EE5×16
  • F♯F♯5×10
  • GG5×25
  • AA5×14
  • BB5×16
  • CC6×1
  • DD6×1
  • EE6×3

What to expect on a flute

  • It runs from B4 to E6, an octave and a fourth, using 11 different notes. That leaves 11 semitones unused below and 8 above.
  • 69% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major sixth, G5 to E6, at note 33.
  • It is played on gentle air, faster air and fastest air, and the air speed changes 6 times — a flute’s octaves are a speed of air, not a key.

About the tune

The Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych wrote “Shchedryk” for unaccompanied choir, built on a four-note folk chant sung at the New Year; it was first performed in Kyiv in 1916. A touring Ukrainian choir brought it to the United States in the early 1920s, where English words about bells were later written for it. Leontovych died in 1921 and his music is in the public domain; the English lyric is not, and is not used here.

Mykola Leontovych, “Shchedryk”, 1916. The melody is public domain; the later English lyric is not used here. The notes follow Wikipedia, “Shchedryk (song)” (engraved score). More about Carol of the Bells →

Carol of the Bells on other instruments

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

More songs for the flute

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

Playing it on a real flute?

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

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