TonalicsJOURNALOpen Tuner
‹ Flute songs
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
SongsO Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum)
Play a different song (36)
Play along
  1. 5
  2. 1'
  3. 1'
  4. 1'
  5. 2'
  6. 3'
  7. 3'
  8. 3'
  9. 3'
  10. 2'
  11. 3'
  12. 4'
  13. 7
  14. 2'
  15. 1'
  16. 5
  17. 1'
  18. 1'
  19. 1'
  20. 2'
  21. 3'
  22. 3'
  23. 3'
  24. 3'
  25. 2'
  26. 3'
  27. 4'
  28. 7
  29. 2'
  30. 1'
  31. 5'
  32. 5'
  33. 3'
  34. 6'
  35. 5'
  36. 5'
  37. 4'
  38. 4'
  39. 4'
  40. 4'
  41. 2'
  42. 5'
  43. 4'
  44. 4'
  45. 3'
  46. 3'
  47. 5
  48. 1'
  49. 1'
  50. 1'
  51. 2'
  52. 3'
  53. 3'
  54. 3'
  55. 3'
  56. 2'
  57. 3'
  58. 4'
  59. 7
  60. 2'
  61. 1'

German traditional melody, sung as “O Tannenbaum” since 1824. Public domain.

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

O Christmas Tree — Flute Notes

O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum), 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.

  • Notes61, 8 pitches
  • RangeD5–E6
  • Key hereG major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 28 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a flute play O Christmas Tree?

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 G major, D5–E6 · loaded above
  • B foot✓ Plays as writtenIn G major, D5–E6 · load it

O Christmas Tree: 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

O Christmas Tree (O Tannenbaum) — flute notes (C foot) · 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.

  • DD5×3
  • F♯F♯5×3
  • GG5×12
  • AA5×10
  • BB5×18
  • CC6×9
  • DD6×5
  • EE6×1

What to expect on a flute

  • It runs from D5 to E6, an octave and a whole step, using 8 different notes. That leaves 14 semitones unused below and 8 above.
  • 73% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major sixth, B5 to D5, at note 47.
  • It is played on 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

A German folk melody with roots in the 16th century, sung as “O Tannenbaum” since the Leipzig organist Ernst Anschütz wrote the words used today in 1824. The same tune carries several unrelated songs, among them the British labour anthem “The Red Flag” and the state song of Iowa.

German traditional melody, sung as “O Tannenbaum” since 1824. Public domain. The notes follow Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about O Christmas Tree →

O Christmas Tree 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.

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.

🎙 Open the Flute Tuner