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SongsGod Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
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Traditional English carol, the “London” tune, in print by the early 19th century. Public domain.

30 bars · written G3–C6, sounds G5–C8 · The orchestra’s glockenspiel: thirty thick steel bars, struck with hard mallets, ringing for seconds.

Tap a bar, or drag across them for a glissando. On a keyboard the letters on the bars are the ones to press — they run up the bars from the lowest note.

GlockenspielFree · printable · plays in your browser

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen — Glockenspiel Letter Notes

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, written out for the glockenspiel as letter notes, phrase by phrase and set up above on the Orchestral · 2½ octaves. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the glockenspiel waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes67, 9 pitches
  • RangeG4–A5
  • Key hereA minor
  • Tempo138 bpm · about 33 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a glockenspiel play God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen?

Yes — every size 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.

  • Orchestral · 2½ octaves✓ Plays as writtenIn A minor, G4–A5 · loaded above
  • Bell kit · 32 bars✓ Plays as writtenIn A minor, G4–A5 · load it

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen: glockenspiel letter notes

The large line is the note printed on the bar; the small line under it is its number in the scale. 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

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen — glockenspiel letter notes (Orchestral · 2½ octaves) · tonalics.com

The 9 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 9 and you can play the whole tune.

  • G5×2
  • A6×12
  • B7×8
  • C1×11
  • D2×12
  • E3×14
  • F4×4
  • G5×2
  • A6×2

What to expect on a glockenspiel

  • It runs from G4 to A5, an octave and a whole step, using 9 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 3 above.
  • 86% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, A4 to E5, at note 3.
  • It uses only the front row — no sharps or flats in this key.

About the tune

One of the oldest English carols still sung, known from 18th-century broadsides and probably older. The tune used today is the one associated with London; Dickens has a caroller start it at Scrooge’s keyhole in A Christmas Carol.

Traditional English carol, the “London” tune, in print by the early 19th century. Public domain. The notes follow Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen →

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen 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 glockenspiel

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

Playing it on a real glockenspiel?

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

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