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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.

6 strings · E2–E5 · A steel-string acoustic, played with a pick — the guitar most people are handed first.

Tap a string, or tap a chord and drag across them to strum. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — Q to Y are the six strings, high E first; 1 to 7 hold the chords of the key, Space strums, and 0 lets go.

GuitarFree · printable · plays in your browser

Carol of the Bells — Guitar Tab

Carol of the Bells (Shchedryk) (the soprano line), written out for the guitar as easy melody tab with the string and fret for every note and set up above on the Acoustic. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the guitar waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes92, 11 pitches
  • RangeB3–E5
  • Key hereE minor
  • Tempo168 bpm · about 26 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a guitar 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.

  • Acoustic✓ Plays as writtenIn E minor, B3–E5 · loaded above
  • Classical✓ Plays as writtenIn E minor, B3–E5 · load it

Carol of the Bells: guitar tab

The large line is the fret — 0 is the open string; the small line under it is the string it is on. 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) — guitar tab (Acoustic) · tonalics.com

Carol of the Bells guitar tab as text

The same notes as tablature: one line per string, the thin high E on top, and each number the fret to press on that line — 0 is the open string. Read it left to right, one note at a time.

e|-3-2-3-0-3-2-3-0-3-2-3-0-3-2-3-0-7-5-7-3-7-5-|
B|---------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------|

e|-7-3-7-5-7-3-7-5-7-3-12-12-12-10-8-7-7-7-5-3-|
B|---------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------|

e|-5-5-5-7-5-0-0-0-0-------0-2-3-5-7-5-3-------|
B|-------------------0-2-4---------------0-2-4-|
G|---------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------|

e|-0-2-3-5-7-5-3-3-2-3-0-3-2-3-0-3-2-3-0-3-2-3-|
B|---------------------------------------------|
G|---------------------------------------------|
D|---------------------------------------------|
A|---------------------------------------------|
E|---------------------------------------------|

e|-0-0---7-5-7-0-|
B|---------------|
G|---------------|
D|---------------|
A|---------------|
E|---------------|

Are there chords for it?

Not on this page. The chords here are chosen by rule — the three chords of the key — and they are only offered where that rule can be checked against a published harmonisation and agrees with it on most bars. This melody has no barred score in its sources to hang chords on. The tab above is the whole tune.

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.

  • 0B×2
  • 2B×2
  • 4B×2
  • 0High E×16
  • 2High E×10
  • 3High E×25
  • 5High E×14
  • 7High E×16
  • 8High E×1
  • 10High E×1
  • 12High E×3

What to expect on a guitar

  • It runs from B3 to E5, an octave and a fourth, using 11 different notes. Its top note is the highest this instrument has.
  • 69% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major sixth, G4 to E5, at note 33.
  • The highest note is at fret 12, so the hand has to leave first position for it.
  • It is played on 2 strings (B and High E), and 18 notes are an open string.
  • The picking hand changes string 4 times.

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 guitar

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

Playing it on a real guitar?

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

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