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Top half blows, bottom half draws.

Hold a reed to blow or draw it. To bend, drag a draw note down — or a high blow note up — into the notes marked beside it. On a keyboard, ↓ sets a bend for the keys.

SongsJolly Old Saint Nicholas
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2 more songs need notes this instrument does not have. Changing the key brings some of them into reach.

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  1. 8
  2. 8
  3. 8
  4. 8
  5. -8
  6. -8
  7. -8
  8. 7
  9. 7
  10. 7
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. -6
  14. -6
  15. -6
  16. -6
  17. 6
  18. 6
  19. 7
  20. -7
  21. 7
  22. -8
  23. 8
  24. -8
  25. 8
  26. 8
  27. 8
  28. 8
  29. -8
  30. -8
  31. -8
  32. 7
  33. 7
  34. 7
  35. 7
  36. 8
  37. -6
  38. -6
  39. -6
  40. -6
  41. 6
  42. 6
  43. 7
  44. -8
  45. 7
  46. -8
  47. 8
  48. 7

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

20 reeds · 10 holes · 12 bent notes · C harmonica · Every reed on the piano’s pitch. Melodies sound the way you expect; chords beat a little.

Tap a reed, or slide along the holes to run through the notes in one breath. On a keyboard the letters on the reeds are the ones to press — the number row blows holes 1 to 10 and the row under it draws them.

HarmonicaFree · printable · plays in your browser

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — Harmonica Tabs

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, written out for the harmonica as hole-by-hole tab with every blow, draw and bend and set up above on the Equal tuning. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the harmonica waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes48, 6 pitches
  • RangeG5–E6
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo100 bpm · about 19 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a harmonica play Jolly Old Saint Nicholas?

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.

  • Equal tuning✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G5–E6 · loaded above
  • Just tuning✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G5–E6 · load it

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas: harmonica tabs

The large line is the hole — a minus means draw, each apostrophe a semitone of bend; the small line under it is the note it sounds. 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 — harmonica tabs (Equal tuning) · 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.

  • 6G5×4
  • -6A5×8
  • -7B5×1
  • 7C6×13
  • -8D6×10
  • 8E6×12

What to expect on a harmonica

  • It runs from G5 to E6, a major sixth, using 6 different notes. That leaves 19 semitones unused below and 8 above.
  • 85% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, E6 to A5, at note 13.
  • 29 of its 48 notes are blown and 19 drawn, in holes 6 to 8.
  • No bends: every note is a plain blow or draw.
  • The breath changes direction 18 times.

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 harmonica

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

Playing it on a real harmonica?

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

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