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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.

SongsThe First Noel
Play a different song (34)

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

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  1. 5
  2. -4
  3. 4
  4. -4
  5. 5
  6. -5
  7. 6
  8. -6
  9. -7
  10. 7
  11. -7
  12. -6
  13. 6
  14. -6
  15. -7
  16. 7
  17. -7
  18. -6
  19. 6
  20. -6
  21. -7
  22. 7
  23. 6
  24. -5
  25. 5
  26. 5
  27. -4
  28. 4
  29. -4
  30. 5
  31. -5
  32. 6
  33. -6
  34. -7
  35. 7
  36. -7
  37. -6
  38. 6
  39. -6
  40. -7
  41. 7
  42. -7
  43. -6
  44. 6
  45. -6
  46. -7
  47. 7
  48. 6
  49. -5
  50. 5
  51. 5
  52. -4
  53. 4
  54. -4
  55. 5
  56. -5
  57. 6
  58. 7
  59. -7
  60. -6
  61. -6
  62. 6
  63. 7
  64. -7
  65. -6
  66. 6
  67. -6
  68. -7
  69. 7
  70. 6
  71. -5
  72. 5

Traditional Cornish carol, first printed in 1823 and with this tune in 1833. 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

The First Noel — Harmonica Tabs

The First Noel, 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.

  • Notes72, 8 pitches
  • RangeC5–C6
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 42 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a harmonica play The First Noel?

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, C5–C6 · loaded above
  • Just tuning✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C5–C6 · load it

The First Noel: 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

The First Noel — harmonica tabs (Equal tuning) · 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.

  • 4C5×3
  • -4D5×6
  • 5E5×9
  • -5F5×6
  • 6G5×12
  • -6A5×14
  • -7B5×13
  • 7C6×9

What to expect on a harmonica

  • It runs from C5 to C6, an octave, using 8 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 12 above.
  • 93% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fourth, C6 to G5, at note 23.
  • 33 of its 72 notes are blown and 39 drawn, in holes 4 to 7.
  • No bends: every note is a plain blow or draw.
  • The breath changes direction 50 times.

About the tune

A Cornish carol, first printed in 1823 and given with this tune in William Sandys’s collection of 1833. It is unusual among carols in that its verse and its refrain are nearly the same phrase, sung three times over — some scholars think the tune is a descant that outlived the melody it was written against.

Traditional Cornish carol, first printed in 1823 and with this tune in 1833. Public domain. The notes follow Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about The First Noel →

The First Noel 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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