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

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  68. 1

Welsh traditional air “Nos Galan”, in print by the 1790s. Public domain.

16 strings · G3–A5 · C major · The common size, and what most lyre tabs assume. Two full octaves and a bit.

Tap a string, or sweep across them for a glissando. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — they follow the strings left to right.

LyreFree · printable · plays in your browser

Deck the Halls — Lyre Tabs

Deck the Halls, written out for the lyre as number tabs with the letter under every note and set up above on the 16-string, an octave lower. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the lyre waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes68, 9 pitches
  • RangeB3–C5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo132 bpm · about 29 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a lyre play Deck the Halls?

2 of the 3 here do. 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.

  • 7-string✕ Cannot play itNeeds B3, C5, which it does not have
  • 10-string↕ Plays, movedPlayed an octave lower: C major, B3–C5 · load it
  • 16-string↕ Plays, movedPlayed an octave lower: C major, B3–C5 · loaded above

Deck the Halls: lyre tabs

The large line is the note’s number in the scale; the small line under it is the string to pluck. 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

Deck the Halls — lyre tabs (16-string) · 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.

  • 7•str. 3×2
  • 1str. 4×11
  • 2str. 5×16
  • 3str. 6×14
  • 4str. 7×9
  • 5str. 8×7
  • 6str. 9×6
  • 7str. 10×2
  • 1•str. 11×1

What to expect on a lyre

  • It runs from B3 to C5, an octave and a semitone, using 9 different notes. That leaves 4 semitones unused below and 9 above.
  • 87% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major sixth, C4 to A4, at note 60.
  • It is played on strings 3 to 11 of 16, 9 strings in all.

About the tune

The tune is the Welsh winter air “Nos Galan” — New Year’s Eve — a dance melody that was sung with improvised verses and a harp answering each line. It was in print by the 1790s, and the English Christmas words were added in 1862.

Welsh traditional air “Nos Galan”, in print by the 1790s. Public domain. The notes follow Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024), cross-checked against 2 other transcriptions. More about Deck the Halls →

Deck the Halls 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 lyre

All 34 lyre songs · Christmas songs for lyre · The online lyre on its own

Playing it on a real lyre?

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

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