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

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

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — Lyre Tabs

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, written out for the lyre as number tabs with the letter under every note and set up above on the 16-string. 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.

  • Notes48, 6 pitches
  • RangeG4–E5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo100 bpm · about 19 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a lyre play Jolly Old Saint Nicholas?

1 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 C5, D5, E5, which it does not have
  • 10-string✕ Cannot play itNeeds G3, which it does not have
  • 16-string✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · loaded above

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas: 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

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — lyre tabs (16-string) · 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.

  • 5str. 8×4
  • 6str. 9×8
  • 7str. 10×1
  • 1•str. 11×13
  • 2•str. 12×10
  • 3•str. 13×12

What to expect on a lyre

  • It runs from G4 to E5, a major sixth, using 6 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 5 above.
  • 85% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, E5 to A4, at note 13.
  • It is played on strings 8 to 13 of 16, 6 strings in all.

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 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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