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SongsThe First Noel
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Traditional Cornish carol, first printed in 1823 and with this tune in 1833. Public domain.

6 courses · C2–C4 open · C5 at the octave · The most widespread modern Arabic tuning. Fourths, except for the major third between the 5th and 4th courses.

Tap a course, or slide along a course to bend the note the way a fretless neck does. On a keyboard the letters on the courses are the ones to press — they run down the courses, 1 at the top.

OudFree · printable · plays in your browser

The First Noel — Oud Notes

The First Noel, written out for the oud as every note with its string and how far up it and set up above on the Arabic. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the oud waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes72, 8 pitches
  • RangeC3–C4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 42 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a oud 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.

  • Arabic✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C3–C4 · loaded above
  • Turkish✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C3–C4 · load it

The First Noel: oud notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the string, and how many semitones above its open note to stop it. 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 — oud notes (Arabic) · 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.

  • CA·3×3
  • DD·0×6
  • ED·2×9
  • FD·3×6
  • GG·0×12
  • AG·2×14
  • BG·4×13
  • CC·0×9

What to expect on a oud

  • It runs from C3 to C4, 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, C4 to G3, at note 23.
  • It is played on 4 strings (A, D, G and C), crossing between strings 30 times.
  • 27 notes are an open string, and the highest stop is 4 semitones above the open string — it never leaves the bottom of the neck.

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 oud

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

Playing it on a real oud?

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

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