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SongsJingle Bells
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James Lord Pierpont, published 1857 as “One Horse Open Sleigh”. Public domain. The chorus.

29 notes · C4–E6 · 29 notes in three rings · The lead pan of a steel band, in the fourths-and-fifths layout almost every tenor is built in today.

Tap a note, or drag across them to roll from note to note. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — they climb the pan a semitone at a time from the low C.

Steel DrumFree · printable · plays in your browser

Jingle Bells — Steel Drum Letter Notes

Jingle Bells (the chorus), written out for the steel drum as letter notes, phrase by phrase. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the steel drum waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes51, 5 pitches
  • RangeF4–C5
  • Key hereF major
  • Tempo132 bpm · about 28 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a steel drum play Jingle Bells?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the steel drum, in F major from F4 to C5. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Jingle Bells: steel drum letter notes

The large line is the note stamped on the pan; the small line under it is its number in the scale. 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

Jingle Bells — steel drum letter notes · tonalics.com

The 5 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 5 and you can play the whole tune.

  • F1×3
  • G2×6
  • A3×26
  • B♭4×11
  • C5×5

What to expect on a steel drum

  • It runs from F4 to C5, a fifth, using 5 different notes. That leaves 5 semitones unused below and 16 above.
  • 84% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, C5 to F4, at note 9.
  • Its notes sit in 2 of the pan’s three rings, so the stick moves in and out as well as around.

About the tune

James Lord Pierpont published it in Boston in 1857 under the title “One Horse Open Sleigh”; it was reissued two years later with the name everyone knows. It is a sleighing song and does not mention Christmas at all, but it has belonged to the season for well over a century.

James Lord Pierpont, published 1857 as “One Horse Open Sleigh”. Public domain. The chorus. The notes follow Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about Jingle Bells →

Jingle Bells on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, which does not have the notes.

More songs for the steel drum

All 36 steel drum songs · Christmas songs for steel drum · The online steel drum on its own

Playing it on a real steel drum?

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

🎙 Open the Handpan Tuner