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SongsJoy to the World
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The tune “Antioch”, arranged by Lowell Mason in the 1830s. Public domain.

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

Joy to the World — Steel Drum Letter Notes

Joy to the World, 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.

  • Notes57, 8 pitches
  • RangeF4–F5
  • Key hereF major
  • Tempo92 bpm · about 25 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a steel drum play Joy to the World?

✓ Plays as written Every note of it is on the steel drum, in F major from F4 to F5. The check is made note by note against what the instrument can actually sound.

Joy to the World: 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

Joy to the World — steel drum letter notes · 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.

  • F1×3
  • G2×7
  • A3×13
  • B♭4×8
  • C5×8
  • D6×6
  • E7×5
  • F1×7

What to expect on a steel drum

  • It runs from F4 to F5, an octave, using 8 different notes. That leaves 5 semitones unused below and 11 above.
  • 93% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is an octave, F4 to F5, at note 49.
  • 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

The tune is called “Antioch”. The Boston hymn composer Lowell Mason published it in the 1830s, describing it as “from Handel”; the resemblance is to a few phrases of Messiah rather than to any one piece. It has been sung to Isaac Watts’s 1719 text ever since.

The tune “Antioch”, arranged by Lowell Mason in the 1830s. 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 Joy to the World →

Joy to the World 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 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