TonalicsJOURNALOpen Tuner
‹ Trombone songs
1234567
B♭B♭3 · concert pitch1st position · 4th partialalso 5th position · 5th partial
SongsJoy to the World
Play a different song (36)
Play along
  1. 1
  2. 7,
  3. 6,
  4. 5,
  5. 4,
  6. 3,
  7. 2,
  8. 1,
  9. 5,
  10. 6,
  11. 6,
  12. 7,
  13. 7,
  14. 1
  15. 1
  16. 1
  17. 7,
  18. 6,
  19. 5,
  20. 5,
  21. 4,
  22. 3,
  23. 1
  24. 1
  25. 7,
  26. 6,
  27. 5,
  28. 5,
  29. 4,
  30. 3,
  31. 3,
  32. 3,
  33. 3,
  34. 3,
  35. 3,
  36. 4,
  37. 5,
  38. 4,
  39. 3,
  40. 2,
  41. 2,
  42. 2,
  43. 2,
  44. 3,
  45. 4,
  46. 3,
  47. 2,
  48. 1,
  49. 1
  50. 6,
  51. 5,
  52. 4,
  53. 3,
  54. 4,
  55. 3,
  56. 2,
  57. 1,

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

38 notes · E2–F5 · the pedal B♭1 on the ladder · 38 notes · The B♭ tenor trombone: nine feet of tube and seven positions — the one in every band.

Tap a note, or slide along them to play legato, from note to note in one breath. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — Q is the low F in 6th position, and they climb a semitone at a time.

TromboneFree · printable · plays in your browser

Joy to the World — Trombone Notes

Joy to the World, written out for the trombone as every note with its slide position and set up above on the Tenor. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the trombone waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes57, 8 pitches
  • RangeB♭2–B♭3
  • Key hereB♭ major
  • Tempo92 bpm · about 25 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a trombone play Joy to the World?

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.

  • Tenor✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–B♭3 · loaded above
  • Tenor + F trigger✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–B♭3 · load it
  • Alto in E♭✓ Plays as writtenIn B♭ major, B♭2–B♭3 · load it

Joy to the World: trombone notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the slide position — T means with the F trigger held. 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 — trombone notes (Tenor) · 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.

  • B♭1st×3
  • C6th×7
  • D4th×13
  • E♭3rd×8
  • F1st×8
  • G4th×6
  • A2nd×5
  • B♭1st×7

What to expect on a trombone

  • It runs from B♭2 to B♭3, an octave, using 8 different notes. That leaves 6 semitones unused below and 19 above.
  • 93% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is an octave, B♭2 to B♭3, at note 49.
  • It uses 5 slide positions: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 6th.
  • The longest move between two neighbouring notes is 5 positions.

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 trombone

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

Playing it on a real trombone?

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

🎙 Open the Trombone Tuner