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Cwritten C4 · sounds B♭3open · 2nd partial
SongsJolly Old Saint Nicholas
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American, 19th century; the music was first published in 1874. Public domain.

31 notes · F♯3–C6 written · sounds E3–B♭5 · 31 notes · A B♭ trumpet: a mostly cylindrical bore, the bright one.

Tap a note, or slide along them to slur from note to note in one breath. On a keyboard the letters on the notes are the ones to press — Q is middle C, the open low C, and they climb a semitone at a time to the high C.

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Jolly Old Saint Nicholas — Trumpet Notes

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas, written out for the trumpet as written notes with the valves for each one and set up above on the Trumpet. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the trumpet 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 trumpet play Jolly Old Saint Nicholas?

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.

  • Trumpet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · loaded above
  • Cornet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · load it
  • Flugelhorn✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–E5 · load it

The notes here are written pitch, which is what a trumpet player reads. On the Trumpet this sounds in B♭ major.

Jolly Old Saint Nicholas: trumpet notes

The large line is the written note; the small line under it is the valves to press — 0 is none. 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 — trumpet notes (Trumpet) · 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.

  • G0×4
  • A1-2×8
  • B2×1
  • C0×13
  • D1×10
  • E0×12

What to expect on a trumpet

  • It runs from G4 to E5, a major sixth, using 6 different notes. That leaves 13 semitones unused below and 8 above.
  • 85% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, E5 to A4, at note 13.
  • It uses 4 valve combinations (open, 1, 1-2 and 2), and 29 of its 48 notes are played open.
  • The lips move across 3 partials of the harmonic series (3, 4, 5).

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 trumpet

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

Playing it on a real trumpet?

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

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