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Cwritten C4 · sounds B♭3open · 2nd partial
SongsThe First Noel
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Traditional Cornish carol, first printed in 1823 and with this tune in 1833. 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.

TrumpetFree · printable · plays in your browser

The First Noel — Trumpet Notes

The First Noel, 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.

  • Notes72, 8 pitches
  • RangeC4–C5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 42 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a trumpet 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.

  • Trumpet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–C5 · loaded above
  • Cornet✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–C5 · load it
  • Flugelhorn✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–C5 · load it

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

The First Noel: 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

The First Noel — trumpet notes (Trumpet) · 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.

  • C0×3
  • D1-3×6
  • E1-2×9
  • F1×6
  • G0×12
  • A1-2×14
  • B2×13
  • C0×9

What to expect on a trumpet

  • It runs from C4 to C5, an octave, using 8 different notes. That leaves 6 semitones unused below and 12 above.
  • 93% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fourth, C5 to G4, at note 23.
  • It uses 5 valve combinations (1-2, 1-3, open, 1 and 2), and 24 of its 72 notes are played open.
  • The lips move across 3 partials of the harmonic series (2, 3, 4).

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 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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