Jingle Bells — Ukulele Tab

• Notes51, 5 pitches
• RangeC4–G4
• Key hereC major
• Tempo132 bpm · about 28 s
• LevelEasy

Can a ukulele play Jingle Bells?

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.

• Standard✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · loaded above
• Low G✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · load it
• Baritone✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–G4 · load it

Jingle Bells: ukulele tab

The large line is the fret — 0 is the open string; the small line under it is the string it is on. 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.

Jingle Bells ukulele tab as text

The same notes as tablature: one line per string, the A string on top, and each number the fret to press on that line — 0 is the open string. Read it left to right, one note at a time. The letters above the lines are the chord to strum from that note on.

   C                                 F
A|--------|--------|---------|-----|---------|
E|-0-0-0--|-0-0-0--|-0-------|-0---|-1-1-1-1-|
C|--------|--------|-----0-2-|-----|---------|
G|--------|--------|---0-----|-----|---------|

       C                 G7      C
A|-----------|---------|-------|--------|--------|
E|-1-0-0-0-0-|-0-----0-|-------|-0-0-0--|-0-0-0--|
C|-----------|---2-2---|-2-----|--------|--------|
G|-----------|---------|----0--|--------|--------|

                   F             C           G7
A|---------|-----|---------|-----------|---------|
E|-0-------|-0---|-1-1-1-1-|-1-0-0-0-0-|-----1---|
C|-----0-2-|-----|---------|-----------|-------2-|
G|---0-----|-----|---------|-----------|-0-0-----|

   C
A|----|
E|----|
C|-0--|
G|----|

Jingle Bells chords for ukulele

To accompany the tune rather than pick it out, strum three chords: C, F, G7. Change where the name appears over the tab and strum once or twice a bar; somebody else — or the ukulele above — plays the melody.

These chords are an arrangement, not part of the tune: they are chosen by rule from the melody, giving each bar whichever of the three chords of the key holds most of its notes. Compared with the chord symbols printed in Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024), the rule puts the same chord on 15 of the 19 bars and half bars the two share. A fuller arrangement would use more chords than three.

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.

• 0C×3
• 2C×6
• 0E×26
• 1E×11
• 0G×5

What to expect on a ukulele

• It runs from C4 to G4, a fifth, using 5 different notes. Its lowest note is the lowest this instrument has, and 14 semitones of range are left above it.
• 84% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, G4 to C4, at note 9.
• The whole tune sits in first position: nothing above the 2nd fret, one finger per fret.
• It is played on 3 strings (G, C and E), and 34 notes are an open string.
• The picking hand changes string 14 times.

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.

• Jingle Bells — kalimbatabs
• Jingle Bells — pianoletter notes
• Jingle Bells — guitartab
• Jingle Bells — mbiratabs
• Jingle Bells — handpantabs
• Jingle Bells — oudnotes
• Jingle Bells — violinnotes
• Jingle Bells — cellonotes
• Jingle Bells — erhunotes
• Jingle Bells — dulcimertab
• Jingle Bells — xylophoneletter notes
• Jingle Bells — marimbaletter notes
• Jingle Bells — glockenspielletter notes
• Jingle Bells — steel drumletter notes
• Jingle Bells — ocarinanotes
• Jingle Bells — harmonicatabs
• Jingle Bells — trumpetnotes
• Jingle Bells — clarinetnotes
• Jingle Bells — saxophonenotes
• Jingle Bells — flutenotes
• Jingle Bells — recordernotes
• Jingle Bells — tubanotes
• Jingle Bells — euphoniumnotes
• Jingle Bells — trombonenotes
• Jingle Bells — accordionletter notes
• Jingle Bells — harpletter notes
• Jingle Bells — lyretabs

More songs for the ukulele

• We Wish You a Merry ChristmasChristmas songs · octave
• Silent NightChristmas songs · octave and a fourth
• Deck the HallsChristmas songs · octave and a semitone
• O Christmas TreeChristmas songs · octave and a whole step
• Joy to the WorldChristmas songs · octave
• Hark! The Herald Angels SingChristmas songs · octave and a whole step
• O Come, All Ye FaithfulChristmas songs · octave
• God Rest Ye Merry, GentlemenChristmas songs · octave and a whole step

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