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SongsGod Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen
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Traditional English carol, the “London” tune, in print by the early 19th century. Public domain.

4 strings · G3–E5 open · E6 at the octave · Perfect fifths all the way up. What every violin in the world is tuned to unless somebody has decided otherwise.

Tap a string, or slide along a string and the pitch follows your finger, under a bow that never stops. On a keyboard the letters on the strings are the ones to press — they run down the strings, 1 at the top — hold a key and the note holds.

ViolinFree · printable · plays in your browser

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen — Violin Notes

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen, written out for the violin as every note with its string and how far up it and set up above on the Standard. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the violin waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes67, 9 pitches
  • RangeG4–A5
  • Key hereA minor
  • Tempo138 bpm · about 33 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a violin play God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen?

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 A minor, G4–A5 · loaded above
  • AEAE✓ Plays as writtenIn A minor, G4–A5 · load it
  • ADAE✓ Plays as writtenIn A minor, G4–A5 · load it
  • GDGD✓ Plays as writtenIn A minor, G4–A5 · load it

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen: violin notes

The large line is the note; the small line under it is the string, and how many semitones above its open note to stop it. 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

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen — violin notes (Standard) · tonalics.com

The 9 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 9 and you can play the whole tune.

  • GD·5×2
  • AA·0×12
  • BA·2×8
  • CA·3×11
  • DA·5×12
  • EE·0×14
  • FE·1×4
  • GE·3×2
  • AE·5×2

What to expect on a violin

  • It runs from G4 to A5, an octave and a whole step, using 9 different notes. That leaves 12 semitones unused below and 7 above.
  • 86% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, A4 to E5, at note 3.
  • It is played on 3 strings (D, A and E), crossing between strings 18 times.
  • 26 notes are an open string, and the highest stop is 5 semitones above the open string — it never leaves the bottom of the neck.

About the tune

One of the oldest English carols still sung, known from 18th-century broadsides and probably older. The tune used today is the one associated with London; Dickens has a caroller start it at Scrooge’s keyhole in A Christmas Carol.

Traditional English carol, the “London” tune, in print by the early 19th century. Public domain. The notes follow Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen →

God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen on other instruments

The same melody, in each instrument’s own notation. It is not offered for the guzheng, handpan or ocarina, which do not have the notes.

More songs for the violin

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

Playing it on a real violin?

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

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