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SongsUp on the Housetop
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  1. 5
  2. 5
  3. 6
  4. 5
  5. 3
  6. 2
  7. 1
  8. 3
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 6
  12. 5
  13. 3
  14. 2
  15. 5
  16. 5
  17. 5
  18. 5
  19. 6
  20. 5
  21. 3
  22. 2
  23. 1
  24. 3
  25. 5
  26. 6
  27. 6
  28. 6
  29. 5
  30. 5
  31. 3
  32. 3
  33. 2
  34. 5
  35. 1
  36. 4
  37. 4
  38. 6
  39. 5
  40. 5
  41. 5
  42. 3
  43. 2
  44. 4
  45. 4
  46. 3
  47. 5
  48. 5
  49. 1
  50. 3
  51. 5
  52. 5
  53. 6
  54. 5
  55. 3
  56. 4
  57. 5
  58. 6
  59. 5
  60. 5
  61. 6
  62. 5
  63. 3
  64. 3
  65. 2
  66. 5
  67. 1

Benjamin Hanby, 1864. 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

Up on the Housetop — Violin Notes

Up on the Housetop, 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, 6 pitches
  • RangeC4–A4
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo126 bpm · about 30 s
  • LevelEasy

Can a violin play Up on the Housetop?

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–A4 · loaded above
  • AEAE✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
  • ADAE✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it
  • GDGD✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, C4–A4 · load it

Up on the Housetop: 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

Up on the Housetop — violin notes (Standard) · 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.

  • CG·5×5
  • DD·0×6
  • ED·2×13
  • FD·3×5
  • GD·5×27
  • AA·0×11

What to expect on a violin

  • It runs from C4 to A4, a major sixth, using 6 different notes. That leaves 5 semitones unused below and 19 above.
  • 65% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a fifth, G4 to C4, at note 35.
  • It is played on 3 strings (G, D and A), crossing between strings 25 times.
  • 17 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

Written by Benjamin Hanby in New Paris, Ohio, in 1864. It is usually counted as the first Christmas song to be about Santa Claus.

Benjamin Hanby, 1864. Public domain. The notes follow Douglas D. Anderson, The Hymns and Carols of Christmas (sequence released to the public domain), cross-checked against 1 other transcription. More about Up on the Housetop →

Up on the Housetop 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.

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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