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SongsCarol of the Bells (Shchedryk)
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Mykola Leontovych, “Shchedryk”, 1916. The melody is public domain; the later English lyric is not used here.

44 bars · written F3–C7, sounds F4–C8 · The orchestra’s xylophone: rosewood bars, a tube under each one, and every sharp in a raised back row.

Tap a bar, or drag across them for a glissando. On a keyboard the letters on the bars are the ones to press — they run up the bars from the lowest note.

XylophoneFree · printable · plays in your browser

Carol of the Bells — Xylophone Letter Notes

Carol of the Bells (Shchedryk) (the soprano line), written out for the xylophone as letter notes, phrase by phrase and set up above on the Concert · 3½ octaves. Press Play to hear it, Practice to learn it one note at a time — the xylophone waits for you — or Play along to keep time with it.

  • Notes92, 11 pitches
  • RangeE4–A5
  • Key hereA minor
  • Tempo168 bpm · about 26 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a xylophone play Carol of the Bells?

1 of the 2 here do. 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.

  • Toy · 8 bars✕ Cannot play itNeeds E3, F♯3, G♯3, A3, B3, which it does not have
  • Concert · 3½ octaves✓ Plays as writtenIn A minor, E4–A5 · loaded above

Carol of the Bells: xylophone letter notes

The large line is the note printed on the bar; the small line under it is its number in the scale. 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

Carol of the Bells (Shchedryk) — xylophone letter notes (Concert · 3½ octaves) · tonalics.com

The 11 notes it uses

Lowest to highest, with how many times each is played. Learn these 11 and you can play the whole tune.

  • E3×2
  • F♯♯4×2
  • G♯♯5×2
  • A6×16
  • B7×10
  • C1×25
  • D2×14
  • E3×16
  • F4×1
  • G5×1
  • A6×3

What to expect on a xylophone

  • It runs from E4 to A5, an octave and a fourth, using 11 different notes. That leaves 11 semitones unused below and 15 above.
  • 69% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is a major sixth, C5 to A5, at note 33.
  • It uses 2 back-row bars: F♯ and G♯.

About the tune

The Ukrainian composer Mykola Leontovych wrote “Shchedryk” for unaccompanied choir, built on a four-note folk chant sung at the New Year; it was first performed in Kyiv in 1916. A touring Ukrainian choir brought it to the United States in the early 1920s, where English words about bells were later written for it. Leontovych died in 1921 and his music is in the public domain; the English lyric is not, and is not used here.

Mykola Leontovych, “Shchedryk”, 1916. The melody is public domain; the later English lyric is not used here. The notes follow Wikipedia, “Shchedryk (song)” (engraved score). More about Carol of the Bells →

Carol of the Bells on other instruments

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

More songs for the xylophone

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

Playing it on a real xylophone?

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

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