‹ Xylophone songs
SongsO Come, All Ye Faithful
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“Adeste Fideles”, attributed to John Francis Wade, c. 1743. Public domain.

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.

O Come, All Ye Faithful — Xylophone Letter Notes

O Come, All Ye Faithful, 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.

  • Notes61, 8 pitches
  • RangeG4–G5
  • Key hereC major
  • Tempo104 bpm · about 47 s
  • LevelIntermediate

Can a xylophone play O Come, All Ye Faithful?

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 G3, A3, B3, which it does not have
  • Concert · 3½ octaves✓ Plays as writtenIn C major, G4–G5 · loaded above

O Come, All Ye Faithful: 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

O Come, All Ye Faithful — xylophone letter notes (Concert · 3½ octaves) · 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.

  • G5×6
  • A6×2
  • B7×6
  • C1×15
  • D2×11
  • E3×14
  • F4×6
  • G5×1

What to expect on a xylophone

  • It runs from G4 to G5, an octave, using 8 different notes. That leaves 14 semitones unused below and 17 above.
  • 78% of its moves are a step or a repeated note. The widest is an octave, G4 to G5, at note 25.
  • It uses only the front row — no sharps or flats in this key.

About the tune

The Latin hymn “Adeste Fideles” survives in manuscripts copied by John Francis Wade, an English Catholic music copyist working in France, from about 1743; he is usually credited with the tune as well as the copying. The English text sung today dates from 1841.

“Adeste Fideles”, attributed to John Francis Wade, c. 1743. 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 O Come, All Ye Faithful →

O Come, All Ye Faithful 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 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.

🎙 Open the Marimba Tuner