- Rangeoctave and a semitone
- Notes68, 9 different
- ScaleMajor, no accidentals
- Time4/4
- Length hereabout 29 s
- Source editionD major
About Deck the Halls
The tune is the Welsh winter air “Nos Galan” — New Year’s Eve — a dance melody that was sung with improvised verses and a harp answering each line. It was in print by the 1790s, and the English Christmas words were added in 1862.
The harp’s answer survives as the quick running figure that closes each line, and it is what makes the tune busy to play. It spans a ninth, from the note under the tonic to the octave above it.
Play Deck the Halls on your instrument
25 of the 27 playable instruments here have every note it needs. 18 play it where the library writes it; the rest move it to another key or octave, and each page says which. Every page has the instrument itself, with the song loaded, above the notes.
- Kalimba tabs
- Piano letter notes
- Mbira tabs
- Oud notes
- Violin notes
- Cello notes
- Erhu notes
- Dulcimer tab
- Xylophone letter notes
- Marimba letter notes
- Glockenspiel letter notes
- Steel Drum letter notes
- Ocarina notes
- Harmonica tabs
- Trumpet notes
- Clarinet notes
- Saxophone notes
- Flute notes
- Recorder notes
- Tuba notes
- Euphonium notes
- Trombone notes
- Accordion letter notes
- Harp letter notes
- Lyre tabs
Instruments that cannot play it
- Guzheng — it would need C♯5, G5, C♯6, which it does not have in any size or key here.
- Handpan — it would need B3, B4, which it does not have in any size or key here.
Deck the Halls letter notes
Written in C major, from B4 to C6, with each note’s number in the scale under it — the form that transfers to any instrument. A dash holds a note another beat, an underline is half a beat, and each line is one phrase.
Deck the Halls — letter notes · tonalics.com
Where these notes come from
Welsh traditional air “Nos Galan”, in print by the 1790s. Public domain.
The melody was not written down from memory. It is derived from a published transcription and compared, note for note, with independent ones:
- Followed: Paul Hardy’s Xmas Tunebook, 2019 (2024)
- Checked against: Sudbury Ancient Fyfe & Drum Companie carol book, transcribed by John Chambers — 1 of 68 notes differ, as variants of a traditional tune do
- Checked against: “The Everyday Song Book” (1927), transcribed by John Chambers — 1 of 68 notes differ, as variants of a traditional tune do
The plain diatonic reading. The 1927 Everyday Song Book and the fife book print a passing raised fourth in the third line; Paul Hardy’s tunebook does not, and that is the version every diatonic instrument can play.