The First Noel

• Rangeoctave
• Notes72, 8 different
• ScaleMajor, no accidentals
• Time3/4
• Length hereabout 42 s
• Source editionD major

About The First Noel

A Cornish carol, first printed in 1823 and given with this tune in William Sandys’s collection of 1833. It is unusual among carols in that its verse and its refrain are nearly the same phrase, sung three times over — some scholars think the tune is a descant that outlived the melody it was written against.

Every phrase rises through the scale and settles on the third, and the whole tune fits inside one octave from the tonic up.

Play The First Noel on your instrument

25 of the 27 playable instruments here have every note it needs. 25 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 tabsas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Piano letter notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Mbira tabsas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Oud notesas written · C3–C4 · octave
• Violin notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Cello notesas written · C3–C4 · octave
• Erhu notesas written · D4–D5 · octave
• Dulcimer tabas written · D4–D5 · octave
• Xylophone letter notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Marimba letter notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Glockenspiel letter notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Steel Drum letter notesas written · F4–F5 · octave
• Ocarina notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Harmonica tabsas written · C5–C6 · octave
• Trumpet notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Clarinet notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Saxophone notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Flute notesas written · G4–G5 · octave
• Recorder notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Tuba notesas written · B♭1–B♭2 · octave
• Euphonium notesas written · B♭2–B♭3 · octave
• Trombone notesas written · B♭2–B♭3 · octave
• Accordion letter notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Harp letter notesas written · C4–C5 · octave
• Lyre tabsas written · C4–C5 · octave

Instruments that cannot play it

• Guzheng — it would need G4, C♯5, which it does not have in any size or key here.
• Handpan — it would need B4, which it does not have in any size or key here.

The First Noel letter notes

Written in C major, from C4 to C5, 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.

Where these notes come from

Traditional Cornish carol, first printed in 1823 and with this tune in 1833. 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: Douglas D. Anderson, The Hymns and Carols of Christmas (sequence released to the public domain) — 1 of 73 notes differ, as variants of a traditional tune do

More christmas songs & carols

• Jingle BellsJames Lord Pierpont, 1857
• We Wish You a Merry Christmas19th century or earlier
• Silent NightFranz Xaver Gruber, 1818
• Deck the Halls16th century (tune)
• O Christmas Tree16th century (tune)
• Joy to the WorldLowell Mason, 1836
• Hark! The Herald Angels SingFelix Mendelssohn, 1840
• O Come, All Ye FaithfulJohn Francis Wade, c. 1743
• God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen18th century or earlier
• Away in a MangerJames R. Murray, 1887
• Good King Wenceslas1582 (tune)
• Up on the HousetopBenjamin Hanby, 1864
• Jolly Old Saint Nicholas1874 (music in print)
• O Holy NightAdolphe Adam, 1847
• Auld Lang Syne18th century
• Carol of the BellsMykola Leontovych, 1916