Lowell Mason, after Handel
Joy to the World Sheet Music
EasyC major
Joy to the World in C major, as an easy piano arrangement for both hands and as the tune alone for recorder, flute, violin or voice. The first four bars are a plain scale, so the song is a good place to practise even eighth notes.
Letter notes, kalimba and recorder
The notes light up as they play.
Letter notes for the tune (right hand). Wider notes are held longer.
For a 17-key kalimba in C. 1 is the long middle tine.
Filled holes are covered. C′ and D′ are the high C and D.
How to play it
- Bars 1 to 4 are a scale walking down from C5 to C4. Learn it with the right hand alone first; pieces of the same scale come back in bars 8 to 11.
- Bars 8 and 10 are the same four even eighth notes going down: C, B, A, G. Play them evenly, two notes to each beat.
- Bar 16 has the one big jump of the song: an octave up from C4 to C5, followed by A4. Look ahead to it in bar 15 so your hand is ready.
- The left hand holds one note per bar and stays on C from bar 7 to bar 13, so you can put all your attention on the right hand through the busiest part.
- The song ends on C4 held for two beats in bar 19. Count both beats, then let go together with the left hand.
At a glance
- Key
- C major (original key: D major)
- Time signature
- 2/4
- Tempo
- 80 beats per minute
- Length
- 19 bars, about 0:30
- Range
- C3–C5
- Hands
- Both hands
- Level
- Easy
About Joy to the World
Isaac Watts wrote the words in 1719 as a Christian paraphrase of Psalm 98. The melody now sung to them is an arrangement by the American composer Lowell Mason of a tune attributed to George Frideric Handel. Since the 20th century it has been the most-published Christmas carol in North America. The notes on this page follow a hymn-book setting in the Open Hymnal collection, written out in C major.
Questions
What key is Joy to the World in here?
C major. The hymn-book setting is in D major; it was moved down a whole tone to C major, where the tune has no sharps and fits a recorder and a kalimba well.
How long is it?
19 bars in 2/4 at 80 beats per minute, about 30 seconds for one pass.
Can I play it on a kalimba or a recorder?
Yes. In C major all 57 notes fit a 17-key kalimba and a soprano recorder without moving the song. Open the Kalimba or Recorder tab under the sheet.
More free sheet music
Traditional, 15th-century French melody
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
EasyEasy piano · Melody
Open the sheet music
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Upload a recordingScore source: Joy to the World (Antioch), The Open Hymnal Project (public domain). Easy piano and melody versions arranged by MP3toSheet.