Traditional, 15th-century French melody
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel Sheet Music
EasyE minor
O Come, O Come, Emmanuel in E minor, as an easy piano arrangement for both hands and as the tune alone for recorder, flute, violin or voice. The tune moves in small steps and never leaps more than a fifth, so it is gentle to read.
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. Moved higher than the original so more notes fit.
Filled holes are covered. C′ and D′ are the high C and D.
How to play it
- The song starts on a one-beat pickup: a single E before bar 1. Count '1, 2, 3' quietly and play the E on beat 4.
- Bars 2, 11 and 15 are the same (A, C, B, A), and so are bars 5 and 18 (A, F sharp, E, D). Learn them once and you will meet them again.
- Bars 3, 6, 9, 12 and 16 each hold one note for three beats before a single note leads on. Count the long note out loud: it is the easiest place to rush.
- The highest note, D5, sounds in bars 12 and 13. The jump up to it, from G4 at the end of bar 12, is the widest in the song: a fifth.
- The left hand plays two notes per bar, one for each half. Keep them soft and let the right hand sing.
At a glance
- Key
- E minor
- Time signature
- 4/4
- Tempo
- 80 beats per minute
- Length
- 19 bars, about 1:00
- Range
- C3–D5
- Hands
- Both hands
- Level
- Easy
About O Come, O Come, Emmanuel
The words are a verse paraphrase of the O Antiphons, chants sung in the days before Christmas; the Latin hymn first appears in print in 1710. The tune is much older: Mary Berry found it in a 15th-century French Franciscan processional in 1966. The two were first joined in the English-speaking world in the Hymnal Noted in 1851, with John Mason Neale's translation. The notes on this page follow a hymn-book setting of 1917 in the Open Hymnal collection.
Questions
What key is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel in on this page?
E minor, which has one sharp (F sharp). That is the key of the hymn-book setting, so nothing was moved.
How long is it?
19 bars plus a one-beat pickup, in 4/4 at 80 beats per minute: about 60 seconds for one pass.
Is the tempo fixed?
No. 80 is a comfortable speed for reading the notes; play it slower or faster as you like.
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Upload a recordingScore source: O Come, O Come, Emmanuel (Veni Emmanuel), The Open Hymnal Project (public domain). Easy piano and melody versions arranged by MP3toSheet.