Traditional English carol

The First Noel Sheet Music

EasyC major

The First Noel in C major, as an easy piano arrangement for both hands and as the tune alone for recorder, flute, violin or voice. It is built from one short phrase, so it is quick to learn by ear and by eye.

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First line of the easy piano sheet music for The First Noel in C major

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Letter notes, kalimba and recorder

The notes light up as they play.

Letter notes for the tune (right hand). Wider notes are held longer.

How to play it

Each of the three phrases ends on the same note, E, in bars 8, 16 and 24. Use those bars as landmarks and the song splits into three equal pieces.
The pickup before bar 1 is two eighth notes (E, D). Count '1, 2' quietly, play them on beat 3, and bar 1 starts on the next count.
Bars 2, 4, 10 and 12 share one shape: a long G, then two quick eighth notes (A, B) that lead up to the C in the next bar. Keep the two eighth notes light.
Bar 20 is one G held for all three beats. Count to three before the closing phrase starts in bar 21.
The left hand plays one note per bar and comes home to C in bars 8, 16 and 24, the ends of the three phrases.

At a glance

Key: C major (original key: D major)
Time signature: 3/4
Tempo: 100 beats per minute
Length: 24 bars, about 0:45
Range: C3–C5
Hands: Both hands
Level: Easy

About The First Noel

The First Noel is a traditional English carol with Cornish roots, most likely from the early modern period. Its present form was first printed in Carols Ancient and Modern in 1823 and in Gilbert and Sandys Carols in 1833. The tune is unusual among English folk melodies: one phrase sung twice, then a refrain that varies it, and all three phrases end on the same note. The notes on this page follow a hymn-book setting of 1911 in the Open Hymnal collection.