Good King Wenceslas Notes
Good King Wenceslas starts C' C' C' D' C' C' G, then A G A B C' C'. Almost every note is a plain quarter note, which makes it one of the easiest carols to read in time.
Listen and play along
Hear the tune with a steady beat. Turn the tune off to play it yourself on any instrument, with the beat to keep you in time.
- CC high, quarter noteCC high, quarter noteCC high, quarter noteDD high, quarter note
- CC high, quarter noteCC high, quarter noteG2G, half note
- AA, quarter noteGG, quarter noteAA, quarter noteBB, quarter note
- C2C high, half noteC2C high, half note
- CC high, quarter noteCC high, quarter noteCC high, quarter noteDD high, quarter note
- CC high, quarter noteCC high, quarter noteG2G, half note
- AA, quarter noteGG, quarter noteAA, quarter noteBB, quarter note
- C2C high, half noteC2C high, half note
- GG high, quarter noteFF high, quarter noteEE high, quarter noteDD high, quarter note
- EE high, quarter noteDD high, quarter noteC2C high, half note
- AA, quarter noteGG, quarter noteAA, quarter noteBB, quarter note
- C2C high, half noteC2C high, half note
- GG, quarter noteGG, quarter noteAA, quarter noteBB, quarter note
- CC high, quarter noteCC high, quarter noteD2D high, half note
- GG high, quarter noteFF high, quarter noteEE high, quarter noteDD high, quarter note
- C2C high, half noteF2F high, half note
- C4C high, whole note
17 measures of 4/4 · 53 notes
Name the notes in the game → Read the tune one note at a time; each right answer plays the note.
Change the notes in Compose → Move notes, change their lengths and hear your own version.
Each box is one measure of four beats. A wider note lasts longer. C' is the high C (a ' marks the octave above middle C).
The notes with the words
| Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Good King Wenceslas looked out | C' C' C' D' C' C' G |
| on the feast of Stephen | A G A B C' C' |
| when the snow lay round about | C' C' C' D' C' C' G |
| deep and crisp and even | A G A B C' C' |
| Brightly shone the moon that night | G' F' E' D' E' D' C' |
| though the frost was cruel | A G A B C' C' |
| when a poor man came in sight | G G A B C' C' D' |
| gath’ring winter fuel | G' F' E' D' C' F' C' |
A ’ after a letter means the octave above middle C’s: C’ is the C in the third space, G’ the G just above the staff.
The first two lines are sung twice, to “Good King Wenceslas looked out” and “When the snow lay round about”. The second half starts high, on G’, and steps down.
On the staff
In 4/4 time: four beats to a measure, with no pickup. Only quarter notes and half notes, and one whole note at the very end.
Free printable sheet music
The sheet has the melody one phrase per line, with the letter name under every note and the words under each line, on one page of US Letter or A4. It suits beginners on piano, keyboard or recorder, and works well for a December class. It’s free to print and copy.
The notes it uses
Tips for reading it
- Home is C’. The carol keeps coming back to the C in the third space, and it ends there.
- Mostly steps. Most notes are one step from the last. The big jumps come at the joins: down from C’ to G inside the first line, up from C’ to G’ where the second half starts, and C’ to F’ near the end.
- Count the half notes. Each line ends on a half note or two: hold them for two beats each.
About the carol
The tune is a spring carol, “Tempus adest floridum”, printed in Piae Cantiones, a Finnish-Swedish collection of 1582. In 1853 John Mason Neale wrote new English words to it, about Wenceslaus, a tenth-century duke of Bohemia, who goes out in the snow on the feast of Stephen, 26 December, to help a poor man gathering firewood. Words and tune are public domain.
Play it
Press Name the notes in the game at the top of this page to read the carol one note at a time in Trebly’s Songs mode. More carols: Christmas songs with letter notes.