Jingle Bells Notes
The chorus of Jingle Bells is E E E, E E E, E G C D E: three notes on one key, three more, then a little run up and back. It's the easiest Christmas tune to start reading, and the whole song, verse and chorus, is below too.
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.
- EE, quarter noteEE, quarter noteE2E, half note
- EE, quarter noteEE, quarter noteE2E, half note
- EE, quarter noteGG, quarter noteC1½C, dotted quarter noteD½D, eighth note
- E4E, whole note
- FF, quarter noteFF, quarter noteF1½F, dotted quarter noteF½F, eighth note
- FF, quarter noteEE, quarter noteEE, quarter noteE½E, eighth noteE½E, eighth note
- EE, quarter noteDD, quarter noteDD, quarter noteEE, quarter note
- D2D, half noteG2G, half note
- EE, quarter noteEE, quarter noteE2E, half note
- EE, quarter noteEE, quarter noteE2E, half note
- EE, quarter noteGG, quarter noteC1½C, dotted quarter noteD½D, eighth note
- E4E, whole note
- FF, quarter noteFF, quarter noteF1½F, dotted quarter noteF½F, eighth note
- FF, quarter noteEE, quarter noteEE, quarter noteE½E, eighth noteE½E, eighth note
- GG, quarter noteGG, quarter noteFF, quarter noteDD, quarter note
- C4C, whole note
16 measures of 4/4 · 51 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.
The chorus with the words
| Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way | E E E E E E E G C D E |
| Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh, hey! | F F F F F E E E E E D D E D G |
| Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way | E E E E E E E G C D E |
| Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh | F F F F F E E E E G G F D C |
The chorus uses five notes, middle C up to G, so a piano player’s right hand never has to move. “Jingle bells, jingle bells” is just E, six times, and the two halves of the chorus start the same way.
The chorus on the staff
In 4/4 time: four beats to a measure. The letter under each note is its name.
Free printable sheet music
The sheet has the chorus first, then the whole song, verse and chorus: the melody one phrase per line, with the letter name under every note and the words under each line, on two pages of US Letter or A4. It suits complete beginners on piano, keyboard, recorder or bells, and works well for a December class. It’s free to print and copy.
The notes the chorus uses
The whole song
The verse, “Dashing through the snow”, sits higher than the chorus: it starts on the G on the second line and climbs above the staff. Here the whole song is written an octave up, so verse and chorus join smoothly. Its highest note is A’ on the first ledger line above the staff. In the game it’s Jingle Bells, next to Jingle Bells (chorus): play the whole song.
| Words | Notes |
|---|---|
| Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh | G E' D' C' G G G G E' D' C' A |
| O'er the fields we go, laughing all the way | A F' E' D' B B G' G' F' D' E' |
| Bells on bobtail ring, making spirits bright | G G E' D' C' G G G E' D' C' A |
| What fun it is to ride and sing a sleighing song tonight! | A A F' E' D' G' G' G' G' A' G' F' D' C' G' |
| Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way | E' E' E' E' E' E' E' G' C' D' E' |
| Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh, hey! | F' F' F' F' F' E' E' E' E' E' D' D' E' D' G' |
| Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way | E' E' E' E' E' E' E' G' C' D' E' |
| Oh, what fun it is to ride in a one-horse open sleigh | F' F' F' F' F' E' E' E' E' G' G' F' D' C' |
A ’ after a letter means the octave above middle C’s: C’ is the C in the third space. The short dashes on the staff are eighth rests, a breath after each long note in the verse.
Tips for reading it
- Count the long E. “Way” in “jingle all the way” is a whole note: hold it for all four beats.
- Two long-short pairs. In “jingle all the way”, C is dotted and D is short; “one-horse open” has the same long-short pair on F.
- The ending changes. The first time, “sleigh, hey!” ends D then G. The second time, “sleigh” goes G G F D down to C.
About the song
James Lord Pierpont, an American songwriter, published “The One Horse Open Sleigh” in Boston in 1857. It was a winter song about sleigh races, not a Christmas carol, and it was renamed “Jingle Bells” two years later. Over the next century it became one of the best-known Christmas songs in the world. Both the words and the tune are public domain.
Play it
Press Name the notes in the game at the top of this page to read the chorus one note at a time in Trebly’s Songs mode. Each right answer plays the note. More carols: Christmas songs with letter notes.