Piano songs · Beginner (the famous figure)
Carol of the Bells on piano
Carol of the Bells is built on one tiny four-note figure that rings on and on, like bells: B♭, A, B♭, G. Learn it here, over a low G minor chord, and you've learned the heart of the piece.
this song
Carol of the Bells sheet music
The same notes as the player above, as a piano score: G minor, 3/4 time. Free to print or save as a PDF.
How to read the rhythms · how to read the notes
About the piece
The music is "Shchedryk", a Ukrainian New Year's song arranged by Mykola Leontovych in 1914. Its four-note ostinato repeats through almost the whole piece while other voices weave around it. The familiar English words, "Hark how the bells", were written by Peter J. Wilhousky in 1936; the melody itself is in the public domain.
The notes
The letters above are the tune, played by your right hand: B♭ A B♭ G B♭; A B♭ G B♭ A B♭ G; B♭ A B♭ G B♭; A B♭ G B♭ A B♭ G; B♭ A B♭ G B♭; A B♭ G. Longer boxes are longer notes. Press Play and follow along, slow it down with the speed slider, or turn on Wait for me and play each note yourself.
How to learn it
- The figure: B♭ (one beat), A and B♭ (half a beat each), G (one beat). It's in 3/4: count "1, 2-and, 3".
- Fingers: try 3 on B♭, 2 on A, 3 on B♭, 1 on G. Keep the hand still: only the fingers move.
- Keep it light and even, like small bells. It gets faster and more exciting as you repeat it, but start slowly.
- Left hand: a low G with the D above, held for each bar. Then the rest of the carol is variations over this same pattern.
Learning Carol of the Bells on a real piano? Ivory listens to you play and tells you what's off: a note that's missing, a hand that lands late, a rhythm that runs away. Then it shows you how it should go.
Questions people ask
What are the notes of Carol of the Bells?
The famous figure is B♭, A, B♭, G (in G minor), repeated through most of the piece.
Is Carol of the Bells hard on piano?
The four-note figure is easy, and it's the heart of the piece. Full arrangements add busier parts on top and get faster, which is where it gets harder.
More songs to play
A simple arrangement of a public-domain melody. Piano sound: Salamander Grand Piano by Alexander Holm, CC BY 3.0.