Free easy piano · Christmas
The First Noel, easy piano
The First Noel in four free versions: an easy arrangement in D major with the whole melody in the right hand, a beginner version in C major, the hymnal right hand over an easier left hand, and the four-part hymnal original. Play each one here, slow it down or loop a bar, then print the PDF or download the MIDI.
- Traditional English
- Beginner to intermediate, plus the original
- 25 bars · 3/4
- Free: play, print, MIDI
Versions of The First Noel. Each version is a request typed into PlayableNotes. Pick one to hear and print it.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make The First Noel easy for a second-year student. Keep it in D major with the whole melody in the right hand, adding an alto note under a few of the long notes. Give the left hand two-note chords that follow the hymn's harmony, nothing wider than a sixth.”
What changed
The whole carol with the melody note for note in the right hand, over two-note left-hand chords that follow the hymnal harmony.
- Right hand: the hymn's melody, every note and rhythm unchanged, with an alto note added under a few long notes: the D below the held F-sharp in bars 9, 17 and 25, the G below the B in bar 20, and the F-sharp below the A in bar 21.
- Left hand: the hymn's bass with one other note of the same chord above it, never wider than a sixth and at most one chord per beat except the eighth-note climb in bar 20. The upper note is the tenor's where it fits under the hand; elsewhere it comes from the alto or the melody: the F-sharp in bars 2, 5, 6, 10, 13, 14, 19 and 23 (where the tenor has D or A), the G in bars 6, 14 and 15 (where the tenor has C-sharp or E), the B in bar 15 (where the tenor has D), and the C-sharp in bar 19 (where the tenor has A). The half note D in bar 21 is the only single note, since the right hand plays the F-sharp above it.
- Bars 3 and 11: the bass's leap from low A to the A an octave higher is left out; the left hand plays A with C-sharp, so the chord under the melody's long A has its third. Bar 11 keeps the hymn's D falling to C-sharp over the A. On beat 3 the left hand plays G with the alto's E instead of the tenor's B, which keeps the E in the chord; that E sits on the second ledger line above the bass staff.
- Bars 8, 16 and 24: F-sharp with A as one quarter note, where the hymn's bass has F-sharp, G eighth notes; then A with D under the melody's A (in bar 24 the D is added); then A with C-sharp under the G, where the hymn has only A's in the lower voices, so the chord has its third and seventh. In bars 16 and 24 the bass's low A on beat 3 is played an octave higher.
- Bars 9 and 17, beat 3: A with C-sharp, the hymn's tenor and alto, the same shape as bar 8's beat 3; the bass's low A is left out. This sets up the second half of the verse (bar 10) and the refrain (bar 18).
- Bars 20 and 21: the hymn's tenor and bass together as rising thirds, G and B, A and C-sharp, B and D, C-sharp and E, the climb in the refrain; then D, and C-sharp with E. Bar 22 keeps D on top while the bass steps down B, A, G.
- Bar 18, beat 3: D with B, where the hymn has B in octaves. The upper note then steps up to the C-sharp in bar 19, and the left hand avoids the parallel fifths that B with F-sharp would make into bar 19's F-sharp with C-sharp. Bar 23: D with F-sharp held for two beats, without the bass's drop from the D above to the low D.
- Left out: the rest of the alto line, the tenor's passing eighth notes in bars 1, 4, 5, 9, 12, 13 and 17, and the bass's repeated G eighths in bars 5 and 13.
For teachers: For a student who reads both clefs and is ready for two-note chords in the left hand. Fingering for the right hand: in bar 2 play D, E, F-sharp with 1, 2, 3 and tuck the thumb under to G, so that A, B, C-sharp, D fall on 2, 3, 4, 5; the hand stays there until bar 8 and moves back to D at bars 9, 17 and 25. In bar 20 the thumb takes the G under the B, and in bar 21 it reaches down to the F-sharp. The left hand's rising thirds in bar 20 go 5 and 3, 4 and 2, 3 and 1, 2 and 1. Learn the left hand of bars 6 to 8 on its own, since it changes chord on every beat.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Make a beginner version in C major for a first-year student: no sharps or flats, the melody alone in the right hand, and single notes or open fifths in the left hand, nothing faster than quarter notes.”
What changed
The melody in C major with no key signature, over a left hand of mostly single notes, each held for one to three beats.
- Moved down a whole step, from D major to C major, so there are no sharps.
- Right hand: the melody alone, with the same rhythms as the hymn.
- Left hand: one note per chord, each of one to three beats, all in the octave below middle C. Bars 2, 10, 18 and 25 use an open fifth, C and G.
- Bars 6, 7, 14 and 15 keep the hymn's bass moving in quarter notes (E, C, D and E, F, D), and bar 22 steps down A, G, F.
- A few of the hymn's chord changes are left out: bars 2, 10 and 18 hold C for the whole bar where the hymn moves to A minor on beat 3, and bar 20's walking bass becomes one held F.
- The left hand rests in the one-beat pickup and comes in on the first beat of bar 2.
For teachers: The one technique step is a thumb tuck. Start on E with finger 3 (E 3, D 2, C 1), then in bar 2 play C, D, E with 1, 2, 3 and tuck the thumb under to F, so that G, A, B, C are 2, 3, 4, 5. Move the hand back to C position at bars 9, 17 and 25. Practice bars 1 to 4 right hand alone until the tuck is smooth.
Typed into PlayableNotes“Keep the hymnal's right hand exactly as printed, soprano and alto, but make the left hand easier for a church pianist with average-sized hands: no stretch wider than a sixth, mostly two-note chords, and the same harmony.”
What changed
The soprano and alto exactly as printed in the 1911 hymnal, over a left hand of two-note chords that keeps the hymn's harmony.
- Right hand: unchanged, soprano and alto, with the slurs and the tied alto D in bar 10.
- Left hand: tenor and bass combined into one part, mostly two-note chords, never wider than a sixth. The original stretches a tenth in bars 2, 3 and 10 and an eleventh in bar 11.
- Bars 2, 10 and 18: on beat 3 the left hand holds F-sharp over the bass's B and leaves out the tenor's note (the D in bars 2 and 10, which the alto already plays, and the B in bar 18).
- Bars 3 and 11: the bass stays on the A below middle C instead of leaping up from low A, so the left hand can hold the tenor's C-sharp (in bar 11, the tenor's D falling to C-sharp).
- Tenor notes revoiced to fit the hand: in bars 5 and 13 the tenor's D on beats 1 and 2 becomes the F-sharp below; in bar 15, beat 3, the tenor's E becomes G, played with the bass's E; in bar 23 the tenor's held D is dropped after beat 1 while the bass falls an octave.
- Bars 8, 16 and 24: beat 3 is A with C-sharp, so the chord before each cadence is a full A seventh; the hymn has only A's in the lower voices there, and in bars 16 and 24 the bass's low A is played an octave higher (in bar 24, beat 2, the D is added).
- Left out: the tenor's passing eighth notes in bars 1, 4, 5, 9, 12, 13 and 17, the bass's repeated G eighths in bars 5 and 13, the bass's F-sharp, G eighths in bars 8, 16 and 24, and the tenor's climb in bar 20, where the left hand plays only the bass's walk up to D.
- Bar 21: the tenor's high F-sharp, which the alto already sings, is left out; the left hand plays D, then C-sharp with E.
For teachers: For a pianist who reads the hymnal's treble staff comfortably but cannot reach the bass staff's wide stretches. About half the bars of this left hand are the same as the easy version's, so a student coming from that version mainly adds the alto. Learn the left hand alone first: it moves on every beat in bars 6 to 8, 14 to 16 and 22 to 24. Once it is secure, the original adds the full tenor line and the wide spacing between tenor and bass.
The piece as published: Open Hymnal Project, 2006 revision, from The Methodist Sunday School Hymnal (1911), hymn 66.
Original
What changed
What changed
The four-part hymn setting from the Methodist Sunday School Hymnal (1911): soprano and alto in the right hand, tenor and bass in the left.
- Nothing: this is the source edition, checked note by note against the Open Hymnal MIDI and the Mutopia edition.
- The ties in bars 10 and 15 follow the words of verse 1; other verses tie or repeat notes in bars 4 to 15 to fit their words.
For teachers: Written for four voices, so the left hand reaches a tenth in bars 2, 3 and 10 and an eleventh in bar 11 (low B or A under the tenor's D, C-sharp and D). If that is too far, take the tenor note in the right hand, or do as the easier-left-hand version does: play the bass A an octave higher in bars 3 and 11, and leave out the tenor's D in bars 2 and 10. To introduce the singing, the Open Hymnal edition marks bars 22 to 25.
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About The First Noel
The First Noel (in older and British books, The First Nowell) is a traditional English carol. Davies Gilbert printed the words in 1823, and William Sandys printed the tune for the first time in 1833. It moves in three beats to the bar, and the whole tune fits in one octave, D to D in the usual key. Most of the tune is one eight-bar phrase: the verse sings the same eight bars twice, and the refrain ("Noel, Noel") ends with the last four bars of that phrase.
The setting here, from the Methodist Sunday School Hymnal of 1911, is the standard four-part harmony, close to the one John Stainer published in Christmas Carols New and Old (1871). It was written for singers, so the left hand has to cover tenor and bass together, and in places they are a tenth or more apart. The tune itself is mostly steps and small skips, but it climbs a scale through a whole octave, so it does not fit in one five-finger position.
The easy version keeps every note of the melody in D major over two-note left-hand chords that follow the hymn's harmony. The beginner version moves it to C major, with mostly single notes in the left hand. The third version is for church pianists: the soprano and alto exactly as printed, over a left hand that never stretches past a sixth.
Practice tips
- Count "1, 2" and start on 3: the tune begins on beat 3 with two eighth notes (F-sharp, E in D major), and the last bar has only two beats to complete that pickup.
- Clap the rhythm of bar 2 while counting "1, 2 and, 3 and": D on 1, E on the "and" of 2, F-sharp on 3 and G on its "and". Bars 10 and 18 have the same rhythm.
- Learn bars 2 to 9 well and you know most of the carol: bars 10 to 17 repeat them, bars 22 to 24 repeat bars 6 to 8, and bar 25 ends on the F-sharp that opens bar 9.
- Loop bars 6 to 8 hands together, slowly. The melody comes down and climbs back to the high D, and in every version the left hand moves on every beat of bars 6 and 7.
- To accompany singing, play the 25 bars once per verse and keep the beat steady across the join: the last bar's two beats and the pickup make one full bar.
Questions about The First Noel
Who wrote The First Noel?
Nobody knows. It is a traditional English carol: Davies Gilbert printed the words in 1823, and William Sandys printed the tune for the first time in 1833. The four-part harmony most hymnals use is close to the one John Stainer published in Christmas Carols New and Old (1871).
What key is The First Noel in?
Most hymnals print it in D major, in 3/4 time, and the easy version on this page stays in D. The beginner version is in C major, a whole step lower, so there are no sharps to read.
Is The First Noel easy to play on piano?
The tune is: it moves mostly by step, stays within one octave, and the verse plays the same eight bars twice. The hymnal harmony is harder, because the left hand plays two voices that stretch a tenth or more apart in places. The easy and beginner versions here keep the whole melody and give the left hand chords or single notes that fit the hand.
How fast should The First Noel be played?
The Open Hymnal setting is marked at 100 quarter notes per minute. For a student, start near 70 with the tempo control on this page and work up; the easy version is set at 80.
Can I download The First Noel as a PDF or MIDI file?
Yes, free and without an account. Every version has a Letter-size PDF to print and a MIDI file with the right and left hands on separate tracks.
Can I get The First Noel in a different key, or even easier?
Open any version in PlayableNotes with a free account and ask for the change in words, such as another key, a left hand with one held note per bar, or larger notation. The result becomes a new version you can play, print or send to a student as a practice link.
Source and credits
- Composer
- Traditional English
- Source edition
- Open Hymnal Project, 2006 revision, from The Methodist Sunday School Hymnal (1911), hymn 66
- License
- Public domain
- Arranger
- PlayableNotes
Converted from the Open Hymnal ABC file and checked note by note against the Open Hymnal MIDI and against the independent Mutopia edition, which has the same pitches in all four voices. Optional ties that depend on the verse follow the words of verse 1, which ties notes only in bars 10 and 15. The words are not included.
Arrangements and facts checked
