Jingle Bells sheet music

How to play Jingle Bells

The whole song: the "dashing through the snow" verse and the chorus, with a left hand that marches along on every beat.

Where your hands go

Right hand: the verse opens on G4 and jumps up to E5. The chorus sits between C5 and G5, and the top note is A5 in bar 15.

Left hand: two notes taking turns, a root and the fifth above it, one on every beat. C3 and G3, F3 and C4, G3 and D4.

It is in C major and 4/4. Bars 1 to 16 are the verse and bars 17 to 32 the chorus.

The tricky bars

Bars 1–2

G4 up to E5, then D5, C5 and back to G4. Bar 2 ends with two quick G4 eighth notes for "in a".

Bars 5–6

A4 jumps up to F5, steps down E5, D5, and lands on B4 for a whole bar.

Bars 14–15

Four G5s in a row, then A5, the highest note, and down G5, F5, D5.

Bars 19–20

E5, G5, then C5 for a dotted quarter and a quick D5 before the long E5. It comes back in bar 27.

Bar 22

F5, three E5s and two quick E5 eighths at the end. Keep the eighths light and even.

Your practice plan

1. Left hand alone through the chorus, bars 17 to 32, so the root-and-fifth walk feels automatic.
2. Right hand alone, the chorus, then the verse.
3. Hands together, the chorus first, four bars at a time at half speed.
4. Hands together, the verse, then join verse and chorus.
5. Play the whole song with Listen on, bringing the Speed up a little each time.

Watch out for

• Making the dotted quarter in bars 19 and 27 too short, so the quick D5 comes early.
• Rushing the two eighth notes at the end of bars 22 and 30.
• Letting the left hand get louder than the tune. It is the sleigh, not the bells.

Power-up: press Loop, tap the first and last of the tricky bars, and they repeat until they feel easy. Hands in Options lets you practise one hand at a time. New to the notation? Start with how to read keyboard staff, then how to practise piano.