The library · Christmas
The First Noel
Traditional English carol
The same melody comes round three times, refrain included (A A A'): once you have learned it, the whole carol is under your fingers.
D major · 3/4 · 60 beats per minute · 24 bars · 1 min 12 · beginner level
The form
The sections of the piece and their chords: the map you learn before playing a single note.
A A A'
| Section | Bars | Chords | Phrase ending |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 1–8 | D · A · F♯m · Gmaj7 · D · Em7 · D · Asus4 I · V · iii · IVmaj7 · I · ii7 · I · Vsus4 |
Half cadence |
| A | 9–16 | D/A · Asus4 · F♯m · Gmaj7 · D · Em7 · F♯m7/E · Asus4 I · Vsus4 · iii · IVmaj7 · I · ii7 · iii7 · Vsus4 |
Half cadence |
| A' | 17–24 | D/A · Bm7 · G/D · D · Dmaj7/C♯ · Gmaj7 · F♯m7/E · Asus4 I · vi7 · IV · I · Imaj7 · IVmaj7 · iii7 · Vsus4 |
Half cadence |
The key
- D major
- 2 sharps in the key signature: F♯, C♯
- Scale
- D · E · F♯ · G · A · B · C♯
- Pillar chords
- I = D · IV = G · V7 = A7
The tricky passages
No passage is harder than the rest: a good piece to discover the method.
The plan: 7 days
Half an hour a day. First I help you understand the map of the piece, then we lay down the chord framework, learn each section phrase by phrase, work on the tricky passages, put it together and bring it up to tempo, until you can play it from memory.
More pieces from the library
- Silent Night · Franz Xaver Gruber
- O Holy Night · Adolphe Adam
- O Come, All Ye Faithful (Adeste Fideles) · John Francis Wade
- Joy to the World · Lowell Mason, after Handel
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing · Felix Mendelssohn
- Lo, How a Rose E'er Blooming (Es ist ein Ros entsprungen) · Traditional German carol