Play along
Carol of the Bells: guitar chords and tab for beginners
Ukraine, 1916
Carol of the Bells
by Mykola Leontovych
- Tempo
- 132beats per minute
- Count
- 3beats in each bar
- Key
- A minorthe home note
- Level
- 1 of 3easiest
Level 1. Strum one chord per beat. Start here.
Chord names above, strum arrows below. Down arrow = strum down toward the floor, up arrow = back up.
Hold this chord
How to read it
- Red cross: don’t play that string. Skip it when you strum.
- Green circle: play that string open, with no finger on it.
- Number: press there with that finger. 1 index, 2 middle, 3 ring, 4 pinky.
- Letters: the strings, thickest (low E) on the left to thinnest (high e) on the right.
Space bar plays and pauses. Left and right arrows jump a bar.
The chords
The chords in Carol of the Bells
6 chords, open shapes apart from F: Am, G, F, E, Dm, E7. 3 beats in each bar, 132 beats per minute, in A minor.
A minor
3 fingers
Fingers, notes, sound →G major
3 fingers
Fingers, notes, sound →F major
barre, 4 fingers
Fingers, notes, sound →E major
3 fingers
Fingers, notes, sound →D minor
3 fingers
Fingers, notes, sound →E seven
2 fingers
Fingers, notes, sound →
In words: A minor is x 0 2 2 1 0. G major is 3 2 0 0 0 3. F major is 1 3 3 2 1 1 (finger 1 flat across fret 1). E major is 0 2 2 1 0 0. D minor is x x 0 2 3 1. E seven is 0 2 0 1 0 0. Numbers are frets, thick string to thin, and x means do not play that string.
About the song
Mykola Leontovych wrote Shchedryk in 1916 from a Ukrainian New Year folk chant, and the world now knows it as Carol of the Bells. The whole piece grows out of four notes, C, B, C, A, repeated over and over. Get those four notes even and steady and you have the song.
Questions people ask
- What chords are in Carol of the Bells?
- Six chords: Am, G, F, E, Dm and E7. F needs a finger laid flat across the neck, which is the hard part of this one.
- What key is Carol of the Bells in?
- A minor. The key control on this page moves it up or down, and tells you where to put a capo so you can keep the same easy shapes.
- Is Carol of the Bells easy to play on guitar?
- It is one of the harder songs here: six chords at 132 beats per minute. Slow it to 50 percent, and try Ode to Joy and Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star first if it fights back.
- What is the strumming pattern for Carol of the Bells?
- Five strums in each bar: down, down, up, down, up. There are 3 beats in every bar. The arrows above the chord boxes move with the sound, so you can see the pattern as you hear it.
- How do I play Carol of the Bells on guitar?
- Three ways on this page, all from the same arrangement. Chords mode strums one chord at a time, Melody mode picks the tune from the tab, and Fingerstyle mode plays the bass with your thumb under the tune. Start in Chords mode at 60 percent speed.
- Who wrote Carol of the Bells?
- Mykola Leontovych. Ukraine, 1916. The music is old enough to be in the public domain, so it is free to learn, play and record.
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