Are you interested in learning to play “Jingle Bells” on the piano? In this article, we will give you a background on this popular Christmas song, provide you with the sheet music, and get you ready to sit down at the piano and play Jingle Bells! Are you ready?
Background on Jingle Bells
“Jingle Bells” was originally published in 1857 under the title “The One Horse Open Sleigh” by the prolific composer and organist James Lord Pierpont. Originally, this song was probably not intended to be a Christmas song, but rather as a Sunday school choir song to be sung at Thanksgiving. It caught on as a Christmas song during the 1860s and 70s and has been a staple of the holiday season ever since.
Check out this Edison cylinder recording from 1898, in which the Edison Male Quartette sings “Jingle Bells”!
Note: If you are unfamiliar with the Edison cylinder (also called the phonograph), you may have heard of Thomas Edison! He created this invention, which was the earliest machine that was used to record and reproduce sound. Imagine how far this technology has come, from this invention created in just 1877 to our modern cell-phones, earbuds, computers, and internet!
What key is Jingle Bells in?
Jingle Bells is commonly performed in C major, but can be played in any major key through the magic of transposition! The sheet music that you can download here is in C major.
How do you play Jingle Bells with two hands on the piano?
Are you interested in playing Jingle Bells with two hands on the piano? First, practice playing the melody with your right hand, then practice playing the melody alone with your left hand. After you’ve mastered playing with each hand on its own, put them together and practice playing the melody with both hands! Now, play the melody again with the right hand while you play chords with the left hand. You will notice that the video has chords in the sheet music, but the sheet music you downloaded does not! Here is an assignment for you: copy the chords from the video into your own sheet music!
Where can you get sheet music for Jingle Bells?
It’s Jingle Bell time! Print the sheet music and learn to play this traditional holiday favorite as featured in the “Jingle Bells” Hoffman Academy Bonus Lesson here. This song is appropriate for Unit 2 students and up!