Notalo › Piano songs with letters › Deck the Halls
Deck the Halls — piano notes with letters
The Welsh melody in C major with no sharps or flats. Every “fa-la-la-la-la” is the same descending run, so once you have bar 1 you have most of the piece.
Traditional (Welsh melody “Nos Galan”), 16th century · C major · 4/4 · public domain · arranged and labeled by Notalo
Hear it. A MIDI file of exactly these notes at 120 BPM — open it in any music app, or slow it down to practice.
Download MIDIAbout the song
The tune is the Welsh 'Nos Galan' (New Year's Eve), a 16th-century melody for harp and voice; Mozart is said to have used it in a violin duet. The English 'Deck the halls' words were written by the Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant in 1862, and the 'fa-la-la' refrains are a leftover from the Welsh tradition of singing nonsense syllables while a harpist filled in the tune.
How to play it, phrase by phrase
The first phrase is a plain scale down: G F E D C ('deck the halls with boughs of holly'), and every 'fa la la la la' is D E F D. Bars 1–4 and 5–8 are identical, so learn one line and you have half the piece. Line 3 (bars 9–12) is the new part: it starts the same way but rises D E F G A, then the only accidental — F♯ in bar 11 — appears on 'follow me in merry measure'. Line 4 (bars 13–16) is the first line again. Keep the scale even; beginners tend to rush the descending notes.
Letter notes, bar by bar (right hand)
Read left to right; a | is a bar line. Chord symbols are for the left hand or a guitar.
| Bar | Chord | Right-hand letters |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | C | G F E D C |
| 2 | G7 | D E F D |
| 3 | Em7 | E F G F E D |
| 4 | Cmaj7 | C B C D C |
| 5 | C | G F E D C |
| 6 | G7 | D E F D |
| 7 | Em7 | E F G F E D |
| 8 | Cmaj7 | C B C D C |
| 9 | G7 | D E F G D |
| 10 | Em7 | E F G A D |
| 11 | Cmaj7 | E F♯ G E F♯ G |
| 12 | Bm7 | A B C |
| 13 | C | G F E D C |
| 14 | G7 | D E F D |
| 15 | Cmaj7 | E F G F E D |
| 16 | Cmaj7 | C B C D C |
Three things to watch
- The first phrase steps straight down: G–F–E–D–C.
- Lines 1, 2 and 4 are nearly identical; only line 3 (bars 9–12) is new.
- Bar 11 has the one F♯ in the piece, then it returns to C major.
Have a different version, or a different song? Upload your own sheet music — a photo or PDF — and Notalo writes the letters under every note the same way, plus chords and a MIDI file.
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Frequently asked questions
Is this sheet music free to print and use?
Yes. Deck the Halls is in the public domain and this arrangement was written and rendered by Notalo. Print it, share it, use it in lessons.
What do the colors mean?
Red letters are the right hand (treble clef), blue letters are the left hand (bass clef), green is the chord for the bar. This is the same output Notalo gives for any sheet music you upload.
Can I get it with Do Re Mi or numbers instead of letters?
Yes — download the image above, upload it to Notalo, and pick solfège (Do Re Mi), German letters, or numbers (1 2 3) as the label style.