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Hark! The Herald Angels Sing — piano notes with letters
The first two lines of the carol in G major, one sharp: “Hark! the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn King” and “Peace on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled”. Lines 1 and 3 share a melody.
Felix Mendelssohn, 1840 melody, 1739 words · G major · 4/4 · public domain · arranged and labeled by Notalo
Hear it. A MIDI file of exactly these notes at 108 BPM — open it in any music app, or slow it down to practice.
Download MIDIAbout the song
Charles Wesley wrote the words in 1739; the tune came a century later from a cantata Mendelssohn composed in 1840 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Gutenberg's printing press. The English organist William Cummings joined the two in 1855, against Mendelssohn's stated wish that the music never be used for sacred words. It is now one of the three or four most sung carols in the English-speaking world.
How to play it, phrase by phrase
“Hark the herald angels sing” is D, G G F♯ G, B B A — a pickup D, a dotted G–F♯, and the climb to B. “Glory to the newborn King” starts on the high D: D D D C, then B A and a long B. “Peace on earth and mercy mild” repeats the first line exactly. “God and sinners reconciled” is D A A G, then F♯ E and a long D home. The left hand is G and D chords; every F is sharp.
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 | Gmaj7 | D G G F♯ |
| 2 | G | G B B A |
| 3 | D7 | D D D C |
| 4 | G | B A B |
| 5 | Gmaj7 | D G G F♯ |
| 6 | G | G B B A |
| 7 | D | D A A G |
| 8 | Gmaj7 | F♯ E D |
Three things to watch
- Every F is F♯ — it appears in bars 1, 5 and 8.
- Bar 3 jumps to the high D and stays there for three notes: “Glo-ry to”.
- The last phrase walks straight down from A to D: A, G, F♯, E, D.
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. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 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.