Notalo › Piano songs with letters › Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells — piano notes with letters
The chorus everyone knows, then the first verse (“Dashing through the snow”), in G major with one sharp: every F is F♯. The right hand stays inside one octave, so it is a good first Christmas piece.
James Lord Pierpont, 1857 · G 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
James Lord Pierpont published this in 1857 under the title 'One Horse Open Sleigh', and it was not a Christmas song at all: it is about sleigh racing, and the original verses are closer to a drinking song than a carol. Both Medford, Massachusetts and Savannah, Georgia claim it was written there. The chorus became the part everyone knows, and in 1965 it was the first song ever broadcast from space, when the Gemini 6 crew played it on a smuggled harmonica and sleigh bells.
How to play it, phrase by phrase
Bars 1–8 are the chorus. 'Jin-gle bells' is the same note three times (B B B), twice; 'jin-gle all the way' climbs B–D–G–A and lands back on B. 'Oh what fun' is four repeated C's, then 'it is to ride' steps down C–B–B–B–B. The line ends on 'in a one-horse open sleigh' (B A A B, then A up to D), and the second time through (bars 9–16) the ending changes to D D C A, resolving home to G. Bars 17–32 are the verse, 'Dashing through the snow': D B A G, three D's, D B A G again, then the phrase ends on E. Practice the chorus until the three repeated B's are perfectly even — that rhythm is the whole character of the song.
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 | G | B B B |
| 2 | G | B B B |
| 3 | Em7 | B D G A |
| 4 | G | B |
| 5 | C | C C C C |
| 6 | G | C B B B B |
| 7 | Bm7 | B A A B |
| 8 | D | A D |
| 9 | G | B B B |
| 10 | G | B B B |
| 11 | Em7 | B D G A |
| 12 | G | B |
| 13 | C | C C C C |
| 14 | G | C B B B B |
| 15 | D7 | D D C A |
| 16 | G | G |
| 17 | G | D B A G |
| 18 | G | D D D |
| 19 | G | D B A G |
| 20 | C | E |
| 21 | Cmaj7 | E C B A |
| 22 | D | F♯ |
| 23 | D7 | D D C A |
| 24 | G | B |
| 25 | G | D B A G |
| 26 | G | D D D |
| 27 | G | D B A G |
| 28 | C | E |
| 29 | Cmaj7 | E C B A |
| 30 | D | D D D D |
| 31 | D7 | E D C A |
| 32 | G | G |
Three things to watch
- Chorus first: bars 1–8 are just B, D, G, A and C — five notes.
- The left hand is one chord per bar; hold it and let the melody do the work.
- Watch the F♯ in the verse (bar 22): it is the only sharp in the whole piece.
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. Jingle Bells 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.