Uploaded October 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 hour ago
The holidays aren't for a few months still, but now is a good time to start working on some fun holiday tunes so we can learn them in time for the festive celebrations! Here is a tutorial for how to play the main melody from the holiday song "Carol of the Bells."
Quick Links:
Demonstration: 1:39
Rhythm: 2:12
Phrase 1: 2:59
Phrase 2: 4:03
Phrases 1 & 2: 5:03
Phrase 3: 5:27
Phrases 1, 2, & 3: 7:41
Phrase 4: 8:20
Play phrase 4: 9:59
Phrase 5: 10:14
Entire tune: 11:00
The melody from "Carol of the Bells" is in public domain, however the English Christmas carol lyrics that we are familiar with were written in the 1930's and are still under copyright by Peter Wilhousky. The song's melody was written by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykola_Leontovych) in the early 1900's. The original lyrics actually had nothing to do with Christmas but rather having prosperity in the new year. Wikipedia mentions that the song is based on a Ukrainian folk song chant. The song does sound quite "chant-like," but I am always hesitant to take information on Wikipedia as true facts. Mr. Leontovych was a Ukranian composer, so it makes sense. ^_^
I hope this video helps you learn the tune!
Thank you for watching, and happy fiddling~!
~Katy
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Camera used: Canon 70D
Video editing software used: Final Cut Pro X
The holidays aren't for a few months still, but now is a good time to start working on some fun holiday tunes so we can learn them in time for the festive celebrations! Here is a tutorial for how to play the main melody from the holiday song "Carol of the Bells."
Quick Links:
Demonstration: 1:39
Rhythm: 2:12
Phrase 1: 2:59
Phrase 2: 4:03
Phrases 1 & 2: 5:03
Phrase 3: 5:27
Phrases 1, 2, & 3: 7:41
Phrase 4: 8:20
Play phrase 4: 9:59
Phrase 5: 10:14
Entire tune: 11:00
The melody from "Carol of the Bells" is in public domain, however the English Christmas carol lyrics that we are familiar with were written in the 1930's and are still under copyright by Peter Wilhousky. The song's melody was written by Mykola Dmytrovych Leontovych (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mykola_Leontovych) in the early 1900's. The original lyrics actually had nothing to do with Christmas but rather having prosperity in the new year. Wikipedia mentions that the song is based on a Ukrainian folk song chant. The song does sound quite "chant-like," but I am always hesitant to take information on Wikipedia as true facts. Mr. Leontovych was a Ukranian composer, so it makes sense. ^_^
I hope this video helps you learn the tune!
Thank you for watching, and happy fiddling~!
~Katy
---------
Camera used: Canon 70D
Video editing software used: Final Cut Pro X
