Angels We Have Heard on High - guitar tab, notes, chords and lyrics
“Angels We Have Heard on High” is a Christmas Carol based on the traditional French song “Les Anges dans nos campagnes” with English lyrics by James Chadwick. The chorus, however, is in Latin: “Gloria in excelsis Deo” can be translated to “Glory to God in the highest”.
The music transcriptions of the song with tabs and notes are available for download as PDFs. It's free for personal use only.
Melody & full accompaniment
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Angels We Have Heard on High guitar tab and notes (pdf)
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Angels We Have Heard on High instrumental guitar (mp3)
Angels We Have Heard on High (full accompaniment)
"Angels We Have Heard on High" with full guitar accompaniment is found in Christmas songs arranged for guitar e-book.
Angels We Have Heard on High for flute
"Angels We Have Heard on High" for flute in the key of C. Free download in pdf-file and audio.
Angels We Have Heard on High flute
Angels We Have Heard on High (only melody)
"Angels We Have Heard on High" tablature notation for guitar. This is a shortened version (full versions for only melody and with accompaniment can be downloaded as pdf).
Tips on how to learn this song
The first thing to recognize is that the first two sections (bars 1-4 and 5-8) are identical. The tempo increases in the bars 9-11 with a higher frequency of eighteen notes. All in all, the melody is relatively simple with many open strings and only three frets involved.
The secondary thing to notice is the reprises and the volta brackets at the end (numbered 1 and 2). The first volta bracket is seen in the bar 14 and indicate that this is how the song should be played the first time. The second volta bracket seen in bar 15 is how the end should be played the second time.
Lyrics and chords
Angels We Have Heard on High chords in the key of D
Verse 1:
(D)Angels we have (A)heard on (D)high
Sweetly swinging (A)o'er the (D)plains,
and the mountains (A)in re(D)ply
Echoing their (A)joyous (D)strains.
Chorus:
(D)Glo-(B7)o-o-o-o-(Em)o-(A)o-o-o-o-(D)o-(G)o-o-o-o-(A)o-ria (D)in excelsis De(A)o.
(D)Glo-(B7)o-o-o-o-(Em)o-(A)o-o-o-o-(D)o-(G)o-o-o-o-(A)o-ria (D)in excelsis (A)De(D)o.
Verse 2:
(D)Shepherds, why this (A)jubi(D)lee?
Why your joyous (A)strains pro(D)long?
Say what may the (A)tidings (D)be?
Which inspire your (A)heavenly (D)song?
Chorus:
(D)Glo-(B7)o-o-o-o-(Em)o-(A)o-o-o-o-(D)o-(G)o-o-o-o-(A)o-ria (D)in excelsis De(A)o.
(D)Glo-(B7)o-o-o-o-(Em)o-(A)o-o-o-o-(D)o-(G)o-o-o-o-(A)o-ria (D)in excelsis (A)De(D)o.
Verse 3:
(D)Come to Bethle(A)hem and (D)see
Him whose birth (A)the angels (D)sing;
Come, adore on (A)bended (D)knee
Christ the Lord, (A)the newborn (D)King.
Poetic and archaic words:
o'er = over
The chorus is characterized by the multitude of syllables in the word "Gloria": Glo – o-o-o-o-o – o-o-o-o-o – o-o-o-o-o - ria. If you are not familiar with the song, a suggestion is to listen to it performed by the Portland Choir & Orchestra. Concerning the harmony, the normal vi chord is a VI7 (Bm is replaced with B7). The verses only involve a repeating I - V progressions.
The key of the song can be transposed with a capo:
- Capo 1: D# / Eb major
- Capo 2: E major
- Capo 3: F major
- Capo 4: F# / Gb major
- Capo 5: G major
Key, time, tuning and tempo
Information about "Angels We Have Heard on High" considering musical key, time signature, tuning and bpm.
Key
The (tab) version of Angels We Have Heard on High is played in the key of G.
Time signature
The song is played in 4/4 tempo (counted one, two, three, four for each measure).
Tuning
The song is normally played in standard tuning (EADGBE).
Tempo (BPM)
The tempo in beats per minute is 120 for the presented version.