The First Noel - guitar tab, notes, chords and lyrics
"The First Noel" (sometimes spelled "The First Noël") is an English carol but uses the word Noël, old French for Christmas (the word is a variant of nael from Church Latin and with reference to the birth of Christ). The song is also referred to as "The First Nowel" and, less common, "For Christmas Day In The Morning". The is song believed to go back to the 18th century and from the region of Cornwall, but it may have existed in earlier versions even longer back in time. The composer is unknown. In modern time, it has been recorded by famous artists such as Mariah Carey and Whitney Houston.
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
Free tabs and notes plus sound.
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The First Noel guitar tab and notes (pdf)
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The First Noel instrumental guitar (mp3)
The First Noel (full accompaniment)
"The First Noel" with full guitar accompaniment is found in Christmas songs arranged for guitar e-book.
The First Noel (only melody)
"The First Noel" standard and tablature notation for guitar.
Tips on how to learn this song
The song consists of 24 bars (the pick-up bar in the beginning excluded) and has a ABABAB structure - notice how the bars 5–8, 13–16 and 21–24 are identical and that the bars 1–4, 9–12 and 17–20 are almost identical. The melody of the song is played as presented above in open position except for bars 19 and 20, in which position shifts must be made.
The song stays in the same key and is played in 3/4 time. Andante moderate is an adequate way to describe the tempo.
Lyrics and chords
The First Noel chords in the key of G
Verse 1:
The (G)first (D)Noel the (C)angels did (G)say
Was to (C)certain poor (G)Shepherds (C)in fields as (D)they (G)lay.
In (G)fields where (D)they lay (C)keeping their (G)sheep,
On a (C)cold winter's (G)night that (C)was (D)so (G)deep.
Chorus:
(G)Noel (D)Noel, (C)Noel (G)Noel.
(C)Born is the (G)King of Israel.
The lyrics is one of many versions available for this song. There are also more verses in the full song than presented here. Concerning the progression, only the main major chords in the key of G is used.
These are the keys that the song would transpose in depending on which fret the capo is put (based on the chords in the G major version):
- Capo 1: G# / Ab major
- Capo 2: A major
- Capo 3: A# / Bb major
- Capo 4: B major
- Capo 5: C major
Key, time, tuning and tempo
Information about "The First Noel" considering musical key, time signature, tuning and bpm.
Key
The presented version of The First Noel is played in the key of G.
Time signature
The song is played in 3/4 tempo (counted one, two, three for each measure).
Tuning
The song is normally played in standard tuning (EADGBE).
Tempo (BPM)
The tempo in beats per minute is 100 for the presented version. The tempo marking moderately slow can also be used.