O Holy Night, in C major and 4/4 here, has dotted rhythms in most bars and a refrain that climbs to E5. The interactive player plays it slower and lights up each key as it sounds. Below it come the sheet music and fingering for both hands, and further down a free printable PDF.
Learn it with the interactive player
- Slow it down: x0.5 or x0.75 while you learn the notes, back to x1 once they flow.
- Pause anywhere: the current keys stay lit so you can find them on your own piano.
- Drag the score left or right, or use the 15s buttons, to replay a phrase.
The sheet music, section by section
The verse, marked piano, takes up section A, measures 1-14. After two rests a sixteenth E4 leads to a held E4 and G4, and the dotted figure G4, A4, F4, A4 carries the line up to a half-note C5 in measure 3. Measure 8 has the only sharp, F#4 on finger 2, and measure 10 settles on E4. From measure 11 the music drops to pianissimo for G4, A4, D4, G4 in quarters, twice. Set the player to x0.5 and count the sixteenths as 1-e-and-a.
In section B, measures 15-26, the refrain comes in at forte and the melody moves in long tied notes: C5 held for three beats, B4 held longer, then D5 and a half-note E5 in measure 19, the first high point. Measure 23 is fortissimo, with D5 and then E5 again in measure 24. The piece closes C5, B4, C5, D5 on a whole-note C5 under a fermata. Count every tie before the sixteenth pickups, at x0.5 first and at x0.75 once the counting is sure.
The full score
Verse and refrain together make 26 bars at Andante maestoso, 58 to the quarter. The left hand plays only half and whole notes, so place each bass note exactly on beat 1 or 3 and let the sixteenths fall between. Work up from about 44 to 58, and keep the loudest playing for measures 23-24.
Note by note: keys and fingering
- Right hand: Small positions that change with the phrase, with the finger marked at each move. The opening uses the thumb (1) on E4 and index (2) on G4, then the thumb on F4 with middle (3) on A4 and pinky (5) on C5. Measure 3 resets to C position: pinky (5) on G4, middle (3) on E4, index (2) on D4 and thumb on middle C. In the refrain the thumb sits on A4 or G4, with the ring finger (4) on D5 and the pinky (5) on E5 for the two high points.
- Left hand: One half note or whole note at a time. The pinky (5) starts on C3 with the thumb (1) on G3, and the index (2) reaches F3 in measure 2. The pinky takes the low notes as they come: G2 from measure 3, B2 in measure 9, A2 at the start of the refrain. The thumb plays E3 and F3 in the refrain, and the piece ends on C3 with the ring finger (4).
| Note | On the Staff | On the Keyboard | Finger |
|---|---|---|---|
| C4 | Ledger line below the treble staff (middle C) | Middle C | RH Thumb (1) |
| D4 | Just below the bottom line of the treble staff | White key between the two black keys right of middle C | RH Index (2) |
| E4 | Bottom line of treble staff | White key right of the two black keys above middle C | RH Thumb (1) |
| F4 | First space of treble staff | White key left of the three black keys above middle C | RH Thumb (1) |
| F#4 | First space of treble staff, with a sharp sign | Black key right of F4, the first of the three black keys above middle C | RH Index (2) |
| G4 | Second line of treble staff | White key between the first two of three black keys above middle C | RH Index (2) |
| A4 | Second space of treble staff | White key between the last two of three black keys above middle C | RH Middle (3) |
| B4 | Middle line of treble staff | White key right of the three black keys above middle C | RH Ring (4) |
| C5 | Third space of treble staff | One octave above middle C | RH Pinky (5) |
| D5 | Fourth line of treble staff | White key between the two black keys above C5 | RH Ring (4) |
| E5 | Fourth space of treble staff | White key right of the two black keys above C5 | RH Pinky (5) |
| G2 | Bottom line of bass staff | White key between the first two of three black keys, an octave and a fourth below middle C | LH Pinky (5) |
| A2 | First space of bass staff | White key between the last two of three black keys, an octave and a third below middle C | LH Ring (4) |
| B2 | Second line of bass staff | White key right of the three black keys, an octave and a step below middle C | LH Pinky (5) |
| C3 | Second space of bass staff | One octave below middle C | LH Pinky (5) |
| D3 | Third line of bass staff | White key between the two black keys below middle C | LH Thumb (1) |
| E3 | Third space of bass staff | White key right of the two black keys below middle C | LH Middle (3) |
| F3 | Fourth line of bass staff | White key left of the three black keys below middle C | LH Index (2) |
| G3 | Fourth space of bass staff | White key between the first two of three black keys below middle C | LH Thumb (1) |
Prefer a video? Watch the keys light up
Same color code as the player: green marks the right hand, blue the left hand, with the score and keyboard in one vertical video.
The story behind O Holy Night
Adolphe Adam wrote the music in 1847 as Cantique de Noël; he died in 1856. Placide Cappeau (died 1877) wrote the French text and John S. Dwight (died 1893) the English one, and neither is printed on this page. Our score follows the voice line of an undated 19th-century Paris edition from Léon Grus (Noël, Cantique, 6th edition, voice and piano), in its own key of C major, without two grace notes and the turn in measure 25. Some singers add a high note, a performance tradition that is not in the Grus print, so our score leaves it out. The left hand plays a single-note bass.
Get the printable PDF
Door 21 of the Free Piano Advent Calendar (doors open December 1-24) holds this printable PDF of O Holy Night, with the full score, fingering for both hands and a practice tip per section. It is also a free direct download, no email needed.
Parents learning this carol for the family can find a seat height for their size with the piano bench height calculator, and when a child takes a turn, our solid-wood kids piano bench gives them a seat of their own.
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FAQ
How hard is O Holy Night on piano?
It sits at Level 3 in our Advent calendar collection, and the main challenge is counting, since most bars mix dotted eighths, sixteenths and tied notes. The right hand also moves between several small positions. The left hand stays simple, with one half or whole note at a time.
How long does it take to learn O Holy Night?
Plan on three to four weeks for an adult beginner. Spend the first days clapping the dotted rhythms of measures 1-5, then learn the verse and the refrain on their own before joining them. The refrain moves in longer notes, so it usually comes faster than the verse.
What level is O Holy Night?
Level 3 in our Advent calendar collection: 26 measures in C major and 4/4, Andante maestoso at 58 BPM. The right hand stays between middle C and E5 and the left hand between G2 and G3, always one note at a time.
What are the notes for O Holy Night?
After two rests the melody starts on a sixteenth E4, a held E4 and G4, then G4, A4, A4, F4, A4 and a long C5. It continues G4, G4, E4, D4 to middle C, then E4, F4, G4, F4, D4 and middle C again. The refrain begins on a long C5 and reaches E5 in measure 19. The left hand starts on C3 and G3 (every note is in the table above).