So, youve decided to go Christmas caroling this year, but youre not sure where to start. Maybe youre a little nervous about the very thought. Sing? A cappella? Who does that anymore? Just choir people and Dickens street performers, right?
Wrong. You, too, can sing a cappella. Better yet, you can spread a little holiday cheer while doing so.
Traditional carols are old enough that they are in the public domain, which means its easy to find free, downloadable sheet music on the web. Below is a list of some familiar carols with links to PDFs for printing.
Also included for each carol is a recommended starting note, as one of the keys to successful singing is not starting too low or too high. A pitch pipe or a smartphone with an app that plays a pitch for you can help.
1. No Christmas carol list would be complete without Silent Night. According to legend, it was composed by Franz Gruber and Jacob Mohr in 1818 to be easily accompanied by guitar because the organ at their church in Obendorf, Austria, was broken. For an extra challenge, consider learning it in the original German. (Start Silent Night on an E.)
2. What Child Is This is sung to the folk tune GREENSLEEVES. (Note: hymn tunes have their own names, separate from the words that are sung to them. The names of hymn tunes are typically written in all capital letters.)
Most people sing What Child Is This too slow, making it necessary to leave out notes in order to get a breath. To avoid that problem, sing it fast enough to get through an entire line of music (What child is this who laid to rest on Marys lap is sleeping?) on one breath. Add some percussion for an authentic medieval flavor. (Start What Child Is This on an E.)
3, 4. Both Gentle Mary Laid Her Child and Good King Wenceslas can be sung to the same tune, TEMPUS ADEST FLORIDUM. Heres a YouTube link for listening to the tune if you arent familiar with it. (Start Gentle Mary Laid Her Child and Good King Wenceslas on an F.)
5. Everyone knows O Come, All Ye Faithful. An easy variation for singing is to have soloists or groups take turns with each repetition of O come, let us adore Him at the end of each stanza.
For example, have a female or child soloist sing the first repetition, add the rest of the high voices on the second, and have the men join in on the third repetition, including the words Christ the Lord! (Start O Come, All Ye Faithful on an F.)
6. Hark! The Herald Angels Sing is another Christmas staple. The tune MENDELSSOHN comes from Mendelssohns cantata Festgesang an die Künstler, composed to mark the 400th anniversary of Gutenbergs invention of movable type. (Start Hark! The Herald Angels Sing on a low C.)
7. Away in a Manger can be sung to either AWAY IN A MANGER or CRADLE SONG. Heres the first tune, and heres the second one. (Start AWAY IN A MANGER on a high C. Start CRADLE SONG on a low C.)
8. Similarly, O Little Town of Bethlehem can be sung to either the tune ST. LOUIS or FOREST GREEN. This link includes both tunes. (Start ST. LOUIS on an A. Start FOREST GREEN on a low C.)
9. As with Gladness Men of Old reflects on the visit of the Magi to the Christ child, praying for the same spirit to seek out Jesus that the wise men had. Heres the tune played on organ. (Start As with Gladness on an F.)
10. Infant Holy, Infant Lowly is a traditional Polish carol that was first translated into English in 1920. Hear the tune here. (Start Infant Holy, Infant Lowly on a low C.)
11. If you want to try a little harmony, nothing beats the French carol Angels We Have Heard on High. You dont have to sing in four parts to impress your listeners; two parts will do. On Gloria in excelsis Deo, have the high voicesboth men and womensing the soprano part, and have the low voices, both men and women, sing the alto part. This YouTube page includes links to audio files for help learning each part. (Start Angels We Have Heard on High on an A.)
Notice that Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus, and other modern Christmas songs are not on this list. Thats because they arent carols. Carols trace their roots to medieval musical forms as well as to the tradition of wassailing. The practice of visiting people to sing carols for them grows to some extent out of both historic backgrounds but didnt take shape in the custom we know as Christmas caroling until the Victorian era.
If the carol you want to sing isnt on the list above, do an internet search for a PDF of the title. If you dont want to go to the trouble of searching, printing, and stapling your own songbooks, consider purchasing songbooks for your caroling group. Just make sure you buy one with both words and music. Heres an inexpensive option.
Happy caroling, and merry Christmas!