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This guide will show you how to play simple arrangements of “White Christmas“.
White Christmas (C Major): Introduction
Here, White Christmas is written and played in the key of C Major, and has a 4/4 time signature.
White Christmas (C Major): Main Melody
Here are the melody notes you need to play:
E | F E D# E | F | F# G | A B C D | C B A G |
C D | E E | E A G | C C | C G F | E | F E D C | D | (D) | E |
F E D# E | F | F# G | A B C D | C B A G | (G) | (G) C D | E E |
E A G | C | (C) C D | E E | A B B B | C | (C)
Here’s the complete melody written out:
The musical notation is written to allow for a slight ‘push’ ahead of the beat in bars 5/6, 6/7 and again in bars 21/22 and 22/23. You may wish to alter the timing when you play. Listen to the recording below, which is taken directly from this notation, and see what you prefer. You are totally at liberty to add your own artistic interpretation.
Here’s what it sounds like:
With metronome click:
Download MIDI
Download MP3
Download MP3 with click
White Christmas (C Major): Single Note Bass Line
Below is a simple bass line for the song using just one note at a time. Most of the time you simply play one whole note (semibreve) per bar, with the exception of bar 29 which contains two half notes (minims), and bars 27/28 and 31/32 which have tied whole notes held for eight beats in total.
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
With metronome click:
Download MIDI
Download MP3
Download MP3 with click
White Christmas (C Major): Walking Bassline
To inject a bit of movement into the piece, here’s a walking bass line comprised of quarter notes (crotchets).
In the main, you play a bass note followed by a note a perfect fifth above it, followed by the original bass note an octave higher, followed by the second note again.
So, in bar 1 you play a low C followed by the G above it, followed by the C above that, followed by the G again. In bar 3 you play a low D followed by A, high D then A, and so on.
Bar 12 is an exception. This is a broken F minor chord (F, A flat, C) placed to give a better harmony.
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
With metronome click:
Download MIDI
Download MP3
Download MP3 with click
White Christmas (C Major): Walking Bassline with Right Hand Chords
In the final version of White Christmas, I’ve added three-note chords to the right hand to give fullness and a richer harmony.
Generally there’s a chord to play on the first beat of each bar. Try to hold the lower notes of the chord while you play the melody over the top. Using the sustain pedal will really help smooth the sound out.
Watch out for bars 27 and 28 (first two bars on the last line). In the right hand, the F major chord changes to an F minor chord, but you should only play the A flat while holding on to the F and C (and releasing the A).
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
With metronome click:
Download MIDI
Download MP3
Download MP3 with click
White Christmas (C Major): Lead sheet
Here’s a lead sheet for White Christmas, containing the melody, lyrics and chord changes.
Video tutorial
Follow our lighted keyboard for more inspiration and to help you learn this Christmas song.
White Christmas (A Major): Introduction
Here, White Christmas is written and played in the key of A Major, and has a 4/4 time signature. This is the same key as the song was originally sung by Bing Crosby, although it is (arguably) slightly more difficult to play due to having three sharps in the key signature to contend with.
White Christmas (A Major): Main Melody
Here are the melody notes you need to play:
C# | D C# C C# | D | D# E | F# G# A B | A G# F# E |
A B | C# C# | C# F# E | A A | A E D | C# | D C# B A | B | (B) | C# |
D C# C C# | D | D# E | F# G# A B | A G# F# E | (E) | (E) A B | C# C# |
C# F# E | A | (A) A B | C# C# | F# G# G# G# | A | (A)
Here’s the complete melody written out:
The musical notation is written to allow for a slight ‘push’ ahead of the beat in bars 5/6, 6/7 and again in bars 21/22 and 22/23. You may wish to alter the timing when you play. Listen to the recording below, which is taken directly from this notation, and see what you prefer. You are totally at liberty to add your own artistic interpretation.
Here’s what it sounds like:
With metronome click:
Download MIDI
Download MP3
Download MP3 with click
White Christmas (A Major): Single Note Bass Line
Below is a simple bass line for the song using just one note at a time. Most of the time you simply play one whole note (semibreve) per bar, with the exception of bar 29 which contains two half notes (minims), and bars 27/28 and 31/32 which have tied whole notes held for eight beats in total.
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
With metronome click:
Download MIDI
Download MP3
Download MP3 with click
White Christmas (A Major): Walking Bassline
To inject a bit of movement into the piece, here’s a walking bass line comprised of quarter notes (crotchets).
In the main, you play a bass note followed by a note a perfect fifth above it, followed by the original bass note an octave higher, followed by the second note again.
So, in bar 1 you play a low A followed by the E above it, followed by the A above that, followed by the E again. In bar 3 you play a low B followed by F, high B then F, and so on.
Bar 12 is an exception. This is a broken D minor chord (D, F, A) placed to give a better harmony.
Because this music is set quite a bit lower, you’ll notice a lot of ‘leger lines’ below the normal bass clef. It can initially take a bit of time to work out the notes you have to play.
The bottom line of the standard bass clef is a G, which makes a leger line below it E. Below that comes C, then A, and so on.
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
With metronome click:
Download MIDI
Download MP3
Download MP3 with click
White Christmas (A Major): Walking Bassline with Right Hand Chords
In the final version of White Christmas, I’ve added three-note chords to the right hand to give fullness and a richer harmony.
Generally there’s a chord to play on the first beat of each bar. Try to hold the lower notes of the chord while you play the melody over the top. Using the sustain pedal will really help smooth the sound out.
Watch out for bars 27 and 28 (first two bars on the last line). In the right hand, the F major chord changes to an F minor chord, but you should only play the A flat while holding on to the F and C (and releasing the A).
Here’s the printed music:
And here’s what it sounds like:
With metronome click:
Download MIDI
Download MP3
Download MP3 with click
White Christmas (A Major): Lead sheet
Here’s a lead sheet for White Christmas, containing the melody, lyrics and chord changes.
Video tutorial
Follow our lighted keyboard for more inspiration and to help you learn this Christmas song.
We hope you found this guide useful. Feel free to leave comments below if you have any questions or suggestions.
One thought on “White Christmas: Mastering Christmas Songs on the Piano and Keyboard”
Muy didactico muchas gracias