Introduction
Here we present a simple arrangement of the Christmas carol Here We Come A-Wassailing. Also known as “Here We Come A-Caroling”, “Here We Come A-Christmasing”, “Wassail Song” and by many other names, it is a traditional English Christmas carol and New Year song, typically sung whilst wassailing, or singing carols, wishing good health and exchanging gifts door to door.
This is part of our mastering Christmas carols on the piano and keyboard series.
Format
The format is rather interesting. It is presented in E major, which has four sharps (F#, C#, G# and D#).
The time signature changes midway through the carol. It begins in 6/8 time, briefly switches to a single bar of 3/8, and then on to 2/4 time (some manuscripts also show 4/4 time and omit the 3/8 but this leads to technically incomplete bars/measures).
This also has the effect of the tempo oof a quarter note increasing.
It would be possible to write the initial section of music in 2/4 or 4/4 but would require the use of triplets which are generally more complicated to read, and the tempo change would still likely be required.
Playing wise, it does alter the counting, but when you are familiar with the tune and tempo, it doesn’t make a huge difference.
Here We Come A-Wassailing melody
Here we provide the music for the carol’s melody. We have also provided simple chords above the staff which can be used to accompany.
The melody in the first section (verse) is comprised primarily of quarter note (crotchet) and eighth note (quaver) pairs, with two sets per bar, which gives the music its distinctive feel.
The melody in the second section (chorus) is comprised of quarter and half notes (minims).
Here We Come A-Wassailing bass line
Here is a version with a simple one note bass line in the left hand. Notes are primarily dotted half notes or dotted quarter notes, so either one or two notes per bar, following the chords.
Here We Come A-Wassailing chords
Finally we provide a version of the carol with left hand chords. This includes a “slash” chord which instructs you to play the chord with the note after the slash as the bass note. It also denotes a chord inversion if the chord contains the bass note.
The only slash chord in this arrangement of the carol is E/G#. This means to play the E major chord with a G# in the bass – or to play the first inversion of the E major chord — G#, B, E.
We hope you found this tutorial useful.
