Silent Night - guitar tab, notes, chords and lyrics
"Silent Night" was composed by Franz Gruber and the lyrics were written by Joseph Mohr (in German, thus the original title "Stille Nacht"; the English-language version is written by John F. Young). It is one of the most recognized Christmas songs and one of the easiest to play on many instruments.
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.
Silent Night guitar tab and notes (pdf)
"Silent Night" for guitar with full accompaniment is found in Christmas songs arranged for guitar e-book.
Silent Night for piano
"Silent Night" for piano in the key of C. Free PDF download with audio playback.
Silent Night piano
Silent Night for flute
"Silent Night" for flute in the key of C. Free PDF download with audio playback.
Silent Night flute
Silent Night for ukulele
"Silent Night" for ukulele in the C tuning. Free PDF download with audio playback.
Silent Night ukulele | Silent Night ukulele with chord accompaniment
Silent Night (only melody)
"Silent Night" standard and tablature notation for guitar. This is a shortened version (full versions for only melody and with accompaniment can be downloaded as pdf).
Tips on how to learn this song
Since the song is played rather slow, it can be considered as relatively easy. Notice the 16th notes present in many of the bars. Also notice that the song only includes notes in the C major scale (C, D, E, F, G , A, B).
Lyrics and chords
Silent Night chords in the key of C
Verse 1:
(C)Silent night, holy night,
(G7)All is calm, (C)all is bright
(F)Round yon virgin (C)mother and child.
(F)Holy infant so (C)tender and mild,
(G7)Sleep in heavenly (C)peace,
(C)Sleep in (G7)heavenly (C)peace.
Verse 2:
(C)Silent night, holy night,
(G7)Shepherds quake (C)at the sight,
(F)Glories stream from (C)heaven afar.
(F)Heavenly hosts sing (C)Alleluia;
(G7)Christ the Savior, is (C)born!
(C)Christ the (G7)Savior, is (C)born!
Verse 3:
(C)Silent night, holy night,
(G7)Son of God, (C)love's pure light
(F)Radiant beams from thy (C)holy face.
(F)With the dawn of re(C)deeming grace,
(G7)Jesus, Lord, at thy (C)birth,
(C)Jesus, (G7)Lord, at thy (C)birth.
Archaic and liturgical words:
yon = yonder
Alleluia = hallelujah
thy = your
Download this song in pdf with chord charts, included in 60 Traditional songs e-book.
Only the three major chords in the key (I, IV and V) are used, although the V sometimes is played as a dominant chord. Notice how the progressions switches between V(7) - I and IV - I cycles.
The key can be changed by using a capo. These are the keys that the song would transpose in depending on which fret the capo is put:
- Capo 1: C# / Db major
- Capo 2: D major
- Capo 3: D# / Eb major
- Capo 4: E major
- Capo 5: F major
Key, time, tuning and tempo
Information about "Silent Night" considering musical key, time signature, tuning and bpm.
Key
The presented version of Silent Night is played in the key of C.
Time signature
The song is played in 6/8 time (a compound time including two dotted quarter notes per measure).
Tuning
The song is normally played in standard tuning (EADGBE).
Tempo (BPM)
The tempo in beats per minute is 80 for the presented version.