Jingle Bells is one of the most iconic Christmas songs. With its easy melody and chord progression, played at a relaxed tempo, Jingle Bells should prove no obstacle for beginner musicians to learn it.
This song only requires three easy chords and can be performed in any major key! Watch the video for more information.
1. Jingle Bells
Jingle Bells is a great holiday song to sing and play on guitar or other instruments, featuring an easy chord progression and strumming pattern of DD-DU-DU. If you are having difficulty in the key of G, try placing a capo at either fifth or seventh fret to change into more guitarist-friendly keys for this tune.
James Lord Pierpont wrote Jingle Bells in 1857, making it one of the world’s best-known secular Christmas songs. While not initially associated with Christmas celebrations, its popularity quickly spread globally over time.
Each chord symbol denotes an amount of time to play it, with each measure representing a number of beats such as 1,2,3,4; choose the tempo you are most comfortable singing at and that will dictate your rhythmic playback.
2. Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town
Dolly Parton, better known for her emotional catalog, shows she can do cheerful as well with this timeless classic about Santa Claus. Her vocals exude happiness while her fiddle solo is pure musical bliss!
Opting for Burl Ives’ timeless rendition is more fitting, as he brings an air of tradition.
Are You Watching “Santa Claus Is Comin’ To Town?” Stream It Online? Yes. DIRECTV, Peacock Premium and Apple TV all carry it, plus iTunes, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video and YouTube offer purchase options.
3. Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas
While most Christmas songs tend to be overly upbeat and cheerful, this classic stands out for its emotional complexity and poignant message of struggling families trying to navigate Christmas with love and dignity. It remains a timeless classic because of this.
A festive medley featuring this song would also make an excellent selection, as its versatile tempo range allows singers with different levels of singing experience to find comfort singing it. Feel free to adapt its speed according to your personal taste; but take care not to slow it too much or it may lose some of its charm!
Original lyrics written for the movie Meet Me in St. Louis became famously associated with Judy Garland after her iconic performance of it in that film. No matter your choice of original or more modern lyrics, one thing remains certain – this timeless Christmas tune remains one of its kind.
4. Frosty The Snowman
Contrasting with “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” which was inspired by an earlier children’s book, this tune was written specifically as an accompanying seasonal tribute by Steve Edward Nelson and Jack Rollins in 1950 as an encore to Gene Autry’s hit. And it succeeded.
Raskin/Bass also used this tune as the basis of an animated TV special in 1970 featuring Frosty and his snow family and friends, with Hocus Pocus providing comic relief while Santa understands him perfectly as they both speak rabbit fluently.
Combining this song with other Christmas standards in C can produce an entertaining holiday medley, ideal for performance at children’s groups and senior centers that host holiday jam sessions and carolling excursions.
5. Christmas Time Is Here
This song from A Charlie Brown Christmas TV Special in 1965 was composed by Lee Mendelson and Vince Guaraldi and features both an instrumental version and vocal rendition from St Paul’s Church Children recorded for inclusion on an album released as part of that special.
There’s something about this song that captures the bittersweet nature of holiday celebrations or maybe it just represents how everyone experiences some level of depression during this season. Either way, it’s an atmospheric piece of music featured everywhere from Wes Anderson movies to Arrested Development!
Guaraldi’s introduction is a magnificent combination of Jerry Granelli’s subtle brush strokes on snare drum, Fred Marshall’s lively bass lines and Guaraldi’s floating piano chords; together these create an exquisite six-minute instrumental that captures both serenity and sadness inherent in holiday seasons.