Angels We Have Heard on High
4/4, four beats a bar · 21 bars
Angels We Have Heard on High, 21 bars: verse, refrain and ending. Press a chord to hear it; Play goes through the whole carol.
Christmas songs
Angels We Have Heard on High chords for guitar
Angels We Have Heard on High needs 5 chords in D: D, A7, B7, Em and G. Here it is bar by bar: press any chord to hear it, Play to go through the whole carol, and the Key menu to move it to suit your voice.
Tempo100
↓ · ↓ ↑ · ↑ ↓ ↑ · Down, down-up, up-down-up: the campfire strum, also called the calypso strum.
Colours
homethe pullthe doorrestlessthe lift
What each chord does in its key. Press a chord to hear it and read more.The chords
Press a chord to hear it, or its name for every way to play it.
D
StandardI
A7
StandardV7
B7
StandardVI7
Em
Standardii
G
FamousStandardIV
How to play it
- The strum. Four beats to the bar: four down strums is enough to start; then the folk strum (down, down-up, up-down-up). On guitar a bass note then a strum sounds fuller. Start slow, around 80 beats a minute, and change chord on the first beat of the bar.
- Too low or too high to sing? Change the key above. Or keep these shapes and put a capo on: two frets up raises the song a whole step (the capo chart works it out).
- A new chord? Press its card for every way to play it, or start from the beginner chords.
About the carol
A traditional French carol, Les Anges dans nos campagnes, known in France from the early 19th century or before; the usual English words are a paraphrase by James Chadwick, Catholic Bishop of Hexham and Newcastle, published in 1862. The chords here are the traditional simple harmony, not Edward Shippen Barnes's 1937 hymnal arrangement. (source)
Questions
What chords are in Angels We Have Heard on High?
In D: D, A7, B7, Em and G.
What key is Angels We Have Heard on High in?
It is sung in many keys. On guitar D is the easiest, with open chords; use the Key menu for any other.
What strumming pattern does Angels We Have Heard on High use?
Four beats to the bar: four down strums is enough to start; then the folk strum (down, down-up, up-down-up). On guitar a bass note then a strum sounds fuller.
Sources
The chords were checked against these, bar by bar; where they differ, this page gives the version most beginner sheets agree on.
- Session MM ABC: Angels We Have Heard on High (key C, 21 bars)
- Ottawa Slow Jam ABC (key D)
- RiffSpot (key F, traditional French, English by James Chadwick)
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