Hark! The Herald Angels Sing chords for guitar

The chords

Press a chord to hear it, or its name for every way to play it.

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

Words by the English hymn writer Charles Wesley (1739, altered by George Whitefield in 1753); the tune is from a cantata by the German composer Felix Mendelssohn (1840), fitted to the words by William H. Cummings in 1855. (source)

Questions

What chords are in Hark! The Herald Angels Sing?

In G: G, D, C, A7, E7, Am and D7.

What key is Hark! The Herald Angels Sing in?

It is sung in many keys. On guitar G is the easiest, with open chords; use the Key menu for any other.

What strumming pattern does Hark! The Herald Angels Sing 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.

• Paul Hardy's Xmas Tunebook (ABC with simplified chords, key G, credited Mendelssohn 1840)
• RiffSpot (key G)
• GuitarTabsExplorer (key D)

More Christmas songs

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