Silent Night (Stille Nacht)

Franz Xaver Gruber · Level 2 (Beginner) · traditional · Piano

The Christmas carol composed by Franz Xaver Gruber to a poem by Joseph Mohr, first sung at Oberndorf (Austria) on Christmas Eve 1818. A lullaby swaying in 6/8. An easy arrangement in C major: the right hand plays the tune, the left hand holds open fifths (root and fifth of each chord).

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Learn the tune alone by singing it, then the left hand alone: spot the chord changes before putting hands together in Wait mode, then at a reduced tempo. Count two big beats per bar; keep the dotted rhythm (dotted eighth-sixteenth) relaxed.

Source : Arrangement Note after Note d’après la mélodie de F. X. Gruber (1818) · Public Domain