Christmas time is music time! We all listen to some nice Christmas carols to create a cozy atmosphere at home and to get us ready for the holiday season. Anyone who knows how to play the guitar will probably be looking for some nice tunes to play. One of our favorite Christmas songs for guitar is Deck the Halls. It’s pretty short and requires only a few simple basic guitar chords. However, it does require you to switch between chords quite often, making it a perfect practice for young guitar beginners. Let’s learn a bit more about the history and background of this popular song and how to play it on guitar the easy way. We also provide the tabs and sheet music in PDF format for you to download and practice during your guitar lessons!
History of Deck the Halls
Deck the Halls is a popular Christmas carol with roots dating back to the 16th century. The melody of the song comes from a traditional Welsh tune called “Nos Galan” which was originally a festive New Year’s Eve song celebrating the arrival of the New Year. The lively, dance-like tune became popular in Wales long before it was associated with Christmas.
The English lyrics we know today were written in 1862 by Scottish musician Thomas Oliphant. Although Oliphant’s version focuses on Christmas, it retains the festive spirit of the original Welsh tune. The lyrics encourage listeners to “deck the halls with boughs of holly” reflecting a common 19th-century practice of decorating homes with evergreens during the holiday season. Interestingly, the song’s lyrics don’t directly mention Christmas, making it a versatile song that can be associated with the holiday season in general.
Deck the Halls is notable for its cheerful, repetitive refrain of “Fa la la la la la,” which is actually a holdover from the original Welsh song, where such refrain lines were common.
Guitar Tabs for Deck the Halls
There are versions of this song that range from pretty simple to more complex fingerstyle arrangements, but we’re going to keep it simple for now. We’ll explore the song using basic fingerpicking techniques and simple chord strumming. You can choose which one you prefer but both approaches are worth practicing and can be fun to play.
We’ll start with the fingerpicking version to help you get familiar with the melody, as you’ll be playing it note by note. Guitar tabs will guide you through this process in an easy way since they’re a great alternative to sheet music, especially for beginners. Instead of trying to tackle the entire melody at once, it’s best to focus on smaller sections.
For example, start by learning just the opening melody of “Deck the halls with boughs of holly”. Practice that part until you feel confident, then move on to the next section. Breaking the melody down this way makes it much easier for young beginners to learn!
Here are the tabs for Deck the Halls:
Check out the guitar recording below to see if you got the melody right! You can play along and if it’s too fast, just reduce the speed of the recording.
Guitar Chords for Deck the Halls
Playing a melody on the guitar through fingerpicking is both excellent practice and an enjoyable experience. Because even without the lyrics, everybody will recognize melody of this Christmas carol immediately. But if you’re planning to sing along to the carol along playing, strumming chords is the better approach. Let’s give it a try in the key of C, which will involve some basic guitar chords.
To play Deck the Halls we need four different guitar chords: C, G, D and F.
Here are chord diagrams for Deck the Halls:
Guitar Chords are illustrated in guitar chords diagram. They are a simplified illustration of the guitar neck and it tells you where to put which finger on which string. Learn more about how to read guitar chords!
If you’re already familiar with these four guitar chords, you’re ready to dive into this song on your guitar! But if you’re still working on mastering them, start by practicing each chord separately. Once you can change between them with ease, you’ll be ready to play the entire song.
It’s important for beginners to take things slowly at first. Focus on a single down strum with each chord change, giving yourself plenty of time to make smooth transitions without the added challenge of complex strumming patterns. This also keeps the rhythm simple, making it easier to sing along. As you gain confidence, you can start experimenting with different strumming techniques.
Guitar Sheet Music For Deck the Halls
For guitarists and teachers alike, sheet music is an indispensable resource that provides precise instructions on a song’s notes, rhythms, and chord structures. For beginners or younger students, however, diving into sheet music can be challenging, requiring a basic understanding of music theory and the ability to read music. For this reason, many new players find guitar tabs or lyrics with chords to be a more accessible alternative that makes the learning process easier. However, if you’re already comfortable reading music, it’s an excellent way to refine your technique.
Guitar Chords are illustrated in guitar chords diagram. They are a simplified illustration of the guitar neck and it tells you where to put which finger on which string. Learn more about how to read guitar chords!
Here is the sheet music for Deck the Halls:
Free Guitar Printables for Deck the Halls
Are you a guitar teacher or do you just want to practice the song with the printed worksheet instead of on the screen? Then download the lyrics with cords, tabs and sheet music as a PDF.
Interested in instruments other than the guitar? You can also find a free lesson on how to play Deck the Halls on the piano.
