O Christmas Tree is one of the most popular Christmas carols in the world. It’s actually a German carol, which has been translated into many different languages such as into English. It’s also a pretty easy song to play on the piano. In this free lesson we learn a bit more about the history of this classical carol and how to play this song on the piano. We also provide you the lyrics with the piano letter notes and for the more advanced players the sheet music as free PDF downloads at the end of the article that you can use for your piano lessons or for practicing at home.
Origin of O Christmas Tree
O Christmas Tree (originally titled “O Tannenbaum” in German) is a Christmas carol with origins dating back to the 16th century. The lyrics were written by Ernst Anschütz in 1824, although he was inspired by an earlier traditional folk song about the firmness of the evergreen tree. Anschütz’s version shifted the focus to the Christmas tree, symbolizing the faithfulness and enduring spirit of the holiday season. Over time, “O Tannenbaum” was translated into several languages, including English, and became O Christmas Tree. Its timeless melody and heartfelt lyrics have made it a beloved carol around the world, celebrating the beauty and significance of the Christmas tree tradition.
Piano Letter Notes for O Christmas Tree
Not everyone, especially young children, can read sheet music. However, there is an easy alternative to sheet music for piano beginners because you can actually play a song by using the lyrics and the letter notes. This concept is easier for children to understand than sheet music. And we will play the song in the key of C major, so that you only have to use the white and no black keys. This makes it also more beginner-friendly.
However, before you start, you should familiarize yourself with where each note that you need for the song is located on your piano keyboard. And remember that we use the G note in two different pitches. That’s why you find G’ where the symbol stands for the higher pitch, so that you can make the difference. Labeling the piano keys with the notes can be very helpful for young beginners. This will help them to find the right notes right away.However, in order to reduce the student’s dependence on the piano key labels, you should remove them after the child can confidently play a few songs.
Here are the keys on the keyboard that you have to use for the song the O Christmas Tree:
And make sure to check out our article on how to read piano notes, where we explain how to easily remember and find the piano keys on the keyboard, and how they correspond to the notes on the sheet music.
The following chart with the lyrics and the letters enables you to learn and play the nursery rhyme in a pretty easy way:
Check the the recording of the melody played on the piano below in order to play along or to see if you got it right on the piano:
If you already know how to play the piano quite well, you can also also combine right and left hand playing. You can for example integrate some piano chords while playing the melody with the other hand. However, beginners should first start playing the melody with one hand note by note before using the second hand.
Piano Sheet Music for O Christmas Tree
If you and your students know how to read sheet music, you should use that for your piano lessons and playing! Do you remember talking about the the G note that we are using in different pitches in the song? Sheet music has all the information about a song and if you know how to read sheet music you see immediately the different pitches of the same note. However, it can be challenging for beginners to start playing from music notes written in sheet music.
Here are the music notes for the O Christmas Tree:
Free PDF Printables for O Christmas Tree
Feel free to download and to share the lyrics with the easy letter piano notes and the sheet music for your practicing or lesson!
Interested in instruments other than the piano? You can also find a free lesson on how to play O Christmas Tree on the guitar and ukulele.
