O Holy Night – Guitar Chords, Tabs and Sheet Music

O Holy Night is a popular Christmas carol that has its roots in a French poem. Although it’s a pretty old song, several famous artists have performed covers or created their own versions of the song in the past, which has put the song on the charts several times in the English-speaking world. It’s also a very nice song to learn and play on the guitar during the holiday season. Especially for intermediate and advanced players, the chord version is a great way to learn some new chords and practice changing between chords more quickly. We will dive a little deeper into the history of the song and show you how to play this tune on the guitar. We also provide free PDF chord boxes, tabs and sheet music for your guitar lessons or just to practice at home.

History of O Holy Night

O Holy Night is a Christmas carol with a rich history dating back to the 19th century. The song originated in France in 1843, when a parish priest asked poet Placide Cappeau to write a Christmas poem to celebrate the renovation of the local church organ. Cappeau wrote the words, originally titled “Cantique de Noël” about the night of the birth of Jesus Christ. Composer Adolphe Adam was commissioned to write the music to accompany the lyrics, and the carol was first performed in 1847.

The carol quickly became popular in France, but its deeply spiritual and reflective tone led to some controversy. After Cappeau expressed anti-clerical views and left the church, religious authorities distanced themselves from the song, but it remained popular with the public.

In 1855, “O Holy Night” was translated into English by American abolitionist John Sullivan Dwight. He resonated with the carol’s message of hope and human dignity, especially the line “Chains shall He break, for the slave is our brother” which connected with the anti-slavery movement in the United States.

Guitar Tabs for O Holy Night

There are versions of this song that range from fairly simple to more complex fingerstyle arrangements, but we’re going to keep it simple for now. We will start by fingerpicking the melody note by note. This is a good exercise for beginners to get familiar with the melody. We will use guitar tabs for this, as they provide a beginner-friendly way to see how to play the melody.

However, beginners should start slowly by just practicing and playing a short part of the song first. For example, try to play the first part of the song correctly on your guitar. Once you can play that part without difficulty, move on to the next sequence. Breaking the melody down this way makes it much easier for young beginners to learn!

Here are the tabs for O Holy Night:

Not sure if you got the melody right on your guitar? Check out our recording below or just play along as you practice. You can also slow down the recording.

Guitar Chords for O Holy Night

Playing a melody on the guitar through fingerpicking is the easier way to start with that song. And people will already recognize the song even without singing to it. So, it might be already nice just fingerpicking the melody on Christmas and everybody will enjoy your playing. But if you want to sing along then you probably want to try out the chord version. But this one will a bit more challegning since it requires quite a few guitar chords. We will also need to play the B chord, which is not a typical beginner guitar chord. But this song can be a great piece to learn and practice this chords. If you find the B chord too difficult, you could also just leave it out since we need to play it just once in the song.

We will play the song in the key of C we need seven different guitar chords: C, F, G, B, Em, Am, Dm.

Here are chord diagrams for O Holy Night:

If you’re already familiar with all these guitar chords, you’re ready to dive into this song on your guitar! The only challenge might be the fast chord changes at the end of the song, but it’s a good practice and you can play the song at a slower speed first. If most of the chords are new to you, or you find it difficult to switch between them, learn them separately first and try to switch between them once you’ve mastered them. For beginners, it may also be a good idea to start with an easier Christmas carol on the guitar, such as Jingle Bells or O Christmas Tree.

As already mentioned, 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 chord changes 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 O Holy Night

For both guitarists and teachers, sheet music is a valuable tool, providing detailed instructions on the exact notes, rhythms, and chords needed to play a song. However, for beginners and younger students, sheet music can be overwhelming, as it requires some familiarity with music theory and the ability to interpret musical notation. And frankly, the sheet music for O Holy Night is not the easiest. If you are just getting started with sheet music, try starting with an easier one, such as Deck the Halls. But if you’re already comfortable reading music, this is an excellent resource for honing your skills and improving your technique.

Here is the sheet music for O Holy Night:

Free Guitar Printables for O Holy Night

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 Jingle Bells on the piano.