Ukulele Chords: Jingle Bells

Jingle Bells is one of the most popular secular Christmas songs in the world. You will learn the chords to the song and also to play the melody in this ukulele lesson!

I will show you how to play the song by using ukulele tablature. Tablature is a music notational system that shows you where to put your fingers on your ukulele in order to play melodies and chords.

The most common type of tablature notation or tabs uses lines that represent the strings and numbers on the lines to show which frets to press down.

I will use another type of tab notation that I call number tabs.

Why number tabs?

1. Number tabs work better on article sites and will not be distorted if the fonts are changed.

2. Number tabs makes the information accessible to visually impaired readers using braille.

I will not use lines to represent the strings but instead use numbers for both strings and frets this way:

fret/string

This means that the first number will tell you which fret to press down and the number after the slash which string to use. 3/1 for example means: Press down the third fret on the first string!

0/1 means, play the first string without pressing down a fret! This is called to play an open string.

The first string is the bottom string when you play the uke the ordinary way.

Here are the first chord, C-major, that we will use in this song:

C: 0/4 0/3 0/2 3/1

In this chord you can see that the only string to press down is the first string but you will play all four strings together.

When you play this chord you should strum the strings from the fourth down to the first string with your right hand thumb or your index finger or in some other way.

Now we can sing the first line of the song. I have put the chord in brackets before the syllable where you are to start playing it. You can strum the chord in an even pace according to your taste:

(C)Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way

In order to sing the next line and play the chords you will need the chord F-major:

F: 2/4 0/3 1/2 0/1

And here is the next line:

(F)Oh! what fun it (C)is to ride

For the next line we need the chord D7 and G7:

D7: 2/4 0/3 2/2 0/1

G7: 0/4 2/3 1/2 2/1

Here is the next line to play:

In a (D7)one-horse open (G7)sleigh

Then you have to sing the lyrics once more with slightly different chords:

(C)Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way

(F)Oh! what fun it (C)is to ride

In a (G7)one-horse open (C)sleigh

Here you have the same song with the melody written with ukulele tabs:

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way

0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 0/2 3/2 0/3 2/3 0/2

Oh! what fun it is to ride

1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 1/2 0/2 0/2

In a one-horse open sleigh

0/2 0/2 0/2 2/3 2/3 0/2 2/3 3/2

Then you have to play the melody once more and change the last line to:

In a one-horse open sleigh

0/2 0/2 3/2 3/2 1/2 2/3 0/3

I suggest that you play the notes in the melody that are on the first fret with you index finger, the notes on the second fret with your middle finger and the notes on the third fret with your ring finger.

Ukulele Lesson: Jingle Bells Instruction

An ukulele is a fantastic little instrument to use as an accompaniment to your singing. You can also play melodies like the Christmas song Jingle Bells. I will instruct you how to play the melody step by step!

Sometimes you will find melodies for ukulele notated with tablature. This is a notational system consisting of lines representing the strings and numbers indicating which frets to press down. In this article I will instruct you with common English words instead.

Remember, the first string on your ukulele is the bottom string when you play.

You can use your right hand thumb to pluck the strings or use a pick or some other method as long as you play in a relaxed way.

Here you have the lyrics with instructions on how to play the melody on your ukulele:

Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way

Play the first open string three times and then three times more.The first string is the bottom string when you play on your ukulele. An open string is a string that you play without pressing down a fret.

Continue by playing the first open string, third fret first string, first fret second string, third fret second string and first open string.

Play throught the notes in the instruction above until you hear and recognize the melody. Then it is time to work on the next line of lyrics:

Oh! what fun it is to ride

Play the first fret first string five times, the first open string twice.

What left hand fingers should you use?

I suggest that you use your first finger (index finger) to play the notes on the first fret, the second finger (middle finger) to play the notes on fret two and your ring finger to play the notes on your third fret.

Even if it might feel a little bit awkward at first you will feel the benefits from playing this way when you get used to it. You will not be forced to move the left hand as you play notes and you will find it easier to find the frets.

Let us continue with the ukulele lesson. Here is the next line:

In a one-horse open sleigh

Play the first open string three times, the third fret second string twice, the first open string, third fret second string, third fret first string.

Now it is time to repeat the melody but with a variation of the last line of lyrics:

In a one-horse open sleigh

Play the first open string twice, the third fret second string twice, first fret first string, third fret second string, first fret second string.

If your ukulele is tuned in C you will be playing the melody in the key of F.

What is a C-tuning?

This means that the first string is tuned to an A, the second string to an E, the third string to C and the fourth string to G. All of these notes are on the middle octave of a piano if you happen to have one around.

I recommend that you learn the melody by heart one line at a time. That way you can play the melody to your friends whenever the time comes!

Ukulele Tab: Learn To Play Jingle Bells

Many ukulele players use their ukulele for chord playing but you can actually play melodies on this nice little instrument. Let’s learn to play Jingle Bells on your uke!

Jingle Bells is one of the most popular secular Christmas songs in the world. The most played part of the song is the refrain which we will concentrate on in this ukulele tab lesson.

Jingle bells, jingle bells,
Jingle all the way!
O what fun it is to ride
In a one-horse open sleigh.

I use my own special form of ukulele tab for articles like this to be sure that the tabs are readable on article sites. On my own site you’ll also find the more common ukulele tab staff notation.

The string with the highest pitch is called the first string and is usually an A. The first string is the string nearest your feet when you hold you uke in a playing position.

The first notes you will play are on the first string. As I mentioned before I will use a special form of ukulele tab with numbers.

The first number indicates the fret. The second number after the slash indicates which string to play. Here is the first line of lyrics and the corresponding ukulele tab:

Jingle bells, jingle bells,

0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1 0/1

0/1 means that you play the first string with your right hand thumb without pressing down any left hand finger. It is called to play on an open string.

The ukulele tab above means that you play six notes on the open first string. This type of ukulele tab doesn’t indicate the length of the notes. I guess you hear that the third and sixth note ought to be a little longer than the rest.

Let’s play some more of Jingle Bells:

Jingle all the way!

0/1 3/1 1/2 3/2 0/1

3/1 means that you press down a left hand finger on the third fret of the first string. I haven’t told you anything about which left hand finger to press down on the frets on your ukulele.

You can of course use your first finger for all the notes. A more professional approach is to play the notes on the first fret with your first finger and the notes on your third fret with your ring finger.

You might find this difficult at first but as your ring finger get used to it it will actually be easier to find the right notes. You don’t even have to look at your fingers to find the right fret if you get accustomed to this way of playing.

Let’s explain some of the numbers: 3/1 means that you press down the third fret on the first string and play the note. 1/2 means that you play the first fret on the second string.

Let’s play the next line:

O what fun it is to ride

1/1 1/1 1/1 1/1 1/1 0/1 0/1

I don’t need to explain the ukulele tab above as you by now know what it’s all about.

The last line comes here:

In a one-horse open sleigh.

0/1 0/1 0/1 3/2 3/2 0/1 3/2 3/1

The refrain in sung twice so it’s time to play the melody from the beginning again but the second time you’ll play the last line a little bit different:

In a one-horse open sleigh.

0/1 0/1 3/1 3/1 1/0 3/2 1/2

Now you can play a Christmas melody on your ukulele. The ukulele tab notation I have used is good for finding the notes but I recommend you to learn the melody by heart so you can play it anywhere without the need to read on a piece of paper you will not find anyway!

Good luck with your ukulele playing and Merry Christmas! (Sooner or later it’s here!)