Deck the Halls
About this arrangement
The melody is Welsh and much older than the English words. It belongs to a new-year song called Nos Galan, written down in 1781 by the harpist John Parry. The English lyrics about boughs of holly were written by Thomas Oliphant in 1862.
Work the fa-la-la run on its own: it is a stepwise line and it is where the fingering decides whether the piece sounds easy or messy. Everything around it is slower than it is.
Start with short loops.
Use the section list as a practice map. Start at 50% tempo, loop one section, then return to the full piece once the hand shape feels stable.
Choose Right or Left to focus on one hand. Wait for note checks the highlighted notes as you play them on the screen or a connected MIDI keyboard.
Before you practice.
01 Is Deck the Halls easy to play?
Mostly. It is sixteen bars in C major, so no sharps or flats, and only the quick fa-la-la line needs real practice.
02 What does Nos Galan mean?
New Year's Eve, in Welsh. That is the original song the melody comes from; the Christmas words in English were added in 1862.
03 What is the hardest part?
The fa-la-la line. It moves faster than the rest of the carol, and it needs a fingering that lets the hand travel without stopping.