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The First Noel

Engraved by Verovio 6.3.0-425dd7b The Moderato 1 first No 2 ël the 3 an gel did 4 say, way to 5 cer tain poor 6 shep herds in 7 fields as they 8 lay. 9 No 10 ël No 11 ël, No 12 ël No 13 ël 14 born is the 15 King of 16 Is ra 17 ël.
Practice settings Choose your hands, how the piece waits for you, and your keyboard.
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About this arrangement

The First Noel, or Nowell, comes from Cornwall. A version was written down around 1816-1817 for Davies Gilbert, and the carol in its current form was printed in 1823 and again in William Sandys' collection of 1833.

The tune climbs step by step, then comes back down. Notice that the verse and the refrain share almost the same shape - learn one and you nearly have the other. Count three in every bar, and give the long notes on Noel their full length.

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 The First Noel easy on piano?

Yes. This edition is the melody alone, in C major with no sharps or flats.

02 Is it The First Noel or The First Nowell?

Both. Nowell is the older English spelling; Noel is more common in the United States.

03 Where does The First Noel come from?

Cornwall, in south-west England. It was first printed in 1823.

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