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Carol of the Bells (Shchedryk) — right-hand melody

Play the iconic four-note bell ostinato and descending cascade from Mykola Leontovych’s 1916 masterpiece.

Next stepsMykola Leontovych · Opening eight-bar bell motif in A minor · piano one handPiano · One hand · A minor · 3/4

132 beats per minute. Changing speed stops playback; press Play to start again.

Try it at the keyboard

  1. The famous four-note motif (C5–B4–C5–A4) repeats four times in bars 1–4. Keep your fingers close to the keys for a crisp, bell-like ring.
  2. Count "1, 2-and, 3" in every bar so the paired quavers on beat 2 stay sharp and rhythmic.
  3. In bars 5–8, start on E5 and step smoothly down the A minor scale.

About this score

Transposed from G minor to A minor (no key-signature flats), combining four bars of the iconic four-note ostinato with a four-bar descending bell sequence.

Composed by Mykola Leontovych (1914–1916, premiered 1916); piano arrangement by NotePlayMusic. The 1916 musical composition by Mykola Leontovych (1877–1921) is in the public domain worldwide. Instrumental piano arrangement only; no 1936 English lyrics are used.

Source notation · Source score & rights notice