Silent Night for Alto Saxhear it, slow it down, play along
- Tune: STILLE NACHT
- Franz Xaver Gruber
- E♭ alto sax
- G major
- 3/4
- 12 bars
On the alto sax
It runs from G4 to C6 (written).
It is written in G major, a major sixth above how it sounds, so it sounds in B♭ major, the same key as the concert-pitch versions. You can play it together with a violin or flute reading their own page.
How it goes
Twelve bars in 3/4. The first two bars are the same, and bars 5 and 6 come back as bars 7 and 8. The highest note comes near the end, then the tune steps down to the low home note.
A way to practise it
Keep the dotted-eighth, sixteenth, eighth figure gentle and even: loop bar 1 at the slow tempo first. Then loop bars 9 and 10, where the line climbs to the top note.
- Slow ♩ = 50
- Practice ♩ = 63
- Goal ♩ = 76
About the hymn
Joseph Mohr wrote the German words, “Stille Nacht”, and Franz Xaver Gruber wrote the tune. It was first sung on Christmas Eve 1818 at St Nicholas Church in Oberndorf, near Salzburg. John Freeman Young's English words came in the mid-1800s.
Many books print it in 6/8. This page follows a 1908 hymnal that writes the same rhythm in 3/4, so the beat is the dotted quarter of the 6/8 version split in two.
Silent Night for other instruments
Each version is written in a key that suits the instrument, with its own page and player.
Reading a transposed part
E♭ alto sax reads a different note from the one that sounds. How alto sax transposition works, with a chart you can listen to.
More hymns
- Amazing Grace for Alto Sax
- Holy, Holy, Holy for Alto Sax
- Be Thou My Vision for Alto Sax
- It Is Well with My Soul for Alto Sax
- Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing for Alto Sax
- O God, Our Help in Ages Past for Alto Sax
- Joy to the World for Alto Sax
- Hark! The Herald Angels Sing for Alto Sax
- All hymns · Easy pieces
Questions
- Is there Silent Night sheet music for alto sax?
- Yes. This page shows the melody written for E♭ alto sax in G major, 12 bars in 3/4, and plays it. The notes are public domain.
- What notes does Silent Night use on alto sax?
- In this version the melody runs from G4 to C6 (written). Press play and watch the cursor: it follows the notes as they sound.
- How fast should I play Silent Night?
- Hymnals don't fix one speed, and churches sing it at different tempos. Start around ♩ = 50, practise at 63, then match the speed your church sings it. The player's tempo buttons move in steps of 4.
- Is this the same key as my hymnal?
- Maybe not: hymnals print Silent Night in different keys. This page sounds in B♭ major. Check the key signature in your hymnal before you play along with the organ or piano.
- Is this in concert pitch or written pitch for alto sax?
- Written pitch. E♭ alto sax sounds a major sixth lower than written, so the G major on this page sounds in B♭ major. The player plays it at the pitch you would hear.
- Can I play it together with other instruments?
- Yes: the versions for Violin, Cello, Flute, B♭ clarinet, B♭ trumpet, F horn sound in the same key, B♭ major, so you can play them at the same time, each reading their own page.
Photograph your own part with ScoreLens.
This player is the one in the app. Photograph a printed melody or instrumental part, and ScoreLens plays it back, slower or in another key. It reads one line on one staff: a hymnal page with four voices on two staves is out of reach for now, and so is handwriting.
