Silent Night for Cellohear it, slow it down, play along
- Tune: STILLE NACHT
- Franz Xaver Gruber
- Cello
- B♭ major
- 3/4
- 12 bars
On the cello
It is in bass clef and runs from B♭2 to E♭4. The top notes are above first position on the A string, so plan the shifts.
It is in B♭ major, at concert pitch: what you read is what sounds.
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.
More hymns
Questions
- Is there Silent Night sheet music for cello?
- Yes. This page shows the melody written for Cello in B♭ major, 12 bars in 3/4, and plays it. The notes are public domain.
- What notes does Silent Night use on cello?
- In this version the melody runs from B♭2 to E♭4. The top notes are above first position on the A string, so plan the shifts. 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.
- Can I play it together with other instruments?
- Yes: the versions for Violin, Flute, B♭ clarinet, B♭ trumpet, E♭ alto sax, 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.
