Easy Christmas Guitar Songs for Beginners

Six easy Christmas guitar songs for beginners are Jingle Bells, Silent Night, We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Away in a Manger, Deck the Halls and Hark the Herald Angels Sing. Start each one as a single-note melody, which needs no chords at all, then move to the chord version once you know G, C and D.

Every song below links to a free interactive lesson on this site: a moving tab you can slow down, with a backing track, that runs in your browser. Pick one, learn the tune this week, and you will have something to play when someone hands you a guitar on Christmas Eve.

Easy Christmas guitar songs at a glance

Start with the melody version of a song you can already hum. Your ear knows the tune, so you hear your own mistakes. The chord column shows what most beginner chord charts use; arrangements differ, so check the chart you play from.

All of them are collected on our Christmas guitar songs page.

How to pick your first Christmas song on guitar

If you have never played a song before, pick Jingle Bells or Silent Night and play only the melody. One note at a time means no chord changes to fight with, and both tunes are slow enough to follow on a moving tab. If you already know a few open chords, pick Away in a Manger: its beginner charts use the same three chords throughout.

A simple rule: choose the song your family will sing along to. A carol that people recognise after four notes is more fun to practise, and you will practise it more.

Jingle Bells: the best first Christmas song on guitar

Jingle Bells is the easiest Christmas song to start with because the chorus repeats the same short phrase. Learn "jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way" and you already have half the song. Our interactive Jingle Bells tab gives you the melody with a festive backing track.

When you want chords, beginner arrangements use G, C and D, and some add an A in the chorus. Strum one downstroke per beat while you sing, then add upstrokes once the changes feel easy.

A fun fact for the family: Jingle Bells was not written as a Christmas song. James Lord Pierpont published it in 1857 as "The One Horse Open Sleigh", and it only became tied to Christmas later (Wikipedia).

Silent Night: a slow carol in 3/4 time

Silent Night is slow and calm, which makes it forgiving for new players, but it is in 3/4 time: you count "1 2 3, 1 2 3" instead of four beats. Count out loud while you play the Silent Night melody tab and the waltz feel comes quickly.

Silent Night also belongs on guitar more than most carols. It was first performed on Christmas Eve 1818 in Oberndorf, near Salzburg, with music by Franz Xaver Gruber, words by Joseph Mohr, and a guitar accompaniment instead of the church organ (Wikipedia).

For chords, many beginner charts use G, C and D, and some add Em (GoodGuitarist). Strum once per bar on the "1" and let the chord ring.

Away in a Manger: the easiest three-chord carol

Away in a Manger is the best carol for practising chord changes because beginner charts use only G, C and D. It is slow and gentle, so you have time to move your fingers. Start with the one-note version, then switch to the chord version with its soft strumming backing track.

Away in a Manger is a common pick in beginner Christmas lessons for exactly this reason: GuitarLessons.com teaches it with only the G major, C major and D major open chords. Note that two different melodies are sung to these words (Kirkpatrick's and Murray's); Singing Bell has charts for both. Play along with a recording first to check which one your family knows.

Deck the Halls: upbeat and repetitive

Deck the Halls is easy because of the "fa la la la la" lines: the same short run of notes comes back again and again. Once those are under your fingers, most of the song is done. Begin with the easy Deck the Halls melody.

The chord version is livelier, with fuller strumming. GoodGuitarist calls Deck the Halls an easy three-chord song with G, C and D, though its chart also shows Am and F in the verses (GoodGuitarist). If F is new to you, keep playing the melody version for this song until the F shape feels comfortable.

We Wish You a Merry Christmas: melody first, chords later

We Wish You a Merry Christmas is easy as a melody and harder with chords. The tune is short and everyone knows it, so the one-note version is a quick win.

The chords change more often than in the carols above. Roadie Music's chart in G uses G, C, A, D, Em and D7, plus a barred B chord that beginners often struggle with. Save the chord version for when you can switch between G, C and D without stopping.

Hark the Herald Angels Sing: a step up

Learn Hark the Herald Angels Sing last: it is a longer carol, and its chord version has you play melody and chords together. The easy melody version is the place to start once Jingle Bells feels comfortable.

The chord version adds harmony under the tune for a fuller sound. If you want a printable chart, Singing Bell has one in G and in D.

The three chords behind most easy Christmas songs

G, C and D cover the beginner chord charts for Jingle Bells, Away in a Manger and Silent Night. Learn these three open chords and you can strum along with a large part of any carol sheet.

• G major: the home chord of most carol charts in G.
• C major: a wider stretch than G or D for many new players. Practise the change from G to C on its own.
• D major: a small triangle shape on the top three strings. Some carol charts use D7 in its place.

If a chart uses a chord you don't know, look it up in the chord finder. For more help with shapes and changes, read our beginner guide to guitar chords.

A practice plan to play by Christmas

Practise a little on most days between now and Christmas, and learn one song at a time. Short, regular sessions work better than one long session at the weekend, and starting in November leaves room for two or three songs.

1. Tune first. An out-of-tune guitar makes a correct melody sound wrong. Use the free online guitar tuner.
2. Slow the lesson down. Our interactive lessons suggest dropping to 50% or 75% speed until every note is clean, then speeding up.
3. Loop the hard bar. If one group of notes keeps tripping you up, play only that part until it is easy.
4. Keep a steady beat. Play a chord version with the online metronome at a slow tempo, one strum per click.
5. Sing or hum along. When your ear, your hands and the tab line up, the rhythm locks in.

When the melody version of a song feels easy, move to its chord version. When two songs feel easy, add a third.

Frequently asked questions

What are the easiest Christmas songs to play on guitar?

Jingle Bells, Silent Night and Away in a Manger. Play them as single-note melodies first; with chords, beginner charts for all three use mostly G, C and D.

What are some good 3-chord Christmas songs for guitar?

Away in a Manger and Jingle Bells both work with G, C and D in beginner charts. Silent Night does too, though some charts add Em.

What is the simplest Christmas song to learn first?

Jingle Bells. The chorus repeats one short phrase, so you learn most of the song from a few notes. Try the free interactive Jingle Bells tab.

Can I play these Christmas songs on electric guitar?

Yes. The melody versions sound good on electric or acoustic guitar. On electric, use a clean sound so every note is clear.

Do I need to read music to play Christmas songs on guitar?

No. The lessons on this site use tabs, which show the string and fret for each note, and you can slow them down while you follow along.