Jingle Bells
Repeated notes, a dotted rhythm that gives the chorus its bounce, a pair of eighths, and a whole note held for four full beats — then the first piece you play up to tempo.
Builds on: 4.2 Twinkle with Chords
The chorus
James Lord Pierpont wrote Jingle Bells in 1857 for Thanksgiving, not Christmas; the sleigh took it over later. Its chorus is sixteen bars that everyone can sing, built almost entirely on repeated notes — E E E, E E E — and a rhythm that makes them bounce. It is the most rhythmically varied piece in the course so far, and the first one you will take up to speed, because a slow Jingle Bells is no Jingle Bells at all.
Repeated notes: the bouncing wrist
Playing the same key three times in a row is harder than it looks. Push each note from the finger and the third one comes out weak and late. Instead, keep the same finger (3 on E) and let the wrist bounce: a small, loose up-and-down of the hand, the finger simply riding along and touching the key at the bottom of each dip. Think of dribbling a ball — the hand stays soft, the rhythm comes from the arm. Play E E E with the metronome until the three notes are equal.
The dotted quarter and the eighth pair
Bar 3 has the tune’s signature rhythm: E G C. D — a quarter, a quarter, a dotted quarter and an eighth. The C holds through “three-and”, the D snaps in on the last “and” before the whole-note E of bar 4. You met the same figure in Ode to Joy; here it recurs in bar 5 (F F F. F) and bar 11. Then bar 6 adds something new: two eighth notes on E, “four-and”, each half a beat. Count every bar aloud and tap the rhythm on the table before you play it — the notes are easy, the timing is the piece.
Holding the whole note
Bars 4 and 12 are a single E held for four beats. Do not release it early and do not re-strike it; keep the key down and count all four beats through, while the left hand’s chord rings underneath. A held note that is cut short makes the next bar arrive in a hurry — and the tempo drifts up, which in this piece it very much wants to do.
Up to tempo
Once both hands are clean in wait mode, this piece asks for the fourth step of the practice plan: speed. Set the metronome to 70, play through with the clicks; then 80, 90, 100, 110 — one step at a time, and only when the previous step was clean. At 110 the chorus is bright and the bounce is real. The extra exercise isolates the timing: a rhythm drill at 110 with a quarter-quarter-eighth-eighth-quarter pattern, so the eighth pair sits correctly in the beat before you try it in the piece.
As the tempo rises, hands tense and the sound turns to hammering. If it does, back off ten beats per minute and play the passage softly. Speed comes from relaxation; it cannot be forced.
The chords line up with the lyric: C through “jingle all the way”, F on “oh what fun”, G on “one-horse open”, C on “sleigh”. Singing the words in your head is the easiest way to remember when to move.
Clap the rhythm, play it slowly, then chase the tempo. This is the piece to play for someone.
🎹 Exercise — Jingle Bells (chorus)
Sixteen bars, both hands. Get it clean in wait mode, then play along with a metronome and raise the tempo in steps of ten.
- Repeated Es with finger 3 and a bouncing wrist — do not push from the finger.
- Hold the whole notes in bars 4 and 12 for all four beats.
- The eighth pair in bar 6 is “four-and”: two quick, equal notes.
Press the highlighted key to begin — any input works.
🎹 Exercise — Speed Check
The timing of the piece without its notes: a quarter, quarter, eighth-eighth, quarter pattern at 110 BPM, four bars, tapping any key. It drills the eighth pair that Jingle Bells leans on (the dotted figure is approximated by the same subdivision).
- Count “one two three-and four” and tap on every syllable.
- Watch the offset readout: within 40 ms is on the nose.