A free piano arrangement of We Wish You a Merry Christmas, designed for beginner and intermediate pianists. This We Wish You a Merry Christmas sheet music is FREE to download in PDF form (with multiple keys to choose from!)
History of We Wish You a Merry Christmas
We Wish You a Merry Christmas is a jolly song that millions around the world enjoy each holiday season. But how did this song originate?
We Wish You a Merry Christmas is an English carol whose original composer is unknown. It is thought to have originated during the Victorian era, when carolers would entertain the wealthy, singing for figgy pudding payment.
Crazy, right?
Arthur Warrell, an organist and choirmaster, is thought to be the one who made the song popular in its day. He arranged and performed the song in 1935, and was later published in Oxford University Press.
If this intrigues you, you can read more about the story of this song here!
How Do You Play We Wish You a Merry Christmas On Piano?
You can play We Wish You a Merry Christmas a variety of different ways on the piano. Arrangements can be very simple or very complex.
For the sheet music here, we will stick to playing the melody in the right hand, with chords or single notes in the left hand.
The Key
This song has been arranged in many different keys, but popular keys include E major and G major.
Since the sheet music in this post is meant to be easy, I have provided downloads for the key of C major and G major.
The Notes
The notes in We Wish You a Merry Christmas are based off of the scale of the key.
If you choose the version in G major, you’ll need to know the notes of the G scale: G, A, B, C, D, E, and F#. There are also a few accidentals: C# and D#.
If you choose the version in C major, you’ll need to know all the white notes on the piano (C, D, E, F, G, A) along with F# and G# as accidentals.
Related Post: O Christmas Tree Sheet Music
The Chords
The chords will also depend upon the key you choose.
For the G major version, you’ll need to know these chords: G major, D major, C major, E minor, A major, and B major. Note that the first 4 chords occur naturally in the key of G, while the other two are secondary dominants.
For the C major version, you’ll need to know these chords: C major, G major, F major, A minor, D major, E major.
Extra Tips for Playing We Wish You a Merry Christmas
Here are a few tips to make the most of your practice as you learn this song:
- The right hand always has the melody, so make sure the left hand doesn’t overpower it!
- Don’t forget about dynamics as you practice! There are 3 sections in the arrangement: a verse, chorus and then verse again. You can try playing each section at a different volume.
- Make sure to use your wrist and arm as you play this song. Piano should never be all fingers. It should never sound like pounding. We Wish You a Merry Christmas should be jolly and fun, so let your whole body engage as you play!
More Christmas Sheet Music:
- O Come O Come Emmanuel Sheet Music
- O Holy Night Sheet Music
- Carol of the Bells Sheet Music
- The First Noel Sheet Music
- Away in a Manger Sheet Music
We Wish You a Merry christmas FREE Sheet Music
Without further ado, let’s get to the PDF sheet music for We Wish You a Merry Christmas!
Beginner Version (Key of G)
For the first download, I made sheet music designed for very new pianists.
The left hand is not even full chords, but rather some thirds and some single notes. The right hand is just simple melody.
Whether you play it in G major or C major is up to you. The G version is nice because it is at the right register of the piano – not too high or low.
The C version is a little bit high, but still nice if you aren’t comfortable playing G yet!
Beginner Version (Key of C)
Easy Version
Next up, we have downloads for an easy version of We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
I called this version easy because it is still not super hard, but it adds in more than the beginner version.
The right hand is the same, but the left hand adds in actual chords (some root position, some inversions) for a fuller sound.
The first verse and chorus just uses block chords, but the second verse changes it up and using broken chords. All in all, I think you’ll enjoy it!
Full Lyrics
Verse 1
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year
Verse 2
Oh, bring us some figgy pudding
Oh, bring us some figgy pudding
Oh, bring us some figgy pudding
And bring it right here
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year
Verse 3
We won’t go until we get some
We won’t go until we get some
We won’t go until we get some
So bring it right here
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year
Verse 4
We all like our figgy pudding
We all like our figgy pudding
We all like our figgy pudding
With all its good cheers
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year
Ending
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas
We wish you a merry Christmas and a happy new year
Conclusion
I hope you enjoy learning We Wish You a Merry Christmas on the piano this year! If you get practicing soon, you could even play it on Christmas Eve or Christmas day for a big gathering. You can do it. And don’t forget to check out Joy to the World or Deck the Halls sheet music next!