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Franz Xaver Gruber, 1818. Complete melody, written out for reading practice.
“Stille Nacht” was first sung on Christmas Eve 1818 in the church of St Nicholas in Oberndorf, near Salzburg. The priest, Joseph Mohr, had written the words two years earlier; the schoolteacher and organist Franz Xaver Gruber set them for two voices and guitar. The carol spread across Europe with travelling folk singers, and John Freeman Young’s English translation of 1859 is the one most people sing today.
It is written here in C major in a gentle 3/4, the way most hymnals print it. The melody moves mostly by step, rests on long dotted half notes at the end of each line, and climbs to its high point on “sleep in heavenly peace”.
The first verse is printed under the notes and lights up as the music plays. Words by Joseph Mohr, English by John Freeman Young, in the public domain.
Si lent night, Ho ly night, All is calm, all is bright, Round yon Vir gin Mother and Child, Holy Infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heaven ly peace.
Read the piece through once without playing, naming the starting note and looking for patterns and repeats. Then press Play and follow the notes as they light up. When you are ready, choose Practice this piece: it opens in the practice tool, where you can slow it down, play along on the on-screen piano, a MIDI keyboard or your voice, and have every note checked.