Piper's SongbookHow to play Jolly Old Saint Nicholas on recorder
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas uses 6 notes on the soprano recorder: B, A, G, F♯, low E and low D. The first line goes B B B B A A A G G G G B.
- Notes
- 6: B, A, G, F♯, low E, low D
- Level
- Both hands
- Time
- 2/4, about 100 beats a minute
- Source
- Music credited to James R. Murray, published 1874; words after Emily Huntington Miller, 1865
Jolly Old Saint Nicholas recorder notes with letters
Each box is one note, with its fingering underneath: filled holes are covered, a half-filled hole is half covered or pinched. Wider boxes are longer notes. A ′ mark means the higher octave, so D′ is high D. Bar lines are drawn as thin rules.
Line 1
Line 2
Line 3
Line 4
Letters only, for printing or copying
- B B B B | A A A | G G G G | B
- E E E E | D D G | F♯ G A B | A
- B B B B | A A A | G G G G | B
- E E E E | D D G | A G A B | G
Sheet music
Written pitch for soprano recorder, which sounds an octave higher. Press play to hear it on a recorder sound; the slow setting plays at 60% speed.
Fingerings for the notes in Jolly Old Saint Nicholas
Hole 0 is the thumb hole on the back. Holes 1 to 3 are for the left hand, 4 to 7 for the right. These are Baroque (English) fingerings.
How to practise it
Lines two and four differ only at the end: F♯, G, A, B landing on A the first time, and A, G, A, B landing on G the second. The second line also drops from B to low E and low D, so cover the right-hand holes firmly and blow softly there.
Learn one line at a time. Play it slowly until every note is clean, then join it to the next line.
About the tune
The words grew from Emily Huntington Miller's poem "Lilly's Secret", printed in The Little Corporal magazine in December 1865. The music is generally credited to James R. Murray and was first published in 1874, in a school songbook called School Chimes.
Questions
Is Jolly Old Saint Nicholas easy on recorder?
It is a good second or third tune. Both hands play, and the low notes need gentle air.
What notes do you need for Jolly Old Saint Nicholas on recorder?
B, A, G, F♯, low E and low D. Tap a note to see its fingering on its own page.
Do these fingerings work on a German recorder?
Mostly. F♯ is fingered differently on a German recorder; the diagrams above are Baroque, and the linked note pages show both. A recorder whose hole 4 is smaller than hole 5 is Baroque.
More recorder songs
Notes checked against Thornton Rose's ABC against Douglas D. Anderson's transcription and The Everyday Song Book (1927), in G. The 1927 book has A, G, A, B in the second line; this page follows the other two. Last checked 6 October 2026.