Piper's SongbookHow to play O Christmas Tree on recorder
O Christmas Tree uses 8 notes on the soprano recorder: B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low D and high E. The first line goes D G G G A B B B B A B C′ F♯ A G. The same tune is used for O Tannenbaum.
- Notes
- 8: B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low D, high E
- Level
- Thumb pinch
- Time
- 3/4, about 96 beats a minute
- Source
- German folk tune; words by Ernst Anschütz, 1824
O Christmas Tree 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
- D | G G G A | B B B B | A B C′ F♯ | A G
- D | G G G A | B B B B | A B C′ F♯ | A G
- (rest) D′ | D′ B E′ D′ | D′ C′ C′ C′ | C′ A D′ C′ | C′ B B
- D | G G G A | B B B B | A B C′ F♯ | A 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 O Christmas Tree
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
The third line jumps from high D down to B and up to high E: thumb off for D, thumb on for B, then a thumb pinch for E. Practise those three notes slowly on their own. The first two bars of the other lines start with a dotted rhythm, so make the second G and the second B short.
Learn one line at a time. Play it slowly until every note is clean, then join it to the next line.
About the tune
Ernst Anschütz, a teacher and organist in Leipzig, published the words sung today in 1824. He kept the first verse from August Zarnack's school songbook of 1820, so the German song does not mention Christmas until its second verse. The same tune was used for "Maryland, My Maryland".
Questions
Is O Christmas Tree easy on recorder?
It suits a player who already knows the notes from low D to high D. It also needs the thumb pinch for the high notes.
What notes do you need for O Christmas Tree on recorder?
B, A, G, high C, high D, F♯, low D and high E. 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 Paul Hardy's Christmas tunebook against John Chambers' Christmas ABC collection and the melody printed on Wikipedia, in G. Last checked 6 October 2026.