"Deck the Halls" Lead Sheet & Song Tutorial

<< Download the FREE “Deck The Halls” lead sheet here >>

What is more Christmassy than sitting around the piano singing carols in an awkward high voice?

So let’s learn a Christmas classic! Deck the Halls is fun, fast and easy to play. And there’s a section that will stretch anybody’s vocal cords!

The Key of F

This is a nice fun key to play in because there’s only one black note to be aware of. In the key of F, that’s Bb. So make sure you keep that in mind as we play along.

The other great thing about this song is that there are not very many chords to learn. There are really only 5 chords to learn. They are:

F – (F-A-C)

Bb – (Bb-D-F)

C – (C-E-G)

Dm – (D-F-A)

G – (G-B-D) – NOTE – When you play the G chord in measure 12, you do NOT play the Bb. It’s a B natural instead.

This song moves along at a pretty fast pace, and some of the chord changes can be very quick. So in order to make life easier, I would really recommend you…

Get comfortable with inversions

It will make your life SO much easier in the long run. Jumping from F to Bb in root position is no fun, and inversions allow you to change chords quickly and make the song sound more professional.

For a lesson on how to change chords quickly just click here.

The biggest changes you’ll need to focus on are the F to the Bb that I just mentioned, and the F to the C and back to the F again.

Break those down and practice moving back and forth between the chords. It will make a huge difference when it comes time to play the song.

Apart from those things, this is a very basic song. It’s fun, lively and everybody knows the words (or thinks they do).

So get ready to Deck those Halls and start practicing!

Lisa Witt has been teaching piano for more than 20 years and in that time has helped hundreds of students learn to play the songs they love. Lisa received classical piano training through the Royal Conservatory of Music, but she has since embraced popular music and playing by ear in order to accompany herself and others. Learn more about Lisa.