You will find both types in measures 11 and 20. Any note on the guitar can be played as an artificial harmonic by touching the string twelve frets above the desired note with the index finger and plucking with the thumb or, most often, the ring finger. Natural harmonics are found at the 5th, 7th, 12, and 19th frets they are produced by touching the string at the fret and lifting at the moment you pluck the string. There are two types of harmonics on the guitar, natural and artificial. I wrote the symbol to reflect the perceived sound. Although the chord symbol indicates an E altered chord, it is theoretically incomplete. Another example of a perceived sound is in measure 19 on beat 4. I guess they can send me to theory jail! The function of the harmony and how your ear perceives it is what is musically important. I still hear it as G7#11, although many would say it can not be G without the 3rd. Another technique I often use is the interval of a 2nd in place of the 3rd. The chord used here is G7 #11 (without the 3rd).
Full diminished gives us a flat 9th.Ī chromatic substitution is found on beat four of measure eight. It also comes in handy to know that a half diminished chord played off the third of any dominant 7th chord gives us a 9th chord. Most of us know how we can move diminished chords up or down in minor thirds, it comes in handy when you need a different melody note on top. The interval of F natural is the flat 9th of E and the top part of the diminished chord makes up the chord tones of the 5th, 7th, and 3rd. The chord looks and sounds like F diminished, though it is enharmonically spelled. Another harmonic extension happens on the last beat of measure nine. This is really more of an extension than a true substitution because the notes of the three chord become the 3rd, 5th, 7th, and 9th. The three chord is a very common substitution for the one chord (A). C# minor is the three chord found in the key of A major. D6th is played on the last beat of measure seven and leads to a C# minor in measure eight.
The original harmony would stay on a D major chord. The melody comes up an octave in measure seven and the harmony gets a bit richer with a chord substitution of D# diminished on beat four. At first, one might think it unusual however, I use this technique quite often. The melody jumps back up an octave in measure seven. In the first six measures, I choose to put the melody in the bass, with simple chords and arpeggios above it. Now you know a brief history of this timeless classic. Christmas Eve of 1818, “Silent Night” was heard for the first time, as Franz Gruber strummed his guitar and Joseph Gruber sang “Silent Night.” On Christmas Eve of 1818, Joseph Mohr took the poem to Franz Gruber and asked if he would compose a melody for the poem, so that it could be performed at the midnight mass. The following year he was transferred to a church in Oberndorf ,where Franz Gruber was the schoolmaster and choir director. In 1816, a young priest, by the name of Joseph Mohr, wrote the poem “Stille Nacht Heilige Nacht.” At the time Joseph wrote his poetic story of the Christ child, he was a pastor of a small church in Mariapfarr, Austria. Some of the techniques included in this arrangement are: melody in theīass, chord substitution, chord extensions, moving lines, harmonics, The sheet music below is a lead sheet (chords, melody, and lyrics) for “Silent Night.”ĭownload the sheet music for “Silent Night” as a PDF.Just in time for Christmas, I'd like to share my arrangement of a holiday classic: “Silent Night.” $4.99 Add to cart Silent Night – Sheet Music The sheet music below includes tablature, standard notation, chord symbols, and chord diagrams.ĭownload the solo guitar tab for “Silent Night” (2 Pages) as a PDF. In the video below, I play a solo guitar arrangement (chord melody) of “Silent Night.” Silent Night – Tab That night, on Christmas Eve, Joseph Mohr and Franz Gruber performed, “Stille Nacht” (“Silent Night”), for the first time ever. Franz quickly wrote a melody to the words with guitar accompaniment. Joseph was in need of a carol for worship and asked Franz to add music to the poem.
On December 24, 1818, Joseph Mohr, a young priest in Mariapfarr (in Austria), brought a poem he had written a few years earlier to Franz Gruber, a school teacher, and church organist, in a nearby town.
All music transcriptions are available for download as PDFs. This post features “Silent Night” with a link to the solo guitar tab and the sheet music (chords, melody, and lyrics).