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Original music, "You Are an Angel", "Let It Snow (Extravaganza)", and others released on iTunes, Amazon, and elsewhere online.

Carol of the Bells (Solo Guitar Version)
Arranged by Jeff Anvinson
Free for Download!

• Guitar Solo
  
• Intermediate Level
  
• Guitar part, 2 pp, 67 mm
  
• Length: one minute, thirty seconds
  
• Style: tonal, homophonic
  

This short piece was arranged by Jeff Anvinson in 2014 for two of his students who were interested in Ukrainian music. It makes extensive use of harmonic and melodic material played across strings (one melody note per string in succession), using a combination of open and fretted notes to create bell-like effects. Other than the challenge for the right hand of plucking melodies overlapped across strings, this is a relatively straightforward arrangement. It begins and ends with short slow sections that quote the ostinato four-note motive of "Carol of the Bells", while sandwiched in the middle is a longer, faster part.

Performance Notes: It may not be apparent from the printed music, but the notes in measures forty-nine through sixty-two are fretted on the inner four strings. You'll be moving up as high as the twelfth fret and then back down to first position. This will allow you to use two different right hand arpeggio patterns for this section - one for ascending and a different one while descending. Also, please pay attention to the slurring, which will require you to do some hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides that are more complicated than normal. Following the specific directions of the printed music will make this piece harder, but it will sound much more interesting and as it was intended! In retrospect, Jeff wishes he had included tab just to be perfectly clear, but if you're used to reading staff notation in all of its particularities, you'll get the drift of the piece. Just keep in mind that it's intended to sound bell-like and that's why playing it correctly is so important.

NOTE: If you want the piece to last longer, feel free to repeat from the end of measure sixty-two back to measure five, then play straight through to the end. Voila! It's now almost three minutes long! :-) This was a great suggestion by Ray, one of Jeff's students. (Jeff wishes he had thought of it himself but he is grateful for the suggestion.) ;-)

Jeff is making this arrangement available free of charge as long as it is not distributed, sold, or duplicated. Please refer anyone who is interested in getting a copy of the arrangement to this page on the website. Thank you and Jeff hopes you enjoy it!

Download Link

(right-click to download - left-click to view/play)

Sheet Music in PDF Format