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For many families, singing and playing Christmas carols throughout the holiday season helps inspire a joyful spirit and a happy heart. One such tune that has inspired worshipers for over a century is “Angels We Have Heard on High.” In today’s Quick Tip, John Proulx shares how to play this holiday favorite in a fun and festive bossa nova style. You’ll learn:

• Introduction
  • Angels We Have Heard on High: Song Facts
  • Angels We Have Heard on High: Chords
  • Angels We Have Heard on High: Lead Sheet
• Stylizing Angels We Have Heard on High
  • Step 1: Reharmonization
  • Step 2: Syncopation
  • Step 3: Bossa Nova Arrangement

Introduction

Today’s lesson is loaded with tons of holiday cheer for piano students of all levels. For example, beginner students will discover how to play the melody and the essential piano chords for “Angels We Have Heard on High.” In fact, you can learn to play “Angels We Have Heard on High” on piano with just 6 chords! On the other hand, if you’re a more experienced piano student, then you’ll also discover pro tips for how to stylize this holiday classic in an original way. For example, today’s lesson covers how to combine jazz chords and Latin jazz rhythms into a complete “Angels We Have Heard on High” bossa nova piano arrangement.

If you’re already a PWJ member, don’t forget to download the PDF sheet music for today’s “Angels We Have Heard on High” piano arrangement and the included backing tracks! These resources appear at the bottom of this page after logging in with your membership. In addition, PWJ members can also easily transpose “Angels We Have Heard on High” to any key using our Smart Sheet Music.

Angels We Have Heard On High: Song Facts

The popular Christmas carol “Angels We Have Heard on High” is believed to have originated in France in the 18th century. However, the melody and the lyrics developed independently. For example, the modern harmonization of the traditional French carol comes from a hymn named “Gloria,” which is attributed to Edward Shippen Barnes (1887–1958). Incidentally, the same melody is also used in a few other hymns, including “Heaken All, What Holy Singing.”¹

The French lyrics which became “Angels We Have Heard on High” first appeared in print in 1842 as “Les Anges dans nos campagnes” (“The Angels in Our Countryside”). In 1862, a Roman Catholic bishop named James Chadwick translated the words into English and also added some original material. Thus, Chadwick is credited with the English lyrics.² Nevertheless, the chorus section of “Angels We Have Heard on High” includes the memorable Latin phrase “Gloria in excelsis Deo,” which means “Glory to God in the highest.” These words are drawn from the biblical narrative of the birth of Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospel of Luke (Luke: 2:1–21).

Song Key

Sheet music for “Angels We Have Heard on High” is traditionally notated in the key of F major. However, some popular contemporary recordings are often set in more “guitar friendly” keys. For example, the popular contemporary recording of “Angels We Have Heard on High” by Chris Tomlin is in G major.

Song Form

The musical structure for “Angels We Have Heard on High” uses a two-part verse-chorus form. The verse section is 8 measures long whereas the chorus section is 13 measures in length. However, some arrangements extend the chorus to 14 measures to create more symmetrical phrasing. This is accomplished by extending the final tonic chord for an additional measure. In fact, that’s the approach that John Proulx uses in today’s arrangement.

Now that you know a bit about the origin, background and structure of “Angels We Have Heard on High,” let’s examine the chords.

Angels We Have Heard on High: Chords

The popular Christmas carol “Angels We Have Heard on High” can be played with just a handful of basic chords. In particular, the song requires five or six chords, depending on whether you think of C and C7 as separate chords or related chords. (Technically, C and C7 both serve a dominant function and can therefore be used interchangeably.) The following piano chord diagrams illustrate how to play each chord on piano in root position.

If you are a beginner piano student, try playing each triad with your left hand using the fingering 5-3-1. Afterward, try using the fingering 5-3-2-1 to play C7 in your left hand.

Next, we’ll look at a lead sheet containing the melody and chord symbols for “Angels We Have Heard on High.” This will tell you when to play each chord.

Angels We Have Heard on High: Lead Sheet

In this section, we’ll examine the lead sheet for “Angels We Have Heard on High.” A lead sheet is essentially a minimalistic representation of a song in print form. As such, lead sheets typically only include the melody and chord symbols. A lead sheet may also include lyrics. However, lead sheets do not specify any specific accompaniment patterns or chord voicings. Instead, musicians make decisions about these musical considerations based on their personal style and experience.

Here is a lead sheet for “Angels We Have Heard on High” in F major with the lyrics:

The melody for “Angels We Have Heard on High” is notated above with traditional chords and rhythms as you would find them in a hymnal. Later in this lesson, you’ll learn how to stylize the tune with Latin jazz chords and syncopated rhythms.

For beginner piano students, an easy way to play a lead sheet with both hands is to add the chords in the left hand while playing the melody in the right hand. However, it’s important to ensure that the left-hand chords are not played too low. If you notice that a particular chord sounds muddy in the left hand, try taking it up an octave instead.

If you already know how to play chord inversions, then you can get an even better sound by playing the bass note only in the left hand while shifting the chords into the right hand. In this case, you’ll want to invert each chord as needed to preserve the melody note on top. For example, in measure 1, you’d play the note F in the left hand while playing an F major chord in the right hand using a “2nd inversion shape.” That way, the melody note A is on top in the right hand.

Stylizing Angels We Have Heard on High

If you’re an intermediate or advanced piano student, then you can get a more mature piano sound by replacing some of the basic chords from the previous section with more advanced jazz chords like 7th chords and chords with extensions.

Here is a reharmonized lead sheet for “Angels We Have Heard on High” that includes more jazz chords and progressions. In fact, these are the chords that John Proulx models in today’s lesson. In addition, these are the chord changes for “Angels We Have Heard on Hight” that go along with the backing tracks for this lesson.)

Step 1: Reharmonization

Step 2: Syncopation

Once we’ve modified the chords, the next step for transforming “Angels We Have Heard on High” into the bossa nova style is to modify the rhythms. In particular, we want incorporate some syncopated rhythms that are more characteristic of Latin jazz music. One way to do this is to use a rhythmic technique that we call “anticipation.” Anticipation is when we take a note that typically occurs on a strong beat and introduce it an 8th note earlier. Therefore, we can take a note that is expected on count 3 and play it on the “and of 2” instead. Similarly, a note that is expected on count 1 can be played the “and of 4” in the previous measure. The following examples demonstrate how to add anticipations to the first two measures of “Angels We Have Heard on High.”

Pretty cool, huh? In the next step, we’ll employ this rhythmic technique throughout the entire tune.

Step 3: Bossa Nova Arrangement

So far, we’ve covered a bit about the thought process that John has used to adapt this class Christmas hymn into a fun, bossa nova style arrangement. Therefore, let’s now examine each section of the arrangement.

Whether your performing “Angels We Have Heard on High” as a solo piano selection or to accompany a vocalist, you’ll want to add an introduction. Here is the intro that John uses in his arrangement.

Intro

Alright, you’re ready to learn the verse section. Let’s take a listen…

Verse

Next, let’s examine the chorus section from John’s arrangement. You’ll notice that John uses a bit less rhythmic anticipation here. Instead, he channels a more classical approach for the “Gloria” section. For example, he has even added a counter melody. However, he does add a touch of anticipation when we get to the words “in excelsis Deo.”

Chorus

Finally, John concludes his arrangement with an outro section that is based on the intro vamp.

Outro

Well done! You’ve now learned John’s entire bossa nova arrangement for “Angels We Have Heard on High.” To take things up a notch, you could add an improvised solo section. In fact, John covers improv techniques for this tune in his full-length courses on Angels We Have Heard on High Challenge (Beg, Int, Adv) for all playing levels.

Conclusion

Congratulations, you’ve completed today’s lesson on Play Angels We Have Heard on High on Piano. With the tips and tricks that you’ve picked up in today’s lesson, you’ll be ready to set the mood for holiday cheer at any Christmas gathering this season!

If you enjoyed today’s lesson, then be sure to check out the following PWJ resources:

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¹ “Gloria (French).” Hymnary.org.

² “Angels We Have Heard on High.” CelebratingHolidays.com

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