The First Noel

The First Noel is a traditional melody dating from around 1823. In Freano it is rated “Easy” and is one of the app's 48 free public-domain pieces.

The app plays it at 88 beats per minute. The melody has 18 notes and takes about 15 seconds at full speed, so you can play it through several times in one short practice session.

It uses 8 different keys, from C4 to C5 — a span of 12 semitones.

Everything is on the white keys, which makes it a good choice in your first weeks.

The fastest notes are eighth notes.

It comes with a left-hand part in a waltz bass pattern that we wrote ourselves. Learn the right hand first, then the left, then put them together — the piece waits until you press both keys.

This melody was published in 1823, more than a hundred years ago, and is in the public domain. Freano only includes music that is at least a century old, enters the melody itself rather than copying anyone's arrangement, and writes its own left-hand parts.