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The First Noel
A traditional English carol, first printed in the 1820s and 1830s: the whole first verse and the refrain “Noel, Noel,” in three. Nearly every phrase climbs to the octave and walks back down the scale.
The First Noel is a traditional English carol of Cornish origin. Its words and tune were first printed in carol collections of 1823 and 1833; “Nowell” is the old spelling. You sing the whole first verse, from “The first Noel the angel did say” to “On a cold winter's night that was so deep,” and then the refrain “Noel, Noel, Noel, Noel, Born is the King of Israel.” It has 72 notes and takes about 37 seconds, in a lilting three.
How to do it
- Listen to the count-in. The piano plays the opening phrase alone, then plays along with you.
- After the short dip to the root, climb by step up to the octave, and let the phrase come back down.
- Where one syllable has two notes, such as “first” and “night,” move smoothly from one to the next.
- In the refrain, sing “Noel” up to the octave and let it fall through the seventh and sixth.
- End “Born is the King of Israel” on the third, starting from the octave, and keep the tone steady.
Coach's tip: Many syllables carry two notes, starting with the opening “The” – move smoothly from one to the next without pushing. On “Born is the King” start at the top and step down the scale without rushing.
What to watch out for
Phrases that climb to the octave tempt you to push on the top note; keep it light and let the air carry it. The two-note syllables are easy to blur into one pitch, so check on the piano roll that both tiles are hit. The long fall in the refrain often sags by the sixth, so keep the support going until the last note. Stay in the lilting three-beat pulse. If your throat feels tight, stop and lower your saved range.
Who it's for
Level 2, for singers who can already reach an octave and want a familiar carol with a clear stepwise shape. Warm up with Major scale (octave) and Interval: perfect fifth. No program lists it. The daily training offers it only from 1 December to 6 January, but it is in the library all year. The piano plays along by default; you can switch to “Listen → Sing.”
Opens the app in your browser. Free to start, no account needed. Put on headphones first.
Related exercises
- Silent Night A wide range (1.5 octaves) and long notes. A ballad in its purest form.
- Amazing Grace Pentatonic in practice. Melismas on “zing”, “a”, “was”, “but”.
- When the Saints Go Marching In Energetic, with long notes at the end of phrases.
- Pop phrase: acoustic verse An original phrase in the style of acoustic verses: low register, minor pentatonic, speech rhythm.
- Twang on “nyah” A bright, narrow “nyah” on the first five scale degrees, holding the fifth. Twang is the safe base of rock edge – the voice sounds sharp while the throat stays loose.
- Pentatonic over a drone The piano holds a low drone – the tonic an octave down, like bagpipes or a hurdy-gurdy – and you sing the major pentatonic over it, up to the sixth and back. You hear the melody first, then sing it alone with just the drone.