Angels We Have Heard On High is a popular Christmas carol based on the French traditional hymn “Gloria”. This lesson covers the chords for this song, sheet music for the melody including guitar tabs, and a finger-style arrangement. Grab your guitar and let’s get started!
How to read the guitar chord charts
To clarify how to read the chord charts, the top horizontal line represents the high E string and the bottom horizontal line represents the low E string. The vertical lines separate each fret. The numbers in the blue dots tell you which fingers to use on the fretting hand.
For example, on the C Major chord, you use the:
- 1st finger on the 2nd string, 1st fret
- 2nd finger on the 4th string, 2nd fret
- 3rd finger on the 5th string, 3rd fret
- Circles represent open strings
- X means to avoid the string
You can check this link for more on how to read guitar notation symbols.
Angels We Have Heard On High chords
The basic chords for Angels We Have Heard on High are C Major, G Major, E minor, A minor, D minor, F Major, and C/G. You can click on the chords with links to learn different ways of playing that chord.
Try the following chords one at a time until you feel comfortable switching between them. These chords will be written above the melody in the next section.
Here are some other resources on chords:
- What are the first chords you should learn on guitar?
- 6 tips to get better at switching between chords on guitar
- How to play chord inversions on guitar
Angels We Have Heard On High – Melody with tabs and chords
For the sheet music below, keep in mind that the chords and melody are meant to be played as separate parts. We’ll look at how to connect these parts later in the arrangement section of this lesson.
You can refer to this simple guide to understanding music symbols if needed.
By the way, you can get the PDFs of this song below.
You can learn the finger-style arrangement of this song after the lyrics below.
Angels We Have Heard On High lyrics
Verse 1:
Angels we have heard on high
sweetly singing o’er the plains,
and the mountains in reply
echoing their joyous strains.
Chorus:
Gloria, gloria, gloria, gloria,
in excelsis Deo!
Gloria, gloria, gloria, gloria,
in excelsis Deo!
Verse 2:
Shepherds, shy this jubilee?
Why your joyous strains prolong?
What the gladsome tidings be
which inspire your heavenly song?
(Chorus)
Verse 3:
Come to Bethlehem and see
Christ whose birth the angels sing,
come, adore on bended knee,
Christ the Lord, the newborn King.
(Chorus)
Verse 4:
See him in a manger laid,
whom the choirs of angels praise,
Mary, Joseph, lend your aid,
while our hearts in love we raise.
Reference: Angels We Have Heard On High. HymnSite.com
Angels We Have Heard On High – guitar arrangement
In this section, we essentially put different parts together using a finger picking style method of playing.
The numbers next to some notes on the top staff indicate which fingers to use on the fretting hand. If needed, check out this lesson to learn how to finger pick on guitar.
If you like this style of playing, you can check out this lesson to learn how to connect a melody and chords on guitar.
📘 Get the free guitar practice guide here!
Want to learn more songs? Check out the sheet music with guitar tabs resource on this site.
All the best,
JG Music Lessons
