How to play Deck The Hall for Christmas
Deck The Hall is one of the most popular of all Christmas songs. Of Welsh origins, it is a staple for group carol singing and is heard widely in the lead up to, and on Christmas Day. Deck The Hall is a jolly little number that is easy to accompany on guitar/ukulele and is perfect for a bit of sing-along merriment this Christmas!
Chords: D G5 (G) A E
Pick or Fingers? Whatever suits your guitar and the presentation. For acoustic guitar accompanying one singer/instrument a fingerstyle pattern can work but if you are accompanying a group of singers the suggested strumming will provide a stronger tone and more energy.
Acoustic or Electric? Use whatever instrument is at hand but, especially in a party situation, have it already tuned up and ready to go.
Why are the extra notes in the melody? This chart is for two guitars; one on the chords, the other on the melody. The suggested intro and outro are based on the last two bars of the tune and are just a suggestion; you can leave them out and start at bar 5 if that’s easiest for you. The melody at bars 5 - 8 is in single notes, then the same tune repeats in bars 9 - 12 but with some harmony notes added. These sound good on solo guitar but, as the small text says, you can just repeat the bars 5-8 tune if you prefer; it’s the singing tune.
Deck The Hall - or Halls? Original lyrics appear to specify the singular ‘Hall’ but it’s not uncommon to see the plural ‘Halls’ online. Maybe you choose depending on how many halls your home/school/workplace has!
What key is best on the Ukulele? The key of C is easiest on the Uke: C F G D / D7 (but this is just for singing accompaniment; it wont work with the melody-guitar part in this duet chart because it is written in the Key of D)
How does the timing work? It’s best with sing-along songs like Deck The Hall to mostly follow the sound of the tune; strum with the same rhythm as the melody/words and it should work out for you. The general rhythm for the chord strumming is “1 2 and 3 4” and so on.
Relevant pages in Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 : To learn more about the chords and rhythms needed for Deck The Hall see pages 8, 10, 14 - 15 and 17.
Need a bit of help?
Modern Guitar Chord Styles 1 is the perfect companion for our song guides. It will teach you how to read the rhythm slash notation used in our charts (and in professional theatre and studio charts) and is specially designed to help beginners speed up their chord changes, master strumming patterns, and many other techniques.
