The Little Drummer Boy - Glockenspiel / Xylophone

Glockenspiel-Little-Drummer-Boy-SOCIAL : Singing Bell

By Katherine Davis, Henry Onorati, and Harry Simeone
Copyright Emi Mills Music Inc. And International Korwin Corp

This popular Christmas song was written by the American classical music composer Katherine Kennicott Davis in 1941, based upon a traditional Czech carol.

Did you know that Davis was inspired for the melody by the phrase “pat- a-pan” of the French song with the same title? While she was trying to take a nap, the words “pat-a-pan” kept ringing in her ears, so she transformed them to the rhythm pattern “pa-rum-pum-pum”.

On this page you can find a glockenspiel tutorial video, sheet music with a glockenspiel chart that will help you find the notes on the musical instrument and a printable PDF for free download. If you would like to watch and sing this song, click here for the sing-along version.

Glockenspiel / Xylophone Tutorial Video
The Little Drummer Boy Glockenspiel / Xylophone Sheet Music and Note Chart
Free Printable PDF with Glockenspiel / Xylophone Music Sheet with Note Chart and Lyrics

Glockenspiel / Xylophone Tutorial Video

The Little Drummer Boy Glockenspiel / Xylophone Sheet Music and Note Chart

The melody of The Little Drummer Boy is rather easy and it consists of 7 notes (6 naturals and a flat one) as you can see on the chart following the notes of the song.

Watch the video a couple of times and study each part at your own pace until you get the hang of it. Remember to use both mallets as much as you can – not only the one that is more convenient for you (e.g. the right one if you’re right-handed) as this an important basic technique.

To save this free music sheet of “The Little Drummer Boy” to your computer, right click (or tap and hold, on mobile devices) and choose “Save Image As…”. Alternatively, you can download the PDF file below.